before

during

Social entrepreneur who has started each of my businesses with cash on hand and all have been profitable within 90 days or less. <Ned> is different, it has not launched so much as it is evolving.

Founder <Ned> 05-current: <Ned> is the brand of doing good. <Ned> is media, community involvement, personal engagement, citizen journalism, business networks and networking, philanthropic giving circles, microfinance, social enterprises, social entrepreneurs, and much, much more. <Ned> is both vision and ideas, groups of individuals and organizations working together transparently and informally to help make the world a better place. <Ned> has "in house" business models and outside partners, affiliates and alliances all building within the same brand elements of making the world a better place. <Ned> is many things growing in many directions pushing decisions, operations and action to the outer edges. Open Source better world franchising and licensing.

//Lessons Learned//

• Doing things transparently opens models up for great feedback early on.
• Big visions, new models, and out of the box ideas are challenging to articulate.
• Dig deep to understand the potential and power of collaboration.
• Don't tell, show. Don't talk, take action. Not tomorrow, today.
• Know your biggest weaknesses and find ways to plug those holes.

To begin to get your head wrapped around <Ned> please see these two one page flow charts.

Ned.com Flowchart V8

Ned Coop Flowchart V5

CEO/President, Advertising Agency 96-03: Clients such as P&G, Nextel, Disney, and Outpost.com. One of the top 20 interactive advertising agencies according to Adweek magazine. Profitable from 1996 through 2001. 7.1 million in annual revenue. 40+ staff. Office in Portland, San Fran, and NYC. Crashed and burned in 2002. Personal guarantees and plowing cash back into company for payroll brought about utter and total financial devastation.

// Lessons Learned //

• Hire great people when the organization grows past your comfort level.
• Young, motivated, enthusiastic staff can accomplish amazing things.
• Things can turn to shit quicker than you can imagine.
• When life gives you shit, make lemonade, no wait, that's not it...

Angel Investor With a Somewhat Iffy Track Record: Helped the following companies launch: TechTracker (ACQUIRED), SnapNames (ACQUIRED), Measurecast (ACQUIRED), Printbid (ACQUIRED), Dogpile (ACQUIRED), CashPile/Merchandising Avenue (DOA), Online Response (DOA), Seminar Source (DOA), and MP3.com (PUBLIC) - for clarity sake, not an angel with Dogpile/MP3, worked directly with founders on growing their biz. This was more about helping founders with vision launch their businesses than it was about making a big personal ROI. Which is good, because there was no ROI, which is not good.

// Lessons Learned //

• Writing a big check makes you sweat and itch.
• Always give a generous portion of your net revenue stream to NPO's, you never know when it might crater.

Black Diamond Films 93-96: Founded a small video production company with a small staff of three that did corporate videos, video duplication, image transfers and commercials.

Arts Marketing Association 10/2/89-93: Founder, October 1989, an association for marketing directors of nonprofit performing arts groups grew to 350 paying performing arts clients and profitable within under 60 days of launch. Focused on direct mail to build an organization published a monthly newsletter informing marketing directors of performing arts groups strategies, tools and practical advice on how to increase earned income thru a variety of proven tactics as shared from other members. There was also an interactive phone consulting component that allowed marketing directors to book weekly sessions to focus on their specific needs and challenges. Clients included Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Steppenwolf Theatre. Sold to Arts Reach.

// Lessons Learned //

• Starting a company takes courage and a supportive family.
• When you lose interest, sell it.

Storefront Theatre 86-89: Marketing Director, built subscriber base from 100 to 7,500 in three seasons creating the largest theatre company in the state. Worked with building another sales/telemarketing team from the ground up, direct marketing, branding, organizing community and business partnerships, built a manageable and sustainable company from a ragtag operation that had a great creative history, but little business acumen, and no previous focus on strong advertising, marketing, direct marketing, PR or sales.

Portland Repertory Theatre 84-86: Marketing Director, built subscriber base from 1,200 to 3,500 in two seasons. Learned basics of direct marketing, managing a sales team, brochure and collateral materials design, and developing customer support processes.

