[tabs style=”boxed” id=”eureka”]
[tab title=”The Eureka Program”]
[fivecol_two]
Groups of entrepreneurs meet for 24 hours every 90 days at a country house hotel, with dinner and overnight accommodation included
Mentoring sessions are interactive, with considerable discussion between participants
An entrepreneur sharing insights with the rest of the group
Topics are shared with the entire group at a strategic level. Smaller groups then discuss implementation and share additional perspectives
A discussion exercise in progress in a lovely outdoor setting
This hierarchy of dependencies sets out the different elements covered in Phase 1 of the Eureka program
Another interactive discussion in progress
Snacks and refreshments are served throughout the day … these delights arrived with afternoon tea
Most locations have excellent leisure facilities and/or a golf course
Public area in one of the Eureka country house locations
[/fivecol_two]
[fivecol_three_last]
What is the Eureka Mentoring Program?
Eureka is an invitation-only mentoring program for founders and CEOs of entrepreneurial businesses, typically with £1-20M annual revenues and traction in their marketplace. To join the program you must also have the desire, business acumen and ability to achieve high levels of success or attain market leadership in your niche or sector.
The program delivers the equivalent of a DNA code for accelerating your business growth and taking any business with high growth potential to market leadership.
Background
The program has been created by Robert Clay who built two global businesses when young, sold them to one of the largest companies in Europe, and was then instrumental in taking that company to No.1 in the world in its field. For the past 17 years he has been developing and testing the approaches and strategies used in this program.
Hundreds of businesses have now used these approaches and strategies to accelerate their growth, achieve top industry awards or become market leaders, and some have exited their business for £ tens- or hundreds-of-millions.
Aims of the program
To deliver the equivalent of a DNA code for taking any business with high-growth-potential to market leadership in its niche or sector. In the first phase you build the 36 essential foundations for exponential growth, accelerating your sales, profits market penetration and success.
To give you the knowledge, information, certainty, focus, insights, perspectives, strategies, step-by-step procedures, tools, implementation plans, checklists, roadmaps and a track to run on that simply can’t be found elsewhere.
To provide the peer group support you need to exchange knowledge, experiences and successes with other hand-picked entrepreneurs who inspire you, support you, challenge you, enrich you, and drive you to new heights of success.
The ultimate aim of the program is to grow your business almost entirely by word of mouth, the most powerful, persuasive marketing weapon that exists. Word of mouth drives more buyers to try products or services than ANY other marketing technique … more than advertising, salespeople, direct response and public relations COMBINED!
How the program works
Eureka is a mentoring program for groups of up to 40 committed, like-minded business founders and senior executives as well as the occasional well-funded startup with high-growth-potential. Each phase of the program spans 3 years and each group meets four times a year, typically at country house hotels in a variety of locations.
In Phase 1 of the Eureka program you not only learn WHAT to do to build your 36 foundations for exponential business growth, but also exactly HOW to do it, distilled from 4 million pages of know-how built up over 17 years, mixed with real life experience derived from assisting hundreds of businesses to achieve extraordinary success over the years.
Mentoring sessions
Sessions start with a relaxed dinner and overnight stay, allowing you to exchange ideas, share experiences and catch up with your fellow entrepreneurs.
The following day everyone shares their latest insights, quick wins, big wins and successes; you receive the next instalment in a carefully constructed 36-step process, designed to take your business to market leadership in its niche; you undertake exercises to start the process, while constantly interacting with the other entrepreneurs in the group; Finally, you develop your execution plan before leaving with all the materials you need to implement what has been discussed, or to delegate to others.
Peer group support
Whenever you need a contact, expert advice, business intelligence, a person to bounce ideas off, a sounding board, or someone who can provide perspectives and insights free of bias and pressure, theres always someone in the group you can turn to. This peer group support is priceless, enriches your experience and overcomes the “lonely at the top” syndrome suffered by so many entrepreneurs.
Outcomes
Eureka participants understand how to release their true business potential; they often double, triple or quadruple their growth rate; approach their business in a much more disciplined, motivated, professional and customer focused manner; maintain progress in challenging circumstances, even when competitors are going backwards or out of business; and many attain the highest awards in their industry or become leaders in their sector or niche.
Financial
Your monthly investment is just £425 + VAT including dinner, overnight accommodation, breakfast, lunch, refreshments throughout the day, the full-day Eureka session plus all written, audio and video materials. Additional colleagues may join you by prior arrangement for just £300 + VAT each per session.
Timing
Applications to join the next Eureka mentoring group are open now. The group will meet for the first time in September 2015 and thereafter every 90 days for three years. Once the program is underway, participants normally meet for dinner at 19:00 for 19:30 with the mentoring day itself starting at 09:00 the next morning and ending at 17:00.
