TiE Atlanta‘s annual conference, TiECON, is returning this Friday, September 30, 2022. The year’s event is dubbed CommerceCon and will focus on how technology can further facilitate the success of commerce. This is an event you won’t want to miss if you’re looking to thrive as an entrepreneur or business owner.
Today on the Atlanta Small Business Show, we’re joined in the studio by TiECON presenting sponsor Silicon Road Ventures. We’re pleased to welcome Sid Mookerji, President of TiE Atlanta and Founder and Managing Partner of Silicon Road Ventures, and Ross Kimbel, Managing Director and Partner at Silicon Road Ventures. We’re also joined by Frank Tighe, Managing Director and Partner at Silicon Road Ventures.
Transcription:
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Gentlemen, thank you so much for joining us in the studio today.
Sid Mookerji:
Happy to be here.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure. So Sid, let me start with you. Tell us a little bit about TiEcCON and why did the organization decide to focus this year on commerce?
Sid Mookerji:
Okay. First of all, very happy to be here. It’s just very natural in terms of how TiE has been progressing. TiECON is an organization that fosters entrepreneurship and Atlanta is a big hub for commerce. Saw the largest names you can think about Home Depot, UPS, Delta airlines.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, that’s for sure.
Sid Mookerji:
So on and so forth. They’re all here. Also, commerce is one of those industries that requires a lot of innovation who doesn’t know that retail today requires a lot of innovation. So those are the kinds of things that our fund focuses on. And I’m glad that TiECON is also doing the same in Atlanta.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, that’s fantastic. So tell us a little bit more about TiECON for the people that are new to that brand and what you guys stand for. Tell us a little bit about it.
Sid Mookerji:
Absolutely. TiECON is an organization which is over 30 years old. The Atlanta chapter is going to be 25 next year.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow.
Sid Mookerji:
And so we are an organization that fosters entrepreneurship at all levels through various mechanisms, through networking, through investing, through education and also supporting underrepresented founders. So we do a lot of good work supporting entrepreneurs, starting from high school students, all the way up to people that are looking for an exit from their organizations. And it’s definitely been one of the best things I’m doing. And I’m sure many others who are in the organization, agree with me.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure. So Ross, you covered interesting topics such as eCommerce, FinTech, supply chain. What do you want the audience to take away and what entrepreneurs can learn from in this space?
Ross Kimbel:
Sure. First of all, thank you Jim, for having us here.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Ross Kimbel:
So commerce tech, as we call it is a vibrant area of innovation right now. If you go back in time, the way people bought and sold goods has been a part of how communities were built over time. But what’s happened in the last 20 years is the adventive mobile internet. You have super computer in your pocket. And what that’s created is just an incredible platform to build businesses, build solutions, to problems on top of it. So our focus areas of B2B enterprise SAS across eCommerce, retail, and CPG is where we spend all of our time. And that’s our key focus. And within there, we focus on FinTech and payments. So think companies that are making payment happen differently like touchless payment or pay through text. The second is around what we call e-commerce commerce, multi-chain commerce.
I think video, voice, social commerce. The third is slide channel logistics text. So last mile distribution out of stock management. The fourth is smart retail. So if you and I are in store, what are the different ways that the brands are trying to convey us and compel us to buy a product? And then how are the retailers trying to create our flow through the store to spend more when we’re there? And then the last is what we call foundational areas. So future of work. So this is what we call commerce tech. There’s a lot of action happening here has been the last 20 years. And there’ll be a lot more in the next decade to come.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
And Atlanta can lead that, right?
Ross Kimbel:
That’s right.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So the name Silicon road, everybody says Silicon valley, everybody’s got to be up there. Did that have something to do with the naming of the company? Yes.
Sid Mookerji:
Yes. I mean, we are building the Silicon road for the Silicon era. Yeah,
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, That’s fantastic.
Sid Mookerji:
So we are basically saying that in the old days, the silk road was a big innovation. If you think about it. Sure. Connecting countries that were not connected at that point. And what Silicon road is trying to do is trying to build that next generation of retail and all the innovation that goes there.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
What is the state of commerce and what is the future of commerce for manufacturing to consumer?
