Kendall's "Internet startup checklist":

1. Idea:

  1. Would YOU write a check for your idea?
  2. Don't spill your candy in the lobby.
  3. Is your idea refining or revolutionizing?

2. Funding:

  1. Are your financials realistic if nothing goes right?
  2. Could you see your investors with a 10X, 20X return in 3 years?
  3. Do you have back-up plans b,c,d before quitting your day job?
  4. Do you have a great answer for the most cynical of investors?

3. team:

  1. Can you build your idea or will it take a team of pros?
  2. Is a specific person on your team essential or can he/she be replaced?
  3. Dont give up the farm to recruit talent.
  4. Hire brave & passionate smart people.

4. Product:

  1. Does your product SOLVE a problem?
  2. Beware of feature creep! Customers & prospects add features, not developers.
  3. Stay focused on money earning features, not cool ones.

5. Marketing:

  1. Is it costly (time/resources) to get branded in your target market?
  2. Make a goal of closing a core group of customers the first year. (traction)
  3. Adjust marketing resources to get traction (don't need much).
  4. Be sure to test your "seo / ad-words / ad-sense" properly before banking on them
  5. Nothing is better than "boots on the street." Start knocking on doors.

6. Customer:

  1. How many "loss leaders" do you have?
  2. Does your idea help your customer or is it just a "nice to have"?
  3. Make each customer feel like they are the only customer you have.
  4. Can your customers be up-sold? Do they have peers they could refer?


1999: "...here's a crazy idea..."

BLUEHORNET WAS BORN FROM A COZY COUCH

Sitting in San Diego, I was naive enough to believe I could start a company without any regard for competition, market conditions, or even cash. I just knew that I was solving a pain that a lot of businesses had. The name BlueHornet was never professionally think-tanked or formed from endless meetings about branding [sic: crap]. Just a couple of coffees and a copy of Business 2.0 magazine "How to name your dot com". (See naming tips in my Bow Hunting Skills.) "Burn the ships!" - said a fear motivated freshly married, new father. I was on an adventure that would shape the rest of my life.

2001: every emotion imaginable

proven.

From being a deer run over by them damn headlights to feeling like a ninja, 2001 was an emotional ride of ideas, customers, product, employees, financing, and sadly Sept 11th. As the fly wheel spun with the help of super smart & brave people, (Tim Marusich, Adam Gillespie, et al.) I finally felt the relief of personal success when I received a signed contract from my largest prospect. I was a proven entrepreneur.

2003: Kick my own butt

Re-invention

Once you taste success and learn a lot about human nature, it is bitter sweet. I liken it to a person that trains day and night for the Olympics only to feel a let down after winning the gold medal. I needed a challenge and with the adventure of moving to WA state, I was in for one.

2006: heart break

sad season.

I realized how selfish I was when it hurt so much to know my friend was gone. I would never have coffee or talk shop with my dearest Uncle Bob again. What a difficult experience to lose someone that made you enjoy hard work and laugh away your fear. As a fellow entrepreneur and successful businessman, what impressed me most was how he was so respected in countless circles for his kindness and grace. His son once said "I always have an enormous sense of pride whenever my father's name is mentioned." As the hub of a very large family, he will not be forgotten.

2008: adventure

What will be is not yet now - Allister Begg

With Henry Paulson et gang scrambling to catch a falling knife, 2008 was pretty rough. A.Smith and A.Hamilton need to take a broom to CDOs! A friend asked me recently "When does the uber-rich reach their end goal?" Without hesitation, I replied "they do not have an end goal." There is no finish. Their goal is the chase. Always doing what it takes to want more. (power, money, etc.) Harvest what they sow; hence 2008. If everybody's goal was to be balanced, we wouldn't have such pretty sky scrapers :) Nevertheless, 2008 can be summed up by the ol' pontiff "this [economy] is built on sand." 2008 also challenged me to eliminate my comfort zone and move beyond my fears. Welcome to Ohio.

asset vs. liability

You are either pulling the cart or riding in the cart.  If you are employed, you either work for the government or an entrepreneur. (I always admire founders of companies.) Internet entrepreneurs, like me, are fascinated with problems that could be solved with a little elbow grease and the Internet. Using agile development, my role in this world at 37 yrs old is quite simple really. I create Internet solutions to solve problems.

priority: Married. Father of 3.