N.B. Before you can join the Eureka program you must have attended the Marketing Wizdom 3-day Quantum Leap marketing workshop. Why? Understanding the full picture in advance will accelerate the results you achieve on the Eureka program.
More Information …
[/fivecol_three_last][divider_flat]
[/tab]
[tab title=”FAQs”]
Frequently Asked Questions about the Eureka Mentoring Program
Here are answers to some of the frequently asked questions about the Eureka mentoring program. If you have a question that is not answered here, please call us on 01908 933535 and ask for Andrea Pickerin, Robert Clay or Chris Billington-Hughes. Alternatively, email us at office@marketingwizdom.com
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”What are the admission requirements?” title_closed=”What are the admission requirements?”]
Admission is by invitation only. The Eureka mentoring program is for founders and/or chief executives of entrepreneurial businesses, who demonstrate business acumen, have a scalable business model with high growth potential and want to maximise their revenues and profit or even become market leaders in their field. Angel, VC or otherwise well-funded startups are also admitted.
Before admission to the program you must also have attended the 3-Day Quantum Leap marketing workshop. Why? Understanding the full picture in advance will accelerate the results you achieve on the Eureka program.
N.B. Our admission criteria is designed to ensure that you have a stable business, sufficient resources to implement what you learn from the program, and can make a worthwhile contribution to the rest of the group.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Who can participate in the sessions?” title_closed=”Who can participate in the sessions?”]
Whilst this program is specifically aimed at founders and/or chief executives of entrepreneurial businesses, you may wish to bring along a co-director, business partner or colleague if that individual will be responsible for some or all of the implementation.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Why do you only admit businesses with £1M + annual revenues?” title_closed=”Why do you only admit businesses with £1M + annual revenues?”]
This is all about your ability to implement, and the business experience you can contribute to other members of the group.
The Eureka program goes into considerable depth on every topic. Startups and small businesses are undoubtedly intellectually stimulated by the content covered on the program, but often don’t have the time, resources or stability needed to implement what they learn. And a lot of small businesses also have limited traction in their marketplace. Businesses with £1M+ revenues will normally have the necessary traction, stability and resources needed to follow through and implement what is covered, and dramatically accelerate their success.
If your business has less than £1M annual revenues, or it is rapidly approaching that threshold, and we are convinced about your ability to implement and contribute, then you may still be admitted to the program.
If your business is a VC or Angel-funded start-up you will have backers who have bought into you, your vision and plan. You will be committed to delivering results and will have the resources needed to do so, so everything else being equal, you would qualify for inclusion in the program.
Finally, if you have a start-up and have a track record as an entrepreneur, i.e. you’ve started, built (and possibly sold) one or more £1M+ businesses in the past, then all things being equal you would qualify for inclusion in the program.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”How many places are available on the program?” title_closed=”How many places are available on the program?”]
Each group is limited to a maximum of 40 businesses.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”How many sessions are in each phase?” title_closed=”How many sessions are in each phase?”]
Twelve. Sessions take place once a quarter over three years.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Where do the sessions take place?” title_closed=”Where do the sessions take place?”]
At one of four different carefully selected premium venues around the UK, typically country house hotels. We look for venues that deliver top quality service and provide interesting and pleasant surroundings that contribute to the sense of occasion whenever we meet. They are also usually within easy reach of airports, rail links and the motorway network.
Getting completely away from your business, physically and mentally, makes it much easier for you to focus ON your business rather than IN your business and the variety of different venues helps to inspire your creative thinking. Each venue has at least a 4-star rating and normally has leisure facilities on site as well.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Why stay overnight?” title_closed=”Why stay overnight?”]
We compared the effect of just turning up for the day against an overnight stay at a country house hotel with two different Eureka pilot groups over three years. The group that met every 90 days in pleasant surroundings, accompanied by dinner and an overnight stay got a LOT more out of the program.
For one thing it is a lot less rushed and sharing food, drink and quality time with other committed, like-minded entrepreneurs in pleasant surroundings adds massively to the experience. For those who experienced it, the dinner, overnight stay and extra peer group interaction every 90 days, away from the usual day to day business demands, rapidly became a very important part of the program.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”How much time must I invest between sessions?” title_closed=”How much time must I invest between sessions?”]
You, your team, or third parties to whom you outsource, should be aiming to spend 5-10 hours per week implementing the strategies discussed in the program. Do that consistently and you will be amazed at the results you can achieve.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”I don’t have time. Will the program be too much to digest?” title_closed=”I don’t have time. Will the program be too much to digest?”]
No. That’s why we meet just four times a year. The Eureka program doesn’t consume your life or prevent you from getting on with your day to day business. And you get three months between sessions to implement what you learn.