Frank Tighe:
What has happened in the last few years with the changes in the economy, beginning with COVID and now with the changes with inflation and what’s happening in the stock market, we feel that these changes around the way consumers buy and behave are permanent. And so when you look at the whole journey, how do people shop? How do they buy, how did they pay and how do they work? Work has fundamentally changed. And so we’re at the forefront of all these changes and we believe technology is going to lead us out of this with all the inflation in the economy, technology is what’s going to happen to help with eventually those prices get driven down to the consumer. So all the cost savings get driven down the consumer.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
What kind of an impact has COVID had on this overall? I mean, it had to have taken quite or made quite an impact, right?
Frank Tighe:
If you think about the way people work now, there’s many more people that are gig workers, many more people that are flexible workers. We don’t believe that people will go back to the office nine to five permanently all teams.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Frank Tighe:
There’ll be more of a flexible hybrid work environment.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. So is this a great place, Atlanta, a great place to get talent?
Sid Mookerji:
Oh, absolutely. I think, but just to answer your previous question, Jim.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Sid Mookerji:
In the past, say two years, the changes that were already happening within retail, the transition from going to a mall versus buying things on your phone have gone forward probably 20 years.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right.
Sid Mookerji:
So 2 to 20 you think about it. That’s crazy. And that’s crazy. And so therefore the way we think about how we buy things has changed, our notion of what a retailer looks like is completely different from what we were thinking two decades ago. And then also the supply chain challenges that everybody knows about has to be solved. I mean, we cannot have delivery trucks blocking up Peachtree street.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s true.
Sid Mookerji:
So, that has to be solved. Right. And finally the big elephant in the room that people are talking about, but not as much is the labor shortage.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
I know.
Sid Mookerji:
And if labor shortage is a problem in every industry in retail that is magnified because retail is the largest employer, as you know.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. There’s no question about it. Sure. Before COVID hit Ross, there was a plethora of money on the sidelines. I think you guys in that is called a lot of dry powder out there. Has that dried up a little bit or where does that stand today?
Ross Kimbel:
Yeah, it’s a great question. Interesting time. So during COVID at the start of COVID, we like many firms and organizations from March to end of may 2020, we were all wait and see what is going to happen. And a lot of, no one really knew the severity of COVID. How lethal is it? What’s the level of transmission, but as more information came out, the market started to open back up. And there was a run of eight quarters there from Q2, Q3 of 2020 through Q2 of 2022, where there was more capital invested into private companies than at any other time in history for eight consecutive quarters, we saw increase in the amount of capital to deploy.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
No kidding. Wow.
Ross Kimbel:
Now what’s happened. There’s been more uncertainty in the market. The last few months and private investors or those investing in privately held businesses are wanting to see what happens.
How does the dust settle with whether or not we’re in a recession or how does this play out? So what we have seen in the last four to five weeks is a bit of a slowdown in pace of deals. Those with cash on the sidelines are being more deliberate about how they put capital to work. Silicon road, we have, we’re investing out of two funds right now as seed fund and a growth fund. We are excited to be meeting founders. So if you are a founder who is looking for capital, we are open for business. If you’re a seed stage, Growth stage company in commerce tech, please come to us. We’re excited to get to know you.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Got an open checkbook. You’re ready to writing checks.
Ross Kimbel:
Ready. We’re ready.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Place in bets if you have to. Right.
Ross Kimbel:
That’s right.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
So Frank, is this a good time for the people that are watching right now, the entrepreneurs that have been on the sideline and they hear about 8% inflation or even greater and gas prices. And some companies are laying off, although others are trying to hire good people, but is this a good time to open up a business starting a Company?
Frank Tighe:
We feel that it is because normally in times of turmoil, technology is what leads you out of this. And many entrepreneurs now are coming forward with new ways, in our case for supply chain and logistics for FinTech and payments. And they’re creating new ways of transacting. We are investing in one company that is doing pay by text. And so you can think of during COVID no one wanted to handle a dirty pen or a credit card. And there’s also all types of fraud around card, not present fraud. And now if you can transact with your cell phone number as your payment method, it’s a great way to instantly reach and establish a relationship with the customer. And that innovation came out of this initial problem with COVID.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Very interesting.
