Posts tagged a entrepreneur
Business Plan Competition- Sitting on the other side of the Table
Apr 14th
Over the last two years I’ve won the Joust Business plan competition for two different ventures. In 2007 my business partner Scott Wall and I presented our niche real estate publication for lease purchase properties and took first place winning $5,000. Then in 2008 I won again presenting GroupTable with another business partner Carl Henderson that time winning $12,000. I was pleasantly surprised when this year they asked me to return as a judge in the finals which took place this past Thursday.
This year’s winner was Helping Hands Healthcare, a service-based firm committed to providing superior consulting and installation of daily living aids to families with in-home healthcare needs.
Other finalists included: Mercury Mobile Software, a firm developing a home screen replacement application for smart phones; Orlando Search Engine Marketing, a search engine optimization (SEO) service provider; and Ski Florida, an indoor snow ski, snowboard and kids’ snow play facility.
It was truly a great experience for me being that I got to sit on the other side of the table with judges much older and more experienced than me.
Just to run through some of the other judges:
Rick Walsh
Mr. Walsh is President of the KnobHill Group, an investment and strategic counseling company. Prior to establishing the KnobHill Group, he served as Senior Vice President Corporate Affairs of Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) and was a founding member of the leadership team that took Darden public in 1995.
Mr. Walsh has been recognized as Orlando Business Journal’s “Businessman of the Year”; one of “Florida’s 100 Most influential” by Florida Trend Magazine; “25 Most Powerful People in Central Florida” by the Orlando Sentinel; and “50 Most Powerful People in Orlando” by Orlando Magazine.
Thomas Bland
G. Thomas Bland, Jr., serves as Chairman of the Board,CEO and president of AquaFiber Technologies Corporation.In 2004, Mr. Bland was inducted into the UCF College of Business Administration Hall of Fame. He currently is a member of the UCF College of Business Administration’s Dean’s Executive Council, and serves as a board member for the Florida Hospital Diabetes Foundation. He also established a home healthcare business, TenderCare Professional Assisted Living Services, Inc., for which he concurrently serves as Chairman of the Board.
Charlotte Williams
Charlotte Williams founded SummerHill Homes, a sucessful construction company, and then became a leading local real estate professional. Charlotte is now a top real estate agent and owner of ERA Williams Real Estate Group.
David Pape
Serial entrepreneur and investor with four successful start-ups and over 30 years of experience. Mr. Pape has developed a keen eye for lucrative market niches and an innovative ability to develop opportunities.
The competition was sponsored by Steven Felkowitz, CEO of Atico International. His company, Atico International is a full service sourcing and product development company that provides retailers, wholesalers and distributors with the insight and worldwide relationships to build a successful import program. I heard they generate over $600M a year in revenue…I guess he could afford to sponsor the prize money and event over the last few years.
Getting to know these extremely successful business professionals and investors on a more personal level was a great experience. I was the youngest judge by far and was judging students I went to school with less than a year ago, as well as students currently enrolled in the MBA program. Being a judge gave me a taste of where I want to be eventually (sooner than later), which is an angel investor sitting on the other side of the table listening to entrepreneurs pitch, investing in companies I like and working with them to help them grow.
This was truly a great experience.
Ideas Versus Implementation
Feb 24th
So many people have ideas for ventures they feel would succeed. They keep these ideas in the back of their mind and think that one day they may find the time or money to actually launch it. This will rarely ever happen….Great things may come to those who wait, but are left over from those who hustle. 
It’s all based on risk and return. If you are involved in a venture that needs full attention to succeed it’s ok to put other ideas on the back burner. However, I feel that just as a successful student may take 5 classes at a time and be able to get good grades in all of them, if you delegate your time and resources properly you can do, and succeed, in multiple ventures at a time. Again if you are involved in a venture that needs your full attention to succeed and feel the return will be worth it, by all means that venture should have nearly all of your energy. However if it doesn’t and you can put people or resources in place to make something happen….why not?
Diversification is key to obtaining wealth (Any investor worth their commission, or degree would tell you the same). If you have your hands in a bunch of different endeavors and have proper people in place to help them grow, your likely hood for success & wealth rises immensely.
I can’t tell you how many times that I had an idea that I thought would do great and then someone else launches it. I take it as a compliment, however compliments won’t put dollars in your bank account. Ideas are really nothing until they’re implimented.
If you have an idea that you feel could be a success and don’t already have your hands in too much, what are you waiting for? You don’t want to be that guy (or girl) that says “Hey….I had that idea” after a million dollar company is born.
There are ways to fund or grow a company with slim to no budget.
Make it happen!
Entrepreneurs see things others miss- Do you?
Dec 21st
Entrepreneurs have a strong ability to see what other people miss. The best entrepreneurs use this ability to identify opportunities and create a venture(s) that fill a void or improve quality of life in some way. Almost all times the best way to find a potential entrepreneurial opportunity is to become extremely aware of problems you and those around you face, as well as limitations in existing products or services. When everybody else is complaining and thinking about a situation negatively that’s usually a fertile ground for innovation. When you become a problem solver and consistently practice this ability it will start to become natural and you’ll notice things that other people miss, even if it’s right in front of their very eyes.
If you didn’t see the moon walking bear going by the first time that’s ok. The key is to make identifying things others miss a habit so when that potential million dollar opportunity comes moon walking by you can see it and take advantage of it.
In addition to being able to seeing things others miss, I feel the best entrepreneurs have a strong sense of urgency, strong immunity to rejection and the ability to cost effectively bring the best resources together to accomplish their goals.
What characteristics do you feel the best entrepreneurs possess?