We asked existing participants if they’d prefer to have sessions more or less frequently. The overwhelming response was that meeting every 90 days worked perfectly for them as they simply don’t have time to commit to anything more frequent, and they feared that if they met less often they’d lose the thread along the way and accomplish a lot less.
In terms of content, the program undoubtedly covers a lot more ground than anyone could implement in three years. The secret is to take away from each session and implement the two or three things that are most relevant for you, or most resonate with you. The other things can be implemented at a later date, when you’re ready … or once you’ve seen others in the group achieving success with a particular strategy, which means that you can draw on their experience as well.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”What if I’m no good at implementation?” title_closed=”What if I’m no good at implementation?”]
Entrepreneurs who join the Eureka program come from all parts of the spectrum. Some are extremely proactive … and others are more passive. The majority of participants decide which parts of each session are most applicable to their business, set the overall direction then oversee the implementation, delegating most of the mechanics to members of their team and/or third parties. The in-depth documentation you receive is designed to support this.
There are plenty of competent third parties who can implement the strategies for you, or just provide the specific help you need, using the very detailed plans and instructions you receive with each module. If you don’t know any suitable third parties we’re happy to introduce you to trusted sources.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”What sort of businesses join the Eureka program?” title_closed=”What sort of businesses join the Eureka program?”]
Entrepreneurs who join the Eureka program are all committed, like-minded individuals who, to qualify for an invitation, have a successful track record. They also have serious growth plans, and most of them freely and generously contribute an amazing amount of experience, knowledge and perspectives to the other members of the group. Indeed they are often invited to join the program BECAUSE they bring those qualities, massively enriching the experience for everyone else in the group.
The businesses themselves are very varied. Some are B2C, some are B2B, some only operate online, some operate both online and offline, some operate as virtual businesses, some operate very traditionally and some operate in a combination of ways.
The initial intake included training companies, HR consultants, psychologists, software developers, IT and mobile phone specialists, specialist hire companies, estate and letting agents, property professionals, an angel investor, marketing consultancies, specialist recruitment companies, web hosting companies, serviced apartments, a liqueur and spirits manufacturer, a Lean Transformation consultancy specialising in local authorities, a conference and training centre, a public affairs consultancy (Government lobbying), an econometrics agency, the UK’s largest chain of independent Apple stores, the inventor of a revolutionary science teaching method for schools, a large firm of independent financial advisers, a designer of bespoke watches for many major high street brands, an organisation supplying CPD accreditation … and more.
As you can imagine, this diversity makes for some extremely interesting interactions whenever a group meets.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Why don’t you admit senior people from large corporates?” title_closed=”Why don’t you admit senior people from large corporates?”]
It has been suggested a few times that senior people from large corporates would benefit from the Eureka program. That is undoubtedly true, but there is a world of difference between marketing approaches that work for entrepreneurs and those that have to be adopted by corporates. Implementation within corporates can be weighed down by slow and cumbersome decision making, bureaucracy and the necessity to get buy-in from many different parties before anything can be done. It is also not unusual to have constantly shifting objectives, regular reorganisations and a short-term perspective … plus a lot of politics. All of these things are barriers to implementation.
Founders and leaders of entrepreneurial businesses, in contrast, immediately recognise the value of any ideas discussed, and can implement anything they believe will be valuable to them, with little or no formalities or barriers. People with a marketing background who leave the corporate world to set up in business, or who start working in an entrepreneurial business, are usually amazed at just how different their approach has to be.
Also, entrepreneurs value the input of other entrepreneurs because they all have to deal with similar issues, just as senior people in corporates value the input of other senior people in corporates. For now the Eureka program is only aimed at entrepreneurs.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”What if I want to leave the program?” title_closed=”What if I want to leave the program?”]
When you join the Eureka program you’re making a three year commitment to learning and implementing best practices that are not easily found elsewhere, with a view to accelerating your business growth. The wealth of knowledge and experience you accumulate and the regular rich interactions you have with other entrepreneurs in the group are likely be so valuable for you that you won’t want to leave.
But we also know that things in business (and in life) can change at short notice, e.g. if you sell your business; discover you no longer enjoy it and want to get out; or in some way become incapacitated. If for some reason you can’t continue after the end of any 12 month period, then all we ask is that you give us three months notice in writing.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Why is there a minimum 12 month commitment?” title_closed=”Why is there a minimum 12 month commitment?”]
To secure the right venues in the right locations it is necessary to plan, book and commit to meeting rooms, accommodation and catering for the expected number of guests quite some time in advance. When one party takes up a good number of rooms in a venue, as we often do, venues have to turn down other potentially lucrative bookings to accommodate us. They cannot easily re-sell the space should we ever have to pull out as other clients that may have been interested in the same time slots will have been forced to book elsewhere. It is therefore necessary to book and pay for all expected guests well in advance, and it is not unusual to commit up to a year in advance to be sure of securing the number of spaces needed.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”How much does the program cost and how do I pay?” title_closed=”How much does the program cost and how do I pay?”]
