SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--StartupNation, (www.startupnation.com) today is debuting a brand new tool called, “Odds of Success Calculator,” sponsored by VerticalResponse (www.verticalresponse.com), a leading provider of on-demand email marketing, online surveys and direct mail solutions for small business. Conceived in collaboration with EquityNet (www.equitynet.com), the leader in advanced software for risk analysis of private businesses, the Odds of Success Calculator helps entrepreneurs identify and evaluate business risk, and calculates the probability of whether a business will succeed or fail.
Fast, easy and provided at no charge, the Odds of Success Calculator (www.startupnation.com/small-business-success-calculator) allows business owners to gain a snapshot of their individual business risk profiles based on eight key risk factors, including amount of capital investment, difficulty in obtaining funds, quality of financial management, degree of business planning, annual industry growth rate, management experience, industry experience and timeframe. The calculator quickly generates the odds for success — defined as the business still being viable — within a given timeframe identified by the business owner.
The calculator was introduced in response to growing interest among StartupNation site visitors to learn whether they’re on the right track or not as they pursue their business opportunities. Interest in the business advice offered by StartupNation has surged recently, with website traffic up 210% over last year.
Rich Sloan, chief startupologist and co-founder of StartupNation, said, “Helping people understand their odds is yet another way we’re equipping people for success in business. Addressing unnecessary risks early on avoids big problems later on. We’re excited to work with EquityNet to provide the Odds of Success Calculator, a great tool to identify strategies and solutions that will increase success rates, whether you’re starting up or already in business.”
“Starting a business from the ground is no easy feat - entrepreneurs can use all of the resources they can get to ensure the success of their business,” said Janine Popick, CEO of VerticalResponse. “The Odds of Success Calculator is a great way for business owners to gauge their prospects at the most fundamental level.”
Best suited for companies that are four years of age or younger, the Odds of Success Calculator leverages a subset of EquityNet’s proprietary Risk Quantification System (RQS), a proven methodology for assessing risk. The comprehensive version of RQS analyzes 30 important business variables including industry sector and enterprise age. It then compares them against hundreds of thousands of data points of companies that have failed or succeeded, thereby computing the probability of success for the individual company.
“Calculating risk is imperative to any new or existing venture, and the Odds of Success Calculator should be a first stop for any entrepreneur,” said Michael Knebel, founder & president, Logistics Logic, a five-year-old software company. “I used it to see how accurate it would be to predict where I am today with my business. I found the calculations to be very accurate.”
Judd Hollas, CEO/CTO of EquityNet, added, “Because there are so many myths surrounding business risk, this is a practical and insightful tool to help educate entrepreneurs about what is real. The Odds of Success Calculator is a great tool to help entrepreneurs understand their risk and pay attention to the things that make the most difference. And if you need to reevaluate your strategy, this is an excellent exercise to know where to start.”
About StartupNation
StartupNation (www.startupnation.com) provides over 175,000 pages of business advice and networking for entrepreneurs and serves millions of entrepreneurs annually. StartupNation is a free service founded by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs with the intention of providing a one-stop shop for entrepreneurial success, including blogs from a host of experts, podcasts, webcasts, eBooks, award-winning step-by-step advice, and more. StartupNation co-founder and chief startupologist, Rich Sloan, is one of the country’s leading small business experts. He is co-author of StartupNation: Open for Business, published by Doubleday. He speaks frequently at entrepreneurial forums and acts as a regular small business source for top media venues nationwide such as The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Small Business, Entrepreneur Magazine, CNN, CNBC, MSNBC, FOX News and many others.
About VerticalResponse
VerticalResponse, Inc. (www.verticalresponse.com) is a leading provider of self-service email marketing, online surveys and direct mail services empowering small businesses to create, manage and analyze their own direct marketing campaigns. VerticalResponse’s flagship product, which allows customers to deliver sophisticated yet easily deployed email marketing campaigns, is one of the most intuitive and affordable Web-based direct marketing solution available. VerticalResponse is headquartered in San Francisco, California. For additional information, please visit www.verticalresponse.com.
About EquityNet
EquityNet (www.equitynet.com) provides innovative software and services to the private equity marketplace, including web-based applications that empower entrepreneurs and investors to analyze and compare private enterprises. EquityNet’s patent-pending application, Enterprise Analyzer™, is the only automated system that performs comprehensive enterprise risk analysis based on a statistical Knowledge Base of over 500,000 cases of enterprise success and failure.