You get an invite to boot camp by:

-- Fill out an online application to apply for Boot Camp with an Executive Summary or Presentation file attached. If you don’t want to fill out an application but just want to send your executive summary or presentation you can send it to us by using our online executive summary submission page.

-- If I like it, I set up a call. We talk for an hour or so.

-- After the call, three things can happen:

1. Schedule a boot camp visit.
2. You have more work to do.
3. It is not a fit.

-- All the logistics of getting to boot camp are handled by Tim. You can reach him via our Contact Us page.

-- Visits to the boot camp are by invite only. Showing up at the ranch or badgering me or Tim makes no sense and won't work.

Boot camp is a process. It is learning a new way of thinking about your business. The Sunflower model (see Smartups book) is a way of thinking. It is a new thought process that allows you the best opportunity to create and execute on a business. We will do your Sunflower for your business.

By using the Sunflower thought process, we will explore:

1. The driving forces of your business.
2. Your core competencies.
3. The markets and applications for your core competency.

In exploring the markets, you will learn all the techniques in determining whether the "dogs like the dog food" (see Smartups).

Boot camp redefines your way of thinking about your business. For many of my entrepreneurs, it results in a new product and a new market based on their core competencies.

People who are locked into a single approach and are uncomfortable with change will be uncomfortable.

I am very direct, so I tend not to sugarcoat my view of your business as it stands. I am not a kindergarten teacher, so if I send you off with assignments I expect them to be done without me harassing you or herding you.

In many cases companies come to the ranch with founders and one or so influential Board member, this allows the team and the Board to start a new way of thinking about the business.

You apply by filling out an online application with your executive summary file attached. If you don’t want to fill out an application but just want to send your executive summary or presentation you can send it to us by using our online executive summary submission page. Over the years people have asked if I will sign a non-disclosure or some legal contraption. The answer is no. I keep it simple "Don't tell me anything you deem confidential," but be forewarned in order to raise money or get help you need to divulge. If you think about it logically I have no need for you or your business idea. If I see a conflict with one of my companies (it has happened) I will tell you and that will terminate our interactions.