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TakeLessons Wins San Diego Venture Group’s 2010 PitchFest Competition

Monday, December 6th, 2010

Photo courtesy of Jodi Cilley - VideologiCoWe are pleased to announce that TakeLessons has been named the 2010 winner of San Diego Venture Group’s annual PitchFest Business Plan Competition, beating out two other finalists to secure a $20,000 prize and recognition as one of the most promising startup companies in San Diego. Now in its 11th year, PitchFest serves to bring Southern California’s most promising young technology and life-science companies to the forefront.

TakeLessons was one of three finalists who presented at the competition on December 2, 2010 along with Aonori Aquafarms, Inc. and CortiCare. An audience of 300+ attendees then voted for the company they felt had the most promising business plan and vision to win the $20,000 prize.

“It is truly an honor to receive this prestigious award and be part of the flourishing San Diego startup community” said TakeLessons CEO Steven Cox, who delivered the final presentation.

Since its inception in 2000, hundreds of companies have applied to participate in the annual PitchFest competition.  This year alone, over 70 companies applied and a selection committee comprised of local business leaders chose 11 semifinalists. Criteria for advancement included articulation of plan, fundability of concept and demonstration of company momentum.

Each application was reviewed and ranked by at least 8 selection committee members. On November 10, 2010, a panel of judges from such well known companies as Anthem, Avalon, Tech Coast Angels and Winward heard the presentations of those semifinalists and selected the three finalists, including TakeLessons.

Founded in 1986, the San Diego Venture Group is a non-profit business organization whose mission is to provide an informal atmosphere for entrepreneurs, venture capitalists and business advisors to meet and foster ideas on how to form, fund and build new ventures.

Here are a few more pictures from our big night!

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Steven delivers his presentation

IMG_0133 Photo courtesy of Jodi Cilley, VideologiCo

Final slide of the TakeLessons presentation asking for participants’ votes

IMG_0187 Photo courtesy of Jodi Cilley, VideologiCo

Steven poses with Peter Shaw, Managing Director of Procopio Business Advisors and SDVG Board Member

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TakeLessons takes home first prize and a giant check!

Photos 1, 3 and 4 courtesy of Jodi Cilley, VideologiCo

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TakeLessons and Learning Care Group Announce Plans to Open 75 Lesson Centers This Fall

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

TakeLessons Learning Care GroupExciting things have been happening at TakeLessons for several months now, and yesterday we finally revealed some big news that marks the beginning of a brand new venture for us – the expansion of our music lesson programs to designated Lesson Centers!

We are pleased to announce that beginning this fall, TakeLessons and Learning Care Group, Inc., the second largest for-profit early education and child care provider in North America, will be partnering together to offer music lessons to children ages 5-12 at select schools within the Learning Care Group umbrella of brands, including The Children’s Courtyard, Childtime Learning Centers, La Petite Academy and Tutor Time Child Care/Learning Centers.

With this partnership, TakeLessons will offer private, one-on-one lessons on site at over 75 Learning Care Group schools in major cities such as Los Angeles, Phoenix, Seattle, Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio. The program launches on September 1, 2010, with plans to expand to additional markets in the near future.

Students will have the option to choose from guitar, piano or voice lessons, which will be conducted in a designated area within each participating Lesson Center location. As an added benefit, students and other family members age 5 – adult have the opportunity to take in-home lessons through the program as well.

Each lesson is 30 minutes in length and provides the student with one-on-one personalized instruction at a pace that complements their overall learning ability.  All of our Lesson Center teachers are TakeLessons Certified™, and must meet our rigorous hiring standards and pass a background check before they are accepted into the program.

Numerous studies have shown the direct correlation between playing music and increased brain development and academic achievement.  Many children experience additional benefits from taking music lessons, such as improved memorization skills, enhanced motor skills, and increased self confidence.  This program will provide Learning Care Group students with the opportunity to start building these valuable skills at a young age, which will continue to impact them throughout their lives.

More information about the each school’s music program can be found on the following sites:

TakeLessons at Children’s Courtyard
 TakeLessons at Childtime
 TakeLessons at La Petite Academy
TakeLessons at Tutor Time

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Introducing the TakeLessons Team: Meet Daniela

Friday, June 25th, 2010

DanielaAs part of our support team here at TakeLessons, Daniela interacts with students and teachers on a daily basis and helps them with anything and everything from scheduling lessons to billing questions!

