Dedicated to serving “entrepreneurial lifestyle”, ADE brings on Kirchner Private Capital Group as partner

ADE signs Letter of Intent for joint venture with Metroland Media Group Ltd.

Toronto, Ontario 22 October 2012 – Arlene Dickinson Enterprises (ADE) today announced the creation and launch of media and product initiatives focused on all aspects of the “entrepreneurial lifestyle.” The purpose of ADE is to promote the advancement of entrepreneurs through funding investments in entrepreneurial businesses and creating entertaining and educational media aimed at them. In addition to heading up the company, Arlene Dickinson remains CEO of Venture Communications, the national marketing company she has owned for 25 years.

ADE is currently developing multi-media properties, and over the coming months will be launching a magazine, television formats, a social network for entrepreneurs, podcasts, an e-commerce website and more that will feature entertaining and engaging new content aimed at them. The company will continue to make investments in entrepreneurial companies and is excited to be offering global commercialization services to help them succeed.

Over the course of her career, Dickinson has invested in, assisted and advised hundreds of companies from local sole proprietorships to multi-billion dollar international businesses.

“We are entering a period I call the ‘Entrepreneurial Economy’ with more people choosing to take on the entrepreneurial lifestyle than ever before. My new company is poised to seize this trend,” said Dickinson. “We are creating an entrepreneurial lifestyle brand, with the goal of helping entrepreneurs achieve the greatest success possible with their ventures. Right now, entrepreneurs in Canada who have made this lifestyle choice are being underserved, so I created Arlene Dickinson Enterprises to fill that void. Being an entrepreneur is hard work – and it has a language and passion that is unique. We want to help by championing and identifying services to help entrepreneurs succeed, and we want to speak to them through media in a way that is educational, entertaining and that celebrates their lifestyle.”

Kirchner Private Capital Group (KPCG), a leading North American boutique firm providing operational and transactional support for early and mid market companies as well as asset management services for institutional investors, has joined as a partner of ADE.

“I am very excited to have Bud Kirchner as a partner. I believe we are kindred spirits as both of us have devoted our lives to the pursuit of entrepreneurial success,” said Dickinson.

Bud Kirchner, founder and chairman of the Board, will bring invaluable skills to the company with over 40 years of entrepreneurial, operational, transactional and international experience. Mr. Kirchner has been an advisor, agent, partner and/or principal in over 300 private capital ventures in 25 countries. He has successfully built, run and sold numerous companies in industries as diverse as financial services, agribusiness, airline and consulting. Media commentators have said Kirchner has the “golden touch” and have called him “Mr. Fix it”. Named Entrepreneur of the Year by both Ernst & Young and again by the National Quality Institute of Canada, Kirchner formed KPCG which offers a proprietary platform unrivaled by other boutique firms. KPCG will be the in-house provider of operational and transactional support for ADE and its subsidiary companies.

“I am pleased and honoured to be a part of the Arlene Dickinson Enterprises team. Arlene and I have created a strong working relationship and I am glad that we have now become partners. The company Arlene is creating is filling a need, and with it we will be able to provide important tools and support for those people living the entrepreneurial lifestyle,” said Kirchner. “Entrepreneurs are vital to the growth and innovation of our economy and society. We will be able to bring to bear our unique skills in helping them optimize their operations, their capital management and their growth dreams.”

ADE is also announcing that it has signed a letter of intent to create a joint venture with Metroland Media Group Ltd (Metroland) that will expand its ability to execute its vision to help commercialize and support entrepreneurial innovation in a broad manner. Through this proposed partnership, ADE will be better positioned to commercialize products across a number of platforms throughout North America and overseas.

“There are many entrepreneurs who have created great products but need help manufacturing, distributing and retailing that product to consumers,” said Dickinson. “Together with Metroland, Arlene Dickinson Enterprises will be in a unique position to develop, support, and accelerate this process for innovative products and services. Metroland is a progressive and entrepreneurial Canadian media organization with experience in promoting and selling products in both Canadian and International markets, and I am very pleased at the prospect of working with them.”

“We find the strategy and purpose of ADE to be very compelling. This partnership will be unique as we bring our strengths and international product commercialization network to bear alongside of it,” said Ian Oliver, President, Metroland Media Group.

ADE is inviting entrepreneurs to participate in the building of an entrepreneurial community called, YouInc.com. Featuring regular posts from Dickinson and other successful entrepreneurs, the site invites any entrepreneur to sign up, create a profile, post their own content and connect with other entrepreneurs. Its intention is to create a place for all entrepreneurs to meet, discuss and share the pains and joy of building a business while offering information, resources and entertainment.

Interested entrepreneurs can contact ADE at info@arleneinc.com for more information.

Website: www.YouInc.com

About Arlene Dickinson:
Arlene Dickinson is one of Canada’s most renowned independent marketing communications entrepreneurs. In 1988, she became a partner in Venture Communications, later becoming the sole owner and CEO in 1998. Her creative and strategic approach has turned the company into a powerhouse with a blue chip client list. Her success and leadership has been recognized with multiple honours and awards including: Canada’s Most Powerful Women Top 100, the Pinnacle Award for Entrepreneurial Excellence, as well as PROFIT and Chatelaine’s TOP 100 Women Business Owners. She is also an Honorary Captain of the Royal Canadian Navy.

Dickinson is also a mother of four and grandmother of three, the national spokesperson for The Breakfast Clubs of Canada, co-star on CBC series Dragons’ Den and The Big Decision, author of the #1 Best Selling book Persuasion and the creator of the Persuasion product line that includes coffee, wine, skin care and chocolate. www.ArleneDickinson.com.

For more information, interview requests or high-res photography, please contact:
Michelle Easton, rock-it promotions, inc., at michelle@rockitpromo.com
or 416.656.0707 ext. 103
Debra Goldblatt-Sadowski, rock-it promotions, inc., at debra@rockitpromo.com
or 416.656.0707 ext. 101

About Kirchner Private Capital Group:
Kirchner Private Capital Group (KPCG) is a leading North American boutique firm providing operational and transactional support for early and mid market companies as well as asset management services for institutional investors. The KPCG team is comprised of successful business people who now apply their operational, transactional and investment experience to the unique needs of early- and mid-stage companies and their investors. KPCG prides themselves on both the quality and quantity of the long-term relationships they have built over the last 27 years.

Established in 1985, the KPCG team has more than three centuries of collective experience working both as entrepreneurs and with entrepreneurs. The company’s clients and partners range from some of the most promising young entrepreneurs, to multi-nationals and fortune 500 companies. In addition KPCG manages assets on behalf of some of the largest insurance companies, commercial banks and institutional investors in the world. Kirchner Private Capital Group’s proprietary platform is built on the premise that pairing deep domain expertise with process experts provides superior results. Everything KPCG does and how they do it stems from an entrepreneurial culture built from real world experience. KPCG has an extensive track record of providing operational support and enhancing the crystallization of value in companies at any stage of their lifecycle. www.kirchnergroup.com.

About Metroland Media Group
With more than 100 trusted community and daily newspapers in print and online, as well as innovative websites including wheels.ca, goldbook.ca, flyerland.ca, gottarent.com and localwork.ca, Metroland Media Group Ltd., a subsidiary of Torstar Corp., is dedicated to delivering relevant and quality communication vehicles that reflect the local voice and connect its readers to their community. www.metroland.com.