Tim was washing his hands in the restroom of an angel investor conference when an unusual- looking man with dark, Muppet-like mop hair walked in. He was wearing a pin-striped three-piece suit, thick dark hair, strong facial features and intense eyes and spoke with a strong British accent. They sat together at the conference.
A panel of angel investors was speaking when mid-way through their presentations, his new associate pulled out a notebook and began drawing frames around the page and doodling cartoon characters in them eventually filling the page. His name was Daniel James and he was a game developer, Tim found out, and was at the conference to learn more about angel investments to start his gaming company. His vision was to produce on-line interactive adventure games that use puzzle games as the basis for success in the gameplay. He came up with the idea after watching his girlfriend play puzzle games for hours after which she felt empty and disconnected. He thought there must be a better way.
Tim was magnetized by the energy and creativity of his new friend and met with him a few days later and saw his investor presentation. Tim was astounded to see Daniel’s presentation was filled with text and complex details that clouded the vision and message. Tim had never formally consulted on a company’s investor presentation, but had seen a few and knew what should be there and had the instinct on how to get to it.
Tim worked with Daniel for the next few days to create a presentation that authentically and creatively represented the company vision and possibility, not the operation or product details. Tim helped Daniel shift the way he thought about presenting his information and Daniel won the investor competition and went on to create Three Rings, a cutting-edge gaming and gaming-platform corporation with more than 35 employees.
Tim has heard it all – the fears, the hopes, the dreams, the crushed dreams, the in-fighting, the tough decisions of entrepreneurs as they try to grow their companies. People come to him with a passion and an idea; sometimes a business model (sometimes not) and he has helped many companies find their funding path.
As Tim states it, “Entrepreneurs find it difficult to pull themselves away from the details to address high-level strategy. The last thing they think about is the investor presentation because they’re caught up in the complex details. My life is relating to entrepreneurs for who they are, not what they do. I help create a common platform to begin a powerful conversation that will be beneficial to the investors and entrepreneurs.”
“Tim has heard it all – the fears, the hopes, the dreams, the crushed dreams, the in-fighting, the tough decisions of entrepreneurs as they try to grow their companies.”
Compassion for the entrepreneur is what drives Tim. He gets fired up working with visionaries to create the best chance for success. His intention is to help his investors connect with entrepreneurs to bring big dreams to life. To do this successfully, he understands it takes deep listening, patience and business coaching.
His favorite moment with an entrepreneur, however, is not necessarily in the technical components of business finance or even securing the investments. “I find it to be extraordinarily rewarding when the shift to understanding how to articulate their vision occurs. Inside of that moment, I feel great! Beyond that, it’s in the details and connections.”
A Certified Public Accountant with an MBA from Wharton Business School, Tim brings a background of business and information wealth to his clients. Following graduation, he specialized in mutual funds for professional sports teams at KPMG and worked in the Risk Management and Finance Department with Schwab. Realizing his gift was both the intellectual as well as the emotional quotient that made him successful, Tim ventured on his own to find his greatest purpose.
Not unlike many, he found pieces of his puzzle in his parenting. Tim’s daughter is the light of his life and has become his greatest teacher. “She brought me the ability to feel things I didn’t feel before. It burnished itself onto my soul. Being with another human being who just loves you for you who are is a timeless and ageless lesson I carry into every aspect of my life. The curiosity, love and unconditional acceptance are gifts I intend to share.”
Share he does. Tim has been working as the presentation consultant for the Band of Angles, the first and most successful angel group in the country for the past 4 years.
Tim’s appreciation for life and deep-process, reflective thinking helps him focus on helping entrepreneurs build content for early stage investor presentations. He has relationships with several angel groups including the Keiretsu Forum, Sand Hill Angels, Silicom Venture and Golden Gate Angels among others and also works with a variety of Venture Capitalists and Corporate investors.
Tim’s goal is to affect as many entrepreneurs as possible with the ability to have a world-wide conversation on the deep process approach to successful enterprise.
Thank you Tim, for sharing your Story with us. ~~~
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© 2009 by Samantha Bluhm and Story of My Life®