Budding and even experienced entrepreneurs simply must attend this boot camp. The wealth of knowledge and industry experience conveyed by the Derby Management team is phenomenal. Whether you are seeking a capital investment or just updating an existing business plan you will learn something new that can improve your business!"
-- Jim Higgins, Alektrona Corporation
"Essential Skills for the Entrepreneur's series was an excellent opportunity for learning the methods and means to approach the investors for expanding the business. Jack Derby and George Simmons are professionals in the field with lot of experience. They did a great job in teaching the skills and in giving feed back for our practice of 'financial pitch to investors'. They both were very helpful in sharpening our focus and planning for the future with astuteness and confidence in a market world where 'greed overcomes fear' in stead of 'love casts our fear."
-- James N. Jacob, Ph.D., President, Organomed Corporation
"Jack and George, a ton of thanks for the great insight on climbing the almighty mountain! The information in your boot camp session is powerful and shows great initiative by the Chamber to grow and strengthen the RI small business economy through partnerships. I especially like the workshop format where we had the opportunity to meet like minded entrepreneurs that feel the same growing pains and face similar challenges. This interaction with a small community of business owners and the deep experience of your team adds significant value to how we can retain and apply the rich content you presented. Excellent program!
We sure hope to be among those that make it to the peak…"
-- Christopher Nielsen, CEO/General Manager, CNP Integrations/CNP Creative; Divisions of Creative Networks Protocol Inc.
"There is always some good in any seminar you go to. But this - this was incredible. So much valuable information that I could put into action right away to make a tangible impact on my business. What a knockout of a program. The presenters - Jack and George from Derby Management - were excellent in every way. Their shared expertise really moved the needle for me. I highly recommend this series at the Providence Chamber." - Andrew Schiller, PhD, CEO, Location, Inc.
"Whoever came up with this idea at the Chamber - to have this seminar series on Entrepreneur Launchpad - really hit the mark. How insightful of the Chamber leadership to identify this need in the local economy, and bring in the best to train Rhode Island's adventurous and promising entrepreneurs. This matches locally-based intellectually creative enterprises with deep experience in growing successful companies. If this is the future of Rhode Island, I like it!"
-- Andrew Schiller, PhD, CEO, Location, Inc.
Your Launch Pad series really gave me a good start or re-start on trying to access funding for Winestein. It is both amazing and somewhat scary to realize how much information or concepts I forgot about since being out of the corporate environment for some time. It was a big help and look forward to our presentations on the 11th and 17th.
Becoming a Chamber member through the Launch Pad series has already more than paid for itself, can't wait to see what the remaining 352 days bring!
--Brett Marggraff, president and CEO, Winestein
"The entrepreneurship workshop was excellent, I wish I had taken the course four years ago when I first started my organization"
-- Jeshua Zapata, president, Xzito Creative Solutions, LLC
"I've been involved in entrepreneur training for a decade, and Entrepreneur Launch Pad is one of the best prep programs I've experienced. Solid, pragmatic information and advice -- with great networking and follow-up. Highly recommended"
-- Ellen Donahue, Dalton Marketing Group
The class was filled with valuable information that we could not possibly have learned on our own. Without a doubt, however, Jack and George themselves were the most valuable part. The advice and guidance of such experienced entrepreneurs is already proving to be invaluable to me and my company. I have been amazed at how willing they have helped us on an individual basis, despite their incredibly busy schedules. Great job discovering this wonderful team, and thank you for bringing them to Rhode Island!
- Edward Beshers, Siren Medical
"The program so far has been an invaluable tool, and has given me much more insight into how the funding process works. In addition to all the valuable data, tools, and guest speakers, the interaction with other local entrepreneurs is a great plus! Jack Derby and George Simmons are two extremely savvy, high-energy guys, making the program not only informative but enjoyable as well. I would highly recommend this seminar for anyone looking to take their small business to the next level."
-- Nicholas Saparoff, ByteSphere Technologies
"Thanks so much for the fabulous course. It was more helpful than you can imagine. As soon as the movie is over (two weeks) I shall e-mail you the specifics on just HOW it helped me. Meanwhile I shall spread the word."
-- Robin Squibb