Entrepreneurial Development Center

You could call Wendy Gady a straight shooter, bright and very entrepreneurial. Working in New York for Eastman Kodak, she identified an unmet need in the market and had a hunch she could create a business out of it. "I was working on a world-wide brand launch for Eastman Kodak and I saw an opportunity. There was no one that understood digital printing, data and Information Technology AND the needs of marketing and sales. I understood all three and my husband and I decided that's where [what became] Pohaku could play," said Gady, now President and CEO of Pohaku.

With Iowa being third in the world for domiciled insurance companies and having family in Iowa as well, Gady and her husband, Barrett, chose Washington, Iowa, to open their new world-class business. It was Priority One that introduced her to Curt Nelson and the EDC.

"When I met Wendy, she was heading down a path to purchase a digital press for her new start-up. Since those presses are over a million dollars to buy, and because what she really offered was the strategic and analytic marketing services that can be married to the digital press product, I encouraged her to simply partner with area vendors and concentrate on selling her services," said Curt Nelson, President and CEO of the EDC.

"I think by saving her the capital expenditure, it really allowed her a lot of flexibility in starting and growing her business much faster," added Nelson.

Gady says that the EDC also helped her frame her Board of Directors. "I was struggling with building my board. Curt suggested I build a board that reflected my customers and started helping me with introductions to potential board members. There was no other way I was going to meet some of those people. There is enormous value in the connections that the EDC can provide to an entrepreneur."

With 10 employees today, she's come a long way since she first started. Pohaku has grown 300% each year, taking on projects for clients ranging from heavy analytical services to developing marketing databases and direct mail campaigns - all of it keeping the bottom line in mind.

As Gady has grown her business, she has always remained very results driven. "It's not uncommon for us to help our clients become 50-75% more efficient. For one of our insurance clients, within three weeks we generated 10,000 face-to-face meetings, and $29 million in product sales," she says.

"As I've developed my business, I've come to the EDC every now and then with questions. I can tell you it is easier to listen to Curt's advice because he has 'been there and done that.'"

Gady is energized about the future. "Our world-class customers like Eastman Kodak and Principal Insurance expect world-class partners, and that is what we deliver. I get excited about making a huge difference in our customers' businesses," says Gady.