Date: 2026-08-07 Source: Email - Will Hinman (Will@bowershinman.com) to michael@ryevalley.co Thread: “Bidwizard”
Signal
Will Hinman (Flashpass co-founder, active Megaphone client) sent an unsolicited warm intro connecting Michael to Ben Fershtman at Bidwizard (bidizard.org). Bidwizard is described as “AI Owner’s Rep for industrial CapEx and maintenance” - a 3-person bootstrapped team with ~$300k booked revenue in 2026, customers including MTU aerospace, Amazon, and Georgia Pacific. They are actively seeking capital to scale.
Will’s framing: “I mentioned to Ben that you were helpful making connections as a fundraising consultant to Flashpass.” This is the first known instance of Michael being referred externally as a “fundraising consultant” by a client.
Business Fact
- New inbound: Bidwizard (seed-stage, $300k ARR, raising) via Will Hinman referral
- Will Hinman is evolving beyond vendor relationship - making warm intros suggests goodwill/trust
- Michael’s “fundraising consultant” label is spreading organically through Flashpass network
- No response from Michael yet as of capture; no deal stage reached
Update: 2026-08-10
Ben Fershtman replied accepting the intro. Asking for a call Thursday or Friday before 3pm PDT. Deal stage advanced: intro accepted, call scheduling in progress. No response from Michael yet confirmed as of capture.
No Prior Brain Entry
No existing Bidwizard entry found. Will Hinman relationship is documented in clients/roster.md (Megaphone client, megaphone-will).
Update: 2026-08-11
Michael replied to Ben Fershtman with substantive feedback on the Bidwizard deck. Tone is advisory/supportive: “I think you guys are in a good position to get meetings and funded. The numbers (esp. the retention number), logos, and timing for the narrative…” He also acknowledged bandwidth constraints on his end but engaged directly. Deal stage: Michael has now actively engaged as an advisor/connector. Call scheduling with Ben is likely next step.
Update: 2026-09-03 to 2026-09-09
Michael re-engaged after a gap: “Sorry for the radio silence here. Ended up not having much bandwidth last month. Where are things at?” Ben replied Sep 9: still working the seed round, getting in front of more VCs (mainly in-person events and founder intros), but “splitting time between building and raising has been tougher than expected.” No specific ask or next step from Ben. Thread still open; Superhuman reminder set by Michael suggests he intends to follow up.