Testimonials

Read from a selection of Optimist client product endorsements and see how some of our clients have used the software and the benefits it has delivered to their businesses.

"Optimist helps me to help my clients with a thorough analysis of their business unlike any software I have ever used. I can also look ahead at alternative solutions by offering different market conditions and determining if cash flow will allow the project to manifest itself in a positive outcome. That means my client and I can foresee the likely consequences of a proposed business strategy before committing time, money and human resources to see if it will work. Every client that has seen the result of the strategy and the financial diagnostic coupled with the cash flow and key ratio report have been simply amazed at what financial information is available. I cannot be without this software in my business because it gives me an edge over my competition."

- Philip J. Arsenault
President
American Business Consulting

Inmatrix (Optimist) is an essential tool for any financial analyst no matter if he/she is a starter or has been in the field for a long time. The software interface is so user-friendly that one can start his/her work after fifteen minutes getting to know the many options that Inmatrix provides. The part I like the most about Optimist is that I can do a sensitivity analysis just by a few clicks and save all the results for later reference.

Linh Chi Phu
Virginia Tech
Student Endowment for Educational Development (SEED)
Energy, Utility and Material Sector

As an SBDC counselor for a number of years in another network, I used a financial analysis software package that helped me quickly analyze a small business?s financial health, and helped the client prioritize their actions.

When I assumed the leadership role of this network, I wanted a financial analysis tool that could help our network team quickly and easily work with clients to get a handle on their financials. I adopted ?Optimist? for the following reasons;

• Have a single program that could be used Network wide to ensure delivery of a consistent quality service to the client.
• The ability to transfer client information between SBDC centers in the network as work load or expertise demanded.
• The ability to all learn together about this tool, and thus benchmark off each other and share experiences and techniques.
• The ease of use with point-and-click simplicity and great graphical representation of the data.
• The robust depth of the product with sensitivity analysis, and multiple scenarios possible.
• The excellent special pricing arrangement negotiated by the ASBDC helped bring it in within our limited budget.

I will add that prior to the adoption, other tools were used, such as spreadsheets and ?home grown? approaches, and I encountered much resistance by the team when I proposed Optimist. However, after it was adopted and hands-on use of the software occurred, everyone in the network loved it. As the economy continues to retreat, I view our role as shifting to more ?maintenance? of viable small businesses until the economy recovers. I view Optimist as the best choice out there among many options available to help a small business understand their finances, and especially get a quick handle on ?cash flow? which will become more and more critical to survival in a down economy.

Finally, I have been pleased with your excellent training and continued support of the product, and that has been a nice plus to our adoption of it. Please feel free to share my thoughts on your product with others in the SBDC network.


Lyle J. Wright
Regional Director
University of California - Merced
Small Business Development Center Regional Network in partnership with the US Small Business Administration.

Date: March 6, 2008

The Indiana SBDC network has adopted Optimist for all eleven regional offices. I wanted to share with you the reasons for reaching this decision and experiences subsequently enjoyed.

• Consistency in counseling process which helps in training Counselors and setting Client expectations for outcomes/service;
• Efficiency in using a powerful diagnostic tool increases effectiveness and measurable results of Counselors;
• Serving more existing businesses with in-depth counseling; enhancing job creation/preservation and capital formation;
• Counselors using Optimist network-wide create synergy through collaboration using a universal platform;
• A universal tool that provides all Centers and Staff with a uniform approach to develop existing enterprises as well as support startups;
• Counselors able to share data and a common ?language? brings a significant advantage ? particularly in this environment where you are increasingly called upon to ?do more with less?;
• A time-saver and swift diagnostic tool ? facilitates the 5 hour counseling metric to serve more clients and create jobs and capital formation in the near term.
• As the Indiana SBDC Associate State Director, I am responsible for overseeing the products we offer to our clients. Optimist provides peace of mind of knowing there is a tangible tool that provides a standard for service delivery network-wide including counseling, report generation and training.

Optimist provides a dynamic workspace that gives Counselors the ability to visually teach Clients about small business financial issues.

Please feel free to quote me in showing my support for Optimist.

Sincerely,
Lisa Spalding

Lisa Spalding
Associate State Director
Indiana Small Business Development Center Network
Indiana Economic Development Corporation

“We have concluded that Optimist is an extraordinarily useful tool for SBDC service centers and consultants. Optimist can strengthen the ability of SBDC service centers to deliver new services like business wellness checkups. We believe the use of Optimist can measurably enhance the development and quality of client business plans and loan applications. Thanks for introducing Optimist to ASBDC. We look forward to seeing its utilization by an ever increasing number of ASBDC member networks nationwide”.

Donald Wilson
President/CEO
ASBDC

"Optimist is such a visual learning tool for my clients. It allows them to comprehend the outcome of their financial decisions for their business. "


Cindy Voorhies, CBA
SBDC Director
Zane State College Willett-Pratt Training Center , Cambridge , Ohio 

"Thanks for the partnership with Inmatrix. Our network loved the product, wants it immediately and Inmatrix is great to work with. This is just the type of partnership I think the ASBDC needs to keep working on ".

Lisa Spalding
Associate State Director
Indiana Small Business Development Center Network
Indiana Economic Development Corporation

“The SBDCs and their clients have found this to be a very valuable tool in assessing their business strategies and guiding the business down the road of success”.”

Michael A. Leonard
Executive Director Greater Richmond SBDC

“I would like to thank you for introducing us to the Inmatrix Optimist 7 business solution. It has proven to be an exceptional support tool for our existing enterprise clients. Optimist 7 allows us to “stress test” key business indicators with the ambition of boosting business performance through financial modelling and analysis”.

Brian J. Baker
Executive Director
Rappahannock Region SBDC

“When I saw Optimist 7 at your booth at the ASBDC conference in Houston, I knew I had found the financial tool I had been looking for. This tool instantly adds value to the SBDC program”.

Pat Comanitz
Director
Kent State Tuscarawas OHSBDC