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Tim Nichols

Tim Nichols

Tim Nichols is a founding partner at ExactDrive, a digital media buying agency with white label, reseller and managed service options available. ExactDrive plans, manages, and optimizes online advertising campaigns with the objective of delivering measurable value and empowering clients to find precisely targeted audiences. ExactDrive has offices in Minneapolis, MN, Milwaukee, WI and SouthWest Florida.

Tim Nichols is also a contributing author on Forbes.com.

Recent Posts

Feb 24, 2015 3:57:00 PM

12 Steps to Developing a Healthy Company Culture

 recently had the opportunity to be interviewed by Digital Connect Mag, which was started by a group of tech enthusiasts with the sole purpose of helping consumers, businesses and IT professionals. They aim to cover pretty much every topic under the sun which is related to Technology, Business and Information Technology.

A startup’s success is dependent on a number of factors, the most important, and often the most overlooked being the startup’s company culture. Regardless of how solid a product and the funding behind it is, the strength of the company culture will ultimately be the determining factor behind the startup’s long-term success.

The most important aspect when creating your company culture is establishing a set of values which will define your company from its early stages to maturity, values that your company will adhere to during both successful and difficult times. This effort needs to be made from the very beginning stages of your entrepreneurial endeavor, since the values you establish initially will determine the direction in which your company grows. By making a concerted effort to build your company around that value system, and by setting clear expectations for the type of relationships that your team should have, you can exert a far greater control over what your company will look like in the next five to 10 years.

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Feb 20, 2015 8:00:00 AM

10 Important Non-Technical Traits That Every Developer Should Possess

ExactDrive was recently quoted in an article posted on YoungUpstarts.com, which focuses on stories and thought leadership pieces that help businesses small or large, the entrepreneurs and intrapreneurs, or those who simply want to become better at what they do.

by Philip Acuña

Hiring a developer isn’t just about finding someone with the right technical skills. Though technical prowess is obviously important, non-technical qualities such as self-motivation and problem-solving abilities are crucial when it comes to ensuring that your vision becomes a reality. Countless entrepreneurs have hired candidates that look great on paper, but often lack the imagination or tenacity to complete the project independently or to the entrepreneur’s liking.

To help you avoid having to face this problem, we spoke to several startup CEOs and asked them to share some of the most important non-technical traits that every developer should have.

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Feb 11, 2015 8:00:00 AM

Watch Out: How Click Fraud Is Taking Over And What To Do About It Part 2

Click fraud has been around since the beginning of internet advertising and fraudster’s methods have become more advanced over the years, leading to sophisticated BattlestarGalactica-like internet bots that mimic human behavior with false clicks.

Whether you know it or not, your brand is shelling out money for clicks that did not come from humans, and the problem is endemic. In 2014, click fraud cost advertisers $11 billion and unfortunately, it is easier to get away with than cross checking in hockey, or late hits in football.

What is Click Fraud?

Click fraud is a method used by competitors who are frustrated with seeing a certain company’s ads appear above their own. By employing people (or bots) to commit click fraud on their behalf, their aim is to spend your daily budget before the day has even begun.

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Feb 9, 2015 8:00:00 AM

7 Important Strategies For Effectively Branding Your Product

ExactDrive was recently quoted in an article posted on Noobpreneur.com, which is an award winning small business online magazine offering tips and ideas for small business owners and those who want to enter entrepreneurship with the right mindset.

Developing an excellent product does not necessarily mean that a company will become the success story of their respective industry. Entrepreneurial lore is ripe with stories of companies whose less than adequate products outshine their more capable competitors. The primary reason behind this is the former’s ability to effectively brand their product, regardless of whatever shortcomings it may have. The ability to do so has become the determining factor to the success and failure of many companies, especially in a market saturated with so many similar solutions.

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Feb 6, 2015 8:00:00 AM

Watch Out: How Click Fraud Is Taking Over And What To Do About It Part 1

If you've been affected by click fraud, how should you deal with it? Marketing analytics can help. Have you ever visited a social media site, seen a not-so-interesting story with thousands of likes, and clicked on it, mainly because others were clicking? If you answered yes, you may have been duped by click fraud - and you are not alone.