As my first baby was crowning when we were saying our wedding vows, it has been an interesting last 10 years. My family is my world but the fun stuff I can do with start-ups keeps me grateful to have a good Internet connection.

founder: BlueHornet Networks.

BlueHornet is pretty cool. A great idea made better by unbelievable smarts, grit, and determination of fantastic people. When I received my first check from a florist to license BlueHornet, I knew I had something special. I didn’t know it would turn into the premier enterprise email provider, but suweeet!

BlueHornet was acquired in 2004.

bluehornet.com

co-founder: jellyBarn.INC.

jellyBarn specializes in rich media advertising. Core focus is developing viral web 2.0 applications (currently viral photo sharing tools) and licensing them to enterprise web sites. The benefits/implications of jellyBarn tools are new revenue streams, increased membership and deep brand reach to new users.

jellyBarn is active in WA.

jellybarn.com

founder: ParkerKohl & CO.

My mission here is to build projects by bringing talent and resources together to solve small to large problems .  My first kick at the cat with this mission is a project I call freshhelp.org.  (coming soon and its pro!) This project will enable folks that are struggling with daily needs to communicate with people that can help meet that need.  Not rocket science but I think it will revolutionize tithing and ultra-local support for neighbors.

parkerkohl.com

director: DimpleDough (currently @).

DimpleDough is a fantastic idea of how to improve the gift card. Whether its making it better for the consumer by personalizing it with a photo or helping merchants get their cards distributed in more places, DimpleDough is a great software managed by a great group of folks. I am blessed to be on the team here in a really freakin COLD Ohio!

dimpledough.com

credibility: Kind Words.

I am the guy who worked side by side with Kendall to fund and build this company [BlueHornet] in the first few years. I remain here, years later. Kendall is a visionary. He is a good man. He is 100% on solving customer problems... I suspect he has 5 or 10 more good company ideas in him! I support and recommend him without reservation.

Tim Marusich, VP. General Manager, BlueHornet. A Digital River Company.

Kendall is a brilliant serial entrepreneur and consultant. Extremely visionary with the rare ability for complete execution. He has his finger on the pulse of web 2.0 and I would highly recommend him to anyone who is looking to take their Internet venture to the next level.

Devin Day, CEO jellyBarn.INC.

Kendall knows emerging technologies, period. His ability to spot the opportunity and rally the momentum necessary to execute viable companies is evident in his success of Blue Hornet. I was recruited by Ken to help develop JellyBarn from the concept level through funding and to its first deliverables. I loved working with him and wold jump at the chance to do it again.

Jason Aplin, Co-Founder jellyBarn.INC.

I have been working with Kendall and ParkerKohl for a couple years now. He always has incredible ideas and in every project he works on, he wows the client. I have been impressed with his initiative and will continue to work with him as long as he finds me useful :-)

Andrew Christensen, PHP God.

Kendall's worked for Image X on a couple of occasions doing consulting work and has done a phenomenal job for us. I thoroughly enjoyed working with him and wished we'd had to resources at the time to keep him on longer as he's definitely a step above in terms of his abilities and is truly a person of integrity.

Glenn Hilton, Owner, ImageXMedia.

Kendall is extremely capable in both original ideas and the expression of them. I've worked with Kendall on a number of projects and each one was completed without complication or confusion due to his ability to clearly state and explain how he would like the finished application to work. I would highly recommend Kendall.

Micah Johnson, Owner, Chief Ingredient.

Vision, talent, creativity, innovation, ethics and integrity - all seamlessly linked and interwoven into someone who is a pleasure to work with and who always exceeds expectations, and meets or beats challenging deadlines- that is Kendall Wouters. Choose him to assist you when you need a spectacular result accomplished affordably - and within a seemingly impossible schedule and then wait to be amazed.

Keith McNally, Founder, Ameranth

Kendall Wouters is by far one of the most creative and talented Internet professional I have had the pleasure to work with. Kendall created the entire front and back ends for my company [justmyticket.com] which has become an immediate success. I highly recommend Kendall for any project from concept to completion. He is one of the best.

Kevin Leap, Founder, justmyticket.com


kendall wouters

me:

  • Email: kj(@)parkerkohl.com

  • Aim: pkj64woo

  • my resume: print page

Bow Hunting Skills

Recent Tweet:

RSS Flickr Wordpress