// Lessons Learned //

• The board of directors can be crazy.
• The board of directors may not understand the NPO business model.
• NPO's have opportunity for tremendous growth if they are open to trying both creative and traditional ideas.
• Young, motivated, enthusiastic staff can accomplish amazing things.

Business Interests: Cause related marketing, social entrepreneurship, startup businesses, philanthropy, fundraising, and non-profit organizations (prefer environmental, arts & culture, community, education, health, human services, international)

Personal Info:

Music: Ali Farka Toure, Beatles, Beck, Billie Holiday, Black Keys, Blind Boys of Alabama, Bob Dylan Buddy Guy, Dr. John, Etta James, Frank Sinatra, Frank Zappa, Jimi Hendrix, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Cash, Johnny Winter, Holmes Brothers, Junior Kimbrough, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Led Zeppelin, Mavis Staples, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Neil Young, North Mississippi Allstars, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pink Floyd, Pops Staples, R.L. Burnside, Ravi Shankar, Ray Charles, RL Burnside, Robin Trower, Staple Singers, Stew, Tom Waits, Tony Bennett, Warren Zevon, Was (Not Was), White Stripes, and anything on the Fat Possum label.

Personal Tags/Keywords: advertising, angelinvesting, ashoka, betterworld, blues, books, brainstorm, children, citizenship, cluetrain, collaboration, community, compassion, corporatesocialresponsibility, creative, currency, ecotrust, entrepreneur, environment, fair-trade, family, freedom, friends, fun, fundraising, giving, grameen, grameenbank, greatergood, green, happiness, honesty, honor, humanrights, humor, ideas, improvement, integrity, interra, koyaanisqatsi, learning, localfood, love, makeadifference, marketing, microfinance, microloan, music, ned, neddotcom, nonprofit, NPO, omidyar, omidyarnetwork, opensource, openspace, passion, payitforward, philanthropy, poverty, profit, profitable, radicaltransparency, reading, recycling, reputation, risk, socialentrepreneur, socialentrepreneurship, socialenterprise, socialventure, startup, sustainability, transparency, trust, truth, volunteer, wiserearth

• Have: (all free for the asking)

1. Business plan template (just ask)
2. Nonprofit Guide to Developing and Implementing an Income Stream Venture
3. Written/phone feedback after reading/reviewing social enterprise/purpose business plans
4. Marketing/advertising phone consultation

Propaganda, Illusions of Grandeur & Puffery:

• Grimes is a head spinning freak - Peter Rees, PCS
• Mark is zany as a bat on glue at a Van Halen concert - Lars Hasselblad Torres, founder Peace Tiles
• Mark is pretty crazy (I'll bet he washes down lead paint chips with liquid kryptonite) - NMW, DNS collector
• A genius, just pure marketing genius - William Denkler, CEO America's Bookshelf
• Grimes is a preternaturally twisted intelligence and internet zeitgeist - Chris Locke, author Cluetrain Manifesto
• Grimes is a marketing whiz - The Oregonian
• Mark provides a much needed injection of intelligent, savvy, innovative, funkiness that always just makes complete sense. He is a visionary and leader and has great music taste to boot! (anyone that rocks out to Jack White is just A-OK in my book) - Susan Megy, Research & Policy Analyst, Humanity United
• Mark rocks my world ;^) Irreverent master of the universe... Dragon slayer. Alchemist of uplift. Seriously strange fruit. One part better world scout. Other part Mick Jagger's lost twin. Either way, he's an enigma. I give him a 10. He's gotta good beat, and I can dance to him. - Sue Braiden, better world scout
• Thanks so so much for your suggestions, encouragement, critiques, and brilliance! - Paul Hawken author & entrepreneur

"What is the secret to life?" At which point Curly holds up his index finger and say, "One thing" before riding away. In frustration Billy Crystal finally asked, "What is that one thing?" To which Curly answered, "That is what you have to figure out." - Jack Palance in the movie City Slickers

"We dance round in a ring and suppose, but the secret sits in the middle and knows" - Robert Frost

"To see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wildflower, hold infinity in the palm of your hand, and eternity in an hour" - William Blake

"Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one." - Marcus Aurelius

"There is nothing permanent except change." Heraclitus

"Enjoy every sandwich" - Warren Zevon