He’s invested in 37 startups. And he has a tip for you, regardless of your business.
Kelly Perdew is too enthusiastic about what he’s going to do to spend much time talking about what he’s already done. Which is just as well because he’s packed more accomplishments into his 48 years than most people do given several more decades. Think of it as the nine lives of Kelly Perdew.
There’s the Perdew who graduated from West Point as a Military Intelligence Officer and earned his Airborne wings and Ranger Tab, the Perdew who won on NBC’s The Apprentice, and the Perdew who’s invested in more than 37 early-stage technology companies and acted as a board member or advisor to others, including LinkedIn and Pandora. There’s Perdew the business executive (CEO of TargetClose), Perdew the author (Take Command: 10 Leadership Principles Learned in the Military and Put to Work for Donald Trump), and Perdew the television host (G.I. Factory on the Military Channel).
Close to his heart
One of the businesses close to Perdew’s heart is DuMont Project, of which he’s managing director. Dawn Perdew, Perdew’s wife, founded and now leads DuMont Project. The company began life in their living room in 2009, and moved into offices in Los Angeles a couple of years later. Today, the 40-person branded response marketing consultancy helps businesses from startups to Fortune 50 firms see returns of up to 12X on their paid media expenditures.
“We’re not an agency with a neat idea for a commercial,” says Perdew. “Everything we do is tied to boosting a client’s ROI.” Typically, that begins with a six-to-eight week assessment of the marketing activity executed by a client’s internal teams and agencies, followed by a “report card” and recommendations. DuMont Project can then assist the client’s marketing team members, train them, or provide specialized resources, such as negotiating an infomercial deal.
The challenge that faces almost every startup
As it grew, DuMont Project faced the challenges that confront most startups. Perdew says that regardless of a startup’s business, assembling the right technology stack is crucial to executing a business plan quickly and correctly. “Doing technology right means getting all your systems to talk to each other, and taking maximum advantage of your data,” he says. “If you haven’t done it before, find someone who has.”
Office + cloud = “extremely valuable”
Following that advice, the Perdews turned to technology provider Computer Solutions Group, which helped them adopt Microsoft Office 365. They take advantage of enterprise collaboration, business intelligence, and knowledge-sharing applications, as well as the always up-to-date Office suite, through one cloud service at one low price, and access their data across Windows, Mac, or mobile, saving time and money.
“Every startup I’m associated with uses the cloud and everyone’s default software is Office,” says Perdew. “So having Office in the cloud is extremely valuable. We can work more flexibly, work from anywhere, set up extranets and work with clients — my computer even runs faster now.”
That’s a good thing, because Perdew will need all the speed he can get from that computer. One of his newest projects is Moonshots Capital. It’s an angel investment syndicate that focuses on military veteran-founded companies — blending Perdew’s love of entrepreneurship with support of his fellow veterans, a combination that Perdew says is natural. “To be successful in the military, you have to be a creative problem solver,” says Perdew. “And a creative problem solver is the ideal entrepreneur.”
Just look at Perdew.
