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Tag Archives: thank you

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!

A Look Back on 2010

Posted on December 31, 2010 by in Dave Cole

We wanted to take a quick time out, here on New Year’s Eve, to do a quick look back on the past year, and thank some very special people in our professional and personal lives.

New Years EveAll in all, 2010 was an amazing year for us here at Propel Point. From the onset, we aimed to build some amazing things for our clients, and in that we feel like we’ve succeeded handsomely. We have supported dozens of seminar speakers and industry professionals in all sorts of different ways – from putting on several great seminar weekends, to putting together some great marketing campaigns – from building some awesome technology to support our clients’ businesses, to helping manage their entire organization. This has been a year of outstanding accomplishments, and we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to look towards 2011 with so many awesome clients and projects still to come.

Jen and I wanted to take a moment to offer some very sincere thanks to some people who made 2010 an especially wonderful year. First and foremost, we owe an enormous debt of gratitude to our families – both young and old – who not only support us with their encouragement but who also inspire us to do great things. Thank you so much for your insight, guidance, and cheering!

To our roster of clients, we are tremendously grateful for your business over the past year. There are a few people specifically that we want to call out with our deepest gratitude:

Jen at MVP Speaker EventDave VanHoose, Dustin Mathews, and AJ Puedan (The MVP Team): Your support and partnership throughout the year has been tremendous. All three of you bring such a great purpose and positivity to the industry, and you raise the bar of the industry in an amazing way. We’ve seen so many Speaking Empire clients become not only the defacto revenue leaders of their niches, but the people you influence and train have helped thousands of their end customers. You guys are always fun to work with, always great to party with, and we look forward to working with you even more in the coming year. Thank you!

Jason Rodriguez & the Elite Mentoring Team: We have had the privilege of working with you and your team throughout the year, including several great seminar events and other projects throughout. But more than that, you’ve consistently supported our venture and been a valued friend and business ally. We hope 2011 brings great success for you, your family, and your business, and we look forward to continuing to work with you towards those ends! Thank You Jason!

Jason Heather and KentHeather O’Brien & Kent Clothier (and the FCBN Team): What more can we say other than you guys rock! Throughout the year we’ve enjoyed sharing in your tremendous successes as your businesses have thrived and achieved great things – but we’ve also been incredibly grateful for the guidance, support, and friendship throughout. Thank you for everything, and we hope 2011 brings even more chances to work together!

Of course, there are dozens more people who deserve our thanks and gratitude. Though not every minute of this past year has been easy or without challenge, when taking stock of the entire year we can do nothing but smile and laugh. Most importantly, the people who we have worked with, the clients we have supported, and the partners we’ve embraced have made this a stunning year! Here’s to great things in 2011! Cheers!