Military Metaphors for Funding
Allan Sabol raised $1.15M for his staffing startup with a little help from Tech Coast Angel Dan Caulfied. After his release from the Marine Corps, Dan describes his early entrepreneurial activity working on internet startups for Ross Perot, "it was acrimonious". After that relationship wound down, Dan eventually joined TCA and met Dayak which was started by 2 former Marine officers. This common Marine background created an instant bond of trust.
Just what are the qualities that make a Marine officer a good entrepreneur? 
Dan ticks them off:
Marine officers make decisions quickly and they're not afraid to make decisions without all the right answers. "The internet is very similar to a battlefield," he adds, and the combat analogies start flowing.
Although the company approached as a Seed stage opportunity, Allan says, "we raised almost four times what we originally expected."
What conclusions might you take away from this interview? Well, you'd like to have Dan Caulfield leading your funding effort.
Show #157 (43:54)
Comments
More good news: Of the three-hundred companies that applied for "Launch Silicon Valley", Dayak was one of only 10 companies selected to present at that event. Thank you for the passing along the information about this event!
Posted by: Allan Sabol | May 19, 2008 08:04 AM
Love your work Frank! Thanks for also sending me the link to your blog. Looking forward to hear more of your podcasts = )
Posted by: Marlon | May 19, 2008 08:05 AM
It was a pleasure meeting you at the UCI, Bionic Human, event last week. David McNeil has been singing your praises for quite some time. I recently subscribed to your podcast and I’m hooked.
Look forward to seeing you again in the near future.
Posted by: Bill | May 19, 2008 10:34 AM
I know why Dan and Allan like one another: They use the same barber!
Posted by: Bill Payne | May 19, 2008 10:36 AM
As the new head of marketing for Dayak I want to say how honored we are to be featured on the Frank Peters Show. Also wanted to share some exciting news with respect to our recruiter and employer marketing efforts. As of today we are seeing a conversion rate on recruiter registrations of 3% and a conversion rate on employer registrations of 1.2%. I have not seen numbers like this since my early days at AOL. More to come.
Posted by: J.D. Ettore | May 22, 2008 03:07 PM
I'm the marketing manager at Dayak and wanted to thank you for the opportunity to showcase our company. Great things are happening and you'll definitely be hearing more about Dayak!
Posted by: Kristi Palmer | May 22, 2008 03:17 PM
This is Paul Silva from the River Valley Investors angel group in Massachusetts (www.rivervalleyinvestors.com). We spoke a few months ago via email RE the UMass Amherst Enrepreneurship Initiative. You kindly gave a nice mention to my students Alex and Andy (founders of rentabilities.com) at that time - thank you. They are huge fans and recommend your show to all their fellow student entrepreneurs in our program.
I am writing to thank you for your program. Your show is a treasure trove of value. In my role as chairman of the UMass Amherst Entrepreneurship Initiative, your program is an amazing resource for budding student entrepreneurs like Alex and Andy. In my role as manager of the River Valley Investors I hear content that helps my angels learn best practices. As the managing partner of Angel Catalyst - a startup of my own that is building and providing management services for angel groups in the Northeast - it provides me with tremendous insight on how to do things right.
But the show has more than educational value. Not two days ago I heard your Military Metaphors podcast with Dan Caulfield. I loved the podcast. Now imagine my surprise when I get a call from none other than Dan himself yesterday. You see, I'm leading the screening committee for the ACA Northeast summit taking place later this month, and Dan is bringing a deal to it. He starts talking to me and I recognize his voice... then he starts talking about Mr. Perot... we had a good laugh over it. He joked that "I've been on CNN - but now that I've been on Frank's show, I'm FAMOUS!"
Thank you for your wonderful program. I hope my email and story about Dan bring you some gratification for all the hard work you must invest into the show.
Posted by: Paul | June 7, 2008 01:38 PM