how we'll work to start or build your business
Successful businesses are the result of repeatable, sustainable, and profitable operations. We'll
help create these characteristics for your business by making sure your key business functions are
pursuing complimentary goals & objectives, by making sure your organizational infrastructure can
scale to any size, and by making sure you're making money in the process. Most importantly, we'll
make sure you're positioned to build upon what we achieve together with or without us.
We created Main Street Ventures because we wanted to work with new and small business owners. We believed it was
possible to eliminate many unnecessary struggles and increase a company's likelihood of success by simply providing
access to skills and resources their larger, more mature counterparts take for granted.
Unlike traditional "venture" firms, we don't make large cash investments in your company (occasionally, we
will finance part of a project or make a small cash investment :: no more than $10,000). We do, however, make a
major investment of time and skilled resources. Here's a quick overview of how we're different from straight "money
investors:"
|
|
main street ventures
|
traditional investors
|
| cash investments |
rarely
(we can help you find $$) |
yes |
| "big picture" guidance |
always |
sometimes
(is it guidance or control?) |
| "hands-on" execution |
yes
(it's what we do best) |
no |
| work with "small" business |
yes
(we love small business) |
no |
We're one of the few private firms dedicated to helping "main street," and seek to work with competent & successful
people whose choice to start a business was driven by streaks of independence and freedom of control. We believe
the process of reconciling your vision against our experience is the best recipe for our mutual success. We also believe
in working right beside you and your team every week, significantly leveraging your limited cash & human resources.
In addition to our principals, Main Street Ventures has aligned with over 30 seasoned business leaders and
independent professionals (ranging from CEOs of high-tech startups to sales & marketing gurus to bookkeepers
& accountants). For our core business offering, a dedicated account executive works "inside" each of our client
companies, becoming part of your leadership team. This individual will work "on-site" at least one day per week,
performing key tasks your team lacks the expertise or capacity to manage. He or she will also call upon our enlisted
partners (as needed) to provide necessary products or services for free or at below market rates.
This depends on the extent to which you want us to be involved in your business. Again, we rarely make direct
cash investments in the companies with which we work. If you have a compelling business model, we will help
position your company to solicit outside investement. We can also introduce you to prospective investors. Most of
our clients don't fall into this category. We recoup our investment of time and resources in most cases by
creating a performance-based compensation structure. You can read more about this here.
Main Street Ventures has been designed from the ground up to be unique. First, like most businesses along "main
street," everything we do is "bottom-line" driven and tailored to your every day reality :: limited time, talent and resources.
Second, our success ultimately depends upon truly understanding your business and building a strong, long-term relationship
with your company. Most professionals fail to build this kind of critical relationship with their business clients because
they charge hundreds of dollars per hour for their time and expertise. We encourage constant involvement and
communication, and you don't have to pay anything extra for it.