I’m here in Silicon Valley for a meeting tomorrow to talk about iContact with a potential partner. Sue Kunz of Solidware happened to be presenting today at a deal symposium for Financing Partners, so I went to check that out.
Of course Sue did a bang up job as usual and now has a ton of momentum with potential investors here as well as in Vegas, New York, and elsewhere. It’s nice to see a Colorado deal at such an early stage being syndicated efficiently to angel investors located elsewhere. Nice job Sue and CTEK.
As I expected, I learned a few lessons at the symposium that I can bring back to Colorado. Besides the obvious (better dealflow), they clearly have their process down cold. As you might expect, the entrepreneurs who make it to these things out here are top notch. The presentations were crisp and clear and each company was interesting enough that they were given a full thirty minutes to present and take questions.
Not unlike in Colorado, the number one question that the angel investors kept asking in one form or another was “So what exactly is your sustainable competitive advantage?”. Every entrepreneur had better be prepared for that question these days.
So I’m out here in the heart of Silicon Valley, and technology is failing me left and right. My T-Mobile signal is coming and going (geez, I’m right next to Stanford). My hotel wi-fi is retardedly slow and inconsistent. Man, you get used to a world without wires.
I guess you’ve gotta go to Starbucks these days to get a decent connection. I just wish I drank that stuff. Ah heck, I’ll just buy an Izze. I’m keepin it real for Colorado, even in the Valley.
