APPS – Accelerate, Position, Proliferate, Serve! | James Williams

MentorMate

APPSA Mobile Story

James Williams

AcceleratePositionProliferateServe

Speed up, go faster, gain momentum

Put or arrange something in a particular way

Increase rapidly in numbers; multiply

Perform duties or services for(another person or an organization)

How many of you have been involved in a start up?How many of you have been involved in a turnaroundof a distressed company?How many of you have participated in a liquidity event of a small company to a larger company?How many of you have worked at/with a MN Fast 50 Privately-Held Company?How many of you work at a Fortune 1000 Company?

My First Turnaround

APPS Education & Formation Years

1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 19941982198119801979

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 20141998199719961995

December 30, 2010-Ergotron, founded in 1982 by Harry Sweere, announced Monday that it will be acquired by Nortek Inc. for $280 million in cash. Ergotron,, specializes in making a variety of display devices and has a division and four subsidiaries in Europe and sells products in 67 countries. For the year ended Sept. 30, 2009, Ergotron had unaudited net sales of $190 million, operating earnings of $28 million and approximately 1,200 employees worldwide.

MINNEAPOLIS, MN: Cherry Tree Securities is pleased to announce the completed sale of its privately-held client, Hunt Technologies, Inc. (“Hunt” or the “Company”), to Sydney, Australia-based Bayard Group (“Bayard”).

July 1, 2014− Taxware, a global provider of indirect tax software, managed services, and regulatory content is merging with Convey Compliance Systems, the #1 private third-party filer of 1099 forms. With the backing of Vista Equity Partners, a leading private equity investor in software and technology-enabled businesses with approximately $11.5 billion in cumulative capital committed, the two companies will leverage their complementary tax compliance solutions to create a unique capability for addressing wide-ranging client needs for tax technology and services.

July 31, 2014 - Growing mobile-app developer MentorMate has been sold to Taylor Corp. for an undisclosed amount. Bjorn Stansvik, 40, who founded the firm in 2001, said the company has grown from $1 million to $12 million in revenue over the last several years thanks to a combination of good software and the rapid growth since 2009 of mobile-device communications. The company has about 240 employees, about 45 of whom work out of Minneapolis, and last year ranked No. 4 on the Business Journal's list of the 50 fastest-growing private companies in the Twin Cities.

APPS Education & Experience Years

Start ups, turnarounds, liquidity events, MN Fast 50s & a Fortune 500

The MentorMate Story

Gothenburg, Sweden

Minneapolis, USA

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

The Arrival.

Gothenburg – Minneapolis.

2001

The Idea.

Language tool

The GirlThe Guy

The Boy Wonders

The AdvisorsThe Year

The Device

The Motivation

MINNEAPOLIS: 4 Employees The Idea.

Language tool

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

SOFIA: 6 Employees

2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA: 4 Employees

BULGARIA: 6 Employees

Why Bulgaria?

MINNEAPOLIS: 8 Employees

SOFIA: 12 Employees

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

The Pivot.

Strategic Client Partnerships

2010

MINNEAPOLIS: 18 Employees

SOFIA, PLOVDIV & VARNA: 100 Employees

Serve.

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Strategic Client Partnerships

MINNEAPOLIS: 28 Employees

SOFIA, PLOVDIV & VARNA: 150 Employees

Position, Proliferate & Serve.

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2012 2013 2014 20152010 2011

MINNEAPOLIS: 45+ Employees

SOFIA, PLOVDIV, VARNA & VELIKO TARNOVO: 210+ Employees

Today – Serve.

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

$2,000,000

$0

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Income

Profit

http://www.cnet.com/news/can-apples-app-store-maintain-its-lead-over-google-play/

$2,000,000

$0

$2,000,000

$4,000,000

$6,000,000

$8,000,000

$10,000,000

$12,000,000

$14,000,000

2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

Total Income Profit

APPS Tips

Find a Reputable, Hard Working, Intelligent, Relentlessly Persistent, 10 Year Surviving Entrepreneur with an idea ahead of its time (by a decade) and Domain Expertise to back it up!*

*Bonus: Has a 10 year deep network in the community!

Accelerate Speed up, go faster, gain momentum

Accelerate Activity, Activity ActivityClarify, Prioritize, Align & FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS

Accelerate

Hire & Retain the Very Best

Accelerate

Pay As You GoShare the Success

From: <[email protected]>Date: Saturday, July 26, 2014 at 5:28 PMTo: James Williams <[email protected]>Subject: Thanks

James, as part of the event of the sale of Convey to Vista/TaxWare, I wanted to thank you for …… your guidance about the value of negotiating a compensation package as part of launching myself to lead the construction of a development team and the TaxPort product. Certainly I had no idea how that worked here in the US, and how valuable it could become if the company got to grow and be sold. Both points above were critical for both: professional success and financial success in my life….

Thanks,

Seba

VP, Technology & Chief Architect | Thought Leader in SaaS Architecture & Software Engineering Best Practices

Position Put or arrange something in a particular way

PositionCore Values Integrity, Intelligence, Collaboration,

Passion, Respect, Results, Service

Position

Distinguishable Differentiation(e.g. First in Mobile, Global, etc.)

Position

Align “Business Needs First From a User’s Perspective”“Ergonomic Computer Mounting Solutions”“Why Process Any Other Way?”

Position

Re-Position

Imagined

We listen to our clients’ goals, and together shape a business strategyto connect them with their mobile audience.

Designed

We turn our clients’ strategic vision into engaging mobile experiences that are directly relevant to their customer’s lives.

Delivered

We build, test and market our clients’ mobile applications to bring them into the hands of their users, anytime, anywhere.

Re-Position

Proliferate Increase rapidly in numbers; multiply

$0

$500,000

$1,000,000

$1,500,000

$2,000,000

$2,500,000

$3,000,000

$3,500,000

$4,000,000

Q4'09Q110Q210Q310Q410Q111Q211Q311Q411Q112Q212Q312Q412Q113Q213Q313Q413Q114Q214Q314Q414Est.

ProliferateTake Risks but recover (if necessary)

Proliferate

Develop Innovation CapabilitiesDiversify ClientsEvolve into Vertical MarketsBuild Community (s) (also known as Teams)

ziOS Team

z

zClient Teams

zClient Team

zClient Team

zFootball Team

Serve Perform duties or services for(another person or an organization)

Serve100% Client SatisfactionServant Leadership Culture (Location)Commitment to ExcellenceTrain, Develop & Grow TalentCommunicate, Recognize & Reward

APPS Tip of the DecadeBSW

BuildServeWin

Something Special, Meaningful & That will Last!

Or at Least Die Trying!

Unconditionally & Humbly!

BjörnStansvikWins

1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

The Girl The Son The New Owner

Where did I learn to win with APPS?

Playing the great game of American Football

AcceleratePositionProliferateServe

Speed up, go faster, gain momentum2 Minute Drill

Put or arrange something in a particular way

Increase rapidly in numbers; multiply

Constantly positioning and re-adjusting

Run up the score if/when you can

Perform duties for another personYour teammates & coaches

32nd Annual Turkey Bowl – November, 2013

Thank You.Questions?