Speaking Truth to Power: Programmers Required

I have an idea for a very successful business but do not know where I can find start-up capital to begin the project. The powers that be in the entrepreneurial community do not believe that the idea will work. I do believe that it will work because it provides a useful service for free to users. If you are a computer programmer and would like to build the proposed site for my company in exchange for being paid as future net profits accrue to the company I would be happy to meet with you to discuss the specifics of the project and to hammer out a service contract with you. It is my belief that the service I propose will take off just like Facebook. I look forward to hearing from all interested parties.

Another successful social for the K-W Entrepreneurs Group

Thanks to Karen Toth and the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs Group, there was another great social held on Wednesday October 6th at Trader's Lounge, Waterloo Inn.
There were many old faces and new faces at the meeting which shows that there is enduring interest and growth in the group. It is hard to argue with success. I am sure that the group will continue to grow online and that more successful socials will be held in the future.

There was no agenda for the meeting other than for people to socialize and exchange business cards and everyone seemed happy with that.

If it is not broken, don't fix it. The group seems to have a winning formula for keeping member interest. There has been an uptick in online discussions and I would like to see this continue.

What does partnership mean?

Having partners in business is very important to keep your morale up and to get the information you need to run your business.  What exactly does it mean to have partners?  Strictly speaking, we enter into partnerships by agreement, either verbal or written.  You can buy books about partnerships or scan the Internet for sample partnership agreements.  One thing I've discovered is that you can benefit by having partners that supply you with the information that you need without having any of the responsibilities or obligations of partnership.  These relationships need to be cultivated and can be very useful.  How they happen is somewhat of a mystery to me but when the happen they are very helpful.

Kitchener-Waterloo Executives Group started on LinkedIn and Facebook

I'm a strong believer that Executives with medium and large companies in Kitchener-Waterloo have many power financial and organizational contacts that can  be a big help to entrepreneurs.  I now I've received some mentoring from some Executives that has been invaluable.

About a year ago, I started the Kitchener-Waterloo Executives group on LinkedIn.  I just started one on Facebook.  Most Executives today are of a generation of people who do not use social networking for business or personally, but the next generation will.  These groups are set up for the next generation of executives who will be ready to share their experiences and advice online. 

They will be a tremendous help to entrepreneurs and will also bring value to their own businesses.  One need only look at the use of Facebook by companies to learn more about their customers and to improve service and quality.

Kitchener-Waterloo Start-Ups Group Created on LinkedIn

I've just created the Kitchener-Waterloo Start-Ups Group on LinkedIn.

My business is need of partners who have experience with Google Translate and the Revenue Models for Social Networking Websites.  I thought starting the Start-Ups Group would help others find the pieces the are looking for to build their businesses in Kitchener-Waterloo.

I will not be actively recruiting people for this new group, but rather seeing who will be attracted to joining through organic growth.

I look forward to reporting on the growth of the group and if anyone knows of individuals meeting the needs of my company, please have them contact me.

Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs Group Approaches 600 Members

The K-W Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group is approaching 600 Members with steady growth every week.

I write this article to ask mebers of the group and readers of the blogg in what ways the content of this site could address their needs.  I am open to suggestions.

I personally would like to read submbissions from group members as to how the group is meeting their needs and to learn about what their expectations are.

There is some reason why this group is growing and its first two socials have been very well attended.

Looking forward to hearing from each and every person who decides to write me at charles@vanguardseas.com or who posts a discussion item on the LinkedIn Group.

Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs Group Approaches 500 Members

Without soliciting a single member, the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs Group is approaching 500 Members.  The groups last social was well-attended with some 30 new and old members in attendance at Traders, Waterloo Inn.

As the group owner, I've put out feelers to see if individuals would like to take leadership positions within the group.  Within my Kitchener-Waterloo Executives LinkedIn Group, a couple of people have expressed interest in becoming the group manager, a function the owner of the group can give as part of LinkedIn group ownership. 

My personal view is that there is a lot of opportunity for individuals that wish to engage others through social media groups.  If you'd be interested in managing one of my groups which also includes a London and Toronto Entrepreneurs group, kindly get in touch with me.  I'd love to discuss the possibilities.

Another great social with the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs

Thanks to Karen Toth's organization of this event, it was a great success.

Some 30 group members, new and old, descended upon Traders at the Waterloo Inn for this fine social.

Everyone had a great time exchanging cards and helping each other.

