Right after the New Year in 2010, Matt Westfield was asked by a community organization in Reno NV to speak on what it takes to become an entrepreneur, something he had done years ago for the same organization. Matt contacted his friend, long-time colleague, and fellow serial entrepreneur, Rod Hosilyk – who also spoke with Matt at this same organization – and asked if he’d join him in the speaking engagement, which he did.

The “speaking engagement” was so well received it turned into 1, then 2, then 3, and then 4-Day courses on “starting and growing a business with the least risk, least capital, and greatest chance of success”.

In December of 2010 Rod and Matt left their day-to-day duties & responsibilities at their respective companies and formed Startup Growth Strategies, Inc., a Nevada non-profit corporation dedicated to “Getting Nevada, and America, back on its feet by promoting job growth through entrepreneurial ventures”.

SGS has developed a very structured & effective 3 Phase Success Process:

• Phase One – SGS’ 4-day intensive business course and workshop
• Phase Two – SGS’ Entrepreneurs Assembly (EA)

o   A membership organization with monthly & quarterly meetings.

• Phase Three – SGS’ Business Alliance (BA)

o   SGS will help create a company for marketing EA members’ product(s) or service, and help do it – even providing micro-funding if necessary.

The results are impressive. From over 100 attendees who went through SGS’s courses in less than a year, 13 have businesses in some stage of formation.

“We believe the basis for a sustained economic recovery in Northern Nevada is entrepreneurial ventures started here by people who live here whose companies will bring revenue in from outside the state. We think trying to lure businesses here, while sounding glamorous, is not the most effective way to rebuild & grow our economy” said Hosilyk in a recent interview.

SGS has also partnered with UNR’s entrepreneurs program and is taking an active role in getting members of UNR’s Entrepreneurs Club involved in real-life entrepreneurial ventures, thereby providing university students with “real-world” experience.

SGS is “walking its talk”. This spring, SGS will donate $75,000 in products to a contest open to Northern Nevada entrepreneurs which will provide funds to promote & finance entrepreneurial ventures.

For more info, go to the SGS web site at www.sgs101.com .

SGS Success Process

• What sets SGS apart from others?

o   Most college or university courses start “after the beginning” and stop “before the end”, i.e., you start taking courses before you even know if this is what you want to do, and finish with no set plan and/or structure to do it.

o   Most groups or organizations have ongoing programs that you enter whenever and wherever you join them. For instance “Please come to our meeting; we’re having a presentation on how to patent your product”. Well, what if you don’t have a product to patent? Or what if you don’t even know how to test the market?

o   SGS has a very structured 3 Phase process to success – and you can only enter at the beginning of the process, thereby helping ensure your success. We teach about “where the rubber meets the road”; real world presentations of business topics – from someone who’s “been there – done that”.

o   Starting and growing a business may not be easy, but it’s not rocket science either. We present key business principles that others make complicated in simple to understand modules – with easy to grasp examples.

• More about SGS’ 3 Phase Success Process

o   Everyone must start at Phase One. This provides a grounding and “common language” we use throughout our Success Process.

o   Phase One – SGS’ 3-day course and 1-day Workshop

• Part 1 – About YOU

• Are you cut out for this? Is being an entrepreneur right for you (it’s okay to say it’s not – at least then you’ll have some direction)
• If you think this is right for you, do you have what it takes? And will you do what it takes?
• We want successes, so honest answers to the above are critical

• Part 2 – About starting and growing a business, emphasis is on business, not starting and growing a company – a big difference.

• Validating the Market, Marketing, Sales, Financing, Cash Flow, etc.

• Part 3 – Workshop on Day 4, where we all sign non-disclosure agreements and run each attendee’s business idea through SGS’ copyrighted Marketing 101-104 checklist for success. This is perhaps the most powerful part of Phase One because this is where all attendees get to apply what they’ve learned in the 3 day course to real-world business ideas.

o   Phase Two – SGS’ Entrepreneurs Assembly

• A membership organization for graduates of the 4-day course & workshop with monthly & quarterly meetings with your peers encouraging information exchange and help through alliances with fellow entrepreneurs.

o   Phase Three – SGS’ Business Alliance

• SGS will accept select members of the Entrepreneurs Assembly into its Business Alliance, create a company for marketing the product(s) or service, and help do it – even providing start-up funding if necessary.