Frequently Asked Questions

Q:  How do you price your projects?
A:  The short answer is - Flexible and Customized.  We spend a lot of time discussing how you win.  We don't win unless you win, so we like to put a structure in place that mirrors how you win.  We also like to reflect the true value-added in our compensation and spend some time quantifying this.  Some examples:

• Monthly retainer plus commission or milestone-based performance/success bonus
• Daily Rate, not to exceed __ days per month
• Daily Rate, payments (or incentive payments) tied to monthly performance milestones
• Per Project, Fixed Price (optional success fee/bonus)
• 100% back-end performance (Note: this structure equates to 'investing' and requires associated investing deal points to be negotiated.)

Q: Does ITERATE Invest?
A:  ITERATE does not make cash investments into ventures.  We may elect to invest a portion of our time in return for equity.

Q:  How long will it take to get funded?
A:  Difficult to tell.  After the initial 1-hr. consultation this is clearer.  Early stage ventures, due to their inherent risks, have a wide range of timeframes.  6 months to a year is typical.  Having a proven or successful serial CEO can move that up to 3 months.  Most early stage ventures never get VC funded.

Q:  How can I go-to-market if I don't get VC funding?
A:  This is the age-old chicken-or-the-egg question.  The hard answer is, "That's what the entrepreneur has to figure out!"  An anonymous VC once told me, "It's like Jurassic Park in that scene where Jeff Goldblum says, 'Life finds a way!' ... the TRUE entrepreneur will find a way."

Q:  I believe my needs require a full-time commitment.  What if I'm looking for an "employee"?
A:  ITERATE completely agrees with this need.  However, many start-ups, new ventures, and spin-outs typically don't have the cash resources to hire the caliber of "employee" they want - or need to be successful. The time required to find that perfect employee is also a challenge.  ITERATE offers an alternative model - one that allows for variable costs, usually lower costs, faster results, and higher quality results.  ITERATE's model is lower risk - both parties get to know each other and it's easy to expand a relationship. It's much harder to sever one.

Q:  Can ITERATE's staff expand with my needs?
A:  ITERATE has developed a deep network of firms to be brought into projects that complement it's own skill sets and exceed client's milestones.  ITERATE reviews each growth plan with the firm and deliberately plans when to bring on more ITERATE-network colleagues, or a planned break to bring on a key hire or new team.

Q:  How do you get around the SEC "Blue Sky" Regulations if you are not a registered equities advisor/trader?
A:  ITERATE provides consulting services for it's clients.  The typical engagement work involves strategic partnering or go-to-market plans.  The work does not entail selling or pricing securities, advising on securities, or any other SEC-related issues.

Q:  What if I haven't protected my intellectual property and I'm out selling my product?
A:  IP is very important to a start-up company, and is usually its starting point or reason-for-being.  Intellectual property includes more that issues patents.  Know-how, a working code base, a solid brand - all contribute to a company's IP base.  Software, in particular, has been somewhat difficult to patent and easy to reproduce functionality safely.  I always advise my clients to write down and protect your valuable ideas - you just never know.  In the end, the marketplace trumps all.  If a company has sold a lot of an "unprotected" widget, the value of that company will probably be at a higher multiple and valuation than a protected IP-based co. that is still in development.

Q:  What's the formula for splitting up my thin marketing vs. sales resources?
My marketing and branding colleagues from Zer0-to-5ive have produced a wonderful tutorial that is available upon request that explains these basics.  Both are important and many variables come into play when answering this question, such as the type of product, the industry, and the competitive landscape.  'Marketing' can be thought of as the advance bombers that go in first and "condition the market".  Then the storm troopers go in (sales people) to take the hills and do hand-to hand combat.  There are also many new forms of sales & marketing tactics using new technologies that are quickly taking hold and producing excellent ROI's - such as search engine marketing, email marketing, newsletters, buzz and viral marketing.  In the end, marketing and sales strategies and tactics work hand in hand to accelerate revenue.