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Tag Archives: propel point

Propel Point spins off social technology firm Dashboard Labs

Posted on May 10, 2011 by in Dave Cole

HeyDaveCole - Dave ColeThere are different reasons for going in to business. Sometimes it’s all about the money – other times it’s all about the work – other times it’s all about the people. Propel Point was definitely designed to be a “people” company – a place where seminar industry professionals could come and receive the professional caliber marketing, product, and development services that were typically only available to established large-scale players in the industry. We set out to change that. We set out to prove that by listening to what our clients were trying to accomplish, we could provide them the tools & resources to play the bigger game.

As anyone could see from our Portfolio of work, we’ve accomplished a great deal. We’ve supported brand-new seminar speakers and established industry veterans. We’ve crafted products, marketing campaigns, technology solutions, and helped manage numerous projects that have delivered not only extraordinary value to our clients, but the end-consumer – the people in the rooms at the seminars – who were the end beneficiary of our hard work.

Through building Propel Point, both Jennifer and I have uncovered and discovered dozens (if not hundreds) of business opportunities. Some were just bad ideas from the outset, while others were truly brilliant businesses that could have been exceptional in their own right – were someone to simply take it and create it. Because of our diverse backgrounds and skills, we continued to refine our focus and develop products and services within a tight window of our capability. In the past few weeks, one of those burgeoning business opportunities arose that simply could not be ignored, but genuinely did not fit within the Propel Point business model. But we also knew that Propel Point is a thriving and successful venture in its own right, so we decided to divide-and-conquer, and spin off our advanced technology services in to its own firm: Dashboard Labs.

Because of this, the decision has been made for me to step away as active Chief Operations Officer of Propel Point to ensure that the new venture receives my full and undivided attention. I’ll still be around – I’m still an owner in Propel Point and I will be supporting the business in an advisory role moving forward. It’s been a tremendously fun experience to work with so many incredible clients, partners, employees, and people I today call friends. Of course, my respect and admiration for my partner Jennifer Puterbaugh is without equal. She has always been the heart & soul of Propel Point, and will continue to be one of the most trusted and resourceful developers in the seminar industry.

Thank you all, for everything. I welcome you to connect with me on Facebook – HeyDaveCole, Twitter @HeyDaveCole, or LinkedIn.

Propel Point Turns 1!

Posted on March 1, 2011 by in Dave Cole

They say that the first year is the toughest in small business, and on that note, I think both Jennifer and I would be inclined to agree. We’ve enjoyed some tremendous achievements, but we’ve certainly had our fair share of speedbumps and setbacks. As we look back on the past year, there’s a few things that come to mind that are worth sharing about our experience…

The Business Plan Lasted a Week

Propel Point turns 1Fortunately for us, our planning process involved a Saturday to come up with what we thought was the master solution to everything that would become Propel Point. In some respects, we were spot on at targeting the market, finding our niche opportunities, and meeting an unmet demand. However, when it came to any of the nitty-gritty tactical ideas we thought we’d be able to execute, the business plan lasted about 7 days.

When it comes to small business, you have to be willing to forgo the planning cycle for a doing cycle, and that lesson has been embedded in our brains. That doesn’t necessarily mean that the planning process isn’t valuable – it allows us to choose what ideas really are interesting or important, but from that point on the idea is to move quickly and take action.

The Development Process is Critical

Through the course of the past year, we’ve done a couple dozen major projects for some of the top speakers and seminar organizations in the country. We’re absolutely thrilled to have accomplished so much! (One of my projects is to rebuild the site to demo much more of our work – stay tuned)

It’s become really valuable for us to realize that the development process is critical. It’s one thing to say you’ll build something; it’s another to start building something – but where we’ve truly found an excellent rhythm is when we have a clear roadmap from start to finish and do our best to steer ourselves, our staff, and our clients along that path.

Fun, Friends, Family, and Propel Point

It also goes without saying that we’re extremely fortunate to have the support of the people that we do. For both Jennifer and myself, the support of our family and friends, clients and suppliers, partners and mentors has made a tremendous difference in our ability to persevere and achieve the success we’ve enjoyed. Year one was just the beginning.

You can expect to see dramatic changes from us in the coming year. We’ve spent some time to re-evaluate the most successful parts of our organization, and we’ve also taken a good hard look at the things that we shouldn’t be worried about or don’t need to bother with anymore. Just like with anything in life, step number one for success is to show up. You’ll never hit a home run on any of the pitches you don’t swing at.

Thanks for visiting Propel Point, and thanks for supporting us!

Introducing the Events page!

Posted on August 20, 2010 by in Dave Cole

We’re always on the lookout for fun and informative events, so we’ve created a handy tool that we hope you enjoy as well – our new Propel Point Seminar Events page. You’ll find a handy map of the country with pins dropped in for any events that are listed. We’ve also made it easy for you to list your events as well – just visit our page and fill out the form to add your seminar event to our map. We screen every submission, so if you don’t know Dave and/or Jennifer personally, please make sure the link to your page is accurate and contains detailed information about you so we can make sure you’re reputable and providing value to your attendees.

We’ve got a few more great website resources that we’re planning on rolling out in the next few weeks and months, so stay tuned for those updates! Since it’s Friday, might as well kick out some twitter Follow Friday suggestions… How about: @NeckOnTheLine (Jason Rodriguez), @JamesMartell (guru of many things marketing), and @Infusionsoft. Other than that, have a safe and happy weekend! Jen will be in Chicago this weekend, so if you’re out that way – drop her a note and say hello!