RPM believes the entrepreneur is the most important part of the equation in seed and early-stage investing. We take pride in working with extraordinary people who have energy, enthusiasm and a desire to turn a life-long dream into a world-class company. The formula for a world-class company starts with strong leaders who are committed to the organization's success and can clearly define what we call the "Big Three":
- A strong value proposition for a customer with a problem that needs solving, and a desire to solve it
- Recognizable positive economic impact for a customer in solving the problem
- A technology that is unique and differentiated from others through either leading- edge research or tremendous tacit knowledge of an industry
RPM Ventures maintains a rare insight into how to realize the potential of technology companies. Providing capital is just one way we assist our portfolio companies in growing their businesses successfully. We develop business plans and help our partners acquire operational management, as well as ongoing strategic management. We offer established relationships with later-stage investors; and we are known for a level of support for our portfolio companies that is recognized as rivaling the best the industry has to offer.
We believe strongly that entrepreneurs should run their own company, but we can help to strengthen those companies by sharing the experience we have gained as entrepreneurs ourselves, dealing with marketing, operational and fundraising issues for seed and early- stage companies. Additionally, we use our network to help open doors for our portfolio companies, enabling them to achieve early sales and business-development partners. For seed-stage opportunities with truly exceptional technologies, a partner from RPM will work with the founder to develop business and marketing plans, create the first products, and launch the company.
