Connecting Startups to Capital: How Collaboration Drives Entrepreneurial Success

Intro: Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studio in Atlanta, Georgia. It’s time for Atlanta Business Radio, brought to you by My Global Presence, the award winning Atlanta public relations agency that elevates brands and non-profits through authentic storytelling and national media campaigns. Find them at myglobalpresence.com. Now, here’s your host.

Lee Kantor: Lee Kantor here, another episode of Atlanta Business Radio. And this is gonna be a good one. But before we get started, it’s important to recognize our sponsor, my Global Presence. If you want global visibility and meaningful impact, go to myglobalpresence.com. Today on the show, we have a good friend of ours from TAG Invest Connect, Larry McHugh. Welcome.

Larry McHugh: Glad to be here, Lee. Thanks.

Lee Kantor: Well, I am excited to get caught up with what you got going on. But for folks who aren’t familiar, do you mind sharing a little bit about TAG Technology Association of Georgia mission, purpose, how you’re serving the community?

Larry McHugh: Sure. The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is made up of about 30,000 members from some of the largest companies in Atlanta to share information on technology, whether it’s security or fintech or whatever. It’s a professional organization. And then TAG Invest connect is an effort by the organization to support early stage companies such as entrepreneurs and people trying to build a new business.

Lee Kantor: And then how did you get involved with Investor Connect?

Larry McHugh: I’ve been supporting entrepreneurs actively for about 15 years now, past my career in marketing, Advertising and sales, which is something that a lot of entrepreneurs need some help with. And it’s been a pleasure to support bright, motivated people trying to build new businesses. So it’s it’s quite a community. In fact, this past week we had the Startup Atlanta Awards. We had Avant South, we had Venture Atlanta, which is the largest collection of investors and entrepreneurs in the southeast. And this is just an active program to support early stage companies with connections to capital.

Lee Kantor: So when you’re saying early stage is this like, I have an idea on an envelope or I have a client, like what? What are the parameters of early stage?

Larry McHugh: Good question. This is the fourth year that we’ve done this program. And what we look for is early stage companies, meaning they have minimum viable product. They have some customers and they’re looking to scale. Uh, this year we got 65 applications from entrepreneurs with various stages of companies, and we selected six to present on October 22nd at our Tag Invest Connect. So these are well vetted and they’ll be well coached before the 22nd.

Lee Kantor: And that’s part of one of the advantages of getting involved with an event like this. It’s it’s not only kind of the opportunity to present, but it’s also the opportunity to be kind of mentored and shaped a little bit at an early stage.

Larry McHugh: Absolutely. In fact, this year, as of the last check, we had 27 investors signed up to participate. So the winners of this program will take six presentations. They get about five minutes each to present. And then some questions from well vetted group of judges. In fact, they’ve done the judges have done it for several years now. So these are experienced investors that ask meaningful questions. And the the winners will get $10,000 for first prize, 5000 for second prize, and. But the. The real benefit is the connection to those investors in the room, and they will be identified. In fact, there’s a social event afterwards at 5:00 where the entrepreneurs can have a chance to meet and talk with investors. And I know from past experiences, several of the presenters made meaningful connections with investors that day and set up meetings, and some of them got, I think the number 63% got, uh, investments as a result of the meeting.

Lee Kantor: Yeah, I think a lot of times entrepreneurs, they, they think that the invest part of the name of the event is the most important part. But the connect part really is, uh, holds its own weight there.

Larry McHugh: Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: Now, as a marketing person, what, how would you kind of advise a startup founder to get the most out of preparing to get involved with an event like this, and also kind of wring the most juice out of the experience once you do get admitted into it?

Larry McHugh: Well, I as they say, Atlanta’s secret sauce is collaboration. And I have found that, um, well experienced, well established people are willing to put time, effort and money to support others. Sometimes even people that are direct competitors, uh, cooperate, which is pretty amazing. It’s, it’s a real community in the startup and investment world in Atlanta. It’s like I said, it’s the secret sauce. It’s collaboration. People are willing to help.

Lee Kantor: So that’s kind of lean into that and look for opportunities to help and to be helped.

Larry McHugh: Yes. In fact, Tag is just one of many organizations. I always recommend that, uh, entrepreneurs and investors subscribe to the free newsletter hypotonous.com. That’s hype HYPE hype.com. Uh, which has a great, uh, coverage of meaningful events for both entrepreneurs and investors. Who’s getting funding, who’s starting new businesses? Um, it’s, it’s, uh, and they have a great event page as well. And, um, half the battle, they say half of, uh, 80% of success is just showing up. And there’s a lot of things to show up to now.