Everyone was thankful to Traders for hosting this event and providing the free munchies.

This article will tell its story in pictures.  Here are some of the fine folks who attended:

Looking for advisory board members for my company's new venture.

What follows is the Executive Summary for a business plan to develop "TalktotheWorld.com."  If you or someone you know would like to be on a volunteer advisory board to help support this new venture or to learn more about start-ups in the social networking sector of the Internet, kindly contact the author at charles@vanguardseas.com.

The President of the company has a desire to provide business services to help people grow sales internationally. His goal is for “Talktotheworld.com” to become a billion-dollar networking site, larger than Facebook or LinkedIn in net revenues and to eventually take the company public or sell the company.

“Talk to the world” is a multilingual Facebook for International Business. “Talk to the world” uses state-of-the art off-the-shelf translation technology to allow businesses around the world to profile their businesses in the language of their choice at the press of a button. Translated emails and instant messaging allow these businesses to communicate with one another to find businesses partners, to make sales, and to expand business networks beyond cultural and linguistic boundaries.

Basic service is free and a premium service available to users at $29.95/month plus HST allows users to sort through profiles based on keyword searches to find other businesses that can help them reach their goals. Based on user experience and feedback, further business facilitation functions will be added such as certified email and email tracking services.

“Talk to the world” seeks first-round funding to consolidate a single website called www.talktotheworld.com where business profiles can be posted in English, Chinese, Hindi, Korean, Japanese, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Hebrew, Arabic, Italian, and German. These are the main languages through which electronic trade is currently conducted in the world and represents a market of over two billion people.

Functionality of this second-iteration site will include email and instant message translation, the establishment of a premium service, ecommerce capability, multilingual searchability, and profile searchability based on keywords. A $200,000 (to $400,000) grant has been secured from Dream High and Fly, a new multicultural investment fund in Kitchener-Waterloo with and endowment of $5.2 million. A further $600,000 in capital is sought to fund the 2nd round. The proposed service is an outstanding investment:

• Service is unique because it is the first truly multilingual business profiling service;

• The service will be marketed by advertising on other social networking sites and hiring a marketing specialist for Internet start-up sites, in particular, new social networking sites;

• Translation technology is supposed to improve over the next 10 years and the market space for its use is emerging for both business and personal communication;

• To date, no truly multilingual networking site exists;

• In the industry cycle, this is a new market with growth potential as more and more Internet users go online around the world;

• The market niche to be pursued is business profiling as opposed to personal profiling, although personal profiling may be an attractive option also;

• Through talktotheworld.com they can easily establish an international internet presence and can upgrade to professionally-produced multilingual websites and translations;

• The number of target customers is increasing with rates of internet penetration;

• Buying habits are also changing with Internet sales taking up a larger and larger percentage of sales world-wide;

• Several large early-stage adopters will also be contracted to use the website services just because of connections with those companies.

• The strategy for building working relationships with key consultants and professionals is to coalesce the needed resources around the business plan.

Vanguard Seas, Inc. is not offering stock but is willing to look at grants and contracts which do not require repayment.

How do I access the "movers and shakers" in Kitchener-Waterloo?

I initiated a discussion on LinkedIn's "Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs" Group a couple of months ago asking members where the centre of entrepreneurship was in Kitchener-Waterloo.  The responses I received from some members may surprise you.

One person concluded that it is not so much a question of having people let you into their networks as building your own network.  If you build your own network it will naturally intersect with other networks that can bring you the resources that you need.  If you are building a business, attend as many social functions as you can and fine-tune your business idea, then "lather, rinse, and repeat."

Another person pointed out that we should not be dismissive of Communitech or the K-W Chamber of Commerce when it comes to promoting entrepreneurship.  If you are looking for resources from these groups or from social events associated with them you have to be clear about what it is that you need and ask for it.  Attending grass-roots events is also useful to build your network as are business networking groups such as LeTip, BNI, and the Business Executive Network.

Most people providing comments felt that "the movers and shakers" of Kitchener-Waterloo were not out of reach of the average person as they felt that K-W had a flat hierarchy of business leaders.  They also felt that if you want to meet "movers and shakers," you should become one yourself.

One career coach felt that the secret to success was to find out where the people you want to meet hang out and then meet them.  The main problem entrepreneurs need to overcome is to "enlarge their vision of what's possible, and then get creative about making the necessary connections."

