We provide the path to building a business without the time, job security and capital investment risks that used to be inherent in that process.
We are an integrated commercialization platform that focuses on the intersection of brand & business.
We combine strategic branding expertise with essential capabilities and support to help founders get over the early hurdles and build the infrastructure necessary to pursue their ideas.
Our value-add is targeted, distinct and differentiated. Our founders and their businesses retain an unfair advantage unavailable in today’s start-up ecosystem.
We get unique access to superstar founders. Founders that are battle-tested and wouldn’t ordinarily engage in start-up ventures.
Our early-stage involvement gives us access to non-linear upside only available to our partners and shareholders.
why we exist:
Our process provides a better way for our founder & investor partners to bring their ideas to life.
Idea created by traditional founder with little experience, following the traditional start-up path.
80% of start-ups fail immediately
90% of those left fail shortly thereafter.
Only 2% of start-ups move forward
Idea created by successful founder based on work experience in industry, fed into the 100watt machine.
100watt intervention. Super-charged brand development.
100watt creates a brand-led business that people want to engage with.
100watt hurdle reduction. All the work that no one wants to do, but that is critical to business success.
100watt gets the talent needed to move the business forward.
A great idea, flawlessly executed, bolstered by brand building and optimized by business planning, results in disproportionate growth.
brand & business leadership
Dan Driscoll.
Dan Driscoll.
It all comes down to real world execution, if there is a way to get an idea across the goal line, Dan will find it.
- A former Army cavalry scout, Yale lawyer and investment banker – Dan's career path has taught him that the world is full of hidden talent and ideas, and that there is immense power in the good-enough ideas.
- Has worked with organizations, both large and small, new and old, to help them innovate and capture the high-hanging fruit.
- Spent the last decade living in about 15 cities, but had his heart forever stolen by Winston-Salem as he spent four years commuting back-and-forth to see his wife.
- Has learned his most important life lessons from two experiences: Ranger School and parenting – just keep moving and when all else fails, run towards the sound of the gunfire.
Joe Parrish.
Joe Parrish.
Joe has spent his career thinking of better ways to position and market brands for success. He’s a big proponent of thinking hard and spending smart. Believes creativity is the great equalizer.
- Began his career as a rock star, literally, but once the tour van was retired he traded his guitar in for his next rockstar profession – award-winning creative.
- Worked on global brands such as Audi, Nationwide and Sony developing award-winning campaigns recognized by The Addys, The One Show, Communication Arts and AdAge to name just a few.
- Co-founded 5mississippi in 2003. Invented and licensed toys into Target and Walmart. Manufactured a tabletop game, took it to market and sold it in 2009.
- Co-founded The Variable in 2011
- Co-founded Sunshine Beverage in 2014
- Nothing drives his creativity more than his family. They are an endless spring of inspiration.
Keith Vest.
Keith Vest.
Problem-solver, designer, shepherd – Keith wears many hats, but his most important role is being the steady hand that steers the forward-hurdling vessel that is 100Watt.
- A designer by trade – Keith believes there is nothing that can’t be solved through better design.
- A career of experience working with major brands like Krispy Kreme, Lowe’s Home Improvement, BB&T, SunTrust, Hanesbrands and Planters Lifesavers.
- Named to the Triad Business Journal’s 40 Leaders Under Forty.
- Keith founded PAVE Creative Group in 1999, and in 2011 co-founded The Variable.
- Co-founded Sunshine Beverage in 2014
- Family man, music nut and avid cyclist. Keith doesn’t shy from adventure. He welcomes it.
David Mullen.
David Mullen.
David’s relentless approach to bringing brilliant ideas and strategies to our clients is an integral part of the engine powering 100Watt.
- Spent nearly a decade in PR and helped usher in the social era at an AdAge A-List agency before jumping feet first into the broader advertising world.
- Helped great brands across a number of B2B and B2C categories create compelling differentiation in the market, including Febreze, BASF, Sealy and Lowe’s Home Improvement.
- Works tirelessly to understand our clients’ businesses and collaborates to uncover current opportunities or new white space ripe for the taking.
- Lived in The Windy City and The Queen City before settling down and falling in love with The Twin City.
- Spends his spare time working on seamless transitions, whether it’s for triathlons or for switching from Prince Charming to The Beast while playing “princesses” with his four daughters.
Terence Hagans.
Terence Hagans.
"If you could get all the people in an organization rowing in the same direction, you could dominate any industry, in any market, against any competition, at any time."
