No, Go. Do the Tech.

Mr. Dimmer's presentation was the most information about funding so far. He has funded/owned thirty-five different businesses and was able to present to us a lot of information on the early stages of business. In particular, for a new business, the sole funder is typically the founder. He stated that in his experience, people that don't put their own capital into their business ideas aren't serious enough about the business itself. In fact, he implied that it's essential for business owners to have a majority of capital in their company so they can control and protect the business from vulture capitalists. Vulture capitalists are a spin on venture capitalists who their major goal is to lower the percentage of ownership the founder has over the company and it's products so they can control it and basically steal the company. It's also important for a founder to have a majority portion of their company so when they decide it's time to exit the company, they h...

We were visited by Erik Hanberg last Tuesday. He seems to me like one of the most successful people we've been able to meet with, but that's because the businesses he pursues seem like the most relatable to me. Mr. Hanberg has started several different small businesses with his wife and himself as the only two working for it. This sounds ideal to me because I have far too many hobbies that I start, stop, renew, or keep year by year. Mr. Hanberg mentions something called Multiplier Skills saying, "If you have many skills- writing, design, marketing, persuasion, programming, psychology, etc. - Put it online!" Meaning that, try to make a business out of something you have skills in. Because I have a lot of hobbies, I tend to pick up a lot of general proficiency in many subjects, so this too sounds attractive to me. He does mention that a lot of people who have these skills don't pursue opportunities they could benefit from having their own business around it. Mr...

Mission Statement: At my company, we're dedicated to providing board games that are fun, technologically advanced, visually stunning, with diversity and accessibility for gamers of all types. Fun and Unique: With a combination of the board game and a Bluetooth connected device, there would be a unique game experience literally every single time someone decides to set it up. Easy to Pick Up: Since technology is a focal point to the game, although I would intend on having a way of playing it otherwise, I would make it so as the game progresses, the results that are utilized between the device and the board are also teaching the players how to play. Inclusive and Accessible: Having a board game is an opportunity to display a setting that includes several types of people. Having a diverse cast of character types on the board or factions that represent a type of person will attract a wider audience (If done correctly). Vision Statement: To provide access to complex board ga...

Shadrach White is the CEO of CloudPWR, a software as a service company that provides its services through cloud-based web computing. Their service revolves around designing and providing faster solutions to slow and outdated government problems. Part of their mission is to take what the government uses for organizing their services and make it irrelevant by providing more elegant software solutions. They've recently designed AIRLIFT, software that is designed around providing accurate, fast, and secure service for providers and patients of cannabis. CloudPWR is based in Tacoma, WA, and recently Washington state has legalized the use of cannabis for commercial consumption, instead of just medical prescription use. Mr. White and CloudPWR were able to capitalize on this opportunity for several reasons. For one, the tools in place were outdated and unable to comply with the new demands, something that their company is based on providing. For two, being associated with cannabis is so...

Matthew Tolentino is the CEO of Namatad, and the co-creator of their product, Firefly. He's also a professor at the University of Washington Tacoma campus. His research at the university consists of high-band radio frequency emitters and sensors for providing location data. He talked about how many iterations he and his team had developed as they were building Firefly and how it was hard to discover the correct algorithm for translocating deployed sensors. The Firefly platform was created to help firefighters answer mayday calls safely and quickly. Until Mr. Tolentino addressed this problem with Firefly, firefighters around Tacoma had fallen prey to the confusion that's inherent to mayday calls. I was impressed by how adamant he was about the mayday call issue. His mission statement was a very clear declaration of the problem. I don't have the complete mission statement, but the company page of the Namatad website gives a snippet of it: "Committed to creating techno...

Brian Forth is the CEO and Founder of Sitecrafting and GearLab, a division of the former. While Mr. Forth was teaching in middle school he recognized a need for professionally made websites that he pursued as a side-job while also teaching his students how to do it. In 1998, he founded Sitecrafting to meet the need. Since then, he founded GearLab to provide research and testing for business-minded ideas, and Sitecrafting also offers digital marketing to push web traffic through the fancy new websites you may have paid them to create for you. I found his experience and perspective refreshing. I've often heard that running a business of your own is nothing but being awake to work and eat, and sleeping so you can do it again. Mr. Forth made it clear that while although he's had harder years turning a profit with the site, he's had a lot of good years and time enough to enjoy his life alongside his work. I asked him about how flexible his employee's schedules are and he ...