I can't say it too many times. Thank you to everyone who contributed to making this summer's first Capital Factory program a success!
- Thank you to the other Managing Directors Bryan Menell and Sam Decker.
- Thank you to the mentors that donated their time.
- Thank you to the participants that gave it their all.
- Thank you to the advisors that shared their experience.
- Thank you to the partners that donated their services.
- Thank you to the sponsors helping to make Demo Day possible.
- Thank you to the more than 300 companies who submitted an application
- Thank you to all of our other supporters on Facebook and Twitter.
- And of course thank YOU!
How do we measure success? It's kind of hard because the most definitive success is when one of our companies has an exit through an IPO or acquisition and that takes most companies about 7 years on average. So going into the program we discussed a few objectives that we could measure by the end of the summer.
First of all, we knew that it was a success if there was sufficient interest and momentum from the participants and mentors to do another program in 2010. It's clear that we hit that one out of the park. Not only are we planning on repeating the program in 2010, but we've had quite a bit of interest in launching sister programs in Dallas and Houston in 2010!
Second we wanted the participants to walk away feeling like Capital Factory was a good use of their time and that they felt they had received significantly more value from the program than they expected. This seems like a clear win as well. While the participants have not been shy about telling us where we can improve, they have also made it clear that they are glad they made the decision to participate in Capital Factory this summer and feel like their business is much farther along now than it would be if they hadn't participated.
Finally, we wanted the mentors to feel like this was a worthwhile use of their time and wanting to participate again in 2010. It's clear from the level of participation and enthusiasm that we received that the mentors really enjoyed it and are already talking about how to improve for next year. We've also had quite a few inquiries from new mentors who are interested in participating in 2010 and we're looking forward to widening the circle.
I'd like to thank the Managing Directors Bryan Menell and Sam Decker who helped to launch Capital Factory 2009 and without whom it just wouldn't have been possible. It was quite a task to work through the 300 applications that we received in April and we all spent a long weekend watching videos and narrowing it down. Throughout the program they have been instrumental in lining up other mentors, advisors and partners and its hard to imagine two better people to organize an event like Demo Day.
The mentors went above and beyond the expectations that were set at the beginning of the program. Many mentors were attending multiple meetings per week for different companies. They donated office space, desks and chairs, old servers and more. Some drove hours to get here and some squeezed in early morning meetings before already jam-packed days. The mentors are the core of the program and these 20 individuals will always have my gratitude for believing in the Capital Factory vision and stepping forward with their wallets and their time.
The participants are what made it all worth it. We were blown away when we received more than 300 applications to the program and narrowing it down to just 5 was quite a challenge. The mentors were constantly impressed by the passion and tenacity of the entrepreneurs participating in the program and I know that many lifelong friendships were forged. We are fortunate to have selected 5 incredible companies to spend the summer with. Thank you to Cubit Planning, FamiGo Games, Hourville, PetsMD and Sparefoot.
In addition to the mentors, we had some incredible advisors volunteer their time with the participants this summer. Thank you to Allen Weiner from Gartner, Evan Kastner from WSGR, Jason Sugawa from Clutch Creative, Joe Dolye from Stalelife, Jonathan Davis from American Workforce, Kyle Parks, Laura Beck and Caroline Traylor from Porter Novelli and undoubtedly some others I'm forgetting.
I was blown away by all of the partners that provided services and products of tangible value in order to help the Capital Factory companies get off the ground. Thank you to 37 Signals, Blue Fish Development, Clutch Creative, Datran Media, Kenobi Restaurant, Porter Novelli, Rackspace, Red Velvet Events, Square One Bank, The Accounting Group, Tocquigny Advertising, vCFO, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati and undoubtedly some others I'm forgetting.
We're fortunate that some other great companies share our vision and are helping to make Demo Day possible with their support. Thank you to Thinktiv, Microsoft BizSpark, Rackspace, the AT&T Executive Conference Center, Silverton Partners, Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati, and Austin Ventures.
And of course thank you! We need everyone's help in spreading the word about Capital Factory to potential applicants that would benefit from the program. Please encourage others to apply for the program in 2010!
