Entrepreneurial Development Center

Dennis Henderson had years of experience in telecommunications, an MBA, and an inward drive for doing things better—perhaps a trifecta for entrepreneurial success. When the company he worked for in late 2007, Titan Global Holdings, was struggling, he decided to pay a visit to the Entrepreneurial Development Center (EDC).  He knew he could do things better with their pre-paid wireless handset and airtime unit, and was exploring the idea of purchasing the company, along with his partner, Fred Haumesser.

Henderson worked with Curt Nelson at the EDC on improving his business plan. “Curt really helped me strategize on various planning scenarios—there were several iterations of the plan and his team’s “been there, done that” caliber of experience was great to have during that process,” said Henderson.

The deal with Titan Global was completed in January of 2008, and Henderson’s focus turned to stabilizing the company. “The business was never optimized, we needed to focus on cost controls and in-sourcing critical functions through the first half of 2008,” said Henderson.

As the company began to turn around, Henderson identified the need for fully capitalizing the business. Again, he turned to the EDC. “The EDC was instrumental in identifying sources of capital for us, and getting our documents in good shape for investment,” said Henderson.

“Dennis had a viable, scalable business, but it wasn’t going to be able to take on certain types of capital,” said Nelson. “At that point, we had to polish up HH Ventures’ paperwork, including offering documents, operating agreements, employment agreements, etc., so that the business was protected and well-structured for taking on investors,” Nelson added.

The EDC then introduced HH Ventures to a number of capital sources, including the Iowa Seed Fund, LLC, which subsequently invested $100,000 in the business, and a program through the state, which resulted in a $100,000 loan. “The EDC was able to navigate the whole funding labyrinth for us, which was incredibly helpful,” said Henderson.

In the second half of 2008, Henderson began acquiring other pre-paid wireless companies to assist in his growth plans. “With this M&A [merger and acquisition] activity, it has been a great help to be able to turn to the EDC and get advice,” said Henderson.

“I think as Dennis has embarked upon acquiring other companies, he’s sought us out as the voice of reason. When you’re in the middle of a deal, it’s nice to have someone that has experience who you can ask, ‘What are you seeing here that I’m not seeing?” said Nelson.

Since January of 2008, Ready Mobile has grown from 20 employees to 32, including the addition of a VP of Finance and a VP of Operations. They’ve doubled the number of locations in which their handsets are distributed to over 23,000, (i.e. Walgreens and Radio Shack), and have tripled their number of subscribers.

“We anticipate substantial organic growth in 2009, as well as more M&A activity,” said Henderson. “I see the EDC as a valued partner to our business moving forward,” he added.