Over the 34 years I have been practicing entrepreneurship (6 startups including Hoover’s and BOOKSTOP) and the 7 years I have been intensively teaching entrepreneurship, I have reviewed tens of thousands of business plans and pitches. In over 30 countries, in virtually every industry.
Today, I have limited time to review plans and mentors……but I have a few spots open. If you would like a serious review of your plan, by an impartial and knowledgeable entrepreneur, here is your chance!
For $500 for the first 5 applicants ($700 after that), I will spend the required time to study your plan line by line, raise potential issues, and hopefully help you clarify the opportunity. Then we will have a long meal or telephone call….up to 2 hours…..to discuss your plan. I will try to help in any way, including introductions to my friends you should talk to and resources you should know about. I will bring my 57,000 book library and global research network to your challenge.
If you do not have a business plan, but want to talk ideas and brainstorm with me, I will do an intensive call or face-to-face meeting of up to 2 hours for $400. However, I always urge potential leaders to lay out a plan for their own sake – to clarify your thinking and make you take a stab at future projections. Only by projecting and seeing the results do we fine-tune our ability to see the future. (Read my post here.)
My approach to finding and understanding the opportunity to serve others through innovation and entrepreneurial thinking applies to any organization — non-profit, retail, online, hardware, software, manufacturing, services, consumer products, real estate, transportation, restaurants, ….. there is probably no industry that I have not studied and researched.
Those who have taken my in-person course in Austin have begun many entrepreneurial journeys, starting several new enterprises of all types (see testimonials below).
Now is your chance to have your idea reviewed by independent eyes. To understand your idea in a broader context of the economy, society, and competition.
If you are interested, or have questions, please email me at gary@hooversworld.com.
I look forward to hearing from you!
Gary Hoover
Comments from my students, entrepreneurs, and fellow teachers:
“Gary’s huge. He’s awesome. I don’t think I could have done this without him.” — Kristen Heaney, founder, Yardbar, Austin, Texas, quoted 2013 in Austin Business Journal.
From startupgrind.com:
One night Erine (Gray) was lucky to be invited to a dinner with legendary Austin entrepreneur Gary Hoover at Fonda San Miguel, an equally legendary Austin restaurant serving fine Mexican cuisine. The topic of dinner conversation was Erine’s desire to start a non-profit organization to fill gaps in social services he’d seen while working with the state of Texas. Gary suggested that starting a for-profit business would be a smarter path, and keep him from competing for scarce resources with the nonprofit organizations who would be his likely customers. A little while later, Erine incorporated his vision as Aunt Bertha, a Delaware C Corporation and certified “B-Corp” – a new type of company that balances the drive for shareholder return with other stakeholders in the business.
Gary Hoover is a man of many, many talents, and I respect him dearly. He is really a genius level business thinker. You guys are super-lucky to have him as a teacher. I had a lot of great professors at Wharton and when I attended Wharton it was rated the #1 MBA program 6 years in a row. And none of them approached Gary’s level of knowledge about business history or entrepreneurship. – Brett A. Hurt, founder, Coremetrics, Bazaarvoice, Inc. (founded in 2005, IPO in 2012), and Hurt Family Investments.
I have known Gary Hoover for over 20 years. With that background, I can tell you that Gary Hoover is one of the most amazing entrepreneurs and teachers I have ever encountered. He is literally a walking encyclopedia of business history and his story telling is incredible. He is the most prolific reader I have ever met and his ability to not only speed read but retain information is incredible. I consider Gary Hoover one of Austin’s most valuable assets and recommend him without reservation. Whether you are a lifetime learner, an aspiring entrepreneur, or an academic, you will find Gary Hoover as one of your truly great resources and your time spent with him among your most memorable. – Jim Nolen, Distinguished Senior Lecturer Emeritus, Department of Finance, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin.
