College of Business
The Butler Business Accelerator

Testimonials

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: John Barnard ~ Founder, Barnard Associates Inc.

John Barnard"The Butler Business Accelerator does incredibly impressive work. Their examination of companies is very thorough and their recommendations are on target. I foresee the Accelerator being a huge success."
- John Barnard, Founder, Barnard Associates Inc.

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Kathie DeVoe ~ CEO, Gilchrist & Soames

kdevoe"The BBA team has exceeded expectations on the supply chain program for Gilchrist & Soames. I can't say enough about Brian & team, the professors and the students…I'm a BBA spokesperson. I tell any small/mid size company CEO I meet that the BBA is a hidden asset in this city - and they should reach out to the group."
- Kathie DeVoe, CEO, Gilchrist & Soames

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Tim Estes ~ Director of Finance and Human Resources, Estes Design & Manufacturing

"The BBA team provided us with a lot of knowledge and expertise we just don't have. Another advantage to employing the BBA is its university backing. As a client, it was nice to know the BBA had marketing professors and a school of business to fall back on. I always tell the students that have worked on our project, 'I wish I would have had an opportunity like this when I was in college.' I am always trying to help the interns to be as successful as possible, and I am the client! The combination of the BBA's people and resources is a winning combo. I like the motto of the BBA: helping Central Indiana businesses. I would not hesitate to recommend the BBA to any Central Indiana business."
- Tim Estes, Director of Finance and Human Resources, Estes Design & Manufacturing

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Mike Grueninger ~ President, Grueninger Travel Group

"The Accelerator is like a personal trainer for your business. They educate and motivate you to really stretch and perform the tasks that truly grow your business. Not only would I love to work with the Accelerator again, if I could, I would add an office for them at Grueninger."
- Mike Grueninger, President, Grueninger Travel Group

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Jennie Harper ~ Vice President Client Services, Gilchrist & Soames

"The Butler Business Accelerator first helped us identify which CRM system to use. The Accelerator team conducted a needs analysis and created a scoring process to get total buy-in from all people within our organization and to understand which program would be the best fit. Then once we selected Salesforce.com, the Accelerator served as the lead on project implementation.

The Accelerator team was extremely thorough in designing the business process and making customizations to meet our needs. I definitely believe we have seen gains in terms of effectiveness and efficiencies since the implementation.

I would not have wanted to take on this project by myself without support of a 3rd party like Butler. They helped us build a program that is very sales and customer specific as opposed to a standard system in which the sales team would have to adapt."
- Jennie Harper, Vice President Client Services, Gilchrist & Soames

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Dan Hess ~ President, CornerStone Flooring

"The BBA created a customized quoting tool which allowed CornerStone's sales force to propose on potential work consistently across the company while achieving desired profit margins. The Accelerator also assisted us in the development of a sales pitch in an effort to land a Fortune 100 client which lead to a successful initial opportunity with that company. The BBA team learned the specifics of CornerStone quickly and provided us valuable tools which we will be able to use for years to come."
- Dan Hess, President, CornerStone Flooring

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Ken Himes ~ CEO, WasteAway Group

"I hired the Butler Business Accelerator to look at our organization as we are today and give recommendations as to how we might structure ourselves based on our growth targets. We are in the midst of succession from second generation ownership to third generation ownership, and I needed the Accelerator to look for voids in knowledge and leadership within the company as the ownership transitions.

The project team gave us access to a variety of resources. When hiring the Accelerator, I gave consideration to the fact that Butler would provide a long relationship beyond this immediate project.

When comparing the Accelerator to other consultants, the project team had discipline to stay on task and represented my company's interest. Working with other consultants, I have had projects drift off course, and we've had additional expenses. The Accelerator did a very good job of outlining and staying to task. In general the process was taking a concept and distilling it into task-I communicated my vision and need, and they created a tactical approach, which was very helpful to me. They took complexities and simplified them into flow charts, bullets, and plans.

They made recommendations based on our vision and structure today to ensure we're covered for succession. They have given me clarity. I now have a road map and brain trust. That gives me confidence in the future direction."
- Ken Himes, CEO, WasteAway Group

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Phil Horner ~ President, Horner APG

"The BBA MRP data cleanup project proved to be a great financial value to our company. Brian Landis and the BBA team stayed with the project and provided great value. I probably haven't thanked them enough for the significant work and skill sets brought to this project. Horner would hire the BBA again."
- Phil Horner, President, Horner APG

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Charles "Skeet" James ~ CEO, EGov Strategies

Skeet Jones"The Butler Business Accelerator model is very impressive. The combination of Accelerator staff, faculty and students brings a broad base of experience to a business. Resources can be pulled from many different places to best accommodate the client's needs."
- Charles "Skeet" James, CFO, TriMedx

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Jerry Jones ~ President, Cannon IV Inc.

Jerry Jones"I was really impressed by how deeply the Accelerator was able to dig down and not only understand our business but understand our culture. That was a talent. I also found the students to be incredible. They were there every day, and were certainly a tremendous support to Brian, Brent and Larry. Someday soon you may not be able to tell the students from the teachers. They were well respected and had great input; you wouldn't have guessed they were students. The investment to work with the Accelerator has absolutely been worth it."
- Jerry Jones, President, Cannon IV Inc.