The Wall Street Journal last year reported that 36 percent of Web traffic is spawned by click fraud programs and bots, and the cost to the global digital display advertising industry was approximately $11.6 billion in 2014.

The statistics are shocking, but don’t fret - this blog will show you what to watch out for and how to deal with click fraud, when traversing cyberspace.

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Feb 2, 2015 1:40:00 PM

Advice for Avoiding Common Startup Mistakes

ExactDrive was recently quoted in an article posted on Founders Space, which is dedicated to helping exceptionally talented entrepreneurs reach their full potential. Their goal is to nurture the brightest, most creative people from around the world, and help them grow their startups, get funding, and bring their unique visions to life.

Mistakes tend to happen for even the most seasoned startup veterans. Maybe you scaled too quickly, mistimed your product launch, or perhaps you just hired the wrong person. Whatever the reason, mistakes often provide a humbling opportunity for reflection and personal growth, and most importantly, give you an idea of what not to do going forward. At the end of the day however, there are some mistakes that can easily be avoided by listening to the advice of others.

We spoke to nine startup founders and asked them what their best advice was for avoiding the most common startup mistakes. Here’s what they said.

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Jan 29, 2015 8:00:00 AM

6 Important Business Questions for the New Year

The new year provides entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurs alike with an opportunity to start anew, and forget the misgivings of the previous year. While being able to forgive and forget is a crucial element of progress in the business world, the ability to critical analyze your previous year from a rational perspective is equally important, allowing you determine exactly what areas need improvement. Maybe you could have communicated with team members better or perhaps you just need to improve your work-life ratio. Whatever it is, being able to find the right balance between forgiveness and level-headed self-reflection can work wonders for your business.

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Jan 19, 2015 8:00:00 AM

7 Fundamental Skills for Every Prospective Startup Employee

In the beginning stages of any company, the value each team member brings to the table is central to its success. This is particularly true when it comes to startups, where being a team member is not simply a job, but more importantly, a lifestyle. Being part of this lifestyle means having to work long hours and irregular hours, as well as having the ability to constantly innovate and improve upon the business.

So what do you weigh when looking for new employees? What skills does one look for?

Each startup has different needs and subsequently, will look for different qualities in an employee, but there are certain characteristics that every prospective startup employee must have. Here is some insight into what various startup founders believe to be the most important skill that every startup employee should have.

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Jan 16, 2015 8:00:00 AM

How To Overcome Your Fear Of Failure

ExactDrive was recently quoted in an article posted on LudoTech, a leading technology blog.

Its only natural that startup founders contemplate failure, especially considering that the majority of startups don’t last more than five years. More often than not however, the fear of failure tends to be quite irrational and often prevents entrepreneurs from focusing on the very goals they need to accomplish to achieve success. Rather than dwelling on the negative, its important to embrace the possibility of success and constantly envision your business in growth and continuous improvement. 

We spoke to several startup founders at different stages in their careers, and asked what advice they had for overcoming their fear of failure.

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Jan 13, 2015 9:24:00 AM

5 Horrible Mistakes You're Making With Facebook Advertising

Facebook can be a powerful way to target potential and current customers, track the ROI of your campaigns down to the penny, and grow your business’ influence. Despite this, brands are making the same few mistakes over and over again when it comes to their Facebook advertising.

Here are five of the most common reasons campaigns fail and how to avoid them.

1. Poor targeting

There is no excuse for poor targeting, as Facebook makes it easy to narrow down your target audience by age, gender and interests, so you can literally tailor your promotion to only reach those who are actually interested in what you have to offer.

2. You’re not noticeable

Your advert is one of hundreds of messages on the viewer’s screen and they will skim over most of the content until something catches their attention. You therefore need to make sure that it’s your advert they’re looking at.Your ad needs a clear image under an attention-grabbing headline,accompanied by engaging copy. Keep the copy short so Facebook doesn’t truncate it, and use a relevant image that is noticeable in the mini right-hand images.

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