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Letter of Recommendation from
June, 1999 TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN: Bob Livingstone joined me last February to help me deal with the daunting task of embracing the internet. He came on board as a consultant, operating at my request as President and Chief Operating Officer. I knew of Bob by reputation through my brother-in-law, Jim Ballard, who worked for Bob as VP Sales and Marketing for a cable guide publishing company in Boston. I knew that Bob was looking for something new, possibly internet-related, and that he and his family had recently moved to southern California. My business is the marketing of self-improvement/business opportunity products through traditional channels, primarily Infomercials and telemarketing. The internet intrigued me. Bob threw himself into the project. He pulled together an impressive group of web developers, picked their brains, sorted through the incredible variations from one proposal to another. All the while patiently helping me to get up to speed on this highly complex medium. Bob’s own knowledge of the internet was admittedly not extensive to begin with, but I can tell you after only a couple of weeks, he was holding his own with the “experts.” He was certainly able to see where there was value and where there was hype and where there was an out-and-out attempt to exploit our ignorance. He formulated several business plans and created a very viable business model for IdeaSeekers. The real problem was mine. What Bob was able to demonstrate to my satisfaction is this: You can build it but that doesn’t mean they’ll come. There are millions of web sites, millions of web businesses. Everything is in the marketing, the branding. I was looking at the expenditure of far more capital than I ever imagined. The project, as conceived, was put on hold. It’s not dead, but I have to stay with my traditional marketing business until I determine whether I can or should raise the necessary capital to pursue this venture on the right scale. I can tell you this. In my experience with Bob (and we still have an ongoing relationship), I was impressed with his mind, his ability to assimilate technical data and grasp the essence of an issue. In the final analysis, I doubt that any high-tech consulting firm could have given me a better assessment of my options and what it would take to exercise them. I highly recommend him in any situation that involves bringing clients and concepts together, with special emphasis on his ability to achieve clarity and enable a not so technically-minded client to understand the virtues of a technology-laden solution. If I can be of further help, don’t hesitate to call. My number is 949-718-1151. Sincerely, Stephen J. Schulze |