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Pat Kennedy ~ President, Kennedy Tank

"We hired Butler Business Accelerator to help improve the effectiveness of our sales program. We needed to go from a good reactive approach to a good proactive and reactive program. We had worked with other consulting firms in the past, but the Accelerator dug into the trenches of our organization to a greater degree than the others had. They got more involved. The Accelerator's process helped us put together a plan that we could implement to address our weaknesses. Initially we knew that we needed to make changes related to our national sales rep. network, but the Accelerator process directed us toward fundamental areas to focus on prior to revamping our sales rep. network."
- Pat Kennedy, President, Kennedy Tank

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Cathy Langham ~ Owner and President, Langham Logistics

clangham"The BBA under-promised and over-delivered. They spent a lot of time on the rigor around the process - I was especially impressed by the time spent on data analysis. The BBA spent time learning our business, and the result was a pricing and go-to-market strategy that was very Langham-centric…I really felt like the Butler team cared about the Langham team."
Langham Video (Watch Video)
- Cathy Langham, Owner and President, Langham Logistics

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Francis "Ollie" Martins ~ CEO, Standard Locknut, LLC

"Initially, we were not looking into consulting firms at all, but after meeting consultants from the Butler Business Accelerator, we decided to use their services. We asked the Accelerator to help us increase sales by looking at how we could gain business with a strategic account. The project team did not just use a standard method, but instead personalized the process to meet our needs. The Accelerator gave us methodology and enabled us to get an appointment with a prospect that we previously could not get."
- Francis "Ollie" Martins, CEO, Standard Locknut, LLC

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Bob McAfee ~ President, SaniServ

Bob Mcafee"Working with the Accelerator has been a very good experience. I have worked with consulting companies in the past and the main difference in working with the Accelerator is that they will help you implement recommendations. A lot of consultants will come along and tell you a whole bunch of things to do and not help with implementation. I also liked the phased approached to their consulting methodology because I was allowed to control the pace of it. You could do the phases as fast as you wanted, as slow as you wanted, or not at all. Overall the Accelerator has been very professional, thorough and more than efficient. They paid attention and tried to really figure out what was going on before they made a recommendation. They made the effort to understand my company."
SaniServ Video (Watch Video)
- Bob McAfee, President, SaniServ

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Nick Milano ~ Owner, Pet Supplies Plus

"My main objective in working with the Butler Business Accelerator was to put together a marketing plan. I have worked with other consulting firms, but none would have used the disciplined approach the Accelerator used to give me the quality plan I received. I had incredible peace of mind in working with the Accelerator, and Lilly Endowment's oversight spoke volumes in terms of credibility. The Accelerator's insight helped me make substantial changes to my company's product mix and operations. I was pleased with all of the Accelerator staff and very impressed with the student analysts' level of maturity and professionalism. In fact, I was so pleased that I entered into an agreement with the Butler Business Accelerator for another two years."
- Nick Milano, Owner, Pet Supplies Plus

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Mark Miles ~ President and CEO, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership

Mark Miles"The Accelerator has added enormous value at the strategic and operating levels and they did so at the speed of business. In fact, without fail they produced excellent work at or ahead of agreed upon deadlines. On our behalf they brought to bear a remarkable portfolio of talent and expertise. Each BBA team member, from their most seasoned executives to their most hardworking students, contributed to building a successful relationship with us. Across the board in the areas of human resources, information technology, the full range of marketing/communications, and accounting, they made us smarter and more effective and they delivered on-time solutions that were tailored to our needs."
- Mark Miles, President and CEO, Central Indiana Corporate Partnership

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Tom Mosser ~ President, Mosser's Shoes, Inc.

"The Accelerator team was knowledgeable,  tactical, well-structured, organized, detail-oriented, and highly polished.  I give them high praise.  We bought into their program, and we are making many changes.  They prompted us to action.  We are in an ideas business, and we feel like we received creative ideas based on the various backgrounds of the professional staff and faculty involved in our project.  Some of these ideas, we had thought of before, but the BBA team has really moved us into action.  I am confident  we will  look back in a few years and say that the Accelerator caused changes that brought results. The university has a real asset in the BBA.  It benefits not only the business people, but students and staff,  to be able to see things in the real world outside the classroom.  The translation from class to real world is important for all to realize." 

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Bond Sandoe ~ Vice President, American Art Clay Company

Before the creation of the Accelerator, I saw the need for developing a consulting firm for mature companies and not just another incubator. I have always bought into this concept, and I believe in Butler.

Currently, we are in the process of transitioning the company to the 3rd generation, where mature children are learning the business.  They have to hustle to learn the discipline of the P & L and demands of management.  It seemed like the perfect time for us to begin work with the Accelerator.  We did not want to work with a standard consulting firm.  However, we believed in the quality and integrity of Butler and had confidence and trust that the BBA could deliver.   The Accelerator process is not a commercial experience.  It is a real consulting experience and our employees could tell that the BBA team wanted to help us, and they did.

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Bill Shrewsberry ~ President & CEO, Shrewsberry

"We have worked with other consulting firms in the past, but those firms were never able to connect with our organization on the level that the Butler Business Accelerator did. The Accelerator not only presented their recommendations to our team, but they supported their recommendations with very detailed paths of how they had arrived at the specified recommendations. The product we received has been very beneficial to our organization. In fact, we are utilizing the project outputs for conducting staff awareness training and developing cohesiveness in both our internal and external business development."
- Bill Shrewsberry, President & CEO, Shrewsberry

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Lisa Young ~ Vice President, Operations

"The BBA listened well and learned to communicate in our company's culture and lingo. They understood our industry. Overall we felt we were always getting our money's worth from their work and engaging the Accelerator provided good value to our company. We would very likely do additional work with the Accelerator. It was very important to the Fineline staff that the BBA professionals and interns did their work at our location."
- Lisa Young, Vice President, Operations

Right Arrow Show Testimonial: Laura Yurs ~ President, Earth Images

"The most surprising thing to me is the level of professionalism and quality of consulting we have been receiving. I know there are other consulting firms in city, but I can't see them comparing to the quality of the BBA. What we are getting for what we are paying is worth three times the amount. The interns were phenomenal; we have been impressed. I am excited for any company that picks them up as full- time employees."
- Laura Yurs, President, Earth Images