The cost for the first person from your business to attend is £425 + VAT per month, payable by standing order. If you choose to bring along a business partner or colleague, there will be a nominal additional fee of £300 + VAT per person per session.
The fees cover your dinner, bed, breakfast and lunch at the hotel, as well as the session itself. They also cover the workbooks, manuals and materials you receive.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Are there any other costs?” title_closed=”Are there any other costs?”]
No. You just pay your monthly fee … and make your way to the relevant country house hotel every 90 days in time for a relaxed dinner. Besides the mentoring day itself your dinner and drinks, overnight accommodation, breakfast, refreshments and lunch are all included … plus all the workbooks, manuals and other materials you need to implement what you’ve learned.
When it comes to implementation, many of the strategies and approaches you learn on the Eureka program can be implemented using your existing resources, without additional outlay.
Beyond the program itself, you will of course incur costs if you engage any third parties or agencies; if you seek additional advice or expertise; or if you decide to invest in marketing materials, extra staff or the development and implementation of marketing campaigns. But when you do so you’ll also be able to tap into the collective experience of the group to compare and share experiences and ensure you’re always getting decent value and advice.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”When is the closing date for applications?” title_closed=”When is the closing date for applications?”]
The next Eureka group will convene for the first time on 17 September 2014. You must book at least two weeks in advance of this date to secure your place. Please note that numbers are limited and places in the group are reserved on a first-come, first-served basis. Once this group has been filled, admissions will cease and bookings will be taken for the next group.
[/toggle]
[toggle hide=”yes” title_open=”Can I reserve a place?” title_closed=”Can I reserve a place?”]
Yes. Please call us on 01908 933535 or email office@marketingwizdom.com to discuss whether you are eligible, and if appropriate reserve your place on the next Eureka program.[/toggle]
[/tab]
[tab title=”Background”]
What’s the background to the Eureka program?
Robert Clay, co-founder of Marketing Wizdom, is himself a lifelong entrepreneur. He set up his first business at age 19, with no capital, and within 7 years it went global. He developed a process for preventing automotive corrosion that was eventually adopted by every car, truck, bus and aircraft manufacturer in the world.
Along the way he invented the glass sunroof for cars and launched his second business at age 23. It too went global within 3 years. He then sold both businesses to a division of Astra Pharmaceutical (Now Astra Zeneca, and currently valued at some £63 billion) and in the next four years played a major part in taking his division of the company to No.1 in the world in its field.
After this he was in much demand to consult with other companies who wanted to replicate what they’d now seen him do three times. Around 18 years ago Robert started work on developing the equivalent of a DNA code for taking any business with high growth potential to market leadership in its niche.
This has involved the painstaking accumulation, research, analysis, dissection, organising, re-organising, crafting, testing, streamlining and refining the world’s best business growth and marketing know-how, resulting in a knowledge base that now contains over 4 million pages of know-how.
In 2001 Robert started running a unique 3-day workshop for entrepreneurs based on a distillation of some of this unique body of knowledge. The workshop was designed to impart more knowledge about growing a business in 3-days than most people would learn from a couple of lifetimes in business. Often considered to be a life-changing experience, or equivalent to an “MBA in 3-days,” many participants went on to become market leaders in their field, some even going from startup to exit for up to £210 Million.
As people became more aware of the depth and value of Robert’s know-how, his time was in constant demand, with businesses paying up to £5,000 a day for his expertise. But demand always exceeded supply because it was only ever possible to work with a handful of businesses at any one time.
For several years he tried to figure out an effective way of working in person with a larger number of businesses. Finally in 2006 he figured out a way to do this, while simultaneously reducing fees to a level that almost any business could afford; AND providing priceless support from other like-minded entrepreneurs. And so the idea for Eureka was born.
Over the next few years Robert and his team were so busy with their existing consulting work that they never had time to develop Eureka further. At the end of 2008 they decided to stop what they were doing and refocus on the new model. It took nearly a year to complete all work in progress, and at the end of 2009 he finally launched two 3-year pilot groups for the invitation-only Eureka mentoring program.
The first mentoring groups are now underway. You can learn more about the program and the results that have emerged from it by watching the video above. And you can read about more results alongside.
The program will be opening up to a maximum of 40 more businesses in June 2015, and another 40 in September 2015. Please contact us to establish whether you are eligible for the program.
[/tab]
[/tabs]
Call us now on 01908 933535 to apply for your place
[hr]
Comments or questions are welcome.