- Terence is passionate about building incredible teams with great cultures who create amazing things together.
- A Stanford and Duke grad with years of experience rapidly scaling operations, customer success, and logistics functions for companies ranging in size from early stage tech startups to Amazon.
- Always committed to achieving a double bottom line, Terence has also spent more than a decade serving in various capacities for nonprofits, churches, and the Army Reserve.
- An avid runner and hiker, he enjoys finding any excuse to get out and enjoy the natural beauty in and around Winston-Salem.
- Strategic Partners
- Customer Service
- Legal
- HR
- Accounting
- Product Development
- Strategic Advisory Board
- Strategic Planning
- Business Development
- Network Connections
- Capital to Build Ideas
- Idea-Generating Founders
with Domain Knowledge - Healthcare
- Consumer Packaged Goods
- Business Services
- Technology
- Network of
Early-Stage Executioners - Domain Experts
- Interim CEOs
- Connectors
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Kabook!.
business, product & brand development, advertising | 2017-present
An experienced, successful founder with a background in investment banking and consulting was looking to scratch an itch that had existed for years.
With the convergence of neural network processing, smartphone cameras in every parent’s pocket and the personalization trend, we saw an opportunity to disrupt the publishing category and children’s books.
Our Process.
Business Plan Development // Market Validation // Product Development // Brand Development // Advertising
Through the market validation phase of our process, we helped identify a unique way for parents to make reading time more engaging by truly making their child the star of the story.
We helped bring the idea to life by finding and partnering with leading illustrators and writers and technologists to create professionally authored and illustrated books that can be fully-customized and personalized for consumers.
Within the first two months of launching, Kabook! was chosen as one of People® magazine’s Top 10 Best Gifts.
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Sunshine.
idea creation & business incubation | 2015-present
The idea was to create a sparkling electrolyte drink to compete against Gatorade. It came to us with the name Sparklelyte.
What had happened was…
Through research, we identified a whitespace in the energy drink category. As boomers and millennials were aging out of the aggressive Red Bulls and Monsters of the world, they were underserved in their move from wild to mild.
There wasn’t an energy drink created for people who wanted a kick-in-the-pants, not a punch-in-the-face. We created the anti-Red Bull lifestyle brand. If Red Bull stood for extreme awesomeness, this brand would stand for extreme positivity. It would be a ray of light in a category obsessed with testosterone and over-the-topness.
we created
the brand.We billed it as Good Energy (because it was better-for-you and because it stood for spreading good in the world.)
We worked with formulators to create a drink that would still lift your spirits, but wouldn’t make you crazy. We landed on a blend of vitamins, electrolytes and caffeine that did the trick.
On the
business side,We convinced retailers that we would help grow the fastest growing part of the beverage category. And we would bring shoppers into the energy aisle that would traditionally never give it a thought.
Everything worked as planned. We incubated Sunshine for 3 years before seeing it mature to the point where it needed investment. We secured an investor and are in the process of putting together a management team.
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ROAMD.
business & brand development, marketing | 2017-present
A founder with a healthcare-focused background had an idea about building out a nationwide network of concierge doctors.
Their hypothesis was that concierge medicine would be more valuable if there was a nationwide network of doctors, so a patient could get the same level of access when they traveled.
Our Process.
Business Plan Development // Market Validation // Product Development // Brand Development // Marketing
After the business plan was developed, months were spent validating the idea. The 100watt team traveled the country interviewing concierge doctors and patients to understand the viability of a nationwide network
Market validation indicated that the idea was viable, but the process of building a network of private physicians would be virtually impossible. The identified solution was to get the doctors to tell the story for us. By traveling the country meeting with concierge doctors, no one was more familiar with the key decision makers in the concierge space than we were.
It became an exercise in networking. We identified the best thought leaders in the space and partnered with them to continue to validate the idea. We assembled a board of advisors that is a who’s who of concierge and private doctors. And we let them do the selling.
We did the branding and created a website that doctors could use to sell to doctors. We identified a leading technology partner to build the tech stack that would facilitate doctor referrals and patient medical records. We navigated the enormous legal challenges to creating a network in such a highly regulated space. We readied the business and have set April as the date to flip the switch on the network.
get in touch.
We’re always looking for our next great project. Whether you’re a CMO looking to test a new offering, or an entrepreneur who can’t leave their day job, we’d love to talk about helping you move the ball forward.
contact us