I understand early stage startups and young companies from having started several and going through many of the challenges, missteps and successes founders face.
From raising capital, team building, setting or changing early strategies, it can really help when you've been there before.
I can help with setting goals, strategizing, conflict resolution, sales strategies as I've faced all these issues over a long career in startups.
Perhaps the best help I can give is being a good listener and offering a fresh perspective even when problems don't seem to have an answer.
Working together to bring more value to any situation and moving the ball forward.
Joseph Storm
Advisor - C-Suite Executive
About Me
I've been a serial entrepreneur for most of my adult life, actually make that my whole life as I started at 10 mowing lawns & washing cars trying to make money for some goal I had. My first real job was in medical capital equipment sales, where I quickly figured out that commission based sales was my forte' as my income was only limited by how well I could perform. It wasn't long before I became an independent sales rep for hire to companies that couldn't afford a direct sales force. After some success I formed a group of sales people first to cover the West Coast before building a national team working with specifically with younger companies. This experience allowed me to understand how startup/early stage companies work and the difference between successful ones and ones would struggle and fail.
This eventually lead me to my first startup (Witt Biomedical) when I met the engineer who was trying to get his company off the ground. The challenge was how to make those first initial sales when you're trying to launch a product that belongs in a hospital's cardiac cath lab. No one wants to take a chance on a new company when all the normal options come from General Election, Philips, or Siemens. This is especially true for something that costs hundreds of thousands of dollars. I was so taken by the technology and the what the engineer had accomplished, I had to sell my rep company and become a co-founder in the startup. Years later that company sold to Phillips Medical Corporation for $165M in 2006.
From there I went on to co-found another cardiac capital equipment company (ComView Corporation) including raising venture capital lead by Menlo Ventures. ComView was preparing to go public 1st QTR 2000 and I worked through preparing our 3 year public audit with Deloitte, and Cooley Godward filed our S-1. We had selected our bank to take us out (USB) all in March of 2000. Unfortunately the public markets closed quite harshly in late spring that year and I had to quickly reshuffle our plans where the board decided we should sell, which we completed later that year.
I currently live in Alamo, California recently retiring from my full time role at my last startup. I am looking forward to working with another young company in a board position where I can help with a bit of experience and perspective. Many startups boards are made up of early investors and founders and I believe I can add substantial value to many companies in this position.