Lee Kantor: In your career, you’ve helped and mentored and been involved with a lot of startups at a variety of stages from the very, very beginning, uh, all the way through. Um, you know, them kind of getting traction. What makes a founder coachable? What are some advice you can give to a founder to just not kind of be so focused in maybe on their superpower, their, their intellectual power, but to kind of just get the most of being a founder and doing all the things you have to do to be successful and to get the growth that they all dream of.

Larry McHugh: That’s a great perspective. Uh, Lee, what I have found, one of the mistakes that entrepreneurs often make is they focus on the product. Um, their technology, whatever. Uh, instead of focusing on the customer and the benefit to those customers. And, and that’s what helps determine product market fit. And, you know, is there a real viable market for your product? It’s a focus on the customer, not on the product.

Lee Kantor: And that’s really where the rubber hits the road. Because just because your technology is clever and you’re getting high fives from your friends, that doesn’t mean anybody’s going to pay a dollar for it.

Larry McHugh: Exactly. Um, it’s part of the book, the mom test. You know, everybody that loves you is going to give you positive feedback. But, uh, when you have happy paying customers that are repeat customers. Uh, and what this is all about is, uh, people with that as a starting point and needing, uh, resources to scale. Um, so yeah, it’s, it’s, uh, something people have to pay attention to.

Lee Kantor: The mom has a great book and I highly recommend for founders out there to take a look at because it kind of grounds you on, on really the things that are important when you should be focusing in on.

Larry McHugh: Absolutely. We agree.

Lee Kantor: Now, um, in let’s talk more about this TAG Invest Connect event in the past. Is there a story you can share of maybe somebody who went through this and then got some traction and got to a new level?

Larry McHugh: Well, like I said, this is the fourth year and the past three winters have all gone on to meaningful success during the recent, uh, uh, TAG, uh, tech Atlanta week. Um, there was a panel that had all three of the past winners. And most recently, Ron Johnson had a company called talent, which is a security company, and he’s the one that won the $10,000 prize. Made connections with legitimate, uh, investors at the event and got funding from them. Um, Alex Engquist from Good Agriculture came in second and she’s scaling up and expanding her staffing and her client list. And she has great retention with her customer base the year before. Doctor Patricia Marsh, uh, asked me, your MD, she’s been growing consistently. And, uh, Marcus, as you with Lonnie, he actually presented at, uh, he was the winner three years ago, was actually on stage presenting this week at venture Atlanta. So there’s a very, very good track record, uh, with, uh, the past participants.

Lee Kantor: Now if, um, folks out there, is this something that the public can attend or is this just for the startup folks?

Larry McHugh: Uh, no, this is open to the public, but it’s really targeted toward investors and entrepreneurs. Um, and I just checked this morning to make sure the easiest way to do it is just Google tag TAG tag, invest, connect those three words, and you go right to the page that lists all the details of all, all the judges, the staff, the presenters, what, uh, who’s going to be presenting on the 22nd list of the past winners even so, uh, what’s new this year is we’re adding an investors panel. The program starts at 1:00 at Comcast headquarters in the battery. Um, and it starts with a lunch, which is included. And then at about 130, we’ll have the investors panel, which will have, uh, serious experienced investors sharing ideas on what entrepreneurs need to know before they go to look for money. Um, and then, uh, there’ll be a panel of, uh, endeavor, uh, purchasers, uh, for people to, um, sell to large scale enterprise companies. What, what they need to do to that. And then the actual presentation will start at about 3:00. Um, and then go, uh, the awards will be made around five and then followed by an hour long reception at Comcast headquarters, which is a pretty cool venue in and of itself. So it’s, it’s a full afternoon.

Lee Kantor: And then, uh, there’s six finalists. Is that right?

Larry McHugh: There’s six presenters. Yes. Each, uh, presenter gets, uh, five minutes to pitch and then there’ll be three minutes of Q and A’s. So it’s a great exposure. I’ve told some other early stage entrepreneurs, if you want to learn how to present and see what investors are looking for. This is a great opportunity, right?

Lee Kantor: Just to observe is you probably get value just from seeing other people kind of doing it now.