What do you like about working at TakeLessons?
The team and the everyday challenges. Each day is a new beginning for me and a new opportunity to improve and work hard on something. Here at TakeLessons, everyone seems to share the same ideology, which helps us all become better professionals. I love the challenges, the people who I get to share the challenges with, and the thrill of the challenge!

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
When I was little, I wanted to be Mrs. Indiana Jones! I have always been very fascinated by cultures and societies. Though I haven’t had the opportunity to run away from a giant rock, I did have the opportunity to take college courses and still like to read articles related to Anthropology or Sociology. Who knows, maybe I will be Mrs. Indiana Jones some day!

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am very proud of graduating Magna Cum Laude as I didn’t have a “traditional” college experience. I started off as a full time student at a community college in Chula Vista, CA while working part time to help pay my overall expenses. After two and a half years, I got my A.A. and transferred to a small liberal arts school in Boston where I took my upper division courses, worked and interned part time for a year and a half. So after all of this craziness, I am proud of my honors degree not for the prestige of the honor per se, but because it represents my drive and motivation during my college experience.

What is your favorite thing about living in San Diego?
The fact that I live 5 minutes away from the ocean/bay! Whether I go there to read, run, play the guitar or just tan, I find a lot of peacefulness in the ocean. Also, there are great food venues here.

What activities are you involved in outside the office?
I volunteer for Amigos de las Americas, a national non-profit organization, as the Marketing Coordinator for the San Diego Chapter. We train high school students to go work on projects for 6-8 weeks in Latin American countries during the summer.  Also, I love to cook and try out new recipes. I honestly have 15+ DVDs of the Food Network (yep, Rachael Ray included).

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
My musical experience started off with a little Playskool piano my mom bought me when I was young. Then she added the little guitar, the maracas, the microphone, and soon enough I sort of new a little bit of everything! As I grew up, I decided to just focus on vocals and guitar. I have been part of multiple choirs, musical shows, and composed several songs.

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
Professionally, I want to polish my business skills. I want to translate all of the theory I learned in college into practice. Personally, I want to record an album of my songs. I first need to collaborate with friends to arrange each of the songs, which is what I will be doing all summer long!

What are you most passionate about?
I am very passionate about giving back to society. Whether it is to serve food for the homeless on Thanksgiving, read for children at the public library, or paint over graffiti, I am all about volunteering and making a positive impact on people.

What is the best place you’ve traveled to (or the place you’d love to go to)?
I felt in love with Puebla, Mexico. Everything was so colorful, the people were super friendly, and the food was delicious!  In the future, I would love to go to Thailand. I like the thrill of not speaking the native language, not knowing the ingredients in the food, not having the basics, and just having a great adventure!

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!

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Introducing the TakeLessons Team: Meet Holly

Friday, June 18th, 2010

holly_thomsonMeet Holly, one of our student counselors here at TakeLessons!  Originally from Ohio, Holly moved to San Diego last fall and joined the TakeLessons team in April 2010.  As a student counselor, she has the opportunity to interact with students and parents every day to help them schedule music lessons!

What do you like about working at TakeLessons?
I love the “family” feel we have here. It’s not just a job – it’s a career, a team and a family! I look forward to coming in every day and talking to my “family” and hearing about all the exciting things they have going on. Whether it be professionally or personally!

What is your favorite thing about your job as a student counselor?
I love working with my team each day. They are motivating, inspiring and such a great group of people to work with. We are all passionate about music in one way or another, so that makes for an incredible dynamic! I also really enjoy talking to our potential and current students as well. Since we are a nationwide company, it’s really fun to talk to people all over the country each day. I love hearing about things going on in each city.

What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I really wanted to be a nurse when I was really little. Then I “shadowed” a nurse in 7th grade for a school project and passed out cold on the ER floor! I was terrified of blood. Since that didn’t work out so well, I then wanted to be a professional cheerleader all throughout my middle school and high school years. I finally did accomplish that goal – I cheered for almost 10 years for the Arena Football League (AFL), National Football League (NFL) and also National Hockey League (NHL).

Where are you from originally, and what do you like about living in San Diego?
I am originally from Dublin, Ohio (a suburb of Columbus). I am an Ohio State Buckeye at heart! GO BUCKS! :) I loved growing up in the Midwest, but I am really enjoying living in San Diego. Going from cornfields to the beach is a big change. San Diego is so beautiful and walking along the beach is one of my favorite things to do. I also love going to all the fun festivals around the city. This weekend I will be hitting up the “Oysterfest” and the fair that’s in town!

