Spencer attended San Diego State University where he studied Telecommunications Management, Film, Marketing and Journalism earning his Bachelor’s degree in 1994. He also attended the University of Southern California where he studied E-Commerce Management and earned an executive degree and the University of California, San Diego where he studied Engineering Management and earned an additional professional degree.

Spencer’s core expertise includes Business Development, Strategic Partner Relationships, Investor Management, Marketing and Sales Channel Development. Integrated Marketing and Sales Programs focused on branding, direct response and and building awareness through customer relationships and experiences.

In his personal time, Spencer enjoys Worldwide Travel, Adventure Sports, Anything Tech, Media and Creative, Music, the Arts and Writing and Gaming.

Spencer is a proud member of the International Network of Social Entrepreneurs. Find him on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

The images in this tour are screen shots of original and custom designs by VentureLinx. Please contact us to learn more about the stories behind each of these Client launches.

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California (USA), VentureLinx’ organizational structure has global reach. VentureLinx’ talent pool and business relationships provide unique capabilities to address many business challenges. Our Client management and business experts are located nationwide and in most of the major cities to match our Client’s local to national focuses. Our development resources stretch from the United States to South America, Europe and India - this enables the highest creative output and diversity for various projects. And, our company uses best-in-class technology for Client and internal management, collaboration and processes.

Although specific solutions will vary due to the nature of the business being launched and current business conditions, some of the major functions we provide include:

Program Management: The Start-Up Program is highly interactive. We will agree on a meeting schedule (via online collaboration) so that you are strategically involved every step of the way. Additionally, a secure, personal portal will be available to help manage activities between our companies. Regularly scheduled meetings will be most frequent with your VentureLinx Business Program Manager and Life Coach. And, as necessary, Legal and Accounting review will be included. Concurrently, moderated by your VentureLinx Manager, Experts in your business type (located nationwide) will be blogging advice, ideas and best practices for your business (located securely and exclusively in your portal).

Company Planning and Structure: VentureLinx consults and translates your raw ideas, notes and research into the main Business Plan. Determining the primary audience (yourself, investors, customers and partners) for the business plan “message” is an important part of this process. We also draft the start-up Road Maps for parts such as Company Presence, Infrastructure, Business Development, Financing, and Work/Life Balance. And, depending on what the plan calls for, we’ll file all the necessary paperwork for your business to become a legal corporation.

Company Presence: Starting off with the right image is an important part of a new business launch. VentureLinx will develop the most important pieces of your brand, including your new logo, tag line, www.com name, letterhead, business cards, and the scope for the main company web site and brochures, including starter copy. If needed, we’ll also register your domain and set-up a hosting solution with “yourcompanyname.com” e-mail. With fully documented scopes in hand, you will have a choice to use our web design and printing resources or to bid it out.

Company Infrastructure/Business Management Systems: There are many different types of software solutions that will help keep your new business organized and efficient. VentureLinx will help you select, implement, and train on the business management solution that is most appropriate for your business. For example, you may need sales automation, customer relationship management, inventory management and accounting with payroll to automate critical functions. We’ll make sure you have the best technology, software partnerships and documentation for the evolution of your business. And, if necessary, we’ll also customize manuals for Human Resources, Employees and Operations.

Business Development: Whether the strategy calls for an integrated plan with online marketing, press kits and/or good old fashioned cold calling, we’ll utilize the latest marketing and sales strategies to help you get the first piece of business. VentureLinx’ business development resources can script, template and test campaign options to ensure your business is headed in the right direction. We also use survey and research methods to fine tune the strategy. And, once we’ve set performance benchmarks for developing new business, this is our opportunity to test your new business model and see how everything works together.

Business Financing: A proven business model puts the owner in a better position to raise capital and further fund their venture. VentureLinx offers different solutions to help raise capital.

1. How much experience do I have in launching a business?

For example, you may have never launched a business or have launched multiple businesses. Or, perhaps the product or service you want to launch is new to you. If you are innovating a new product or service, is it one that doesn’t exist or is it an improvement on one that does exist? And, is there good information available to help in the research or is it a blank slate?

2. How much time do I have available to commit to the business?

Perhaps you are working a full-time job and have only a few hours per week to give or you can dedicate yourself full-time to the new business creation.

3. What resources do I have to help me get the business launched?

For this, consider the mix of contacts (people and companies) that you may need help from to put everything together, including: strategic, motivational and educational resources, operational and technical support, legal, financial and creative resources.

4. What are the development and support requirements for the product or service?

Consider how straight-forward or complex the development of your new product or service will be, including authorship or technical designs, manufacturing of a prototype and all the other factors to produce enough quantities to prove your concept. Other considerations that weigh in include your primary business type (invention and manufacturing, agent/distributor, service retail, others), being solely online and/or brick and mortar, serving consumers and/or businesses, creating a shippable product or an information e-download, patents, and so on.