Larry McHugh: Exactly. And like I said, there’s.

Lee Kantor: Well, how many, um, typically are, I would imagine this event is growing each year. Is this something that, uh, for next year, are they already kind of opening up applicants or how does it work to try to, you know, see if you can get on that stage next year?

Larry McHugh: I think we start like an application deadline probably doesn’t start until like July and then end in August. So there’s still plenty of time, uh, but there will be notifications from TAG and I’ll share information on my LinkedIn profile as well as will others. But there’s plenty of opportunity. So it’s, it’s, it’s, uh, not going to be open until next year, I’m sure.

Lee Kantor: Now, what about sponsor opportunities? If somebody wants to be a sponsoring firm, is it too late for this year, or is this something that they have to wait for next year to kind of get involved with?

Larry McHugh: It’s probably a little late for this year since it’s next week, but we have some good corporate sponsors involved. And like I said, there’s a lot of the most number of investors that I recall. We have at least 27 so far signed up. So that that’s the real magic. And like the like I said, it’s the collaborative nature of the companies that support it. So we have some good sponsors, um, like including like Comcast, which is providing the venue and, and this year they’re even providing the parking. Uh, the battery usually allows you two hours of free parking, but this obviously goes longer and they will cover the complimentary parking.

Lee Kantor: Now when, um, the event is going on and people are observing, they’re mingling, um, you know, they’re having lunch. What, what would you be doing if you were Somebody who’s thinking about, I’m an entrepreneur, I’m doing this. I’m taking notes from the stage. I’m learning what makes a good pitch. I’m seeing the investors in the room. How would you kind of work the room for that observer that’s there? Like, how do you kind of get on the radar so that you’re ready next year? You’re doing the prep work this year so you can get the most out of it next year.

Larry McHugh: Well, for both a procurement panel and the investment panel, there will be a Q and A, so people will have a chance to ask questions, uh, for a few minutes. But the investors will all have name badges and the investors will have a little mark on their badge. Excuse me to, uh, for, for the entrepreneurs to be able to identify the actual investors.

Lee Kantor: Right? So they’re not hiding, they want to be found and they want to interact with folks out there that have great ideas.

Larry McHugh: Absolutely. Investors are looking for well vetted, uh, early stage companies to invest in, and that’s part of why they’re coming now.

Lee Kantor: Are you seeing in the finals we have this year, or is there kind of a trend in the type of technology they’re working on? Are you seeing some trends out there? I would imagine that you it’s almost a law that you have to use the word AI somewhere. But are there other things you’re seeing?

Larry McHugh: Um, we like to say we’re industry agnostic, meaning, uh, you know, it can be health tech, fintech, uh, medtech, edtech, uh, but technology is always a part of it. It is, you know, the Technology Association of Georgia. Um, so yes, there’s, uh, technology and in many, if not most cases, uh, artificial intelligence involved, but we have a security company, a shopping company, um, a company to help people manage their credit card, uh, benefits, uh, a company that helps power companies monitor their, uh, facilities. So it’s a, it’s a diverse group of, uh, companies and a diverse group of, uh, presenters. Actually, this we target for this particular program, what we call underserved entrepreneurs that’s defined as either female or minority entrepreneurs. So it’s an effort to expand the diversity of the community as well. And our. I can tell you that our judges and our panels, uh, both represent a diverse group of people.

Lee Kantor: So if somebody wants to learn more, check out the event or get ready for next year. You mentioned a website, but October 22nd is the date of the event for those who want to attend but one more time, the TAG may be just the TAG general email, I mean not email, website. And the way to find TAG, Invest, Connect.

Larry McHugh: That’s it. Just Google TAG Invest Connect. Uh, the organization’s website is tagonline.org. Um, this is just one of many, um, programs that TAG puts on to help people build their business, build their careers. Uh, leadership programs. It’s a, it’s a great organization. Like I said, 30,000 members, uh, it’s one of the largest, if not the largest technology organization in the country.

Lee Kantor: Yeah. I mean, and obviously tech is now not a thing just by itself. It’s part of every business nowadays. So if you’re pretty much in any business, you should know about TAG.

Larry McHugh: Absolutely.

Lee Kantor: Well, Larry, thank you so much for sharing your story today, doing such important work. And we appreciate you.

Larry McHugh: It’s a pleasure, Lee. Thanks for all you do.

Lee Kantor: All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on Atlanta Business Radio.