BUMP

On Wednesday, BUMP Network’s CEO, Mitch Thrower, joined a panel to talk tech in SD.  Here is the article written up by SDDT.com…

Sometimes when an idea sparks, it starts a fire; other times an idea just blows away with the wind.

Panelists at 6 Degrees San Diego’s breakfast speaker series, The Digital Frontier, shared on Wednesday how their ideas sparked, companies formed and businesses started to thrive.

Lars Helgeson, CEO and founder of small-business marketing and organization solutions firm GreenRope, said his “aha moment” was “kind of embarrassing.”

“For me, it happens in the shower,” Helgeson said. “There are no phones, no emails showing up on the screen; my mind kind of opens up.”

He said his vision of the need to create email marketing “kind of clicked.”

“I don’t know what it is about showers — it all clicked. It was a magical time,” Helgeson said.

Steven Cox, CEO of TakeLessons, saw his idea spark while peering through the windows of his music teacher’s house. He had been singing in a band when his bandmates told him he needed lessons. The second week he went to his class, his teacher had moved to Japan and neglected to tell him or refund his money.

“How do we vet and send out instructors to give music to everyone?” said Cox, who then started his music lessons company.

Cox said he experienced many aha moments like other panelists, but “many will turn out not to be an aha,” he said.

“Follow the moments, but don’t be adverse to change,” Cox said.

Scot Chisholm, co-founder and CEO of StayClassy, said he has about five aha moments per month.

“It’s important to stay focused rather than chasing aha moments,” Chisholm said.

Once the idea ignites, the funding to keep the fire alive can be the next hurdle for entrepreneurs.

Chisholm joked that he had to “beg, borrow and steal” to get StayClassy rolling. He raised money in chunks during a small angel round, and the company has now raised about $3 million.

Mitch Thrower, CEO and founder of Bump Network Inc., suggests companies stay private for as long as they can in order to dictate decisions. After his experience with Active Network, he has raised only private funds with his own company.

Cox said he funded part of the company himself with small rounds of angel financing.

“Get proof of the concept out the door first,” Cox said. “If you’re building something real — it doesn’t matter where the money comes from — it will get noticed by Bay Area firms.”

Helgeson said he has grown his company organically. In 2000, he co-founded CoolerEmail, a Web-based email marketing application. He worked as a consultant and used that money to build his business.

Most of the panelists said mentors helped them get where they are today. Bump Network’s Thrower said there are two types of mentors.

“In Chutes and Ladders, you hit No. 28 and get catapulted to the end of the game,” Thrower said. “There are mentors, and there are mentor catapults.”

Mentor catapults are the people who can pick up a phone and call a client with 17 million customers, he said.

“San Diego has a rich and deep well of catapults,” Thrower said.

Helgeson said that starting a company is mostly about inspiration.

“None of us are so extraordinary that no one in this room can’t do the exact same thing,” he said.

Starting and running a business takes a lot of time, but the panelists each find their own ways to balance work and life. Jimmy Hendricks, CEO and co-founder of Deal Current Network, said he’s just starting to get a chance to commit to personal time.

“The brain will switch and start being smarter,” said Hendricks, who said blinders are on while in the office and when they come off “you’re open to new things.”

Cox has a jam room after 6 p.m. in the office building, and one of Thrower’s employees occasionally teaches yoga on the company’s roof.

BUMP NETWORK SELECTED AS ONE OF “THE NEXT GREAT CONSUMER BRANDS” TO PRESENT AT NASDAQ WEDNESDAY , MARCH 14th

NEW YORK— BUMP Network, Inc. has been selected to present BUMP.com at The Next Great Consumer Brands Showcase on March 14, 2012.  Consensus Advisors, a boutique investment bank focused on the retail and consumer products industries, and The NASDAQ OMX Group, the world’s largest exchange company, co-hostthe event at the NASDAQ OMX MarketSite in New York City’s Times Square. The daylong conference features some of the fastest-growing, most exciting privately held consumer brand companies.

BUMP Network provides software and technology solutions to enterprise customers, handling extensive membership benefit programs. Its consumer-facing BUMP.com social networking application and benefit-rich membership program caught the attention of Consensus Advisors and NASDAQ OMX. 

“This is a great opportunity to show the potential for BUMP.com in the consumer space,” said BUMP Network’s founder, Mitch Thrower. “The social aspect of the communication platform, along with the BUMP Advantage membership program, is an ideal match for millions of car owner’s lifestyles.” There are 250 million registered vehicles in the US. 

Exhibitors present and demo their products to an audience of private equity investors, venture capital firms and commercial lenders with an interest in investing in the consumer space. For complete event details, a list of all participating brands, and to register go to: http://www.consensusadvisors.com/resources/events/ngcb2012

About BUMP Network, Inc: BUMP Network, Inc. offers powerful yet easy-to-use software for managing any organization’s membership from sign up to redemption. BUMP Network integrates seamlessly into any existing Web site, offering a platform that allows them to enhance revenue from their members and understand in much greater detail the data about each of them. Partnerships with over 200 major brands provide appealing national, regional as well as location-specific benefits and privileges to BUMP Network’s affiliated and direct members. Information on BUMP Network can be found at http://www.bump-network.com.

BUMP Network also maintains it’s own integrated Web and mobile messaging platform. BUMP.com allows anyone to send a message to any license plate in the United States, at any time. Messages can be sent via email, text or voice, and are directed to a specific license plate. BUMP.com will be rolling out new services, such as a roadside assistance package in conjunction with a broad range of benefits and lifestyle services. Learn more and “claim your tag” at http://www.bump.com.

About Consensus Advisors: Consensus Advisors is a boutique investment banking and financial advisory firm based in New York and Boston. Consensus focuses on complex transactions for companies undergoing significant transformation of their business models.

About the NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.: The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world’s largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3,600 listed companies.

Today I sat outside and enjoyed the beautiful weather as I gazed out over the Pacific Ocean. An Usher song came on Spotify and I then realized how awesome it was that I was actually at work!  The BUMP office has some of the best views in all of San Diego. Looking out at the waves inspires pure creativity that I feel can’t be replicated many other places.  I had never seen an entire office meeting held in lounge chairs on top of a rooftop deck overlooking the water before until I started at BUMP. This is what makes BUMP so unique. Although nature may be a great source of inspiration, the inside of the BUMP office can be just as inspirational.  Everyone at BUMP works in one room (I think of it as a command center) despite their different jobs and responsibilities. The constant communication between the different segments within the BUMP office allows the BUMP team to bounce ideas off one another with feedback from several perspectives.  This often leads to breakthroughs on problems that would have otherwise taken a much longer time. As a result, BUMP’s source of innovation is not only it’s staff but also it’s rare office environment.

-BUMP Associate Jared

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https://www.bump.com/careers/internship

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(Source: College Humor)