Only you will know if you are ready to start. Getting organized can greatly help in arriving at this decision. This includes organizing your externals such as your personal and professional lives. Equally importantly, it means organizing your financial life so that you are adequately taken care of while building the new venture. Clearing any mental clutter and noise is also very important. Another suggestion is to prepare yourself to let go on some aspects and delegate. This will come easier if you are comfortable with the people you work with in the early stages, if there’s a good fit, and sometimes this is hard to determine until the working relationship is established. Either way, be ok with your new role as a leader and allow enough time and energy for creativity and flexibility based on the current needs.

There are many benefits to starting with this model as opposed to one that is rigid and singularly-focused around one idea. Several reasons include the ability to respond to new opportunities should the original idea falter, using certain attributes of the Company for different purposes (and other markets), and the immediate ability to be diversified. For this type of model to be established it is key that you (the entrepreneur) are focused on optimizing abilities to make decisions. One way we facilitate this is by helping you focus on continuous improvement instead of theoretical assumptions. Another way is by helping you focus on the business “issues” instead of the business plans.

The path you choose to bring your ideas forward is not a separate and stand-alone activity, it is integral part of how you lead and operate. Whether you do-it-yourself, hire consultants and sub-contractors, partner with individuals and Companies, or work with other creative combinations, the early stages of building a new company are important ones. Since everything is new and there is no history of performance, trial and error are key parts to learning. What you decide to learn from these experiences is your choice and it helps placing your energy on the right priorities.

As you explore your unique reasons, for each reason, also pay attention to the underlying factors that have prevented you from taking action. Most of these factors are based on fear which causes blocks in confidence and forward movement. Fear appears in many ways such as fear of change and failure, stretching beyond everyday boundaries to the confidence in the value of your idea, it’s probabilities for success and everything that comes with growth including your personal image.

Now, consider the factors that go into starting a business. There are a lot of interdependencies. Preparing for peaks and valleys and building for sustainability and scalability may be important considerations for you. It also may be planning for best ways to lead alone in the early stages while minimizing your personal risk. Your decision to start-up (or not to) is an important action, one we have great respect for, especially the choices that need to be made on where you spend your time, money and energy.

For a moment, I got a surge, excited that our market potential just ethereally multiplied 25 times. Just for a moment. Then I reminded myself how irrelevant these numbers are for practical purposes. The key take-away from that discussion was that we are in a good position to help many more people move and flow forward. For example, our Start-Up Program is designed to help founder/owners focus on nurturing and validating their ideas to the point of first revenue or a successful beta - sans worrying about the mechanical details of building a business. I still haven’t come across anyone who is just aching to file incorporation paperwork, write the business plan, do the projected financials, draft legal agreements, and set up the books while creating the management team and new brand. The Program helps take these sort of tasks off the founder/owner’s plate while supporting the vision and fine tuning the strategy.

VentureLinx is many things and all things small business. We’re here to educate you if you are new to starting a business. We’re here to provide a structured start-up program with the necessary coaching, counsel and resources should you decide to not go it alone. And, if you are already operational, we’ve got a service that gives you a dedicated team to do most back-office activities such as accounting and web site management. Our excellent web, application, print and branding design and development resources complement all of this. We’ve organically grown and diversified fairly quickly over the last couple of years - we’re thrilled that our story and value has resonated so well with people like you who have great ideas.

Paramount to all of this is that we are in business to be “in service” to you. Our purpose is to add value to your life and the incredible transitions you are choosing to make. The same goes for our feelings towards moderating our Groups - on Facebook and at The Brainstorming Alliance (on CollectiveX). We’ll post info that we feel will be valuable to the group while keeping the door open for your contributions and feedback. Here’s some ideas on how we can be of greater service to you through this Group:

- Suggest an info interview be done - we enjoy reaching out to new contacts, finding out what they’re about and then sharing.
- Suggest a topic to explore - we enjoy being in the student’s seat, researching and sharing expertise.
- Ask a question - if we don’t know the answer, we’ll try to find it out.

(If you want more dedicated consultations then upgrade your membership within The Brainstorming Alliance site.)

I coach our Clients to try and operate from a place of service, creativity and enthusiasm regardless of the task at hand. With this mindset, the rest can fall into place easier when you have a conscious plan and program to help the journey. This includes focusing on the solution instead of worrying about uncontrollable consequences and outcomes. In that way, our approach helps people put all the pieces together so the “launch” becomes a smooth transition from an idea into a viable business. Welcome to the Groups!