Robert W Price

In Biker Build-Off, each customizer will be given two weeks to create a one-of-a-kind motorcycle, from the ground up. Although aesthetics are crucial to all the builds, the contest also requires the bikes to work; the builders must ride them as far as 1,000 miles to major bike events, where attendees vote for their favorite.

Episode 4: Willow Springs, California…home of “The Fastest Track in the World. It is here that two of the hottest young builders in the world, Roland Sands and Jesse Rooke, will face off in the ultimate Biker Build Off Challenge: In just ten days these two hotshots must build high speed motorcyles which are fit to race.

If they succeed, Sands and Rooke will go head to head in three different style contests…all dangerous: a two mile course, a drag course and a dirt flat track. The winner of two out of three will take home the trophy. This Rooke vs. Sands race off is a Biker Build Off first.

Pictage is the nation’s leading provider of online wedding photography solutions to professional wedding and portrait photographers. The company grew from an idea to profitable company with over $40 million in revenue in ten years. In 2006 Pictage sold a majority stake to global private equity firm Apax Partners for $29 million resulting in an average cash return for Pictage investors of 3X. Apax Partners, an original investor in Apple Computer and America Online (AOL) is one of the world’s leading private equity investment groups. After the Apax transaction revenue doubled over the next three years. The company currently serves over 12,000 of the world’s best professional wedding photographers.

Each year Young Americas Business Trust (YABT) and the Talent and Innovation Contest (TIC) Americas presents awards as an international business plan competition and accelerator for young entrepreneurs. A non-profit corporation, YABT is affiliated with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States (OAS), and aims to advance the goals of the OAS and Presidential Summits of the Americas to create employment opportunities and reduce poverty by supporting and promoting youth entrepreneurship. Currently, YABT also has National YABTs and representatives in twenty-five countries in the Americas.

TIC Americas presents awards as an international business plan competition and accelerator for young entrepreneurs. The TIC Americas model goes beyond business plans to include extended training, mentoring, and prototype phases to test the project’s feasibility in the real market. Awards include financial prizes, incubation, internships, as well as promotional and networking opportunities in seven awards areas: E-Business, Creative Design, Tradition and Culture, Spirit of Entrepreneurship, Social Entrepreneurship, New Markets and International Alliance.  These initiatives will develop the extraordinary business potential of innovative young entrepreneurs and scientists, in collaboration with sponsors globally and from the thirty-four Member States of the Organization of American States (OAS).

In 2008 Robert was selected to be a Business Plan Judge at the Talent and Innovation Contest (TIC) held in Medellin, Colombia. In 2009 Robert was again selected to be a Business Plan Judge for the event which was held in Honduras. In 2008 he was a mentor to the TIC Business Plan contest winners.

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While working with Performance Machine on creating the new product line for custom motorcycles, we recommended that Roland prepare a business plan, and business strategy to spin-off from the company and establish an independently operated design center to break free from the existing corporate barriers to innovation at Performance Machine.

Performance Machine is one of the most successful manufacturers of motorcycle accessories in the industry today. With more than 300 employees, $40 million in topline sales, and manufacturing operations in Southern California, China, and Europe, this Company is the industry leader for high-performance parts and accessories in the motorcycle industry. The Company needed to quickly assess the financial health of the organization and allocate resources to optimize the organization’s performance for development of a new product line.

Responsibilities for this assignment included conducting business performance reviews of all the Company’s activities, focusing on business process improvement and quality control and management of its Chinese manufacturing capabilities, creating a roadmap for allocating critical capital resources based on the market potential of the new product line, alignment of working capital management with the new product development thrust, and optimizing supply chain processes and management across three continents, thus achieving high asset productivity. Analytical tools used included financial decision support models, cost analysis, forecasting, generic benchmarking, and productivity measurement.

RSD became the newly-formed Design, Research and Development Center for Performance Machine.
This new organization quickly needed a business plan, finance plan, and organizational structuring plan to present for the strategic investors that included Performance Machine and other industry leaders.

The newly formed company went on to become the winner of Discovery Channel’s Motorcycle “Biker Build-Off.” The company’s showcase motorcycle called “No Regrets” featured many innovative new products that will be developed for the motorcycle industry.