CTEK rescue squad for entrepreneurs

BOULDER — It may not be as sexy as firefighters dashing down a pole and jumping onto a screaming firetruck, but one company is set up to rescue entrepreneurs in tech-related businesses who find themselves in a jam.

CTEK, the Colorado Tech Incubator with offices in Boulder and Longmont, puts out fires of the business sort. CTEK’s firefighters are called advisers, and they share their expertise, review business plans, conduct management reports and analyze financial statements, to retrieve entrepreneurs stuck in the swaying treetops of a wobbly economy.

Again, not sexy, but potentially helpful. The organization has won awards from both the National Business Incubation Association and the Small Business Administration for achievement in business consulting.

CTEK has developed a network of approximately 1,000 advisers from many kinds of companies, with about 600 used regularly, said Lu Cordova, who heads CTEK.

“We have a large database of CEOs we can call on for specific client needs. The CEOs then send us specialists to help out where they’re needed,” Cordova said.

CTEK currently has about 20 clients — not counting one-time projects. Cordova said CTEK handles “a fair number” of one-time business plan reviews, and it’s starting to do disclosure reviews for the University of Colorado’s Office of Technology Transfer.

Clients pay $500 a month for access to the CTEK network. CTEK also gets convertible debt in different amounts depending on the engagement. Cordova said CTEK can afford the low fees because advisers volunteer their time, so only minimum staff time is required to monitor quality and progress.

CTEK advisers often begin with a road map that lays out defined, measurable goals and the resources needed to meet the goals, she said. From there it seeks holes in the company’s expertise, then fills them with advisers. Some advisers spend a few hours a month with a client, while others spend many hours a week. Advisers also follow up to conduct periodic reviews with clients about the road map and services.

One of those clients is Air-Grid Networks Inc., a Littleton-based company that delivers replays to sports fans via handheld devices.

Jeff Buckwalter, Air-Grid’s chief executive officer, said at first he was uncertain CTEK would be able to help, but decided to have CTEK review his company’s business plan.

“It wasn’t fun. It’s never fun to have people point out what you’re doing wrong, but I did find it extremely helpful and valuable,” Buckwalter said. “They not only looked at the documents itself but the underlying strategy that’s represented.”

Buckwalter said the review gave him and his management team a “more realistic view” of what the company could expect to accomplish given the current economic climate.

Satisfied with the business plan review, Buckwalter decided to join CTEK — for the $500 monthly fee — specifically for the access to its advisers. He has since set up an advisory board of 12 CTEK volunteers that meet monthly to share advice to Air-Grid.

One of the more powerful CTEK services, Cordova said, is a simple one. It’s called Client Request, designed to solve acute problems.

For example, she said a client called CTEK in a panic about a government request for proposal worth $2 million, and the client was the only bidder.

“(The request for proposal) was three inches thick. They had never done a government contract before and had no idea what to do, but knew it was theirs if they could figure it out,´ said Cordova.

Five people from CTEK’s network came forward to help, and the client not only got the contract but Cordova said it eventually changed the nature of the company and its target market.

Cordova said it’s difficult to name the most common problem CTEK sees in its work because the client companies are so different.

“Some of the companies have a three-time CEO looking to break into a new market, and some with first-time CEOs still trying to find a market,” she said. “If I had to name just one problem, I would say that many people focus on the minutia they do well instead of the big issues that the company needs.”

Cordova said as an entrepreneur she has “spent half a lifetime getting into trouble” just so she could warn others.

“Entrepreneurs are ingenious at finding ways to get in trouble, so it’s a constant dialogue to assess a business as it evolves,” she said. “I would have loved to have had an organization like CTEK for my last company, and the one before and the one before. I am awestruck by this business community, and feel incredibly privileged and grateful to work with the people who make CTEK what it is.”

on Facebook on LinkedIn