Thursday, December 17th, 2009
Our on-line auction of a ride with Gold Medal Olympian, Kristin Armstrong, was our first venture into this type of fund raising. I can assure you it won’t be our last. Kristin Armstrong has been a great friend of the Y and has been extraordinarily generous with her time and willingness to help us to raise funds for our Strong Kids Campaign. For a number of years she has offered an indoor cycling class to raise money called Armstrong for Strong Kids. While this has been a successful event and well attended, it was very labor intensive, in moving bikes for all of our Y’s to the Downtown Y and a lot of work for Kristin. This first year event, was so much less work for all and will net at least $2000 more than ever before. Of course we could not do this without our wonderful friend, Kristin Armstrong, who is so dedicated to our Y and to seeing that less advantaged kids have the opportunities to experience all the Y has to offer. We could not do this without, you either, Kristi. Through Auction Frogs we reached a whole new audience with our message and tapped into potential new sources of fund raising support. Your counsel and guidance made this very effective and remarkably easy. We cannot thank you enough. We will be a long term customer! Thanks for helping us to build strong kids, strong families and strong communities! Jim Everett CEO | Treasure Valley Family YMCA
Thursday, December 17th, 2009
It was a pleasure working with Kristi Saucerman and Auction Frogs to host our first on-line auction. I am grateful for Kristi’s enthusiasm and dedication to help non-profits raise funds in a simple manner. It was a great way to publicize our efforts to sponsors and donors in a new fashion of fundraising! What a great experience for Wishing Star! Tracy Shaw Boise Regional Director Wishing Star Foundation 205 N 10th Suite B-100 Boise, ID 83702
Sunday, November 22nd, 2009
This workshop and lunch will be hosted from 11:45 to 1:15pm at the US Bank building located at 101 S. Capitol Blvd, Suite 200 in downtown Boise. meet, learn, and be inspired by Kristi Saucerman, Auction Frogs Online Auction Services , Shelly Lenhart, Swap Co-Op and Sonia Rojas, Spanish Electives as they address the challenges and opportunites as women that have led to the success of their businesses. Cost is $20
Friday, November 13th, 2009
By glorygray, June 25, 2009 10:22 am
Auction Frogs is one of those virtual businesses that grew out of frustration. Kristi Saucerman had been managing nonprofit “silent auctions” for 12 years, always seeing the final bids come in at far less than the value of items donated. Sure, it was still a win-win for everyone. The bidder got a smoking hot deal. The charity received funds and the sponsors received recognition and loyal customers.
But what if there was a way to extend the time of the silent auction and the bidding audience? That would mean more funds for the charity and more marketing exposure for the donors and sponsors. Kristi reviewed a few online auction options, but found them all too expensive for tight nonprofit budgets.
So, she took a ‘leap’ of faith—and created Auction Frogs.
I talked with Kristi recently about her business.
GG: What advice would you give someone wanting to start a virtual company?
KS: If you’re going to build an online business, make sure it’s turnkey so you’re not reliant on any one geographic area. I can move my family tomorrow and Auction Frogs can still go on.
Conduct a test group for your idea first. Figure it all out with a small group of people you trust as well as people you don’t know. Get feedback and identify strengths and weaknesses. Modify your product based on that feedback. Never stop getting feedback, even as your business matures. Never allow the business to stagnate. Perfection will never be attained—it’s always a work in progress. Change with the times and the needs of your customers.
Once you get that initial test group feedback, take action and go live. So often, entrepreneurs get “analysis paralysis” and they never take the next step. Here’s the problem: If you take the time to make it perfect, it’s already outdated by the time you get it out in the marketplace.
GG: What tools do you find indispensable for your virtual office?
KS: First, I looked for a really good web developer. It’s important to get one who is available when you need them. We use Google Analytics to track the statistics of each auction. We track number of bids and click-throughs for each item, so we can provide that information to both the nonprofit client and the donor/sponsors. Sponsors want to know that they’re not only making a difference, but that their donation makes good business sense in terms of market exposure.
We also use “Share This” and “Page View Count” Open Source Applications. “Page View Count” helps with tracking while “Share This” allows bidders to share an item with their network via social media or email.
GG: What type of marketing should virtual companies be using today?
KS: Social media, hands down. For Auction Frogs, Facebook has been particularly powerful, because it taps into a more emotional, personal level of viral marketing. For example, say we’re conducting an auction for a school. A parent might send a message to her friends on Facebook that says, “Hope you can take a minute to support Suzy’s school by going to our auction page,” with a link to the school’s Auction Frog webpage. Of course, friends want to help and they start sharing the link with their friends, and so on. It’s the emotional bid that drives up the bid amounts and that’s why online auctions work.
