Portfolio

BensonSpace.com

Routine and affordable human space flight has been the dream of millions for over a century. Based in Poway, California, Benson Space Company was one of several companies dedicated to opening up space travel for all of humanity, creating the possibility that anyone who wanted to go to space would be able to, safely and affordably, so that they would be able to experience first-hand the ultimate thrill of suborbital spaceflight.

Benson Space Company founder and CEO, Jim Benson (former CEO of SpaceDev) tasked me with designing a website that would coincide with a PR announcement of his new space venture.

SpaceDev designed and developed the key hybrid propulsion technology for Paul Allen’s groundbreaking SpaceShipOne and integrated, tested and delivered all the motors used in that manned space flight program to win the $10 million Ansari X Prize.

I had one week to interview Jim, write all the copy, gather all the media, wireframe the website, design a flight booking system, and develop the site. Yes, ONE WEEK! Impossible as the task seemed at the time, I teamed with design agency Creative-Spark to deliver the site on time and under budget.

Unfortunately, several years into this venture, Jim became seriously ill and was forced to shut down Benson Space Company.

Calling All Astronauts – Book Your Reservation!

Are you ready to experience the once-in-a-lifetime, true adventure of a real spaceflight? The nail-biting anticipation of the launch countdown, the tremendous G-forces you feel as your spaceship blasts off with a thunderous roar, followed by the weightlessness of suborbital space, and the rollercoaster ride of a lifetime during your thrilling re-entry to earth?

  • Experience space travel, the ultimate thrill ride!
  • Earn your civilian astronaut wings
  • Be one of the world’s first space tourists
  • Fulfill your lifelong dream of space travel
  • Be part of history!

RoadLoans.com

In September of 1999, I was asked to join Ford Motor Company to work with their sub-prime auto finance subsidiary, Triad Financial. I was tasked with developing a e-commerce roadmap for auto lending. More specifically, how could Ford experiment in an e-commerce lending venture outside of the traditional dealership model. Ford, under the leadership of Jacques Nasser, was trailblazing ahead with numerous online ventures at that time—investments, start-ups, changes in technologies and business processes—you name it. Ford was eager to form more meaningful relationships with its customers—and the Internet poised a groundbreaking opportunity for them to build, participate in, and learn directly from consumers without interference from the powerful and entrenched dealer community.

The idea for RoadLoans hit me while returning from a trip to Detroit on one of Ford’s private jets. The business concept that unfolded on that flight was simple—allow consumers to visit a website at their convenience, get pre-approved for an auto loan, and then walk into any dealership to purchase a car like cash buyer, either using a RoadLoans Check or a RoadLoans credit card. Pushing this concept further, I pondered—what if the new car and the financing of that car could be bundled together into a single online transition—no dealer required?

Much to my disappointment upon returning home to Orange County, California, I discovered that my ‘original’ idea was far from unique. PeopleFirst.com was already doing big business online as the nation’s premier online auto lender, and Giggo.com, a strategic initiative of debis Financial Services (a division of debis AG) was launching in Texas. Several aggregators such as CreditLand.com and LendingTree.com were also on the horizon. Plus, I discovered that the direct-to-consumer car buying model was in full force with start-ups such as CarsDirect.com and DriveOff.com revving their engines.

Instead of retreating, I moved forward with a modified approach. I learned through Triad’s CEO that Ford was thinking of investing in PeopleFirst.com, one of the hottest lending start-ups at the time. Before I knew it, a small team of us were whisked down to San Diego to meet with PeopleFirst executives. The investment deal eventually fell through, but we struck a ‘waterfall finance’ deal with PeopleFirst and Ford’s sub-prime unit, whereby consumers who did not qualify for a prime auto loan with PeopleFirst could be routed to one of our loan officers to see if we couldn’t help the customer with a ‘less than perfect credit’ loan.

