475 Post: John Dimmer's Talk

John Dimmer articulated his presentation around:
 

1.       Dimmer’s Entrepreneurship History

Our guest graduated from Clover Park High School and holds a Finance degree from the University of Oregon. He wanted to run his own business but was not ready yet, so he went on to work for several businesses including Puget Sound Bank, and then worked with cousin on the Internet in a Box solution before co-founding Free Range Media. After a brief retirement period following the sale of Free Range Media in 1999 Mr. Dimmer went back to business by investing money in his father’s First Management Company.

Currently Mr. Dimmer is investing in several businesses. Somme of them are Honda Dealership in Portland, OR, and AirStream Adventures Northwest in three locations: Portland, OR, Covington, WA (officially known as Seattle), and Boise, ID.  AirStream Adventures Northwest will be selling 45% of the product nationwide once the fourth location in process in California runs.

2.       Financing Life Cycle

Mr. Dimmer argued that an entrepreneur needs to know the ultimate objective of his business. Knowing where you are heading with your business will determine the strategies and paths to take. Funding your business is a complex process that starts with your own money, family and friends, and more other opportunities including Angel groups. 

3.       Angels

Most entrepreneurs get funded by Angels. These are retired businessmen who still have money and want to throw it back into investments. Almost every community has them whether as isolated individuals or organized network. Mr. Dimmer co-founded Tacoma Angels Network. This group meets 8 times a year for lunch. Angels have different funding requirements but the standard ones are on Tacoma Angels website. An applicant needs to be more compelling to catch an angel attention during presentation for further meetings that may lead to a funding down road. Most of all, an entrepreneur needs to know his audience’s interests when asking for funds.