I have mentored, coached, and advised hundreds of (local and international) entrepreneurs, manager, CEOs and founders in the last decade. Rather than me telling my great relationship with them I will let them mention their experience working with me:
“Hal is a creator and a master collaborator! Knowing Hal for over 5 years now, I have witnessed firsthand how Hal brings people together for a mission. His enthusiasm and positive energy are infectious. A pragmatic human being with empathy rightly characterizes his faculty”. – Pinaki Saha CEO, Founder Anshar Labs.
“Hal has the experience and insight to help early stage startups off the ground. He brought legal, technology and branding resources to help me get Nutricio started. From the business plan to the pitch, and everything in between, Hal is a knowledgeable resource and is truly enjoyable to work with. He also introduced me to many investment opportunities and exponentially expanded my network in the startup community.” – Mike Hyzy, Product Manager, Life Fitness, LLC – Founder, Nutricio LLC.
“Hal is an executive operator in every sense of the phrase. He is a tinkerer by nature who approaches every business situation with the same practicality that’s been honed during his former life as an engineer and founder of a multi-national telecommunications enterprise. Hal is blunt and brutally honest in how he delivers the truth about whether an employee is masquerading as an entrepreneur, or a “doer”. So, if you can’t stand the heat that comes from the passion he has for developing ventures…save yourself the trouble and stay within the comfort and safety zone of your office cubicle.” – Archel G Desir, Boston U.-Carnegie Mellon, Financial Strategist.
“I worked with Hulusi for several years while at Andrew Corporation, both in Illinois and in Texas. Hulusi consistently demonstrated very strong analytical skills, innovation, competence, dedication, passion for the goal/mission, and solid engineering principles. His devotion to completing the mission often led to on time and on budget projects. His integrity and work ethic were always the highest standard.” – Kevin Krebs, VP Manufacturing FTS International.
“I worked with Hulusi under several capacities for several years Andrew Corporation’s headquarters in Illinois. I consider Hulusi to be one of the most capable engineers I’ve worked with through my career. Hulusi was dedicated, hardworking, creative-innovative and thorough. Anyone who knows Hulusi will agree. I would welcome any opportunity to work with Hulusi in the future.” – Scott Imbery, Engineering Manager at General Dynamics.
“Mr. Tezcan’s work has been instrumental in the launch of our ExpoBox product in the US market. Very dedicated, extremely knowledgeable of the “real” market trends, very reliable, with a keen acumen for business Mr. Tezcan “a true entrepreneur” has helped us in properly positioning our brand, find the right market entry points and locate the perfect production partner for our product. Not only Hal helped us in creating our sales/marketing platform, he also helped us in product design, product improvement and cost reduction. He is a genuine asset with the highest qualifications for any organization, I highly recommend him.” – Sabri Sami TOKER, Owner, Iki Kere Iki Creative Workshop, ExpoBox and ExpoBoxUSA
“I had the pleasure to work with Hulusi Tezcan for couple of years in various capacities with SMI, his vast business experience and management knowledge has been of great value to our company and me personally. He has been instrumental in negotiating the reconciliation and securing of over half a million dollars’ worth of past orders with one of our customers. His management and operational skills helped our company navigate through difficult economic times with great success.” – Suleyman Ozdemir, Co-Founder and Technical Sales Director at SMI, Founding partner SMI.
“Thank you Hal for all your insights and help, it was truly a pleasure. You have great experience and passion, and a lot to offer to startups that are seeking to compete at a higher level and standards. Chicago is the next big thing for the startup ecosystems and you are among the people that designs the perfect DNA of it. We have a lot to learn from you and I will definitely get in touch with you.” – Erdinc Ergenc, MergerMarket Correspondent in Istanbul, Turkey.
“Hal has been instrumental in the re-launch of Prefense. His strong passion and dedication to the final goal plus his deep and precise knowledge of project management, product refinement, marketing and sales engineering have led our company to a new level of success. He is a true team player with a natural, honest demeanor (a great leadership skill set) which makes working with him a pleasure. Hal has tremendous amount of knowledge in creating the perfect pitch, and his coaching and guidance has helped me perform better in front on many investors. Speaking of investment, Hal has a very large network of vetted and reliable private investors that have helped us in raising the needed capital for Prefense. It was a pure pleasure working with Hal.” – Michael Reiber, (Ret. US Army Col.), CEO and President, Prefense LLC.
