TWC Group :: Press Archive

Collegeville, PA (May 20, 2003) – With assistance from NextStage Advisors and its parent company, T. Williams Consulting, Inc. (TWC), Philadelphia-based Satori Group received $4,000,000 in first-round financing from the Edison Venture Fund and Zon Capital Partners. NextStage's success in today's fiercely competitive funding environment and the Satori management team's experience in raising capital secured the targeted level of funding.

While NextStage helped Satori enhance its business model to better present its outstanding value proposition to investors, TWC improved Satori's human capital position with its Operational Assessment, Talent Acquisition, and Executive Search services.

NextStage begins each engagement with a comprehensive VC-like due diligence. To expedite this part of the process, NextStage uses its Value Enhancer Diagnostic Tool, which is designed to identify the gaps that might prevent a client from being funded. From this perspective, NextStage kicked off its Business Advisory efforts by helping Satori to put the business building blocks in place to fill the gaps and emphasize Satori's strong potential to investors.

"We collaborated with Satori on refining their go-to-market strategy and overall market position in a way that uniquely differentiated Satori in a very crowded business performance management (BPM) space," says Dan McKinney, managing partner, NextStage. "We also benchmarked Satori's financials against industry best practices, revised their financials accordingly, refined their financing strategy, and assisted them with negotiating and structuring interim angel financing."

NextStage also helped Satori to develop investor presentation materials and introduced them to a handful of investors, two of which ultimately provided Satori with financing.

TWC's Operational Assessments and Human Capital Solutions
TWC also aided Satori in the areas of Operational Assessment and Human Capital. TWC's Operational Assessments team provided Satori with an in-depth analysis and strategic plan for optimizing the growth of its organization. TWC's Talent Acquisition group assigned a full-time recruiter to assist Satori's in-house recruiting staff in identifying and hiring new talent in fulfillment of the strategic human capital plan. TWC's Executive Search practice also identified and assisted Satori in hiring a new CFO in just a few short weeks. In the interim, TWC's own Controller went onsite a couple days a week to offload the day-to-day operations until a CFO was on board.

"Because of TWC's breadth and range of services, we were able to pull in other service areas to assist Satori's human capital functions, while the NextStage team focused on guiding Satori through the fundraising process," explains McKinney.

"NextStage's experience in raising capital and financing early-stage companies has been invaluable to our success in winning over potential investors," said Rob Kabel, President and COO of the Satori Group. "Based on my experience in similar funding events, they are one of the few consulting groups with the vision and horsepower to lift fast-growth companies to the next level."

Founded in 2003, NextStage Advisors strengthens early stage companies by improving their value proposition and better positioning them to attract venture capital. Focused on advising growth stage companies and preparing them for fundraising and long-term success, NextStage's expertise as veteran VCs and business operators includes identifying new market opportunities and modifying companies' business models, funding strategy, go-to-market strategy, and financials to take them to the next level.

TWC is a world-class management consulting firm that shapes companies to succeed. We provide a single point of contact for the outsourcing of critical needs, including Human Capital Solutions and Organizational Assessments. From start-ups to Fortune 1000 firms, its track record of helping companies achieve success is impressive and includes experience in Biotech, Energy, Financial Services, Information Technology, Optics, Pharmaceuticals, Telecommunications, and Wireless. For more information about TWC, please contact Lisa Sarachman 610-489-2626, ext. 106 or e-mail l.sarachman@twilliams.com.

Satori Group, Inc. is a leading provider of business performance management (BPM) software. Via Microsoft® Excel, the most commonly used analytical tool in business today, proCube allows clients to leverage their existing skills and experience unparalleled ease of use, flexibility and accuracy in planning, reporting and analysis tasks. By capturing live data stored in financial and operational systems, the proCube application empowers users to transform data into actionable information to measure performance, predict business outcomes, and make profitable decisions across the enterprise. Satori Group is further distinguished by a world-class team offering proven consulting, training, integration, and extensive product and user support services for each engagement. For more information about Satori Group, please contact Michael Persiano 610-862-6324 or e-mail mpersiano@satorigroupinc.com.