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Cary entrepreneur receives overwhelming support after VC ‘shark’ attack

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Editor’s note: Bill Warner writes “The Angel Connection” which is a regular feature in WRAL Local Tech Wire. LTW asked consultant Bill Warner to share advice for entrepreneurs seeking angel investors and/or venture capital investment. He is chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with over 100 members throughout the Southeast.

By Bill Warner, Special to Local Tech Wire

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. – Cary entrepreneur Kevin Flannery has had an interesting time since being bled to death by some not so real VC's on the ABC TV show “Shark Tank” two weeks ago.

This hyped up TV show that portrays venture investing as a visit to a shark tank has tried to embarrass entrepreneurs and make venture investors look like vicious animals. None of this is real and has been put together by some mindless producers who are trampling on one of America's most valuable assets, the entrepreneur and the business partners who finance them.

The Entrepreneur Gets Even

Since the show was aired, Kevin has gotten hundreds of responses over his website. The vast majority are encouraging and supportive. Comments like "hang in there," "prove them wrong," "way to stand strong," "keep going, the product is needed," and many others.

More importantly, many of these responses are from potential business partners who want to know more about his business.

Unlike the Shark VC's, many saw the value proposition of the WiSpots product line. Several respondents were sales and distribution companies who showed interest in marketing and selling the product. Lots of people had further product suggestions. They even were contacted by potential investors, even ones that had previously passed on the business.

So, at the end of the day, Kevin has beaten back the sharks in an amazing turnaround of fate. We all thought that Kevin had sunk at the bottom of the ocean. Not at all. He is alive and energized.

WiSpots Update

Long before the show was aired, Kevin had joined with fellow entrepreneur Jason Angel, and formed a new company called <a href="http://www.wificiency.com/">“Wi-Ficiency. The company offers a suite of physician and patient-centric software and hardware solutions that maximize profitability by reducing costs, improving productivity and generating additional revenue from the patient waiting room, while simultaneously improving patient satisfaction through education and entertainment. This company has far reaching potential in improving the state of healthcare by providing a broad selection of relevant patient information, a targeted marketing and sales channel for healthcare products, state of the art online medical transcription services, compliant electronic medical records, and many more capabilities as they acquire additional technologies.

The Winning Entrepreneur

It's a shame that the VC Sharks couldn't listen long enough to learn of the true business model of this company and instead chose to go for the ratings and throw WiSpots to the fishes. Kevin and Jason are very much above water and riding in a speed boat to their next funding event.

About the author: Bill Warner is the Managing Partner of Paladin and Associates, a business consulting firm in the Research Triangle Park area of central North Carolina, and is the chairman of the Triangle Accredited Capital Forum, an angel investor network with members throughout the southeast.
 

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