Frank Tighe:
And so that’s what happens almost every time. You’ll see innovation coming out of time. So of turmoil.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, that’s pretty Cool.
Sid Mookerji:
Also, to put things in perspective. Very clearly innovation has moved permanently out of the large corporation labs to startups. And that transition has happened for a variety of different reasons. Startups are more nimble previously. They did not have the resources, but the advent of the internet video calling and so on has really leveled the playing field. So there is no way that anymore innovation is going to be happening in a meaningful manner in very large corporations. So they all have to rely on startups. And that’s the kind of wave that we are looking to write. Sure,
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure. Ross, where does Atlanta stand today in the overall scheme of places to look for funding? I mean, it used to be Boston and New York and of course, Silicon valley and such and Atlanta seemed to be always the kid going, Hey, what about us? Yeah, we got a lot of great things going on down here. Is it, are we still kind of vying for those dollars that are hard to get or…?
Ross Kimbel:
Well, first of all, I think it’s not right to compare Atlanta to a New York or a Silicon valley. Why? We don’t need to try to be the next Silicon valley. We need to be the best ecosystem that we can be here in Atlanta for founders who want to build businesses here, we have more fortune 1000 companies than almost any city in north America. We have more transactions flowing through credit card companies in Atlanta than New York than San Francisco. We have a deep culture here that just infuses the startup community.
We have 55,000 degrees awarded annually to graduates of universities in the city. In the Metro area. We have the major multinationals Coca-Cola, Delta Airlines, UPS, Home Depot. I could go on and on. This is the right place to build a business. And what I’m most bullish on is the last few years, we’ve had more early stage risk capital coming to Atlanta and looking for companies in the south and making Atlanta the headquarters. You have Silicon road ventures, you have other early stage funds.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Ross Kimbel:
You’ve got growth stage funds. The ecosystem is firing right now. And if I’m a founder looking at any city to build my company, I think it should be Atlanta. This is the place to be.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah, no question about, it’s such a hub completely. Not only that is easy to get to. Right.
Ross Kimbel:
Right.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Anywhere in the country.
Ross Kimbel:
And airport.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. And the cost of living is still very inexpensive compared to other areas, especially San Francisco and New York and Boston. So even for those young kids coming out of other university and colleges around the country, we’re a better place. Right?
Ross Kimbel:
Absolutely.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Its all today, it’s all a talent play.
Sid Mookerji:
It is, definitely. And that’s one of the advantages that Atlanta has that nobody else has. And I think that this is an opportunity for people in this city and people are beginning to believe.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure.
Sid Mookerji:
Which is why I think we probably had four or five new funds crop up every year now. And that’s a big difference between now where we are versus the previous narrative used to be what you said, which is why are there no capital providers in Atlanta? I mean, we definitely believe in this story. Atlanta is very important to Silicon road as part of everything else we are doing, even though we are going to build eventually a global fund.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right. Frank, what advice would you have for the entrepreneur? That’s on the sideline watching you right now and having this conversation saying, I want to get some of that money. I’ve got a great idea. How far along do they need to be on an idea or a concept? Could it be the back of an envelope or a napkin at a bar? I got something here.
Frank Tighe:
Yeah.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
You want it little bit more established?
Frank Tighe:
Yeah. I think when you’re going for venture capital earlier stage friends and family is a great place to go. When you have an idea or an angel investor where we’re investing is when the companies have revenue and we’re investing in software companies that are high growth that have a potential to become a billion dollar business. So we’re looking for the next great businesses in commerce tech.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Sure. Only if it’s there as a billion involved, if it’s not a billion dollar opportunity forget it.
Ross Kimbel:
Jim a lot of time, these early companies, they look cute, they look like a small idea, but then with the right community around it, the right support around it, the right ecosystem around it, they can make one pivoted and they’re off to the races. And I’d like to highlight two amazing communities here in Atlanta, ATDC.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yes.
