Coaching & Education Services

It sounds so easy.  But if you seek capital for a worthwhile venture or project, at some point you need to ask yourself a tough question: why don’t you already have it?

Most entrepreneurs would answer that they’re not sure what the problem is, or confidently pursue their various options in hopes of meeting and succeeding with investors that “get it.”  If you’ve done your homework, and are offering a fair deal (either a willingness to sell shares or pay close to market-rate interest for debt capital, or related instruments), then what’s the hold-up?

Is it because you simply haven’t made the effort, or perhaps because — if you’re honest about it — the company has some issues? (Most do.)  We’ve found that often what’s missing is a precise understanding of how investor’s think, act, and will perceive your particular situation.  How fully have you “stepping into their shoes”?

Objectivity is lost by the time you’ve given your plan the attention such efforts require.  But also consider that market conditions change, investors change, and when you combine these three factors, some number of disconnects or delays are inevitable.

Sometimes, we’ve found, entrepreneurs know extremely well what is required to obtain their capital.  They just don’t want to do the work.

The truth is likely a combination of several elements.  If you don’t already know the exact reasons you don’t yet have the necessary capital, perhaps it would be wise to step back for a moment and sort out possible factors?  How “bankable” is your project or venture, really? Are you truly ready for outside investment or other forms of financial support? If not, what does it take to get ready and successfully raise the necessary capital in the current economy?

At In3 Group, we’ve developed an interactive assessment tool that allows you honestly evaluate where you are now, how you stack up compared to the ideal, and thus your chances for successful fundraising.  See tool.in3finance.com.  Contact us to schedule a private workshop or join the next public session using this tool.

Part of our commitment to clients and affiliate partners, and an important principle of social sustainability, is helping teams learn how to objectively assess and come up with validated answers to these questions. We all benefit from a precise, nuanced understanding of the strengths and areas needing attention because that accelerates the fundraising process.  We get paid when you get capital paid in.  So, how open to learning and discover the truth are you willing to be?

Rather than learning through painful and tedious cycles of trial and error (which can also become quite expensive), by doing the work and paying attention to the team’s results you already have many of the answers.  An objective third party, such as In3 Group consultants, may be able to help you piece together the rest and, most importantly, focus on those essential few elements that will make your situation investible.

When project finance success depends on quickly and reliably gaining access to available capital streams, it pays dividends to learn from specialists, so-called expert and certified practitioners, who have seen hundreds of businesses, some successful, most not, and can recognize the patterns and point to principles thoguh hard-won experience.  We at In3 have this practical knowledge and can serve as a resource to your team.

These days, information technology can greatly aid with discovery and more formal educational programs (webinars and seminars) can also greatly accelerate learning. By seizing opportunities to learn, we leverage our time, grow in our profession, and win more often.

Rather than trying to remain the source of answers and solutions, we prefer to share our hard-won experience in learning partnerships that range from informal coaching to formal coursework.

The goal is to get out of the way so that others can flourish and gain autonomy, thereby becoming self-sufficient. To that end, we offer various workshops and classes on the practical “how to’s” of project finance, innovation, impact capital and more.

It all starts with the spark of inspiration

What inspires you? Making money while doing good for the planet and society?  Disruptive, real world examples of success and powerful results that serve as models to emulate?  Something else?

Other sources of inspiration may include nature’s codes (bio-inspiration), aesthetically beautiful and functionally elegant design, innovation that truly solve pressing issues and gain a substantial market share, visionary leadership and passion-fed entrepreneurs, … in other words, each of us has the potential to be an inspiration to others.

For most of us, the ability to manifest a vision and reach our goals is inspiration enough.   

We offer a set of tools to do your best and most inspired work, to help “juice your portfolio” into practical action, and to gain access to resources you didn’t even know you had.  In short, with the right tools at your disposal, your greatest wish for the future can and will come true before your eyes. 

Using a combination of coaching, facilitation and consulting, we offer two main tools:
1. Dream-Plan-Realize
2. Manifesting Vision Timeline 

1. The Dream-Plan-Realize model has been successfully used by hundreds of individuals and companies who have green or sustainable technology visions they want to make real. In order to get past the barriers to innovation (see related article), entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs must get the support they need so that the naicent approach can take on a life of its own. The tools for bringing an innovation into form — and picking the right innovation for the present circumstances in the first place — are a custom fit. We at In3 Group have the experience to guide development work no matter the stage, from just a revolutionary twinkle in the eye to senior executives looking to find creative exits to prior investments.

2.  Manifesting Vision Timeline.  A powerful, proven tool for planning, including the transformative method of backcasting, “Manifesting Vision” is all about bringing together your best ideas with resources to make them real. Also based on the field of neuroscience, the process uses a physicalized timeline to help bring impressions, thoughts, and feelings down to earth in a useable form. For more information, ask us.

Services for your innovation

We have been assisting entrepreneurs with applying their innovations since 1996 — first via commercializing new forms of sustainable technologies, then through innovative venture finance structures such as top-line income generation rights certificates (see entrex.net for details), and more recently via innovative business models in emerging markets.

Based on this practical experience, In3 Group’s senior partner, Daniel Robin, has taught workshops and assisted groups with innovation within dozens of companies, at a private university since 2005, part of an international MBA program, and coached entrepreneurs and executives for more than two decades.  The coursework and consulting services offered here and at Daniel Robin & Associates can be readily adapted and applied to your situation.