Hello Randy,
I hope that you are having a great day and wanted to say thank you very much for putting on this BaseCamp. It is such a huge stepping-stone for startup companies that have a great idea, prototype and follow through plan to be able to learn the inner workings (thinking's) of Angel Investors with little to no pressure. I know from life experience ever since I first tried starting walking, I never get it on the first try. This ties in perfectly and gracefully in an atmosphere where we can screw-up, mess-up, sit back to collect our thoughts and then push forward when the time is needed. Please keep these going and more if possible with you, or people around you.
William Boulton
CEO, President
Explosive Productions Ltd.
1st Summit Series- Edmonton (June)
What an awesome summit! Randy, hearing your experience, stories and wisdom from the world of business and the world of venture capital was truly a huge learning experience for myself. As an entrepreneur I find much of the time is spent in the theoretical and possibility space of my mind, and a kick of reality and what makes business really tick and grow is always the best way to be able to focus, execute and build a successful business. It was really great to be surrounded by like minded people, motivating and interesting stories and experiences. The curriculum and feedback were accurate and practical, while leaving me wanting to learn more. You can feel the businesses, products and innovation leap off of textbooks and into the real world. I think for many at the summit it was a much needed wakeup call and if anything else, a new way of thinking about their product, company and business as a whole. The candid and at times brutal feedback on ideas or viewpoints is always appreciated as well, it makes us stronger as a leader and allows us to think beyond our box. Randy I wanted to thank you for putting the time and energy into creating this platform for connecting entrepreneurs to potential investors. Since my presentation, I've gotten calls from several firms that are interested in exploring financing to help us build an unbelievably successful company.
For future attendees of the summit, all I can say is listen to Randy! his experience and humble advice should be taken to heart and you will learn an incredible amount just from his personal experience alone.
Watson Loke
Studio Director
YogaLife Studios - Edmonton
1st Summit Series- Edmonton (June)
Thanks for the reality check, and the heart for us being successful. You are a rock star dude.
Kyle Dubé
Executive Director
YOUCAN Edmonton
Social Enterprise Fund Bootcamp (Edmonton), April 2011
This is Tom Cramer with Sonas, LLC out of the University of Oregon. You were our judge in our first track and gave us some invaluable insights into improving our presentation and business plan as a whole. I believe, however, that you had to leave prior to our final presentation.
Just to give you the results, we finished in second place overall. We lost to Sasin University out of Thailand with their modified rice. While it was very close (according to Stu), what pushed them over the edge was the customers in waiting. That said, it was a great competition and it looks like you were the good luck charm, with two of the teams you judged and advised taking first and second (University of Arkansas won the elevator pitch and one of the challenge rounds, so you really advised three winners at various levels). Looks like you seemed to be one of the constants amongst all of those teams. So once again, thank you.
As I previously told you, we had an "in" with Angel Oregon as an investment opportunity. Both you and I felt that we weren't quite ready for that step. But upon hearing about the results of our business plan competition, they would like to see our presentation and hear our pitch sooner.
Once again, thanks for everything. The Stuart Clark Business Plan Competition was an incredible experience; enjoyable, gratifying and educational.
I hope this finds you doing well and please let me know if you ever need anything from me.
Sincerely,
Tom Cramer
CEO, Sonas, LLC
University of Oregon- MBA 2011
Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Center for Sustainable Business
Stu Clark Business Plan Competition (Winnipeg), March 2011
Randy,
Just wanted to take a moment to thank you again for meeting with Sonas this last weekend. As you have probably heard, we placed second overall in the competition. We were able to make some adjustments to our presentation based on what we discussed and believe your recommendations had a direct impact to our success. Your insights not only were dead on but added incredible value to the learning process and hopefully the success of Sonas, LLC. On behalf of the members of Sonas, I extend my sincerest gratitude to you.
Regards,
Blake Seabaugh
Chief Financial Officer
Sonas, LLC
Stu Clark Business Plan Competition (Winnipeg), March 2011