Ross Kimbel:
And ATV Atlanta tech village. So ATDC down at Georgia tech and then ATV in Buckhead. I mean, these are two thriving incubators. Some of the best in the world, in fact ATDC is one of the oldest incubators in the United States. They have a history, a pedigree of cranking out a billion dollar companies. That’s like the fertile nursery for the companies that we want to back that. So if you are at a bar, have the idea, the back of the napkin sketch plug into one of those communities, there are a lot of other great investors.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
There’s great advice.
Ross Kimbel:
And we would love to meet you through those communities.
Sid Mookerji:
Can I add a third organization, which is TiE Atlanta.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. Right.
Sid Mookerji:
Right. Atlanta is definitely one of the organizations that also supports entrepreneurs and TiE Atlanta by the way, has an angel program, which is the most active angel program in the Southeast United States.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Really? No kidding.
Sid Mookerji:
So anybody that wants to look for funding definitely look for friends and family in your early stage, but also look at TiE Atlanta angels, as one of your capital requirements.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
You have helped so many individuals out there. So many companies get started even in putting their deck together, even putting their ideas together, to be able to present.
Sid Mookerji:
Right. That absolutely.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
And that’s so important to so many inventors out there and founders of companies to say, well, I’ve got a great widget or I’ve built a great program that could be a SAS or what have you. But I don’t know how to talk to investors. You really need that guidance on your side, don’t you?
Sid Mookerji:
Absolutely. I think definitely I personally, and I know Ross and Frank, we are all very passionate about entrepreneurship. We want to support that. We love the city. We want to make this a big hub for entrepreneurship and with what we are doing with Silicon Road Ventures, but also with TiE and many other things that we are all involved in. I mean, we will absolutely make a big difference.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. Perfect. Talk to us about the big event that’s coming up. You guys are going to have some huge speakers at the event. Frank Blake, former CEO of home Depot, and some others. Talk to us about that.
Sid Mookerji:
Yeah. I mean, very excited. If you don’t know, Frank Blake, Frank Blake is, he was, he’s an amazing amazingly accomplished person. He actually clerked at the Supreme court.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. Okay.
Sid Mookerji:
He was deputy secretary of energy under Josh. W. Bush.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow. Okay.
Sid Mookerji:
He’s well known to be the prior CEO of home Depot, like you said. Sure. But he’s also the chairmen of Delta Airline. Chairman of the board of Delta. He’s on the board of Macy’s.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Wow.
Sid Mookerji:
I mean, he’s such an impressive person, but also extremely humble. And so by the way, his credentials are also a lot around his understanding, the valuation of startups, because he actually used to do M&A for Jack Welch at GE.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Okay. wow.
Sid Mookerji:
Before all this started off.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
That’s got to give, be a lot of exposure for sure.
Sid Mookerji:
That’s right. Yeah. So this event will be an opportunity for everybody that wants to say hello to Frank, to be there and hopefully be able to get a few words with him. But I mean, he’s such an amazing guy. And then Suneera and Sal the two co-founders of stacks who are going to do the closing keynote. I mean, they are where every entrepreneur wants to be.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Right. Exactly.
Sid Mookerji:
They Did that billion dollar business and super successful. And we are very humbled that Saneer and Sal have agreed to be keynote speakers at TiECON.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. That speaks volumes. I think about TiE, doesn’t it to be able to bring in that kind of horsepower to speak at your events.
Sid Mookerji:
Absolutely. I mean, these people are amazing people. They could be doing a lot of different things with their time. TiE is not a very, we don’t have a big budget, but I mean, we just have people that are willing to work really hard. And for all these guys are amazing to come here and do what they’re doing.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yes. There’s no question about it. And there’s no better place than Atlanta. We had the opportunity recently to interview the founders of Stored and the founders of Flock. And I don’t think either one of them could buy a beer, but I would say that to them if they were here.
Two young guys that are just so courageous and innovative and the companies are just doing just incredible work out there. And there’s been so many others that we’ve interviewed, but those two recently that popped out. But nevertheless, Sid, Ross and Frank, thank you so much for joining us on the show. We’re going to show all the information on the screen here as to how to connect with TiE and also get out to the event. I mean, this is something you don’t want to miss, right.
Sid Mookerji:
So, absolutely.
Jim Fitzpatrick:
Yeah. Thanks so much for joining me.
Ross Kimbel:
Thank you.
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