Like a good lifestyle designer, I try to adhere to a low-information diet. While my Google Reader and @bknotts twitter account subscribes to much more, these are the select few information sources that don’t receive the “mark all read” kiss of death without actually being read.

Notice that none of these are from Indianapolis. I’m still looking for those people who can provide consistently great content on the startup and innovation scene here in Indy.

I started this blog because I saw that as a gaping hole in our community and I have some friends who are doing their part too, like Drew Loftus at RewardSnap, David Weisburd of Indy Tickets Express, and Matt Hunckler of Repurify. They along with some other friends have started an ongoing meetup for people interested in Indianapolis startups which I will certainly be sharing more about.

In the meantime, check out these content sources to learn something about startups and get your inspirational fix.

Fred Wilson
Blog: www.avc.com
Twitter: www.twitter.com/FredWilson

Wilson is a New York-based venture capitalist with a focus on early stage web services. His blog posts are pithy and you can expect great gems of wisdom on nitty gritty details like this post on the affect of options pools on valuation. Follow his tweets too since they’re infrequent (once or twice daily) and interesting.

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In startup hotbeds like Silicon Valley, Boston, and even New York it’s common for law firms to work out special arrangements with startups who generally have little cash (usually that’s why they need a law firm in the first place, to raise cash). These law firms are willing to defer payment until the cash is raised or even accept equity as payment.

Law firms in Indianapolis are also familiar with special arrangements for startups.

At Pocket Tales, we’ve looked to Nick Mathioudakis from Baker & Daniels for help, but I’ve also seen Barnes & Thornburg, Alerding Castor, and to a lesser extent Ice Miller (although right now they have a case study for a startup on their homepage), hanging around the Indianapolis startup scene.

This is great for the startup but obviously there’s something in it for the law firm too. Assuming they continue to survive, startups generally require a lot of legal work and a successful startup can be a big revenue source for law firms. Mint Founder Aaron Patzer estimated legal costs of $10,000 - $50,000/ month not including special events like incorporation and additional rounds of fundraising.

What if you’re not quite ready to seek professional legal advice?

You can help yourself.

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A recent interaction with a developer reminded me of two things I’ve learned:

1. Don’t let your emotions control you, but don’t be afraid to show emotion.

2. It’s easier to control your emotions when you stop thinking everyone is out to get you. More often than not, people hurt you with their idiocy not their meanness.

The story - last week we conducted phone interviews for developer positions we have open at Pocket Tales. One developer failed to answer his phone at the arranged time.

This isn’t unusual. In my history of recruiting you always have one or two no-shows or late arrivers. You usually write the candidate off unless they have a very good reason, but you give them a chance to give you a reason.

Where it got interesting was his email response.

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SproutBox is a new type of investment firm. It’s in the same vein as Y Combinator, TechStars, DreamIt Ventures, etc. but it has its own twist. Like the others, SproutBox asks you to relocate to their headquarters (in this instance in Bloomington, IN) and then gives you just enough money to live for 3 - 6 months. The difference is, SproutBox uses its team of 10 coders, designers, and marketers to build or extend your product. For this, they take a bigger percentage of the company than the other new wave investment firms, but if you’re an idea stage company without a technical lead (like Pocket Tales was) it’s worth it. The alternative is putting together your own team of great coders and that’s just hard, risky, and costly in terms of equity (if you don’t have cash, what else are you going to pay them with?)

Pocket Tales was invited to finalist day to present to roughly 15 people on SproutBox’s advisory board which included investors and community leaders. We weren’t selected but we came away with a ton of confidence, a great new network, and some great memories, so I thought I’d share my thoughts on the whole process.

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