Seattle 2.0 Blog

December 4, 2007

TUE 4 DEC 2007

What it takes to add a company to the list By Marcelo Calbucci

 

    Every time I publish the Seattle 2.0 Startup list I get a few emails asking to include this or that company. I've been pretty open and flexible about the criteria to be on the list, which include being less than 5 years old, not a public company, about technology and from the Puget Sound area.

 

    For each company suggestion I receive I have to validate all those items. Why? Lots of companies want to be on the list. Lots of consultancy and service providers consider they meet all the criteria. Some don't even bother to check and send me a request.

 

    So, every time I got an email I go through several steps to validate a company, which can take between 3 and 15 minutes.

 

Step 1: Is it from the Puget Sound?

 

    That is relatively easy to check. I go to the website and click on the "Contact Us" link. Most companies do list their addresses. If that is not present I try the "About Us" page. Lastly, I try the WHOIS database to see if the domain is registered around the Puget Sound. If all fails, I email the founder/CEO and ask.

 

 

Step 2: Is it a startup?

 

    The 5 year criterion is much harder than it looks. I usually start by checking the "About Us" page, but very few companies list date of foundation, so then I go to the WHOIS database again to see when the record for that Domain was created. A lot of domains were created more than 5 years ago, but were transferred to the new company so that won't help. I also check LinkedIn to see since when the founders have been working on the company. This is very trustworthy because it is unlikely founders would lie on their LinkedIn profile. Finally, if all else fails I try to contact the founder/CEO or an investor.

    About being a public company is trivial to verify since public companies have more strict rules about disclosure and the website always mentions they are public.

 

 

Step 3: Is it a technology company?

 

    We said we'd include 4 kinds of technology companies: Hardware companies, Software companies (i.e., you install on your computer/server), Mobile company (either a mobile software/hardware or a web-based for mobile) and web-based service (the product/service is the website). For each one of those I look for different things.

• Hardware: I check the homepage and "about us" to see if there is a description or picture of the hardware.
• Software: I check if the site has a download/purchase link.
• Web-based service: Usually I look for a "sign up" here link and look at the description of the service. The key here is to make sure this is not a content site, like a blog, marketing site, consultancy, etc.
• Mobile: I check for similar content as a web-based service or for software to install.

What about Stealth startups?

 

    Amazingly enough, for a good number of stealth startups I know what they are doing. I know because I've met the founder or exchanged email with him/her, or because one of the investors told me about. Of course, I never blog or write about those companies except to include them on the list. When I cannot validate what the company is doing I take a leap of faith and assume they are about technology if they say they are.