To facilitate the deal, we had to set up a direct-to-consumer lending division within Triad Financial—and fast. What to call the new division? RoadLoans.com. How soon could we start acquiring auto finance leads from a third-party data feed, decision them, and communicate back to the originating party? Within 30 days. How soon could we launch our own website, accept new loan applications via an online application, offer full online customer care for servicing these loans online? In 120 days. Our web development dash was on.

I was named Managing Director of RoadLoans.com and was employee #1. Jon Samsel, managing director of RoadLoans. I liked the sound of that. Over the next few weeks and months I set about securing direct lending licenses in over 40 states, hired a staff (web development team, marketing team, loan officers, customer care admin, etc). Espcially helpful were some early employees such as Joe Tartaglini, Christina Gallagher (Knickrehm), Sandor Marik, Andy Chawla and Monica Petz.

I hired web development company, Navidec, to design the front- and back-end websites and then integrate the site into our back-end loan origination system. We set up a customer fulfillment center whereby all loan approvals were sent a check package next day, and we worked with FedEx to set up a package tracking service that updated all our loan prospects via email exactly where their money was. I worked with designer, Tim Neil, to create our logo, stationary, envelopes, business cards and customer welcome kit mailing folders.

I can still recall the day, four months after we started, when we demonstrated the entire RoadLoans.com website—from online loan submission through funded loan at the dealership—to Ford Motor Company executives. The room was quietly giddy. Everyone seemed amazed at what we had accomplished so much in such a short time. Frankly, so was I.

To initially “sell” the concept of RoadLoans and secure funding from Ford, we created a wireframe along with a working HTML mock-up site, complete with sample online loan application, instant approval process, loan finder tool (see original sketch of loan finder concept), and customer self service center. I conducted a walkthru of the “site” with Ford executives, many of whom walked away from the demonstration thinking they had seen a functioning website (and not simply a demo). Needless to say, people were impressed and we got the green light to proceed. (see demo homepage design above).

RoadLoans.com (the site) was launched in June 2000 to help empower and educate consumers through the car-buying process (see phase 1 homepage on left). We specialized in financing and servicing new and used vehicle loans for customers with less than perfect credit. We started off sourcing all our business through a single online partnership with PeopleFirst.com. We even had 40 of our staff working out of PeopleFirst.com’s offices for a few years! Once our own website launched, we eventually struck up our own marketing arrangements with AutoTrader.com, LendingTree.com, eLoans.com, and the like. We even did a deal with Weststar Financial and Microsoft’s DriveOff.com to underwrite all non-prime auto loans in any bundled new car purchase online via DriveOff.

RoadLoans helped thousands of consumers get into the car or truck of their dreams by guiding consumers through the intricate process of automotive credit, and getting them up to speed about the benefits of securing a direct auto loan (so consumers could purchase the vehicle like a cash buyer and saving money). At RoadLoans, everything we did was focused on creating enduring customer relationships. That’s what we did best. We used to say we walked our talk because our company was our product. (see phase 2 homepage on left).

RoadLoans Offered:

  • Financing for new or used vehicles purchased from a franchised dealer
  • Loans to refinance your current auto loan
  • Person to Person Auto Sale Loans
  • Online Loan Application & Instant Online Approval
  • Online Account Access Center - 24/7 access, password-protected security login
  • Online Customer Care (account history, payoff quote, account updates, document downloads, etc)
  • Online Flash Demo - Interactive overview of the RoadLoans auto finance process
  • Member Benefit Program - $750 in online discounts extended to each new customer through alliances with Internet business partners such as Kragen Auto Parts, eHobbies, SharperImage.com, GreenMarketplace.com, Flower.com and CarParts.com

Additional B2C Websites & Widgets

For access to these password protected pages, please email jsamsel@gmail.com.

Music

From time to time I enjoy composing music. I use Acid Pro to mix loops of music together into original compositions. Feel free to listen to a few selections below.

Breathless (4:18)

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Passion Pulsation (5:30)

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Ganguro Gals (3:15)

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Saigon Rain (3:31)

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