TOM SHORT

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Biography June 2010

its height in 2008 had over 100 employees with offices in Calgary, Alberta and Salt Lake City, Utah.

Tom served as both Vice President & President of Rare Method. During his tenure, Rare Method won numerous marketing & advertising awards for their clients as well as achieving a compounded average growth rate (CAGR) of

27% from 2003 to 2008.

Rare Method was recognized for that business success by being ranked among some of the best organizations in the country as one of Alberta Venture’s Fast 50 and Profit Magazine’s Profit 100

for several years running.

One of Tom’s proudest accomplishments while at Rare Method was being recognized as one of the top 50 small to mid-sized employers in Canada by the Queen's School of Business, Queen’s Centre

for Business Venturing and Hewitt Associates.

BIOTom Short is a serial entrepreneur that is currently developing and marketing an

innovative recognition & reward product called Kudos.

Tom started his career with Canadian Hunter Exploration after earning his Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of

Calgary in 1986.

In 1991, Tom started his first company, Bright Ideas, a direct mail operation that developed a low voltage technology for neon transformers and produced neon products

for both home & business use throughout North America.

The exposure & recognition gained from the innovative marketing and high quality design for Bright Ideas lead to the initiation of Idea

Machine in 1993.

Idea Machine offered marketing strategy, branding, design, direct marketing & web development services to a variety of emerging and established organizations.

By 1999, Idea Machine was recognized as one of the top 10 interactive agencies in Canada and was working with fortune 500 companies such as Coca-Cola and Kellogg’s as well as international marketing

organizations such as Ogilvy & Mather.

In 2003, Tom merged Idea Machine with Rare Method to create the largest independent interactive agency in Western Canada. Rare Method offers an integrated approach to

marketing & advertising with a specific focus on leveraging technology to make marketing more effective & accountable. Rare Method at

Success is built on vision & passion.

“Most successful

entrepreneurs see

something that others

don’t & it is usually based

on an innate talent &

passion. They are

relentless in their pursuit of

that vision & surround

themselves with great

people to achieve

success”

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Kudos. Thank Different.

Employee engagement is a key element to any

successful business. In today’s knowledge

economy your most valuable assets are your

people. All organizations need to have a strategy to

engage & align their team to achieve their

business goals. In a highly competitive world - the

ability to retain, attract & motivate your staff can be

the difference between success & failure. Kudos is

a peer-to-peer recognition system that is designed

to motivate your teams through communication,

appreciation, recognition & engagement.

EVOLUTION & OPPORTUNITYOver the years Tom has had the pleasure of working with many

different entrepreneurs & organizations, helping them focus their strategies and solve their business, branding & marketing problems.

His career path has come full circle from developing his own products and marketing programs to offering his intuitive branding

& marketing expertise to other organizations, to once again developing, managing and marketing his own products.

Leveraging the experiences, technology and best practices developed while at Rare Method, Tom is now embarking on the development of online products that solve business problems.

The digital economy will continue to dominate the business landscape in the next decade, allowing smaller organizations to compete with and out perform long established brands. Any individual or organization with a great idea and innovative product can find success in the online market place.

Tom attributes his success to his ability to surround himself with great people from mentors and peers, to business partners and team members. Tom also enjoys sharing his knowledge and collaborating with the next generation of entrepreneurs and organizations to find the next big idea.

BACKGROUND & BEGINNINGSTom Short has been living and working in Calgary since 1976.

Originally from Houston Texas, Tom came to Calgary with his family during the formative Oil & Gas years that set the stage for Calgary to become one of the World’s top business centers.

Tom was shaped by the city’s entrepreneurial spirit, self reliant attitude and charitable nature.

Tom is very active in the Calgary community having worked with numerous charitable organizations and currently serves on the boards of the Calgary Marathon Association, Calgary Science School and Bocuse d’Or Canada. Tom is also a mentor for the Canada Youth Business Foundation.

Tom remains active with Rare Method as a director and owner of the company.

Married for 22 years to his wife Carol, Tom and his family are actively involved in youth sports with their son Ryan. One of Tom’s passions is coaching and he is currently coaching Football with

the Calgary Falcons Bantam Football Association. He is an active runner, having completed 5 marathons, and also enjoys other recreational activities with his family and friends such as travel, golf and scuba diving.

Tom can be reached at Tom.Short@me.com