“Hal and I worked together on several telecom project in the last two decades. He helped our team of consultants and investors with solutions that helped us same time and money. Hal has a hard to find talent for finding the easiest and best solution for problems. He has been our “go to” man for several of our domestic and international projects. Hal is a highly energetic, passionate about innovation, inspiring and driven by vision, creative and experienced business development professional with excellent interpersonal skills. He brings a vast knowledge of recent and past business development references, and maintains a meticulous product transaction history which can be easily accessed to help in the rapid construction of business proposals combined with access to a vast team of talented professional. No matter what I write, you won’t see the complete picture of who Hal is until you meet him face to face. It is without hesitation that I can highly recommend Hal to anyone who is considering him as a partner, business advocate/advisor, and more importantly as a friend and coach. I would also gladly provide a verbal recommendation for anyone interested in contacting my directly.” Rodney Mikesell, President LRB Global LLC, Partner WSI Management LLC.
“Hal has served as an informal advisor to my company. One of the first characteristics we noticed about Hal is his willingness and ability to make connections. He regularly tends to think outside the box, proposing partnerships that we hadn’t considered before. Hal is himself a born entrepreneur, demonstrated both by his lengthy track record and ability to quickly understand businesses he’s introduced to. He’ll let you know what he thinks, unvarnished, and recommend a course of action. It’s ultimately up to each entrepreneur to choose his or her own path, but Hal will be ready to help if the time arises.” Jacob Drucker, Co-Founder, Supply Clinic LLC.
“I have known Mr. Tezcan for almost 25 years and have cooperated with him for several projects. I have found him to be very knowledgeable and even more—having the characteristics of a successful manager, with attention to details, practical approach to difficult problems and follow thru for success and execution.” Professor Harry Lepinske, Chairman, Central Asian Productivity Research Center.
“My first encounter with Hal was at a startup demo event in mid-2014 where startups had the opportunity to set up a demo table showcasing their business to not only the general public but also to a select few of angel investors and venture capitalist as well. Hal approached me I was setting up my table getting ready for the event and asked me what my business did. He then asked me these three words which I will never forget…: “Are you mold-able?” I have to tell you know one has ever asked me that in my life! By him asking me this question I knew that he was a guy that I not only wanted to learn from, but also a guy that truly cares about young and starving entrepreneurs. I’ve learned a ton from Hal since our initial engagement ranging from various topics such as: bootstrapping, minimal viable product launches, gaining traction, the importance of marketing and most important how to tell a story with your business. I can assure you that whomever has the opportunity to learn from Hal will retrieve intrinsic value and advice for years to come. He’s rare.” John Seigler, Founder & CEO of Elevated Image Consulting
“As a former management consultant covering the MENA region and Europe, I have worked with Hal in multiple projects overseas and at the US stateside between the years of 2008 and 2016. I can tell you that Hal has real life experience that can be quantified as strategic, practical, operationally efficient, and market friendly. He is a strategic thinker who applies systems thinking into business plans from the cradle to grave journey of the project(s) and utilizes risk mitigation tools to avoid common pitfalls of new organizations in the US. I have had experience working with him in brick and mortar (manufacturing) applications as well as new product development projects with heavy IP involvement in start-up eco systems. He brings tactical approach in both scenarios to make sure that companies can harvest their efforts sooner, hence his business plans are very viable. In addition, Hal has a vast network that he has built over the years that his clients/partners can utilize while working with him whether it is related to finance, compliance, risk management, legal, marketing, operations and sales. In short, he can be a one-stop shop for entrepreneurs who are trying to expand in the North American market. When you add his passion to build organizations and helping younger generations, it is a win-win for his clients.” Atakan Arica, VP of Operations, Beko U.S. (An Arcelik Company)
There are so many things as a cofounder of a company that you just would never know until you messed up. Meeting and conversing with Hal on a consistent basis has given me confidence, knowledge and a true ability to execute. Hal has done incredible things in his career that has allowed him to offer brilliant advice along all segments of business such as marketing, legal, technology, hiring, selling, fundraising, on-boarding, customer service, customer feedback, accounting and financial modeling. With all of that knowledge, Hal is our secret weapon. He has built an incredible foundation with StartUp Port that I believe every entrepreneur should take advantage of since his team makes sure you allocate every dollar in the right way. I’m blessed to have met Hal awhile back and lucky to have kept in touch. I will call Hal a mentor and friend for the rest of my life!” Matt Strauss, Founder, Solve Smart Cities, LLC.