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Pure Visibility was fortunate to start with immediate cash flow from clients the founders brought to the business with them. However, rapid growth frequently requires financing beyond self-generated cash flow. We discuss discuss strategies Pure Visibility is pursuing to fuel its growth.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Catherine Juon | Financing Innovation | Marketing | Pure Visibility | Web Communications

This interview with Catherine Juon, Co-Founder and Catalyst at Pure Visibility, marks the first in our series on "Financing Your Innovation". The series was sparked by the observation across multiple interview participants that they faced common problems in financing their innovative businesses.

Catherine introduces us to the issues faced in financing a services business. As we have covered previously, Pure Visibility is a three year old Internet marketing firm that helps its clients grow their businesses online. Like many services businesses, Pure Visibility has grown through bootstrapping. In their particular case, this has meant:

• They started with immediate cash flow from clients they had garnered in previous ventures so could forego bank financing.
• In addition to contract work, they established monthly recurring revenue streams that guaranteed a source of revenue.
• Working capital, the difference between payables and receivables, has been an issue as the company has grown. Pure Visbility is currently seeking bank financing to help with working capital but has also financed it through credit cards and loans from friends and family.

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Wagner Design started as a print shop but realized in the late 1990's that the web would displace a large part of its print business. Kathy Roeser's arrival at Wagner design helped seal the transition from print to web.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Finding Gaps | Jill Wagner | Kathy Roeser | Marketing | Wagner Design Associates | Web 2.0 | Web Communications

As described in our last segment on Wagner Design Associates, the firm started as a print design shop. However, by the late 1990's, it was clear that the web would play a more significant role, at least partially displacing print, so Jill Wagner began the move toward the web. Some highlights from this segment:

• Shortly after the start of the current decade, Jill approached Kathy Roeser because she felt she needed more web expertise.
• Much like Carrie Hensel at Inner Circle Media, Kathy had become a self-taught web guru with a grounding in design and she was actively engaged in teaching others.
• Kathy's design background also fit well with the culture of Wagner Design, smoothing the firm's transition from print to web.
• Wagner Design Associates now does about 50/50 print and web work.

In the next twelve months, Carrie wants to create more productized services like their current content management system to even out their revenue cycles. Further on, she might need to open additional offices to better serve her clients.

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Filed under: Ann Arbor, MI | Carrie Hensel | Finding Gaps | Inner Circle Media | Twelve Month Goals | Web Communications

In this 8 minute segment (download iPod compatible, 42MB), Carrie discusses how she wants Inner Circle Media to evolve over the next twelve months. Her first goal is to develop additional productized services like their content management system that they can lease. Lease revenue from these services is an important aide in smoothing out their cyclical service revenue.

Further out, she is considering establishing a second office, possibly in New England. An office there would allow them to remain in better contact with a growing customer base and also reduce the cost of servicing that market.

Alyssa Martina allows users on Metro Parent to have their own blogs so that they can build connections. Her goal is to get beyond passive, anonymous interaction.

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Filed under: Alyssa Martina | Defining New Markets | Ferndale, MI | Metro Parent Publications | Publishing | Web 2.0 | Web Communications

In this 13 minute segment (download iPod compatible, 67MB), Alyssa Martina describes how she uses the web to connect with Metro Parent's readers. She has always felt that she could not rely on print to make the full connection. She has used a whole array of events to make the connection interactive, and she views the web as providing a whole new level of interactivity. On Metro Parent's site, readers can create their own blogs and connect with each other.

Until August 2007, Alyssa had not implemented an extensive web site for Metro Parent. She did not consider reproducing the print publication online, as many outlets such as the New York Times, were doing viable. Online revenues are currently just not sufficient to cover the cost of producing the content. However, she believes that if she treats the web as a synergistic channel that creates better connection with and between her readers, the value proposition is potentially very attractive.