PART 2: Key Legal Questions to Consider when Starting and Growing a Tech Business February 7th, 2012MMM Tech Perspectives What are the Top 10 legal questions to consider in starting and growing a tech business? Outlined below is question #2 in this series of questions a lawyer asks an entrepreneur to minimize liability and maximize profitability (click here to view question #1). These questions address legal issues faced by tech companies through the business life cycle. While these questions may not apply to all companies, they’re a helpful road map to address legal pitfalls in building a successful tech business. Following the question below, there are secondary questions designed to elicit important information from the entrepreneur. Then, the Read More
2012 Florida Venture Forum — Alive, Well & Warm February 3rd, 2012MMM Tech Perspectives Florida Venture Forum — Alive, Well & Warm Great gathering of venture capitalists, entrepreneurs and advisors at the Florida Venture Forum in Naples this week. A few observations: 1. The venture community from the Southeast was well represented — although fewer Valley and Boston VCs made the trip. 2. Private equity continues to be the preferred path of exit for growing technology companies — the IPO market remains weak in the Southeast. 3. Technology is diversified and geographically dispersed in Florida — presenting companies included ecommerce, healthcare IT, biotech, solar, and device businesses from throughout the state. Mark your calendar now for Read More
Key Questions for Lawyers to Consider in Representing an Entrepreneur January 30th, 2012MMM Tech Perspectives What are the Top 10 legal questions to consider in starting and growing a tech business? I’ve outlined below questions a lawyer asks an entrepreneur to minimize liability and maximize profitability. The questions address legal issues faced by tech companies through the business life cycle. While these questions may not apply to all companies, they’re a helpful road map to address legal pitfalls in building a successful tech business. With the introduction of the IBM personal computer in 1981, entrepreneurship experienced significant growth. As the entrepreneurial revolution advanced, attorneys confronted the challenge of applying traditional legal principles to technology businesses – Read More
MMM’s John Yates Joins Atlanta Sports Council Board January 10th, 2012MMM Tech Perspectives 2013 NCAA® Men’s Final Four®, Press Releases MMM’s John Yates Joins Atlanta Sports Council Board Atlanta (January 2012) John Yates, a partner at Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP, has accepted a post on the board of The Atlanta Sports Council. Yates is also the chair of The Atlanta Basketball Host Committee for the 2013 NCAA® Men’s Final Four® basketball tournament. The mission of the Council, which is a division of the Metro Atlanta Chamber, is to continually recruit and develop major sports competitions. Its ultimate goal is for Atlanta to host more major sporting events than any city in the world. “John’s role as Chairman Read More
Leadership Lessons from John Imlay and Tom Noonan November 18th, 2011MMM Tech Perspectives LEADERSHIP LESSONS FROM IMLAY + NOONAN The Technology Executives Roundtable (TER) on November 15th celebrated the 2nd Annual John Imlay Leadership Award honoring Tom Noonan, co-founder of Internet Security Systems, CEO of Joulex and a pioneer in the Atlanta technology community. Earlier in his career, Tom was a young executive at MSA, working under the tutelage of John Imlay. As the namesake for the leadership award, John Imlay led a fireside chat with Tom, and they shared the following leadership lessons. 1. People are the Key – Tom recollected the signature key lapel pin developed by John given to each MSA employee. The Read More
Technology M&A — Turbulent Waters Ahead November 11th, 2011MMM Tech Perspectives At the October 18th meeting of the Technology Executives Roundtable, Alec Ellison of the investment banking firm Jefferies & Company provided insightful comments and predictions regarding the M&A and IPO markets for tech companies in 2012. Alec is the Vice Chairman of Jefferies and Chair of the Technology Group for this leading investment bank. He has been a friend of our Atlanta technology community for decades and kindly shared his illuminating observations and predictions at the October 18th breakfast meeting of TER. Her are a few of his salient observations: 1. What are the information megatrends driving the M&A market? Mobile, search and Read More
CapVenture Recap: Fireside Chat with Tom Noonan, CodeGuard Awarded October 5th, 2011MMM Tech Perspectives I interviewed Tom Noonan in a fireside chat at the ATDC/TAG Cap Venture Finale event on October 4th at Newell Rubbermaid. In the interview, I referenced a quote “Real leaders are ordinary people with extraordinary determination” and asked Tom to respond. Tom shared his entrepreneurial experiences in growing ISS and Joulex. (See a full interview with Tom Noonan under the “Industry Spotlight” section of this website.) John Yates and Tom Noonan The 2011 CapVenture Finale was the culmination of an annual six week program Read More
Part 2: Tom Noonan Interview September 13th, 2011Industry Spotlight, MMM Tech Perspectives Interviews: Atlanta Technology Leaders, MMM Videos Tom Noonan has been a leader in Atlanta’s technology community for decades. From his early days as an executive at MSA to CEO of Internet Security Systems (acquired by IBM for $1.5B) and his current role as CEO of Joulex, Tom has been one of our city’s key tech leaders. I recently had the pleasure of discussing with Tom his insights on the past, present and future of the Atlanta technology community. We hope you enjoy the interview and look forward to bringing you future installments of our Atlanta tech leadership series. Watch Part 1 View more Read More
PART 2: Sig Mosley Interview – Lessons from an Atlanta Technology Leader August 24th, 2011Industry Spotlight, MMM Tech Perspectives Interviews: Atlanta Technology Leaders, MMM Videos The name Sig Mosley has long been synonymous with technology investment in Atlanta. From his early days with Management Science America to his current role at Imlay Investments, Sig has been a tech leader in our community. The MMM team recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Sig to discuss the highlights of his 40+ years in the community, as well as his thoughts on the present and future of technology and investing in Atlanta. We hope you enjoy Part 2 of the interview. Watch Part 1 Watch other interviews from the Tech Atlanta History series Read More
Sig Mosley Interview: Part 1 August 18th, 2011Industry Spotlight, MMM Tech Perspectives Interviews: Atlanta Technology Leaders The name Sig Mosley has long been synonymous with technology investment in Atlanta. From his early days with Management Science America to his current role at Imlay Investments, Sig has been a tech leader in our community. The MMM team recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Sig to discuss the highlights of his 40+ years in the community, as well as his thoughts on the present and future of technology and investing in Atlanta. We hope you enjoy Part 1 of the interview. Watch Part 2 Click here for more videos from our Atlanta Tech Leadership series Read More