There was also a consensus that giving before receiving was a big help in enlisting the help of others.  Efforts should be made by entrepreneurs to see how they can serve along others who can help them on a voluntary basis.

The culture in Kitchener-Waterloo seems to be a "let's get things done" culture where if you know what you need you can find it.  Admittedly, the leadership within Kitchener-Waterloo is fragmented.  Associations with or volunteering for major philanthropic organizations in Kitchener-Waerloo is also a great way to meet movers and shakers.  They include the K-W Art Gallery, the Symphony, and the Centre in the Square.

Others felt that the Davis Centre at the University of Waterloo was a Centre of Entrepreneurship.  When it comes to getting grants from government for entrepreneurial projects, association with the local universities is critical.

Inaugural meeting of Kitchener-Waterloo Executives LinkedIn Group a big success

On April 30th, the first meeting of the Executive Committee of the Kitchener-Waterloo Executives LinkedIn Group was held at the TechTown BoardRoom at 340 Hagey Blvd., University of Waterloo.

The group has some 140 members and the Executive Committee meeting was very well attended.

After meeting for about an hour, all attendees concluded that there was a firm foundation to build the group to meet the needs of its members.

Some brainstorming was conducted and it was determined that the group would provide a great forum for speakers on current business issues.  Others thought the group could be used to source individual mastermind groups for their businesses, while yet others felt that the group, once trust is built up, could be used to solve practical business problems being faced by members.  It was also felt that the group could be used for business networking.

Karen Toth suggested http://www.ceospace.net/ as a potential model for the group and I invite readers of this article to visit the site and provide commentary as well as to provide their ideas as to what Kitchener-Waterloo Executives could do for them.  I would be very interested in learning what the interests of the group members are.  It was further suggested at the meeting that Harp Arora of Sedona Communications be asked to do an Internet poll of the group if she would volunteer to do same.

Lastly it was suggested that the K-W Executives LinkedIn site be used to provide educational content meeting the needs of its members.

The meeting concluded with a round of handshakes and the desire to meet again in the future.

Commentary on this article is welcome.

Where is the Entrepreneurial Nerve Centre of Kitchener-Waterloo?

For several years now I've been struggling to figure out where the entrepreneurial nerve centre of Kitchener-Waterloo is located.  Much is said about the Entrepreneurial spirit of Kitchener-Waterloo and the resources that are put behind Entrepreneurship.   I still have a hard time putting my finger on exactly where the nerve centre is or if it can even be called a centre.  Perhaps it is more like a network.  If it is a network, then how do I access the network to get the things that I require to take a business idea to a profitable one?  There is Communitech, the Chamber of Commerce, various innovation centres, etc., but I've yet been able to say "here is the centre" or "here is how one accesses the network of business creators in our community."  Certainly, the movers and shakers in the larger local businesses who can give advice and who have access to capital are out of reach of the average person.  I would appreciate your views on where the centre is or how to access the network of our community's vaunted entrepreneurial economy.

Small Business Community Network Mixer a Great Success

The networking event organized by Linda Ockwell-Jenner at Caesar Martini's on the evening of January 26th was a resounding success with some approximately 50 people in attendance for a long and enjoyable evening of networking.

I was struck by the quality and quantity of the people attending the event.

There seems to be a thirst for genuine networking opportunities in the Kitchener-Waterloo area where people can make fresh contacts and find the bits and pieces they need to advance their businesses.

You can visit the Small Business Community Network on-line at http://www.sbcncanada.org/.

What is the Role of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs?

We had an open discussion at the last meeting of the Executive of the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group on Friday January 15th, 2009.

What I took away from the roundtable discussion is that there is a perception amongst our now 350 group members that the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs LinkedIn Group is a different kind of networking group than Communitech or the Chamber of Commerce.

Communitech and the Chamber of Commerce do a great job doing what they do.  Communitech is great for people and companies actually in the technology-side of their businesses and the Chamber of Commerce a great place for local businesses to learn about each other and look after their mutual interests. 

Communitech's CEO Roundtable is a great place for Executives to swap stories that can help each other as they are almost like case studies from which lessons can be learned.  Membership, to my understanding, however is limited to CEOs from larger companies.  The discussions are also confidential.

What the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrpreneurs LinkedIn Group does is allow members to work on solving individual business problems by providing a forum of trust wherein members can get together on their own to form subgroups to solve their problems and learn from each other.  In short, it is in many ways a CEO roundtable for CEOs of smaller companies or anyone interested in advancing their business or career.