Nick Sowden

Current

US Director of Business Development at ToughStuff

Past

Director, Business Development at Collective Intellect
Co-Founder at ChalkTalk Communications LLC
Co-Founder at If Life Development

Basketball Coach at Fairview High School
Regional Manager, CollegeWorks Painting at National Financial Services Group

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Education

University of Colorado at Boulder - Leeds School of Business

Recommended

14 people have recommended Nick

Connections

315 connections

Industry

Philanthropy

Websites

Nick Sowden’s Summary

Social entrepreneur: Finding ways to use business to help the world's poorest people.

Nick Sowden’s Specialties:

My specialty is developing and executing strategy for early stage companies and products. I'm dedicated to using business principles to help the very poor. In the past I've focused on the solar industry, social media, internet technology and education.

Nick Sowden’s Experience

US Director of Business Development

ToughStuff

(Privately Held; Philanthropy industry)

November 2008 — Present (1 year 1 month)

ToughStuff is a social enterprise working to alleviate poverty by selling very affordable solar products to poor income consumers in eastern Africa, which create social, financial and environmental benefits. I lead up our efforts to build partnerships and support in the United States and Europe.
Director, Business Development

Collective Intellect

(Privately Held; 11-50 employees; Marketing and Advertising industry)

March 2006 — November 2008 (2 years 9 months)

-Launched the company’s most recent product, from defining requirements to creating sales and marketing strategy to completing the first sales in October of 2008
-Developed business relationships resulting in sales of $350,000+
-Designed and implemented the company’s channel strategy; business development team improved revenue from channel relationships from 0% to 40% in 18 months
Co-Founder

ChalkTalk Communications LLC

(Telecommunications industry)

August 2007 — October 2008 (1 year 3 months)

-Co-founded ChalkTalk Communications, an internet technology company that allows teachers to communicate with students and parents on many mediums
-Conceptualized the business model and strategy; wrote the winning submission to the University of Colorado’s business plan competition
-Established company, wrote product requirements, hired development team and tested the concept with hundreds of teachers
Co-Founder

If Life Development

(Education Management industry)

August 2005 — March 2007 (1 year 8 months)

-Created business plan, company structure, and sales strategy to take company from its start to profitable in its first year
-Co-wrote two-year curriculum after a year of research from leadership theory and texts, recent youth development studies and personal interviews
-Hired and trained staff who led a 50% growth in students during the second year of business
Basketball Coach

Fairview High School

(Education Management industry)

August 2004 — February 2007 (2 years 7 months)

-Coached five basketball teams in four years, ages ranging from 12 to 17
-Combined athletic competition with non-athletic curriculum to foster trust among teammates, creative learning processes and a better understand of adolescent masculinity
Regional Manager, CollegeWorks Painting

National Financial Services Group

(Privately Held; 51-200 employees; Financial Services industry)

January 2005 — September 2005 (9 months)

-Successfully ran personal business under the umbrella of CollegeWorks with $100,000+ in revenue
-Implemented sales and marketing plan to find customers and negotiate contracts
-Hired, trained and managed 6 man painting crew during summer production
-Awarded Colorado Manager of the Year and Highest Customer Satisfaction Ratings

Nick Sowden’s Education

University of Colorado at Boulder - Leeds School of Business

Management , Entrepreneurship , 2004 — 2007

Activities and Societies:

Relevant Business Courses: Entrepreneurial Environments; Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Plan Creation; Capital Investment Analysis; Microfinance Seminar