There’s also more opportunities online to increase traffic so more bidders visit the auction site. Bidders are reminded by us, via email and on the auction site itself, of why they are bidding: to help the school or nonprofit. We often feature testimonials or videos on the auction site so bidders can connect on a more personal level.
We also use Craigslist to advertise some of the larger items up for bid as a way to draw traffic to our client’s auction site.
GG: How do you get paid?
KS: I charge nothing up front. After the auction is complete and the funds have been received by the nonprofit, I receive a small percentage of the auction’s gross revenues. That percentage can easily be earned back through selling advertising spots on the auction webpage or by the increased funds the nonprofit will receive by using my services than if they hadn’t.
GG: What’s in the future for Auction Frogs?
KS: Our mission is to help as many organizations as possible improve their fundraising models.
I work primarily with nonprofit organizations that have a working model of a silent auction already, but want to bring it to the next level. They have sponsor relationships and volunteers already in place.
Auction Frogs provides our clients with three benefits: 1) A higher return value for items up for bid compared to that of the value at a traditional, offline silent auction; 2) a reduction in volunteer hours required because of our simplified approach, and 3) greater exposure for their nonprofit and for the donors and sponsors.
I’m also working on a concept called “The Frog Pond.” The Frog Pond is a repository where businesses can donate to organizations in exchange for ad space on the online auction sites. Bidders will have the option to click through to the website of the donating business.
We’ve had excellent response so far from the business community on the Frog Pond. It’s a great way for businesses to receive maximum exposure for their donation dollars.
GG: How can our readers contact you?
KS: They can visit our website at http://www.AuctionFrogs.org.
Thursday, September 24th, 2009
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| As distinguished members of Idaho’s business and technology communities, thank you for submitting a nomination to the fourth annual Idaho Innovation Awards, presented by Stoel Rives LLP and Kickstand. The high level of innovation represented by the nominations and nominees symbolizes the incredible level of innovation that is occurring throughout the state.
Winners and finalists will be honored at a special Awards Banquet, held in conjunction with the Governor’s Innovation Summit, on Thursday, September 24, 2009 at the Boise State University Stueckle Sky Center at Bronco Stadium. Registration is available online at www.stoel.com/idahoinnovation until Friday, September 18, 2009. Individual seats are $40.00 and a table of ten is $400.00.
In addition to an awards presentation, the Banquet will feature an Innovation Showcase, during which 2009 program finalists, past Idaho Innovation Awards’ winners and other members of Idaho’s business and technology communities will display their products and technologies. We encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to showcase your innovation in front of key Idaho business, academic and technology leaders. To learn more about the showcase visit www.stoel.com/innovationshowcase.
A Selection Committee consisting of leaders from Idaho’s business and technology communities carefully reviewed the nominations during an evaluation process, after which, each Selection Committee member voted on all nominations. Those receiving a majority of the votes in each category are named finalists.
The evaluation process undertaken to identify this year’s finalists and winners proved to be very challenging due to the high quality of each nomination. We, and the Selection Committee, congratulate you on your accomplishments and success.
We are proud to announce the 2009 Idaho Innovation Awards finalists (Finalists are listed in alphabetical order. Winners will be announced at the Awards Banquet):
Commercialized Innovation of the Year
- CradlePoint MBR1000 3G/4G Mobile Broadband Router by CradlePoint Technology
- PakSense Ultra Wireless Label by PakSense, Inc.
- Ultra-Fast Charging Technology by IVUS Energy Innovations
Early-Stage Innovation of the Year (a fourth finalist is being recognized due to a tie)
- Healthwise Ix Conversations by Healthwise
- Precision Nanoparticles by the Idaho National Laboratory
- QuickMAR Electronic Med Administration Record by Med Management Technology
- Water Sample Concentrator by the Idaho National Laboratory
Innovative Company of the Year
- Auction Frogs
- Balihoo
- Premier Technology, Inc.
Innovator of the Year
- David Chase, Super Man, PCS Edventures, Inc.
- Mark Rivers, President, Brix and Company
- Kristi Saucerman, Founder and CEO, Auction Frogs
Congratulations to all of this year’s finalists! Finalists will receive an email with information pertaining to their involvement in the Awards Banquet in the next few days.
While not every innovation, company or individual can be recognized in a given year, all nominees (except those named as winners) are eligible to participate in the program next year. Because your nominee represents the best of innovation in Idaho, we encourage you to submit your nomination again next year if the nominee is not named a winner on September 24.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at (208) 389-9000 or at nkershaw@stoel.com if you have any questions about the Idaho Innovation Awards program or Awards Banquet on September 24.
Congratulations on your accomplishments.
Nicole Kershaw
Idaho Innovation Awards Program Manager
Stoel Rives LLP
(208) 389-9000
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