The quotes below are from a select group of innovative executives with whom STAAC has had the privilege and opportunity to work. Mark Dempster, Sequoia Capital Tom Suiter, Former President and Chief Creative Officer, CKS Partners/USWeb Marc Benioff, Former Vice President, Web Workgroup Division, Oracle and CEO of SalesForce.com Julie Hey, Director of Lead Generation, Actuate Corporation Randy Ditzler, Chief Executive Officer, Actona, a Sequoia Capital portfolio company Don Warkentin, Chief Executive Officer, Telegis, a Sequoia Capital portfolio company Letter from Mark Dempster, Professional Services Partner at Sequoia Capital The problem is that many service providers attempting to address the start-up space don't understand the startup experience. It is rare to find service providers like Neil and STAAC who understand what drives business value and growth, who can facilitate the development of an outline, script and story with clients, and who can determine which deliverables a given start up company needs to reach their goals. Furthermore, STAAC understands how to communicate value, generate leads and create the tools that sell management's vision and company products. Neil maintains years of experience defining value propositions and market positioning. He is an highly skilled in the executive-level facilitation and the development of key messages that communicate value to target audiences. Neil's and his team are also experts in the design of the media tools that attract and sell target audiences. STAAC¹s focus on financial roadshows and sales presentations addresses an important niche where many startup executives need help. Their focus on market positioning and lead generation is an additional plus for clients as well. STAAC has helped Sequoia's companies, including Telegis, Actona and Actuate, look professional and achieve their sales and marketing objectives. STAAC¹s strategic process and the marketing and sales tools they produce address a clear need that emerging companies in the marketplace have. STAAC has identified the "pain" emerging companies have and they work hard to cure it. STAAC's experience speaks for itself. I recommend Neil and The STAAC Group team. Mark Dempster Sequoia Capital Back To Top Recommendation letter from Tom Suiter, Former President of CKS Partners, San Francisco, CA I am writing a letter of recommendation on behalf of Neil Passero. Neil has worked as a consultant to the CKS Group from 1994-2000. During this time, he has provided our company with new media support in many areas, helping our company complete projects for many of our diverse clients. Neil is an expert in his field, and his talents are extraordinary. Most important, he is a "professional" with a very strong work ethic, and can be counted on to deliver excellence--often under extreme deadline pressures. I would highly recommend Neil for whatever endeavors he chooses to pursue. Please feel free to call me directly should you have any further questions. Sincerely, Tom Suiter President CKS Partners Back To Top Letter from Marc Benioff, Former Vice President at Oracle, Redwood City, CA and CEO of SaleForce.com, San Francisco, CA I first met Neil in the fall of 1994 when he was a producer at CKS Interactive, a leading integrated marketing and communications firm. At the time, CKS was contracted by the Client/Server Systems Division, a group I headed at Oracle. Based on my impression of Neil's professional abilities and on the recommendations of the employees in my group, Oracle subsequently contracted directly with Neil's company to produce a series of multimedia applications, presentations and databases for my group and other divisions at the company. During this period Neil has delivered work of the highest caliber and has consistently aided Oracle in furthering our marketing and communications objectives by effectively bridging the gap between creativity and information technology. I believe that Neil's experience over the years with Oracle and other Silicon Valley clients is proof of his unique professional and creative abilities in project management, information design and the development of software and information systems. Neil's knowledge of multimedia production and distribution is at the forefront of his field. He is a dependable and skilled information professional of exceptional promise. Marc Benioff Vice President, Web Workgroup Systems Division Oracle Corporation Back To Top Letter from Julie Hey, Director of Lead Generation, Actuate Corporation, San Mateo, CA The STAAC Group wrote, designed, programmed and delivered the Actuate Financial Services CD-ROM project in record time with surprising results. It was less than 6 weeks from our first meeting to the completed CD. Not only was the project completed to meet our schedule without compromising quality, the presentation also clearly communicated the benefits of Actuate's software to prospective clients. The proof is in the numbers. Our previous corporate CD-ROM generated a .5% response rate. The Financial Services CD-ROM tripled our response rate to 1.5%. Wow! STAAC's experience in electronic communications is evident in both the quality and results of the projects Neil's team has produced for us. Thanks STAAC! Julie Hey Director of Lead Generation Actuate Corporation, a Sequoia Capital Company Back To Top Feedback survey from Randy Ditzler, CEO of Actona, a Sequoia Capital portfolio company Rate from 1 (bad) to 10 (excellent) the following: - Your presentation before the project:6 - Your presentation after the project:9 - The quality of project management:9 - The quality of ideas during production:9 - The quality of the graphic design:9 - The speed of turn around time:10 - Communication, availability, response time:9.5 - Neil's individual performance:9.5 - STAAC's overall performance:9.5 - Client satisfaction level:9.5 GREAT JOB... THANK YOU Randy Ditzler Chief Executive Officer Actona Technologies, a Sequoia Capital Company Back To Top Letter from Don Warkentin, CEO of Telegis, a Sequoia Capital portfolio company Telegis is a start-up backed by Sequoia Capital that is focused developing the world¹s first video-grade IP network linking global collocation facilities. Sequoia Capital initially introduced Telegis to The STAAC Group/RoadShow Pros team to help us develop a presentation during our second round of funding. Via phone conversations and internet based reviews, the STAAC team guided myself and the other executives through their content development process to determine the key messages and concepts that tell our story. These ideas were quickly and effectively produced into a presentation and detailed speaker notes. STAAC delivered top quality work. We liked the speaker notes so much, in fact, that we integrated them into our business plan. The end result was a presentation and business plan package that clearly and consistently explained who we are, what we do and how we are going to grow our business. The STAAC Group was instrumental in enabling us to meet our communication goals in the early growth stage at Telegis. I recommend them! Don Warkentin Chief Executive Officer Telegis, a Sequoia Capital portfolio company Back To Top Contact Neil Passero, Executive Producer at The STAAC Group Inc. for more info. Click here to email or call 415-665-4444 in CA or 203-226-0050 in CT. © Copyright The STAAC Group, Inc. All rights reserved.