Seeking Mature Co-Founder with Serious Angel and VC network in San Francisco

Sun, 09 Jun 2013 09:28:03 GMT

Here's a full description for what I and my team seek.

Hi there and thanks for reading this post. I'm a recent transplant to San Francisco from Chicago – with too much experience and been around the block more than a few times.

I moved here specifically to restart and re-engineer a company I started, self-funded, and ran for over 10 years, buzz boxx (go ahead and Google it or search on LinkedIn. I have no issues being transparent.) We were crowd-sourcing well before the Internet collecting ideas from the street and producing gift products from this gathered content that we sold thru traditional retail channels as well as e-commerce (our first online store was developed in 1995). We did very little PR given our always limited resources yet were featured and recommended by the myriad of pop culture media outlets (Mademoiselle, Men's Health, Seventeen, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, New York Times, Money, 200 radio stations, etc.) who were "fans" of our products and what we were doing. We sold incredibly well when we did secure the distribution. Hallmark approached us many times at trade shows with the desire to "let's do something together" (which was code for "we'd like to acquire you"). I learned many tough lessons first-hand over the years of running buzz boxx but also knew its tremendous potential (I am the consummate, insecure artist who loves a blank piece of paper and tirelessly develops new ideas with a bazillion alternatives). Our biggest obstacle at buzz boxx was never our endless array of breakthrough ideas or how well we developed products that truly touched our customers' lives but having adequate funding. To be blunt, I was too stubborn and independent to ask for funding as well as naive. Angel and venture capital groups weren't prevalent in the Midwest.

Flash forward a few years including another a recent return to corporate America leading the total integration of 10 different agencies within Publicis Groupe -- my skill-set is VERY diverse and deep from traditional marketing and media to all things interactive and digital. While I excelled and my "rock stars" loved my leadership style, I also lost my heart and soul and reconfirmed that big company politics and Corporate America just ain't me. (I have led several national brands agency-side -- McDonald's Kids, Sony, M&M Mars, DeVry, etc.) You see, I am an entrepreneur and a very strong possibilities person. (I know this from a very young age when I created products and pulled my wagon selling door to door to earn money to buy candy -- my mother was mortified. I had a lawn business that mushroomed -- I was the anal retentive gardener. I designed and sold "the official class t-shirt" each year during high school earning thousands of dollars -- I was a true monopoly.)

Hungry and determined not to repeat the past, I packed my bags and moved to SF only 3 months ago to return to my soul, launch "possibilities", and not be shy about getting funding. I am indeed re-engineering buzz boxx and have assembled a very strong team of non-corporate, gray-haired "misfits" who are incredibly bright, super collaborative, possess the "visionary" intangible, have an unbelievable work ethic, and are incredibly tech savvy. (We're currently networking throughout the Bay Area to fund and produce a reality TV and technology series as our first property -- we're getting great traction including support from the City of San Francisco. And with our national brand connections, sponsor partners shouldn't be an issue.)

My team consists of all the right parts except for one critical -- the "hustler" -- but stated with the utmost respect and admiration. Know that we're not seeking any ordinary "hustler" -- but someone who has gotta fit with our team dynamic -- mature, driven, smart, lots of integrity and lives by the "Golden Rule." You see, I am extremely confident in the substance and delivery of our concepts and ideas (knowing there is no shortage).

We're just missing this one piece.

View full job description | View company profile

buzz boxx Jobs on Startuply

Seeking Mature Co-Founder with Serious Angel and VC network in San Francisco