After a fundraising event some time ago, a group of supporters and organizers were reminiscing the evening, when one participant told of his disappointment at not having won a single item of interest from the auction, though he had bid on several. He had come prepared to spend several thousand dollars to support the cause. When queried, he admitted having been distracted by friends and event activities and never got around to re-visiting the auction item area. Most of us concurred there were items not won for the same reason – just too many event distractions (and fun) to constantly police our bid status.

The same gentleman intoned, “Wouldn’t it be great if we had some type of wireless handheld device that could notify me when I was outbid, and would let me bid again wherever I was?” Everyone agreed.

Further discussion excited the organizers, as well, as the automated capabilities of such a system would dramatically improve efficiency and decrease the “madness” at auction end. Additionally, they mentioned the dozens of individuals who wanted to participate in the event, but who were physically unable to attend. Could there not be a way for them to have real-time bidding access to the auction via the Internet?

BidPal was born.

Harris has launched a number of successful companies in the past, including Flyer’s Edge, STATUS, the Frequent Travel Marketing Association, and DeskPort Technologies. He is a true entrepreneur, as evidenced by the diversity of previous affiliations, but this is the first company that he feels strongly is a “worthy” enterprise, joining the rest of our team in the conviction that BidPal is a product that can make the world a better place. In addition to managing the day to day operations of the Company, he has experience in sales & marketing, software development, and personnel and event management.

Mark is a successful entrepreneur and community leader, in addition to being the “idea man” behind BidPal. He recently co-founded Denali Marketing in Minneapolis, and previous successes include The Lacek Group, Lodge Hotels, and MilePoint – all startups with profitable exits. He is strong on innovation, problem analysis, strategy, and maximization of business partnerships.

Chris is the lead software architect and developer of the BidPal technology and operating system. Prior to his work with us, he developed the miles and points trading software of MilePoint, used by numerous major airlines. He previously led custom development for 3M and is proficient in numerous contemporary development systems and languages.

Successful 20+ year track record in finance. Extensive experience with both successful start-ups (MilePoint and DVDPlay) and large company growth (ADVO $1B).

As a partner and key advisor, Peter exhibits a strong loyalty and general marketing background with extensive operational and delivery skills. He recently co-founded Denali Marketing and his extensive business background includes partnerships in The Lacek Group and MilePoint, with previous work at Northwest Airlines.

Courtney utilized her experience in managing events for the Frequent Travel Marketing Association and her development of customer support programs for both FTMA and DeskPort Technologies to design the flow process for BidPal functionality. Her responsibilities also include the development of event implementation protocols, the BidPal Network, and customer education. Courtney is a recent Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Purdue University.

The balance of the team includes event planners, graphic specialists, and others with professional advertising and promotional sales expertise.