What activities are you passionate about outside of work?
I am extremely passionate about dance! I feel so happy when I am on the dance floor. My new venture is ballroom! I am signing up for classes right now and am pumped. I have cheered and danced my whole life, but never tried ballroom. I am also passionate about staying healthy. I love doing yoga and also going hiking!

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
I just laughed about this last night with my mom. I posted something on my Facebook about taking Bass Guitar lessons with one of our instructors and she commented and said “I hope you have better luck than the oboe. And I am glad that your dad and I aren’t there to hear you practice!” I was required to play an instrument in 7th grade, so I picked the oboe. I am not sure why, I just thought it sounded fun! As you can probably tell from my mom’s comment, that didn’t work out so well. I am determined to rock out these Bass lessons though! Wish me luck!

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
One professional goal I have for this year is raising my goal number/stats each and every week – CANI (Constant and Never-Ending Improvement)!  I also want to become a leader on my team and constantly be pushing them to be their very best! A personal goal I have is to volunteer on a regular basis. Social work was my major in college, so I am passionate about helping others in need. I want to be able to devote at least an hour or two each week to a specific cause!

What is the best place you’ve traveled to (or the place you’d love to go to)?
I absolutely loved Aruba! I traveled there with my family when I was in college. We took this “Banana Bus” tour and it was one of the most fun times I ever had! The entire 5 hour tour we were singing, shaking maracas and dancing in our seats! We also went snorkeling in the most clear blue water you have ever seen! If you ever get a chance to go to Aruba…take the Banana Bus tour! :) One place I have always been dying to visit is Italy! The history, food, wine…you can’t go wrong!

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!

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Introducing the TakeLessons Team: Meet Denise

Friday, June 4th, 2010

DeniseDenise has been part of the TakeLessons family for 2 years; she started here as a member of our sales team in June 2008, and now works as a Project Manager on some of our super cool business development projects.

Where are you from originally, and what do you like about living in San Diego?
I grew up in Flushing, Michigan, and moved out to San Diego 2 years ago. June 3 is my arrival anniversary – woohoo! So what do I like about living in San Diego? Well, what’s not to like? Beaches, palm trees, 70-75 degree weather and sincere, friendly, welcoming people…there’s always something to do, like a picnic in Balboa Park, a concert at the Cricket Amphitheatre, coffee at Starbucks, or just a bicycle tour around the city. I love living in San Diego!

What are your activities outside of work?
Outside of work, I’m an avid reader, and an absolute game lover. Yay for the Wii Fit, too!  I like to explore new places and try new things, as well as cook and bake.

Do you have any musical experience or play any instruments?
I took weekly piano lessons from 5 years old until I was about 16 or 17. In middle school and high school, I participated in choir, a cappella, and an after school all-girls vocal group, as well as one or two vocal competitions. I took guitar lessons for about a year (with our awesome guitar teacher Nick W. here in San Diego), just long enough to be able to sing and play Wonderwall at our Show What You Know Concert. But piano is truly my first love! I’m in the market for one as we speak….

What is your favorite thing about working at TakeLessons?
My all time favorite thing about working here is definitely our staff. We’re a crew of really smart, genuinely friendly people from different backgrounds with a passion for building and creating stuff we’re proud of. I couldn’t be more lucky than to call these folks my second family!

What accomplishment are you most proud of?
On a personal level, I’m proud of a great many things, but a huge accomplishment is just hopping in my car to head out to the west coast pretty much on a whim. It’s not just the risk that I’m proud of, it’s also that I’ve been able to make myself a home here.

What are one professional goal and one personal goal that you hope to achieve this year?
Professionally, I just want to have as big of an impact as possible!  How vague, I know, but I’m so passionate about what we do here that wherever I can help is where I want to be and what I want to do! Personally, I set two goals: to travel to a state I’ve never been to (hello, Louisiana or Montana), and to finally get up on a surf board after talking about it for the last 2 years.

What is the best place you’ve traveled to (or the place you’d love to go to)?
I’ve traveled all over the country, and a bit in Europe, and each place has something unique about it that makes it the best. So let’s see…the best shopping? New York City, hands down. The best pizza? Chicago! The best scenery? Wyoming or Maine – a tie. The best tourist traps? Orlando, FL – haha. The best version of the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” on stage? Seattle. The best waffle-covered-in-chocolate? Belgium. The best cheese, wine, and pastries? France. The best sunsets? My home-sweet-home, Michigan. But the best of all? San Diego, of course!

Check back every Friday for a new profile on one of our TakeLessons Team members!

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