Daniel Butt founded NoodleStorm.com because he wanted to help make the world more efficient. When he had the idea for this online student consulting marketplace, he dropped everything he was doing and started working on its development. He knew from his prior work experience and education that many organizations, especially small businesses and non-profits, would love to have the brightest college students in the world solve their toughest business, engineering, technology, political, legal or other problems. The main benefit to the organizations who participate is that they receive top-notch consulting at a discount. The main benefit to students is that they gain real world consulting experience in their chosen discipline before they graduate.
When Daniel got the idea for his site, he quickly studied how to build a website business, partnered with a former employee to build it for him and then several months later launched NoodleStorm.com.
Prior to launching NoodleStorm.com in April 2010, Daniel spent most of his career in business and economic research and leadership positions. He has been president or vice president of five different professional or volunteer organizations, where he has led more than 300 people, worked with multi-million dollar budgets, generated tens of millions in revenue annually and supported more than $2 billion in transactions. He left his position as vice president of operations for a large commercial real estate brokerage in order to start his own businesses, including NoodleStorm.com.
What are you working on right now?
I am developing several new features in NoodleStorm.com that will add value to its users.
3 Trends that excite you?
Poor economic conditions have increased the demand for student consultants and outsourcing in general. This is helping NoodleStorm.com grow quickly.
Growth of social networking. Students around the world are telling their professors and friends about NoodleStorm.com.
Can’t think of a third one. Maybe trends don’t excite me enough?
How do you bring ideas to life?
I spend a lot of my time thinking about how to improve things, and my life experiences have made me into a self-starter. Those two traits combined enabled me to start Noodlestorm.com.
What is one mistake you’ve made that our readers can learn from?
There are too many to pick from. My mind is boggled just thinking about it. I’ll just say that moving with speed is pretty important in our competitive environment.
What is one book and one tool that helps you bring ideas to life?
“Don’t Make Me Think” by Steve Krug, which is a book about Web usability.
I probably use Excel every day for various reasons.
What is one idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?
Work harder than everyone else, and you’ll find success.
How do I get the brightest college students in the world to consult for my organization?
1. Go to NoodleStorm.com and sign up your organization.
2. Submit a problem to students.
3. Check back regularly to see if students are working on your problem or have submitted solutions.
Most of the students who are registered to solve your problems on NoodleStorm.com are graduate or doctoral students from the best colleges in the world, and they are accustomed to solving complex problems in your industry. When you submit your problem, please include detailed information and attach data files that will help the students solve it for you. You can read more about the types of problems you can submit and what type of information to include in your submission at NoodleStorm.com.
Why do you spend a lot of your time thinking about how to improve things?
Doesn’t everybody?
Connect with Daniel Butt:
facebook.com/NoodleStorm
twitter.com/NoodleStorm
Mario Schulzke is the Founder of ideamensch, which he started a decade ago to learn from entrepreneurs and give them a platform for their ideas.