The Start Smart seminar in Anchorage on Wednesday February 11, 2009 at the University of Alaska Anchorage Small Business Development Center was a fantastic success. The turnout included several entrepreneurs with great ideas for software ventures, all at various stages of development, and some folks from the investment side of things as well. Knowing that our seminar might be a catalyst for local investment by Alaskans in Alaskan companies and not just an educational event would be an even greater honor.
During the visit to Anchorage, we learned that software is one of the few products that can be manufactured there and exported at a reasonable cost. Other than oil, very few products are made in Alaska and exported due to the high cost of shipping. While it is true that software or other types of IP can be exported inexpensively, the fact is that local investors do not seem interested in anything "above the ground," preferring to invest in the proven Alaskan petroleum industry.
Further, for non-petroleum companies that do land investment, it is most often from investors outside of Alaska and the founder and their companies are often forced to move to be closer to the firm that invested. This is not unique to Alaska as this happens everywhere, including here in Dallas. This will continue to be a problem in places where there are more entrepreneurs than there are people (VCs, angels, etc.) to fund them. While an entrepreneur would love to be loyal to their hometown, ultimately it comes down to money and they go where the money is.
Anchorage, luckily, has some very driven entrepreneurs and "venture catalysts" helping to bring together the local investors and the entrepreneurs. The type of seminar we did there really helps set the expectations of the entrepreneur and helps them understand what investors, whether in Alaska or not, are looking for when you come to them for investment. Knowing how to "Start Smart" is the key to having a successful venture regardless of your need for external funding. However, if you are seeking external funding, knowing the right things to do in starting your company is absolutely critical.
Hopefully we can go back to Anchorage and do this again to an even larger audience. We will also be bringing our "Start Smart" message to other cities in the very near future, including another one in Dallas later this month.
Here are the slides from the seminar: