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Recent Speakers at the Houston Entrepreneurs' Forum
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Steven Sessions
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July, 2006
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Steven Sessions, Founder and President of SessionsGroup spoke at our July, 2006 meeting. The company was founded in
1982 and is a strategic design and brand marketing firm. SessionsGroup has garnered over 150 medals and awards in regional and national creative competitions. The company has done product branding work
for Kellogg Foods, Texas Instruments, Compaq, Stroh Foods and Gittings Portrait Studio. Corporate branding work includes Eastex Energy, Lakewood Church, Aeriform and Texas Society of CPAs.
Steven will
share his story about entering the design field in 1974, with just a high school education to building a firm recognized for creative and strategic excellence.
Following Steven Sessions
entrepreneurial story will be a presentation by Tim Johnson entitled "The Seven Secrets of Small Business Branding". It will teach small business owners how to think in terms of brand and how to leverage
the power of their brand to create a true sustainable advantage. Tim has been a graphic designer, art director, and strategist for over 25 years. He is currently Manager of Brand Development of
SessionsGroup. He oversees a healthcare branding initiative known as InSight, which is a collaborative pilot program of Harris County Hospital District, UT Health Science Center, Baylor College of
Medicine and the Council on Alcohol and Drugs Houston.
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Harold Magnum
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June, 2006
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Harold Mangum, President of The Memory Technologies Institute spoke at our June 30th meeting. Mr. Mangum's presentation will include a demonstration of memory techniques to help business professionals develop and sharpen their memory skills.
The Memory Technologies Institute (MTI) is a company that specializes in training business professionals how to develop an instant recall memory. The company has conducted workshops at corporations
including Texas Instruments, J. C. Penney, Shell Oil, Xerox, Schlumberger, IBM, AT&T and many more Fortune 100 corporations.
Harold Mangum is a psychologist educated at the University of Texas. He
has over 27 years in the field of employee training and development; 14 years dedicated specifically to memory training.
Harold began studying mnemonics under two of the nations leading memory experts. He has set industry records as being the fastest memory instructor to ever be certified. In 1995 Mr. Mangum started The Memory Technologies Institute. Prior to forming MTI he had helped build Memory Training Institute to a staff of 25 with operations in seven U.S. areas. Earlier in his career he was Director of Training and Development in the Operations and Engineering division of ARCO Oil & Gas.
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Larry Keast
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May, 2006
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Larry Keast, Founder and CEO of Venturetech Corporation spoke at our May 2006 meeting. Mr. Keast founded
Venturetech Corporation International in 1980 in his garage to design and manufacture technical equipment. Venturetech began offering parts and service for all brands of power swivels, buying and
refurbishing old units and building new power units for all brands. The oilfield has been up and down several times since, and Venturetech has emerged leading the competition with creative new designs of
hydraulic drilling equipment.
Larry Keast graduated from the University of Texas in 1967 with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, and is a
registered professional engineer in Texas. His first 9 years were with Cameron Iron Works, in offshore service, sales, engineering, and manufacturing.
His last 3-year assignment was project manager for manufacturing subsea drilling systems.
Larry left Cameron in 1976 to become Vice President and General Manager of World Wide Oil Tools.
During four years there, he built this newly-formed company into an internationally respected manufacturer. Larry directed the development of four new product lines, obtaining patents in the process. He also traveled worldwide selling, training, and establishing sales agents. This experience solidified Larry's love for startup manufacturing companies. Larry has also been giving back to the community for years, and considers this work an important part of his life. He was a parent group leader for several years in the substance abuse programs Insight and Lifeway, and was an advisory board member of Cornerstone Recovery. In 1995, he started a ToughLove parents program in his church.Shortly after his wife Zandra was diagnosed with Hepatitis C in 1996, Larry started Houston's first Hepatitis C support group. After running this group for three years, he was elected to the Texas Liver Coalition's board as Director of Support Groups. Under Larry's direction, the Coalition developed 32 support groups in Texas cities, after which it was acquired by St. Luke's Texas Liver Center in 2003. Larry remains on this board at St. Luke's, and also serves on the Mayor's Task Force for Hepatitis C
Five years ago, Venturetech began hiring people in recovery from substance abuse and ex-cons who deserved a second
chance. This practice paid off way beyond expectations, because turnover was reduced dramatically and productivity was improved.
Larry was honored for this business leadership with an award from The Council on Alcohol and Drugs.
Larry has now taken this success nationwide by creating a new non-profit, America in Recovery.
This no-charge resource was developed at Venturetech's expense as a gift for the country, and it's mission is the permanent support of free hiring websites for America's "unemployables". The hope is that thousands of small businesses nationwide will replicate Venturetech's success while helping many thousands of people.
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Andrea Kates
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Apr, 2006
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Andrea Kates, Founding Principal of SUMA Partners spoke at our April, 2006 meeting. Andrea specializes
in identifying new market opportunities and the facilitation of the process for achieving strategic alignment toward growth. She has more than twenty years in traditional market research, social
marketing and strategic planning; Andrea puts business analysis into action. Her presentation will be, THE EIGHT LEADING INDICATORS: Finding the Sweet Spot in the Market of the Future.
Entrepreneurs
will learn the 8 Leading Indicators that have been proven to predict the path for future revenue streams and market opportunities. Andrea will present case studies that reflect their ground-breaking
research on THE EIGHT LEADING INDICATORS. The participants will participate in hands-on, customized applications, so that the following Monday morning at 9 AM they will no longer conduct business as
usual.
From finance to restaurants to high-tech, in both business-to-business and consumer/retail arenas, Andrea has been the principal in charge of many Fortune 500 Company accounts and has led
smaller firms through expansion stages to achieve hyper-growth. She has also worked with smaller and emerging companies to align management strategies with market and customer opportunities.
Andrea
has facilitated more than 200 strategic projects for corporate clients (e.g., Brinker International/Eatzi's, Hyatt Hotels, KPMG, AIG, Royal Dutch Shell, Hewlett Packard), entrepreneurial clients (e.g.,
Ergos Technologies), government entities (Greater Houston Partnership, City of Houston, Texas Education Agency), as well as non-profit entities (Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, I Have a Dream, Menil
Collection, Susan G. Komen Foundation, United Way). Andrea is an honors graduate from University of Michigan, Ann Arbor and the Executive MBA program at University of Houston.
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BJ Farmer
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Mar, 2006
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BJ Farmer, Founder and President of CITOC, Inc. Mr. Farmer started CITOC in 1997. The company is a
provider of server based computing and remote access solutions. CITOC works with corporate IT departments to define requirements for new and existing applications. Based on the client's specifications,
they design and implement the IT infrastructure. CITOC has been recognized in the Houston Business Journal's Fast Tech 50 in 2003, 2004 and 2005.
Prior to starting CITOC, Mr. Farmer was a partner in a
privately held consulting firm focused on customizable, proprietary, accounting software for brokerage firms. There, he performed network assessments, product implementation and testing. Before this
partnership, Farmer was involved in a variety of sales, accounting and management related positions.
Mr. Farmer has many Microsoft and Citrix certifications including CITOC achieving Microsoft Gold
Partner status.
BJ Farmer is from a family of entrepreneurs. His father Ron Farmer, founder of US Signs was a HEF guest speaker in November 2000. The title of Mr. Farmers presentation is "Are you Born
an Entrepreneur or Do Become an Entrepreneur?
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Jimmy Cabrera
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Feb, 2006
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Jimmy Cabrera CSP, President of Success Through Excellence, spoke at our February, 2006 meeting.. Mr.
Cabrera has been a professional speaker and consultant for over 24 years. Every presentation he gives is a unique blend of motivation and education. His listeners receive practical techniques that can be
used immediately. He speaks both in the Corporate and Educational Communities. He has been ranked as one of the top three Hispanic Motivational Speakers in the Nation.
He helps his clients in the
areas of Leadership, Mastering Change, Peak Performance, Diversity, Extraordinary Customer Service, Sales, and Motivation. Recently Jimmy released his new book "What's In Your Backpack? Packing for
Success in Life"
Some of his corporate clients include: Shell, City of Houston, NASA, St. Luke's Hospital, Disney World, EnPRo, FAA and United Way of America.
Jimmy learned some tough lessons early
in his life. As a Hispanic he was reared in a predominantly-segregated community. The system didn't challenge Jimmy to be expressive and to think about sitting goals. He experienced rejection and
prejudice from a society that labeled him "different". Eventually he realized that though you cannot forget the past and pain, you can forgive, learn from, stand firm and move on. Handling, overcoming
the damaged emotions, and rejecting rejection Jimmy learned how to turn the negatives he experienced into positive learning experiences.
Come hear Jimmy share his personal story and learn how he developed his philosophy "don't count what you have, but count what you have given and that equals your success"
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Michael J. Zeitlin
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Jan, 2006
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Michael J. Zeitlin, Co-founder and former President and CEO of Magic Earth Inc.was our guest speaker on January 27,
2006. He will be presenting The Magic Earth Story: From Start-up to $100 million in 11 months. Zeitlin has more than 20 years experience in the oil and gas industry and is recognized worldwide as a
pioneer and business leader in visualization technology. Zeitlin founded Magic Earth in December 1999, and led the company through its first 18 months as its Chairman and CEO. The company became
profitable after only 3 months in business with focus on customers, innovation and prudent expense management. Halliburton successfully acquired the company for $100 million as a wholly owned
subsidiary under Zeitlin's stewardship after only 11 months.
Zeitlin remained as President and CEO of the newly established Halliburton subsidiary for 15 months to effect transition and integration
of Magic Earth's technology into Halliburton. Prior to co-founding Magic Earth, Zeitlin was Portfolio Manager of Texaco's 3D Visualization Center in the company's Worldwide Upstream Technology
Department. He joined Texaco in 1980 as a Research Scientist in geological modeling with emphasis in subsurface fluid dynamics. Throughout his career with the company, he held various technology
leadership and management positions in the Producing and Technology Departments. Most notably, he initiated Texaco's development of large-scale three-dimensional visualization technology - the first in
the oil industry.
He created Texaco's 3D Visualization Center in Houston, Texas. The center was the first of its kind in the Energy Industry. Zeitlin received numerous awards at Texaco and from industry and government for outstanding contribution, bottom line impact and management effectiveness. Zeitlin earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Earth and Space Science (1979) and a Master of Science degree (1980) in Marine Environmental Science from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.
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Richard Leader
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November, 2005
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Richard G. Leader, Managing Director of Burnham Asset Management was our speaker on November 18th. .
Richard shared his insights on the economy and the stock market.He writes the weekly newsletter Leader Market Letter that reports on financial markets. His views can be regularly seen in The Houston
Business Journal and are also aired on ABC-Channel 13 and CNBC-Asia. Richard has extensive experience in the financial services industry. In his current position with Burnham Asset Management he
participates in the development and management of diversified equity and fixed income portfolios for high net worth individuals, pension plans and charitable foundations.
Prior to joining Burnham Asset Management, he was Sr. Vice President of Oppenheimer & Company where he launched the financial services business in Texas. He was Vice President with Drexel Burnham Lambert and Assistant Vice President with Citibank, New York. Mr. Leader has a BA from Wake Forest University and MBA from Vanderbilt University. He is also a Charter Financial Analyst.
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Kent LeMonte
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October, 2005
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The Houston Entrpreneurs' Forum is please to announce that The Houston Entrepreneurs' Forum is pleased to announce
Kent LeMonte, Vice President and Co-founder of Enpro Distributing Inc. will be our next speaker. Enpro Distributing is a leader in the window film (tint) industry. Enpro distributes brand window
films for automotive, residential and commercial applications for use in aiding solar control issues, safety, security and bomb blast mitigation. In addition to window films, Enpro also distributes
automotive paint protection film, automotive electronics, hurricane protection systems and tools associated with the installation of window film. Beyond its traditional products, Enpro markets FrameGard
Anchoring Systems, designed to prevent filmed glass from erupting from its frame under blast load conditions. These systems were designed in the U.K. to protect government and private facilities from the
destructive forces of civil violence, specifically terrorist bombs. Other innovative products are the high impact windscreens to protect against extreme wind loads and flying debris from Hurricanes.
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Kathleen Diamonon
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August, 2005
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Kathleen Diamonon, Managing Partner of The Turning Point Group spoke on August 26, 2005.The Turning Point Group is
a customer retention firm recognized for their ability to deliver positive customer experience and customer retention strategies. The firm audits key areas of a company to evaluate Customer Satisfaction,
Information Management, Customer Retention, Customer Communications, Internal Communications, Sales Development and Corporate Culture to create a unique customer retention strategy and turn-key solutions
that deliver measurable results.
Prior to co-founding the company in 2001, Kathleen served as Vice President for United Way of the Texas Gulf Coast. Prior to joining United Way she served as Director
of Customer Relationship Management for Houston Cellular (now Cingular Wireless), where she was pivotal in developing Houston Cellular as the market leader in mobile communications. At Continental
Airlines she was Manager of Field Sales Planning, where she assisted in developing the award winning OnePass program.Ms. Diamonon received her BBA from the University of Texas at Austin. She is a
frequent speaker at national industry conferences and contributor for numerous publications.
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Mark Carr
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July, 2005
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Mark Carr, Founder, President and CEO of Christian Brothers Automotive Corporation spoke at our July, 2005 meeting.
He opened the first Christian Brothers Automotive service facility in 1982 and now leads 31 franchises locations in six states. Carr is responsible for the strategic direction of the company as well as a attracting and qualifying all potential store franchise owners, directing expansion strategy for new locations; and selecting new store locations.
Carr has raised over $11 million in private investments since CBAC began selling franchises in 1997. He is responsible for the expansion rate from 6 stores in operation in 1997 to over 31 locations
today. CBAC continues to maintain a 100 percent success rate for all franchise locations in operation under Carr's leadership and strategic direction and continues to expand at a rate of 7 - 10 stores
annually.
Prior to taking over the operational reigns of CBAC in 1989, Mr. Carr served as the Vice President of Wood Quest, an architectural millwork firm that created ornate department store
displays for clients such as Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica and other high-end clothing lines. Mr. Carr's primary responsibilities included business development and job estimating.
Mr. Carr sits on the Board of Trustees for Otra Onda, a non-profit Hispanic ministry and is on the Board of Directors for Global Vision Ministies.
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Kevin Carswell
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June, 2005
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Kevin Carswell is Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of The VIA group, based in
Houston Texas, an industry leading and recognized Systems Integrator in the leading edge telecommunications field of Unified Communications.
Mr. Carswell's longtime dream has been to create a company
that was recognized for it's expertise, integrity and commitment to the people it employs and customers it serves. Although being formed more than 15 years ago and recognized as a successful and mature
organization, Mr. Carswell has maintained a clear vision and excitement for the future and continues to lead the company with ideas and direction that fosters an environment with the excitement and
opportunity of a startup technology venture
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Dr. Bernard Harris
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May, 2005
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In honor of the 20th year anniversary, Houston Entrepreneurs' Forum was pleased to welcome Dr. Bernard
Harris, Jr. as our guest speaker. Dr. Harris is president and CEO of Vesalius Ventures, a venture capital firm that provides funding to emerging telemedicine companies.
Dr. Harris grew up in
Houston's Fifth Ward as a young boy. When he was six his parents divorced and he move to live on a Navajo Reservation where his mother was a teacher. When he was ready for college he moved back to
Houston. He worked his way through the University of Houston as a research assistant and graduated with a degree in biology. He then enrolled at Texas Tech University where he earned an M.D. Harris
completed his residency at the Mayo Clinic, then spent a year at NASA's Ames Research Center in Houston's Bay Area where he trained to become a flight surgeon. In 1990 he was selected as a NASA
astronaut. Harris was part of the historic Mir Space Station mission that represented the first space collaboration between the United States and Russia. He was also the first African-American to walk in
space.
After leaving NASA, he decided to pursue a career in business. He became vice president and chief scientist of Spacehab Inc., a space commercialization company. He was involved in business
development and marketing of the company's space-based products and services. During his tenure, the company grew from 60 to 800 employees and annual revenue over $100 million. While working at Spacehab,
he earned two master's degrees – one in biomedical science from UTMB at Galveston and an MBA at the University of Houston. Later he served as Vice President of Business Development for Space Media, Inc.,
an Informatics company, establishing an e-commerce initiative that is now part of the United Nations education program.
Currently, Dr. Harris is also an Associated Professor in Internal Medicine at
UTMB Galveston and Assistant Professor at Baylor. He is also the founder and president of The Harris Foundation, a non-profit organization that develops math and science education and crime prevention
programs for America's youth.
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Brad Deutser
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April, 2005
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Brad Deutser, President & COO of Yaffe/Deutser spoke on April 29th. Mr. Deutser founded
YaffeDeutser about three years ago. The company went from $0 to $25 million in its first year. The company is a strategic marketing firm that specializes in the development and implementation of
sophisticated brand management systems. Some of their clients are Memorial Hermann Healthcare Systems, HISD, Houston Community College, Texas Southern University and AmeriPoint Title, Star Furniture and
Neighborhood Centers Inc. Prior to founding Yaffe/Deutser his client experience included Cone Communications in Boston, Ringling Bros and Barnum Bailey Circus, Walt Disney World on Ice, Houston
Independent School District, Service Corporation International. Mr. Deutser serves on the Board of Directors for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, The Children's Fund, and is the past gala
co-chair and 2005 President of The Children's Fund. He also served as the Communications Chair for the Campaign Cabinet at Texas Southern University.
Don't miss this opportunity to hear Brad Deutser speak about "Where Do You Want To Be Tomorrow?"
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Geary Broadnax
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Mar, 2005
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Geary Broadnax, President & CEO of Dovarri, Inc. was our guest speaker on March 18th.
Dovarri is
Mr. Broadnax's third major Houston entrepreneurial venture. The company provides sales process and customer management solutions for medium and large companies.
Mr. Broadnax's first venture
Allsource, Incorporated, a systems integration company, reached the rank of second place on Houston's 100 Fastest Growing Companies list in 1995, within its first three years of business. His second
venture, Insync Internet Services, Inc., which provided complete corporate Internet solutions, later became the number one fastest growing technology company on the same list in 1998. Insync Internet
Services was purchased by Reliant Energy, Inc. in 2000.
Mr. Broadnax has been named several times as a finalist for the Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, and has been the recipient
of the University of Houston Center for Entrepreneurship's Crystal Eagle Award. He has also been the recipient of the SBA's Businessman of the Year award. He is active within the Houston community,
serving on numerous business and philanthropic boards, including the Better Business Bureau, the Houston Technology Center, the Houston Symphony, and the Houston International Festival. Mr. Broadnax is
also a mentor for young entrepreneurs through the University of Houston's Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation.
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Cindy Boyd
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Feb, 2005
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Cindy Boyd, President of Sentigy Inc. was our guest speaker on February 25th.
Ms. Boyd co-founded
Sentigy in 2001 and it has become one of the fastest growing companies in Houston. The company has offices in Austin and San Francisco. In the past 3 years the company has grown to include Fortune 500
clients and government agencies across the United States and internationally.
Sentigy, Inc. is a leading consulting firm that helps organizations optimize their processes in the area of technology
and human capital. It specializes in networking, security, storage and recruiting services, as well as regulatory compliance.
Prior to founding Sentigy, Ms. Boyd was with technology services company
Paranet, Inc. where she built the largest business unit in the company, employing more than 100 technology professionals and generating over $10 million in annual revenues. Previously she opened and
managed ExecuTrain's Houston operations.
Ms. Boyd was a 2003 recipient of AWC's prestigious Leadership in Technology Award, she was recognized as a finalist in Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of
the Year Award in 2003 and 2004. Cindy serves on the board of the World Entrepreneur's Organization. As a community leader she is involved with the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo International
Committee, Habitat for Humanity, the Houston Forum, and Fast Company Magazine's "Fast Houston" organization.
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Joe Sansone
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Jan, 2005
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Joe Sansone, CEO and founder of TMC Orthopedics was our guest speaker on January 28th. - Mr. Sansone
founded TMC Orthopedics in 1991 with just 3 employees, the company now has over 100 employees and has become the largest and fastest growing orthopedic distributor in Texas. The company offers the most
complete range of products and services of any orthopedic company in Texas, from implants used in the OR to rehabilitation equipment and bracing thereafter. The company has made the list of the Houston
100 fastest growing companies for five years and in 1998 was on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing private companies in the country.
Joe Sansone has been involved in the orthopedic industry since
1988. He has authored numerous articles for national publications and has been recognized nationally as an industry leader and speaks on topics related to the healthcare industry.
Mr. Sansone serves
on several advisory boards, including the NRCC for Congressman Tom Delay. Some of his achievements include US Small Business Administrations top award as Small Business person of the Year, Ernst &
Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist 1997, 1999 and 2003. Texas Businessman of the Year 2003 and the Ronald Reagan Republican Gold Medal Winner.
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Donnie Rudd
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Nov, 2004
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Donnie Rudd, PhD, Chief Scientist of Regenetech Inc spoke at our November 2004 meeting. Regenetech is a biotech
company established in March of 2002 located in Houston, Texas, whose research involves the extraction, cellXpansion and reintroduction of adult stems cells from and into the same patient's body and
development of growth factors. Regenetech uses a NASA based technology, originally discovered in space shuttle experiments, for a proprietary method of growing stem cells three dimensionally in a
simulated weightless environment.
The key to the Company's strategy and success is its proprietary method (patent applied for) of cellXpansion of adult stem cells. The seemingly insurmountable
problem that all researchers face when trying to expand stem cells is enabling the cell to maintain their three-dimensional geometry, their cell-to-cell support, and their cell-to-cell geometry during
the expansion process.
The company is focused on patenting and licensing its intellectual property involving adult stem cells, while supporting research for "proof of concept" that these products and
procedures are beneficial in the treatment, repair and regeneration of tissue in the human body.
Dr. Rudd became Chief Scientist of Regenetech, Inc. three years ago. He helped transform the company
into an Intellectual Property company. Dr. Rudd has over 30 pending patent applications on the use of stem cells for regeneration of human tissue. His inventions cover regeneration of the heart,
pancreas, liver, and other organs. Regentech recently licensed his Intellectual Property regarding treatment for sickle cell disease. Dr. Rudd has written 15 books and over 160 publications. He has
degrees in chemical engineering from Texas A&M University and a J.D. from Chicago-Kent College of Law.
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Al Danto
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Oct, 2004
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Al Danto, Co-founder and Managing Partner of Universal Worker spoke on October 29th.Al started Universal
Worker with a classmate from Rice University.
Universal Worker is an international nurse recruitment, training and consulting company supplying and training registered nurses for healthcare systems such as: St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital, Memorial Hermann Healthcare System, Seton Medical Center, and John Hopkins University Hospital. Prior to starting Universal Worker, Al started Structured Graphics in his apartment when he was 24. He grew the business into one of the top 100 printing and document management companies in the country. The company was recognized by INC Magazine as the #145 fastest growing company in the United States. Structured Graphic achieved much of its growth through acquisitions, acquiring over a dozen companies. In 1999, Structured Graphics was acquired by Global Docugraphix the largest document distributor in the US. Mr. Danto has served as a board member to several Houston businesses and non-profit associations. He received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration and Mathematics from Central Michigan University and an MBA from Rice University. Al lives in Sugar Land, Tx with his wife Donna, son Cheston and daughter Alicia. He enjoys coaching Little League baseball, playing golf and whipping up on kids half his age in the Men' Ice Hockey leagues. The subject of his presentation will be "Achieving Entrepreneurial Growth through Acquisition"
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Sarah Morin
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Sept, 2004
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Sarah Morin, Publisher and CEO of
(DCR) Daily Court Review spoke at our September 2004 meeting. DCR is a 115-year-old business publication in Houston. It has been in the family for four generations. DCR is Houston's only daily business newspaper. The content is local, how-to-do information that offers business owners and managers information regarding the financial, marketing, advertising, technology and personnel aspects of running a business. DCR publishes all the official public record data for Houston and select surrounding counties.
Sarah Morin is responsible for creating the newspaper's marketing and editorial voice and, as a member of the Texas Daily Newspaper Legislative Advisory Committee, represents DCR and other media in
matters of legislative importance, such as Freedom of Information and the importance of public notice.
Ms. Morin also serves on the board of directors of the American Court & Commercial Newspaper
Association and the advisory board of Houston Achievement Place. She is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists, Young Entrepreneurs' Organization, Leadership Houston, the Houston Downtown
Alliance and the government relations advisory committee of the Greater Houston Partnership. Morin received a Bachelor's of Science Degree in Journalism from Texas Christian University.
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William E. Ladin
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August, 2004
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William E. Ladin, President and CEO of Internet America spoke at our August, 2004 meeting.
Mr. Ladin joined Internet America in connection with its acquistion of PDQ.Net. PDQ.Net was formed by Mr. Ladin in 1997 and grew into Houston's largest independent Internet service provider.
Mr.
Ladin has extensive experience as an entrepreneur and has been a founder of several Houston based companies. The companies includes Lifemark, a hospital company; Mobil Communications Corporation,
Westside Tennis Club, the ForeFront Group, an Internet company; First of Texas Incorporated, an investment banking boutique and ComputerCraft, a chain of computer retail stores he built into 65 stores.
Mr. Ladin is actively involved in supporting high tech startups in Houston. He works with the Houston Technology Center, The Houston Angel Network, The Houston Entrepreneurs Foundation and the
Houston Area Technology Advancement Center.
He is a graduate of Brown University with a BA in Philosophy. He and his spouse Robin have been married 40 years and have four children.
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Tom Laurenzo
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July, 2004
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Tom Laurenzo, former Vice President of Marketing for Ninfa's Mexican Restaurant spoke. Tom Laurenzo is the son of
the late Maria Ninfa Laurenzo, founder of the Ninfa's chain. Tom will share the "inside" story about how a young widow with five children borrowed the money to start a small café and eventually built a
restaurant empire of 40 restaurants.
In 1973, Ninfa opened the first restaurant (10 tables) on Navigation Street in a poor area of Houston. Her restaurant became famous for her signature green table
sauce, margarita cocktails, homemade torillas and fajitas. Ninfa's restaurants were greatly responsible for the wide popularization of fajitas, a dish now taken for granted in all Tex-Mex restaurants. A
second restaurant opened in 1976 and 20 years later Ninfa Laurenzo was running a multi-million dollar corporation. The rapid expansion ultimately proved to be a bad business plan and the company was
forced into bankruptcy reorganization in 1996. The business was bought by Seranos Café and Cantina. Mr Laurenzo will be sharing the secrets of Mama Ninfa's success and some of the painful lessons learned
about growing a business too fast.
Mrs. Ninfa Laurenzo was honored as "Business Woman of the Year", "Woman Restaurateur of the Year" and was inducted into the Texas Woman's Hall of Fame. She also sat
on many boards and foundations and received numerous awards for her volunteer service.
Mr. Laurenzo is currently Sr. Loan Officer at Urban Financial.
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J. Boyd Heath III
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June, 2004
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J. Boyd Heath III, Chairman and CEO of Network International spoke at our June 25th meeting. Network International provides a convenient and secure way to buy and sell surplus oil and gas equipment. By utilizing proprietary technology, the company creates a competitive environment allowing all buyers fair and equal access to equipment sales, which ensures that sellers to receive competitive market prices. Equipment sales are conducted through two primary formats: Internet based auctions and Internet facilitated sales. Prior to joining Network International, Boyd served as Vice President of EnCap Investments L.C., a private equity firm focused on investments in the oil and gas sector. During his tenure at EnCap, he was involved in the structuring and management of numerous investments in both public and private companies. Prior to EnCap, Heath worked for Koch Industries where he focused on acquisitions in the midstream, petrochemical, and power sectors. He began his career as a member of Chase Manhattan Bank’s, Global Energy Group where he structured senior and subordinated debt offering, both public and private, and advised clients on acquisition and divestiture opportunities. Mr. Heath graduated from The University of Texas, where he received a BBA
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Christopher Wasden
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May, 2004
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Christopher Wasden, CEO, President and Co-founder of Tympany, Inc. Tympany designs, develops, markets and sells
proprietary, automated diagnostic hearing testing equipment to physicians and hearing health professionals. With the invention of the Otogram, patients can self-administer to most important diagnostic
hearing tests, saving time and money.
Mr. Wasden identified the opportunity, developed the business plan, assembled the team, led the product development and obtained the financing for the company.
The product was brought to market in 16 months and generated $2.5 million in revenue within 15 months of commercialization.
Prior to forming Tympany, Mr. Wasden spent 8 years on Wall Street as an
investment banker with JP Morgan & Co., where he was responsible for its international investment banking and mergers and acquisition activity for foreign financial services companies operating in
the USA. He also spent a year with Union Bank of Switzerland where he started and led its Latin American Equity research activities. He spent several years with Koch Industries where he served in several
capacities including CFO of its $20 billion chemical and refining business. He left Koch to join Enron, where he was responsible for its strategic and merger activity for its newest business Azurix. In
that role he started several of Azurix innovative businesses including its water risk management, operating services and internet marketplaces. Mr. Wasden's first startup, Cait & Abby's Daily Bread
became on of the top five bakeries in Northern New Jersey.
He has an MBA from UCLA and two bachelor degrees from Brigham Young University in Accounting and Asian Studies, where he graduated summa cum
laude.
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Brian J Nichelson
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April, 2004
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Brian J Nichelson, Ph.D. Founder and Executive Director of TechMatters Institute spoke at the April 2004 meeting.
TechMatters Institute educates the business community and public on the workings of technology. Brian will outline a simple, cost-effective strategy for building and implementing technology that reaches
out to all users – even the 85 to 90% who are not the Eagar Adopters of technology – to ensure they accept it readily, learn it easily, and use it effectively. Very few people have the education,
experience and ability to bridge the gap between technology and people like Brian. He gained valuable insights into technology's impact on people through his studies in the History of Science and
Technology at the United States Air Force Academy, University of North Dakota and University of Minnesota. He worked in high-tech environments such as the U.S. Air Force, as an intercontinental ballistic
missile launch control officer and at ExxonMobil's upstream research lab as an award-winning instructor designer and trainer. Mr. Nichelson is an accomplished author. He has written dozens of articles
that make technology accessible to all readers. He published Taming Technology: You Can Control the Beast in April 2003. Come hear an interesting and educational presentation about how to improve the adoption and use of technology.Mr. Nichelson received a B.S. degree from the Air Force Academy, M.A. from University of North Dakota and Ph.D from the University of Minnesota. He is also a member of The American Society for Training and Development and The International Society for Performance Improvement.
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Chris Efird
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Mar, 2004
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Mr. Chris Efird spoke on March 26, 2004. Mr. Efird co-founded Momentum Bio Ventures and serves as President and
Managing Director. Chris has formed and been instrumental in the growth of twelve companies, of which four became public on NASDQ, four were sold, and in excess of $2.2 billion in market value was
created.
Mr. Efird specializes in corporate formation, particularly as it relates to opportunity identification and capture. His experience includes formulation of strategic options for growth,
financial modeling and analysis, acquisition and divestitures, negotiating of strategic partnerships and most debt and equity financing. Mr. Efird holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Texas A&M
University and a Master of Arts degree from Sam Houston University.
Momentum Bio Ventures is dedicated to building life science companies in Texas. The company makes and facilitates private equity and
debt investments in growing and profitable early stage and middle market companies. It also provides integrated business advisory services designed to build life science companies.
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Bob Gow
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Feb, 2004
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Mr. Bob Gow spoke on February 27, 2004. Mr. Gow is the owner and President of Yucatan Bamboo Inc, the largest
managed bamboo plantation in the western hemisphere. In 1994, Bob started growing bamboo on a large estate he owns in the jungles of Yucatan. His goal was to build a profitable business while helping to
restore rainforest in a fully sustained manner, provide employment for Maya villagers, develop a habitat for native plants and animals, and help relieve the pressure on the slower growing hardwood
resources. The plantation's products include decorative fencing, edging, roll-up curtains, furniture and unique gifts like wind chimes and walking sticks. Prior to starting Yucatan Bamboo, Mr. Gow's
experiences include President of Zapata Corp, a business professor at Rice University, the founder of Green Thumb which became the world's largest grower of indoor tropical plants. Mr. Gow is also an
author and graduate of Yale University. The title of his book and presentation is "You Can't Change the Wind, You Can Only Reset Your Sails!"
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Bradley Tashenberg
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Jan, 2004
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Mr. C. Bradley Tashenberg, Founder and CEO of Bradmark Technologies, Inc.spoke at the January, 2004 meeting.
Mr. Brad Tashenberg founded Bradmark Technologies in 1981. The company provides database management tools for all leading relational database systems. The tools help companies manage their data, increase system reliability and drive down IT costs. Bradmark serves more than 70 of the Fortune 100 companies and over 200 of the Global 500. Software Magazine has recognized Bradmark as one of the world's foremost software and service providers by selecting the company for the last five years for the Software 500.
Mr. Tashenberg is a recognized leader in distributed data processing and has authored two books that were published by the American Management Association. Over the last 32 years, he has fostered
many computer products and received numerous awards for technology speaking. Through Bradmark, he has helped sponsor several scholarships within the HP user community and has made sizable contributions
to many art and music organizations.
Mr. Tashenberg received a Bachelors of Science in Mathematics from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1968 and later pursued a Masters of Science in
Economics from the same university. He was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship to pursue Classical languages and a scholarship to pursue a Ph.D. in Mathematics in 1969, but decided instead to pursue a
career. Today, in addition to serving as Chairman of the Board with Bradmark, Mr. Tashenberg serves on the boards of other public and private companies.
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Hank Moore
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Nov, 2003
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Hank Moore, Futurist and Corporate Strategist spoke on
November 21, 2003. Mr. Moore speaks and advises companies about growth strategies, visioning, planning, futurism and the Big Picture issues that affect the business climate. His clients include 90
of the Fortune 500. He has also presented Think Tanks for five U.S. Presidents. He is often grouped in circles of experts such as Peter Drucker, Tom Peters, Steve Covey and Edwards Deming. He has
appeared on Mastery Programs with Jay Abraham and Tony Robbins. Moore has published over 200 articles and written four books. His most current book is The High Cost of Doing Nothing…Painting the Big
Picture of Business Success. Don't miss an opportunity to hear Mr. Moore; his topic is "The Future Has Moved…and Left No Forwarding Address."
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Kit Cooper
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Oct, 2003
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Kit Cooper, Co-Chairman & Executive Vice President
of Hispanic Teleservices Corporation (HTC) spoke on October 31, 2003. Hispanic Teleservices Corporation is a leading provider of outsourced contact center services for the Hispanic market. HTC
effectively serves as a "remote office" for onshore bilingual call center operations, offering customer care, technical support, customer acquisition and Internet customer support services. With
operations strategically based in Monterrey, Mexico, HTC provides clients important quality and scalability advantages, namely access to a large pool of bilingual, university-educated agents.Mr. Cooper
leads HTC's corporate development strategy, bringing to the company an extensive background in operations and customer service management within the outsourced services sector. He is fluent in
Spanish and possesses an extensive background in international affairs. In recognition of HTC's innovation, growth and leadership position, Kit was honored in 2003 as a finalist for the Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year award. Kit holds a Bachelor of Art in History from UCLA and an MBA from Georgetown University.
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Daniel F Prosser
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Sept, 2003
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Daniel F. Prosser, CEO of Conversint Inc.spoke at our September 26, 2003 meeting. Mr. Prosser formed Conversint to help entrepreneurs and their organizations focus on business results improvement. He has authored numerous articles
on the impact of technology on the way people work and the results they produce. He speaks regularly on the subject and serves on several management boards.
Mr. Prosser presentation is titled "Risking the Present for a More Powerful Future". This is a great opportunity to bring a key employee or two, your spouse, or significant person in your life. In this introduction to creating Your Best Year Yet, you will begin to see how to start the process of creating a currently unrecognizable future for yourself, your business, or your relationships. Not given to you by your current circumstances or from your past, but through a new way of thinking that can change your life and produce real results in your business.
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Anthony R. Chase
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August, 2003
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Anthony R. Chase, spoke at our August
meeting. Mr. Chase is Chairman and CEO of ChaseCom and Chase Radio Partners. He is also Chairman and co-founder, together with SBC Communications, Inc., of The Telecom Opportunity Institute. In addition,
Professor Chase is a tenured Associate Professor of Law at the University of Houston Law Center. ChaseCom is a provider of customer care and customer acquisition services to large clients with
large customer bases. ChaseCom deploys the latest customer focused technologies and over a thousand people in several domestic and foreign teleservices facilities. Major clients include SBC
Communications, Inc., BellSouth, and other Fortune 100 firms. Through Chase Radio Partners, Mr. Chase owns several radio stations in various US markets. Mr. Chase awards include Ernst & Young
Entrepreneur of the Year, Businessman of the Year Award conferred by the Business and Professional Men's Club, the Lamont Godwin National Achievement Award from the Rainbow Push Coalition, Outstanding
Young Businessman Award from Texas Business Magazine, Williston Prize in Contract Law from Harvard Law School, and the Endicott Saltonstall Award from Harvard University.
Mr. Chase received a B.A. with honors from Harvard University in 1977, an MBA from Harvard Business School and a J.D. from Harvard Law School in 1981.
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Mike Alsup
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July, 2003
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Mike Alsup, President of Gimmal Group, Inc. spoke at our July 25th meeting. Mr. Alsup's latest venture is the Gimmal Group Inc. a leading systems integrator. Gimmal was founded in June 2002 with 10 people and has grown to 20 professionals. Mr. Alsup has been a management consultant and systems integrator for over 25 years. He has held senior management positions with Andersen Consulting, Booz, Allen & Hamilton, BSG Consulting, Align Solutions, and Luminant Worldwide. Mr. Alsup was one of eleven Founding Shareholders of BSG Consulting. BSG grew from 12 to 750 people and was sold in 1996 for $390MM. His next venture was Align Solutions where he was the co-largest shareholder. In its second year, Align Solutions grew to 110 people and achieved $8.9MM of revenue. Align went public as Luminant Worldwide in September 1999 with an initial valuation of over $100MM and Luminant grew to over $1B in market capitalization. Mike was also an early investor in NetworkOil (now Network International) and US Farm Ranch (now USFR Media Group).
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James Taylor
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June, 2003
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James A. Taylor, President and CEO of YCO Services, Inc. spoke
at our June 27th meeting. Mr. Taylor was a founder and manager of Your Corner Office. Your Corner Office integrates independent consulting practices into a collaborative provider network so subscribers
can have a single resource to interact with many entrepreneur-oriented professionals.
Mr. Taylor was a co-founder of OnSource Consulting, Inc, where he served as CEO & Chairman of the Board from February 1995 through November 1999. OnSource was ranked 43rd in The Houston 100 fastest-growing private companies for 1996-1998. Mr. Taylor was an Ernest & Young Entrepreneur of the Year finalist in 1998 and 1999. Mr. Taylor is a member of the Houston Technology Center Steering Committee and Business Evaluation Committee. He attended Southwest Missouri State University. His presentation will be on "The Entrepreneurial Lifecycle".
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Dave Ferdman
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May, 2003
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Dave Ferdman, Co-founder, President and CEO of CyrusOne
will be our guest speaker for May. CyrusOne is an IT Infrastructure and Technology Services Company that uses a variety of enabling technologies to ensure and guarantee your systems will be available
100% of the time.
CyrusOne currently provides these services to companies in the Energy, Medical, Financial and Technology industries. Prior to co-founding CyrusOne, Dave was COO and co-founder of Eclipse Telecommunications. Founded in 1992 the company achieved $22 million in annualized revenues before engaging in M&A activities that evolved the company into a publicly traded carrier with $110 million in annualized revenues that grew rapidly and was acquired by IXC Communications (now Broadwing) for $240 million in 1998. Dave has an excellent track record in the telecommunications industries and M&A experience. Please make your reservation to meet Dave and learn from this interesting entrepreneur.
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Daniel T. Colbert
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April, 2003
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Daniel T. Colbert, Co-Founder and VP of Major
Development Strategies for Carbon Nanotechnologies Incorporated (CNI). Dr. Colbert along with several Rice University colleagues, including Richard Smalley who won the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry
formed CNI to develop nanotube technology. Based on technology licensed exclusively from Rice University, the company has developed continuous processes for producing Buckytubes. Buckytubes possess an
unprecedented array of properties, electrical, thermal, and structural that promise to revolutionize existing technologies and enable new ones. Some of the initial uses include electromagnetic shielding,
flat-panel displays, nanoelectronics, and composites. Come learn how CNI, the preeminent world producer of single-wall carbon nanotubes, is commercializing this amazing technology.
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Peter L Bryant
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March, 2003
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Mr. Peter L. Bryant is President and CEO of TBC
Consolidated Fuels (www.confuels.com), an energy marketing and management service company located in Houston, TX. Since 1990, TBC has cultivated market and supplier
relationships with Fortune 500 customers covering all aspects of the business.
TBC evaluates clients' energy needs, monitors their energy usage and implements cost effective contracts, reducing costs by 40 percent in some cases.
TBC's clients include Miller Brewing, Texas
Instruments, FedEx and others. In 2002, TBC was named the fastest-growing, privately owned company in Houston by The Houston 100®, a ranking of businesses making the greatest economic impact
on the Houston area.
The Houston 100 profiles Houston's fastest-growing businesses based on sales over a three-year period; the award is sponsored by the University of Houston and the Greater Houston Partnership.
Peter
Bryant attended the Hampton Institute on a four–year swimming scholarship. Mr. Bryant earned his MBA at the University of Houston.
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Karen O'Quain-Wilson
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March, 2003
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Like china in a bull's pin, one Houston businesswoman
has spent the last 13 years adding a touch of refinement to the predominantly male world of racing.
After surviving several mergers and corporate buyouts, Karen O'Quain-Wilson's unbreakable spirit has proven invaluable in assuming the pole position as the only woman-owned motorsports marketing company outside Charlotte, NC. Based here in Houston, gaining an edge in the $3 billion motorsports sponsorship industry has taken guts.
While her reputation for being one of the best in the motorsports management & sponsorship business is credited to her fabulously feminine touch, it is O'Quain-Wilson's shrewd contract
negotiating skills, first class hospitality programs and keen business sense that have secured her company, RaceWorks, with more than $200 million in motorsports sponsorship contracts over five years.
What's the secret to her success? What is it like to be front and center, creating the most remarkable racing experience for clients, customers and CEOs? Come hear O'Quain-Wilson discuss what
it takes to boost the bottom line and stay in business.
Founded in 1997, RaceWorks delivers first-class motorsports marketing programs that carefully leverage every sponsorship dollar to meet
corporate objectives and boost the bottom line. The company is to motorsports sponsorships what a crew chief is to his car and driver: the expert that knows how to maximize power for winning
results. RaceWorks handles everything from contract negotiations, driving school promotions, public relations and making sure the driver is wearing the right hat to hospitality
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Maria Fee
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January, 2003
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Maria Fee, Founder, President and CEO of Kitba
Consulting Services. Maria recently received the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Communications Category. Kitba is an award winning communications company that employs the latest
technologies to blend words, graphic, multimedia and sound. Whether business, technical, or creative content, Kitba provides the strategy, implementation, and reproduction to deliver the right message to
the right audiences – in any language. Founded in 1996, the company has over 100 consultants and has built a diverse client base in various industries including oil and gas, energy, engineering,
construction, telecommunications, software development, manufacturing, retail, healthcare, financial and insurance. Come hear Maria tell how she is building a fast growing business during very difficult
economic times
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Umesh Verma
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November, 2002
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Umesh Verma, founder and CEO of Blue Lance. Umesh Verma
was born in Calcutta, India and grew up with the desire to come to America. His dream came true in 1974 when he had the opportunity to attend the University of Houston. He graduated with an Engineering
Degree and started his professional career as an Environmental Engineer for Brown & Root but his heart was in software development. While at Brown & Root, Umesh worked his way into developing
software for engineering calculations. Thereafter, he accepted a position as a software consultant on a rig automation project with Shell Oil. In 1985 he founded Blue Lance and pioneered the development
of highly secure audit trail technology for Novell and Windows networks. Blue Lance now provides peace of mind to major corporations, financial institutions, government agencies and health care
providers. Come hear Umesh share philosophy on building a business and his vision for Blue Lance.
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Jeff Corcorron
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October, 2002
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Jeff Corcorron owner of
Landscape Management Services Inc - Jeff a graduate with a degree in Horticulture started his company in 1986 on a shoestring out of an apartment with a couple of accounts and has steadily grown his
company ever since employing over 90 people. Just recently he completed construction of his new 8000 sq.ft.facility. His business is one of helping his clients create a great first impression for
their customers. Jeff's company also is involved in irrigation systems for new construction and some high end residential also developing a new organic pest control misting system.
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Adam Nisenson
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September, 2002
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Active Imagination
is a design and video production firm. Adam started very small but never has never been afraid of going after the large accounts. His philosophy has been if you 've got something worth selling then size doesn't matter. Adam is a sports nut and his cadre of clients include ......the Houston Texans, the Astros, the Rockets, the Seattle Seahawks, and the Detroit Tigers. Persistence and personality have played a large part in his success not to mention
Beryt his wife an Emmy award winning video producer.
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Roger Israni
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May, 2002
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Testmasters
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Richard Tarrar
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April, 2002
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Cedarcide has developed an organic environmentally
friendly pesticide for consumers.The EPA has passed standards that outlaw such traditional pesticides as duraspan and others by the end of this year. This has created a marketing opportunity. Cedar oil
(produced by the co.) is a natural repellant. In 2002...this law will apply to commercial endeavors as well. Cedarcide has a manufacturing facility employing about 15 people but CedarCide.Com expects to grow (according to biz plan) to around 220 people in a short time frame.
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Rasheed Rafaey
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March, 2002
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Rasheed owns Red Hot Jazz Cafe...has been in
several ventures some successful and some... painful lessons...it's an interesting story
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Juan C Franco
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January, 2002
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Juan Franco of
Ezfund.com spoke on January 25th. Ez fund was formed in 1997 by Juan after several years working for another fundraising company. Ezfund's main markets are school systems where the various extracurricular activities are always short of money. Ezfund provides cookie dough,lolipops,all kinds of products, brochures and marketing materials to these organizations to sell toraise money.They can raise anywhere from a couple hundred dollars to $30,000 in a fundraiser.Ezfund's first 1/2 year in business generated about $130,000 in business...today about $4,000,000.
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Kenneth Dennard
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November, 2001
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Kenneth is managing partner of Easterly Investor
Relations. Often publically held corporations do not staff a investor relations department but instead use an outside firm and that is what Easterly does. Founded in 1997 they currently represent 11
public companies among them Stewart and Stevenson. What is the job of an Investor relations firm....to give accurate and timely important information to the investor community. Recent regulations make
this job even more critical because it must be "material information". I suppose Enron would be an example of how not to do this.
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Kevin Swailes
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September, 2001
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The HEF is pleased to announce that Kevin Swailes of
Swailes and Company will be our featured speaker this Friday .For over a decade Swailes & co. have provided both investigative and security management to both domestic and international companies.
Their client list includes companies such as Compaq, BP Amaco, Anadarco, BMC Software among others. In addition he and his staff have bee featured in many published magazine articles as well as TV
appearances recently on ABC and FOX affliates in the aftermath of Sept 11th. He is also an active member in the community serving on many on many boards. The title of his talk will be ...UNVEILING THE
ISLAMIC TERRORIST..."What they don't want you to find out"
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Robert Cagle
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August, 2001
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Robert Cagle of Houston Funding Corporation
spoke on Friday August 31st. Robert and son Harry (an HEF member) own and run HRC. Houston Funding Specializes in acquiring hundreds of millions of dollars of "charged off" credit card debt from
major banks for pennies on the dollar, then laboriously and methodically collects it over a period of time. Theu do this by offering enticements to the debtor and other incentives in order to get
the debt paid. HFC takes in a selective group of invenstors and takes a position itself in these portfolios through limited partnerships.
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Central Market
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June, 2001
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Instead of
our regular meeting at the Briar Club, please join us for breakfast and a personal tour of one of the most exciting retail concepts to ever hit Houston -- the Central Market in Highland Village, corner of Westheimer and Weslyan. Central Market also operates stores in Austin and San Antonio. The original store in Austin is now listed as second only to the State Capitol as a "must see" destination in Austin tourist brochures. The Houston store is about 75,000 square feet, packed with 700 varieties of fresh produce, 100 varieties of seafood, 600 kinds of cheeses and more than 30 chefs who create unique meals "to go". This is not the place to go for diapers and garbage bags!
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David Tippetts
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April, 2001
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David Tippetts co/owner of ProtekDoor spoke at our
April 27th meeting. David and his partner Tim Parks have for 6 years been developing this idea in secret. ProtekDoor is a simple home security device made of a stretchable polymer strap that fits
around the doorknob and is anchored to the door stud. Normal doors are easy to break down with one swift kick,but the Protek device absorbs the shock of a forced entry. Over 56% of forced entries
are thru doors. Both David and Tim have this idea patented and in production. In fact 300 Walmarts are selling these in addition to Wagners and Bering hardware. Both David and Tim are still
gainfully employed as attorney and geologist respectively.
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Jimmy Pryor
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March, 2001
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Jimmy Pryor, a long-term member of the Houston
Entrepreneurs' Forum, spoke Friday, March 30, at the monthly breakfast on SunBody Hats, a hat importing and wholesaling business he started five years ago. SunBody hats has grown rapidly from
"home-based" operation to one selling more than 60,000 hats annually to retailers all across the country. Beginning with only one style - plain unshaped hats - five years ago, SunBody now
markets several dozen styles with endless custom variations available.
Even though such a business might seem "old hat", the unique character of the operation- buying from Quiche Indians in
Guatemala and selling to cowboys - and the way Jimmy got into it are particularly interesting.
All combined it shows that its possible to have your own business, make money, not work 15 hours a day, have time for friends and family, enjoy yourself and do something good for the world all at the same time, Jimmy received an MBA from the University of Texas, was an international loan officer for RepublicBank in the early 80's and president of Pueblo to People (a non-profit trade and development business) before starting Sunbody Hats
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Schumann Rafizadeh
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Feb, 2001
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Schumann Rafizadeh founder/owner of Flash Vos (Virtual Operating System) spoke Friday, Feb 23, 2001. He talked about the Flash Vos story and "Using Technology to
Increase Efficiency".He will present an overview of 3 or 4 of the best technolgy time savers for today's business person,including Flash Vos super operating system. What is Fash Vos you ask ? It is
a software that allows different operating systems and file systems to coexist and run on the same computer, each in a secure environment and without risk of losing data ,programs,or entire operating
systems. Their market for this product will be on value added resellers and OEM manufacturers.The company was formed in 1998 by a 10 member team of computer/business/technology experts
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James Stuart
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Jan, 2001
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James Stuart, founder of Packaged Ice.
spoke on Friday January 26th for our first meeting of this year.Packaged Ice (ICY) was started in 1990 in an industry that had not seen any technological development in 40 years. James developed the ICE Factory TM which is a self contained automated system that maufactures,stores, and merchandizes ice at the point of sale .ICY made and sold the equivalent of 450 million sevan pound bags of ice in 1999. They are and have been in an active acquisition mode in the last several years,having acquired some 23 companies in 1999.The ice business is a fragmented industry.
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Ron Farmer
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Nov, 2000
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U.S. Signs provides electric identification signage for large national accounts such as Discount
Tire,EZ Pawn,Michaels,Cinemark and a number of others.
Ron Farmer founded his company in 1980 and grew it over 1000% in the first 5 years...when it made INC Magazine 500 fastest growing companies.The company is in fast growth mode again,increasing 50% in each of the last two years,revenues reaching $12 million in 1999.It is a unique company in many ways...outsourcing many of it's operations.The company is averaging $420,000 sales revenue per employee. Ron is also involved in much of the U of H's Entrepreneurship Program
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John McNevin
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Oct, 2000
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John McNevin Chairman and founder of EnForm Technology
will speak at our October 27th meeting. EnForm is one of the fastest growing companies in Texas. The company specializes in corporate strategy, marketing/branding, systems design/implimentation and hosting for clients ranging from fortune 500 on down to .com startups. Enform was started in 1998 and already has 200 employees.Mr McNevin has 26 years experience consulting and has held several high level management and partnership positions.He is also very generous in civic and community affairs.Texas A& M named him the 2000 outstanding alumni for the school of business.
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Tom Reiser
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Sept, 2000
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Tom Reiser, Chairman of Technical Risks, Inc.
Technical Risks is a 15-year old insurance services boutique, serving both the local owner-operator company as well as large, national enterprises. They specialize in the insurance requirements of the energy and healthcare industries. The recent trend of rising rates for property & casulaty insurance should make this presentation interesting for all business owners.Tom will also likely have a few things to say about the political races, as he has been very active in the Republican Party as a state and county fund raiser, and as a candidate for Congress. He is on the Boards of Sterling Bank, Texoil, Boys and Girl's Country, Escape Family Resource Center and the 1st Presbyterian Church of Houston.
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Harald Blakeslee
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July, 2000
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Harald Blakeslee of Radio Intercast Inc. provides technology to radio stations so they may become multimedia. Many stations are broadcasting over the net and Harald's company provides streaming video,text and other media
enhancements for them.Additionally through his relationships with the radio stations he has also developed Starzmusic.com which is an artist developement co. and retailer of music among other ventures he
has developed. Harald has also developed large database software which he licenses and then resells this to companies(ie.courthouse records).So it should be an interesting Friday..
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Ron Frank
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June, 2000
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NetStrategy is visualized as a form of
venture company to create sucessful Internet companies.In a word an e-business incubator in which the idea is to turn innovative ideas into valuable companies. The business strategy utilizes a simple and powerful strategy.The model is creativity,execution,and speed. Also the companies philosophy about providing employees with a stake in the company is important. Usually the seed capital is limited to $250,000 but the goal is to grow the new company into a minium valuation of $100 million and a liquidity event. Some of their clients are Ziptide .com,Digitalwebs.com,and uzone.com.
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Herbie McNich
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May, 2000
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Herbie had an idea about how to have a faster shave one morning in 1993.
He went to his computer and sometime later emerged with a design, and then had it patented. How many would go that far? With his children grown and gone he and his wife decided to sell everything...house, business, furniture and start their new company.Dissolve to the present and Quik Shave is now in 23 local Walmart stores .True believers and true entrepreneurs, they are now starting to make some progress!
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George Lane
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April, 2000
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George
founded Pinnacle 14 years ago when he recognized a niche market in real estate publishing.
Many exclusive neighborhoods will not let realtors post "For
Sale signs" and he knew that in many of these neighborhoods most of the sales come from people already living there.
So
George and Pinnacle allowed realtors to help develop the markets that needed to be targeted. Home-to-Home distribution is their method.
Their mailing list includes only homes
priced over 400K. It's a very high quality production. They are now in 20
cities and plan to expand to another 33. George also has several other magazines in production (Farm and Ranch).
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Jack Stracka
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March, 2000
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Pentasafe is a rising star in the world of Software security for companies concerned with website security.
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Matt Provenzano
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February, 2000
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Matt Provenzano is the owner of KYND FM radio
station @1520 on your dial .KYND is a 3500 watt directional station aimed only at Houston which gives it a more concentrated signal than other
stations. It is a "brokered station" in that they do not create the programming but sell it to other parties that program their shows. Because of this they have found a niche market in the Hispanic market especially South and Central America and the Polka Polish crowd (avid dancers), religious markets and the Philippino market. They only broadcast during the day. Matt has owned and sold radio stations in the east and founded KYND in 1988.
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Paul Frison
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January, 2000
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The Houston Technology Center ("HTC") seeks to lead Houston into the 21st century by creating a fertile environment for entrepreneurial activity. By leveraging Houston's leading research and development capabilities with a supportive and nurturing business community, Houston will remain a world-class leader in the technology-focused global economy.
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Tracy Stephens
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November, 1999
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The Houston Entrepreneurs Forum is pleased
to announce that Tracy Stephens of The Procurement Centre will be speak on Friday November 19th at the Briar Club. Tracy, along with Paul Hicks, founded the company in 1996 when they noticed the trend to outsource all departments in a company that were not central to the core business. Both of them had previous experience, owning companies that sold to large corporations and took notice of their purchasing practices and where the inefficiencies lay. Within 6 months they were turning a profit and have grown from $500,000 in revenues with 8 employees to $5,000,000 in revenues and 50 employees.
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Richard Scruggs
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October 1999
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Richard Scruggs of Align Solutions co. (now Luminant Worldwide) spoke on Friday October 29th.Richard's company was just recently named as #1 on Houston's top 100 fastest growing companies, clocking in at a growth rate of 8148% with 109 employees, and sales expected at $27 million. Richard founded Align in 1996 with 9 other partners. Align uses technology to solve business problems thru Web site development and Intranets, allowing companies to reallocate idle resources, purchase supplies, communicate between departments and sell. Richard and his partners recently sold their interest in the company for $107 million dollars and now he is vice/chairman of Luminant, the new company.
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Jeff Schumacher
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Sept 1999
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Schumacher & McClure is a business
valuation firm. Business appraisals are often required for sale of a business, estate planning, buy/sell agreements, and divorce. Jeff, who is a CPA, has had over 15 years experience in business appraisal. He is an Accredited Senior Appraiser / Business Valuation with the American Society of Appraisers. The Website of Schumacher & McClure can be found at: http://www.businessvalue.net/
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Phil Morabito
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June 1999
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Phil founded Pierpont in 1987 after leaving a
prestigous public relations firm in New York City. He chose Houston because it presented excellent growth
opportunities after our crash. Phil was selected 1999 entrepreneur of the year by the Greater Houston Partnership for businesses under $2 million and is currently a finalist for the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the year.
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Barbara Dawson Smith
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March 1999
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Barbara has written since she was a child. She
was a journalism
major who worked for Exxon as a technical writer when she decided to find a way to make money out of her home. Two or three years and 3 books later she was finally published with a national distributor.
She has published 16 novels in the romance genre since then and just last week made #74 on the top 150 USA list of hard and paperback books sold nationwide for that week. She
also made #7 on B.Dalton's paperback list of most books sold.
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