For the past five years, we’ve been hosting a program designed by the Kauffman Foundation to help companies grow. It’s called FastTrac Entrepreneurial Education, and we do it under grants from the cities of Tempe and Phoenix.
We were one of the first providers in the country to pilot the FastTrac Tech Venture program, and now we’re doing FastTrac Growth Venture. The attendees participate in ten sessions, three hours each, at the end of which they have usually substantially redefined their businesses or their business plans. We invite ten guest resources from the community to share their expertise: attorneys, accountants, marketers, PR people, and other business owners. I love this program, because it teaches companies how to make investor presentations, give elevator pitches — and sometimes even figure out what business they are really in!
Pictured below are FastTrac participants helping a client of ours strengthen his product by serving as a focus group for it and giving feedback. The facilitator is our good colleague and friend Phillip Blackerby.
