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Recent Speakers at the Houston
Entrepreneurs' Forum
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Greg Yakim
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June, 2008
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On Friday, June 27 Greg Yakim, Partner-President of CastlelRock Communities,
a homebuilding and development company, was our
speaker. CastleRock is now in its 3rd full
year of operations and is now the 101st largest
builder in the nation.
Prior to forming Castlerock Greg led an active
role in Proformance Golf Properties as
majority partner where he reorganized the company
and arranged it's sale....and prior to that he was
President and chief Operating officer of Kimball
Hill a large homebuilder.Greg as a young man
(1969 ) originally started out as a Mason and self
employed contractor.
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Stephen J. Blakesley
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May, 2008
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Stephen J. Blakesley was our speaker
on May 30, 2008. Stephen Blakesley is the CEO of
GMS Talent Management, Inc and Managing Partner of
GMS Talent LP a Human Resources consultancy and full
service search firm. Stephen and GMS Talent are
leaders in the new science of Emotional Intelligence
(EI) and its application in the workplace. Stephen
will share some of the powerful tools any
organization, large or small, can use to improve the
quality of the hires you make, enhance the
performance of the hires you have made and keep the
best of the best.
Mr. Blakesley holds two post-graduate degrees
from American College (MS Financial Services and MS
Management). His book “Strategic
Hiring-Tomorrow’s Benefits Today” has been
recognized as a Top 50 Business Book of 2006 by
Business Book Review.
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Max Blankfeld
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April, 2008
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Max Blankfeld, Co-founder and Vice-President of
Operations and Marketing of Family Tree DNA was our
speaker on April 25, 2008. This was an opportunity
to learn from one of the pioneers in this
fascinating field of genetic genealogy.
Family Tree DNA was started in 2000 to help
people explore their ancestry. It was the world’s
first genealogy driven DNA testing service and now
maintains the world’s largest DNA database in the
field of genetic genealogy. The company sells and
processes mail-in test kits. A cheek-swab test
provides the DNA to let a person know who their
ancestors were, where they lived and who they are
related to. The business has experienced rapid
growth and was recently #8 on the HBJ list of
Fastest Growing Companies in Houston. Revenues in
2004 were $2.6 million and now they exceed $12.0
million.
Mr. Blankfeld was originally from Brazil. Before
coming to the United States he held top management
positions at publicly traded companies, where he was
responsible for operations and growth strategies.
During his years in the US, he started and managed a
company in the area of consumer products which he
sold in 2001.
Mr. Blankfeld graduated summa cum laude with a
BBA from Fundacao Genulio Vargas in Brazil and in
1991 complete his MBA at Rice University.
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Gary Cooper
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March, 2008
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Gary Cooper, Founder and
CEO of Chatterbats Inc. was our speaker
on March 28th.
Chatterbats Inc. develops
promotional products for sporting
events. The company’s first product was
the “Chatterbat”. A Chatterbat is a
small plastic replica of a real baseball
bat that is designed to make noise and
is used as a sprit enhancer and
souvenir. The product has been used by
the Astros, Texas Rangers, LA Dodgers
and Wisconsin Timber Rattlers. The
company has experienced two years of
successful promotions with Major League
Baseball and is now branching out to
other sports and avenues of
distribution. Their most recent product
is the Chatterball Soccer Ball, the
world market for soccer is in the
hundreds of millions.
Mr. Cooper had a very successful
accounting practice when he invented the
product. He will discuss his experience
of getting a new idea to the
marketplace, saying NO to NO, and still
paying the bills.
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Alex Brennan-Martin
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January, 2008
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Alex Brennan-Martin,
President, Brennan’s of Houston was our
speaker on January 25, 2008. Alex is a
co-owner of the restaurant and a member
of the third generation of a family that
is synonymous with top-quality
restaurant operations.
The oil crisis in the 1980s hit
Houston hard. It was a reality check for
Alex Brennan-Martin who at the time was
general manager of Brennan’s of Houston.
He found himself in a world of new
competition, a stagnant economy and
declining business. Many of the
traditional ways of doing business were
not working. Alex tried numerous
management techniques and realized that
the best management techniques were the
simplest. He wrote a book “The Simple
Truth About Your Business”. The book
describes his journey to revive the
restaurant and outlines his management
techniques that can be applied to any
business. Come hear Alex share his
management philosophy which has resulted
in Brennan’s of Houston being recognized
as one of the Distinguished Restaurants
of North America for more than 10 years.
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Edward Teitel
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November, 2007
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Dr. Edward Teitel,
President and CEO of ThromboVision, Inc.
was our speaker on November 16, 2007.
ThromboVision is a biomedical
diagnostics company committed to
enabling people to lead longer and
healthier lives. The company has
developed a new medical device – the
ThromboGuide Platelet Function Analyser
(T-Guide). For years, cardiovascular
patients have been taking anti-platelet
medications to prevent life-threatening
events such as heart attacks, strokes
and stent occlusions – without knowing
whether their therapies were effective.
The T-Guide device provides a simple,
inexpensive solution to help physicians
individualize blood-thinning therapy for
cardiovascular patients.
In November 2006, the company won the
Michael E. DeBakey Life Science Award,
presented to a Houston-area company with
“leading-edge commercial potential”.
Last month, ThromboVision raised $4
million in its first round of funding in
anticipation of potential Food and Drug
Administration approval of the
ThromboGuide.
Prior to founding ThromboVision, Dr.
Teitel served as Senior Vice President
and Chief Medical Officer at MicroMed
Technology, Inc. (now MicroMed
Cardiovascular, Inc., a public company).
As a part of senior management at
MicroMed, Dr. Teitel participated in all
aspects of clinical trials and
regulatory matters, business scope and
fund raising activities, as well as
legal matters.
Before joining MicroMed Technology in
2002, Dr. Teitel practiced for many
years as a board certified general and
vascular surgeon. He founded, managed,
and developed a multi-specialty group
practice in Alabama until he closed his
practice in 1997 to transition into
corporate medicine and management. At
that time he went on to earn his MBA at
Auburn University and worked with a
boutique investment banking firm, Colby
Capital, in Atlanta where he worked to
fund start-up companies in the life
sciences. After completing law school in
2002, he joined the senior management
team at MicroMed.
Dr. Teitel earned his MD degree at the
University of Texas Health Science
Center at San Antonio, and completed his
surgical residency at St. Mercy Medical
Hospital in Pontiac, Michigan. He
received his Juris Doctor degree from
the University of Houston, with a focus
in healthcare law, intellectual property
and business law. Dr. Teitel holds a BS
in chemistry from Sul Ross State
University.
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Beverly Denver
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October, 2007
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Beverly Denver, editor and publisher of Houston Woman Magazine, was our speaker in October 2007. Beverly holds a BA in journalism and history from Louisiana Tech and a Master’s degree in journalism from Louisiana State University.
Her experience is unique, having worked in all facets of the newspaper industry. She has worked in the newsroom, as a reporter and editor, but also in the boardroom, holding positions as marketing director, advertising sales manager and publisher.
In the mid-980s, the entrepreneurial bug bit, and Beverly launched a community newspaper in the North Harris and South Montgomery County area. In 1991, she sold that publication and, immediately, launched another in the City of West University Place – which she owned and operated for nine years.
Before launching Houston Woman Magazine in March 2004, Beverly worked as a print media consultant, working with individuals and newspapers, including The West University Examiner, The Houston Chronicle and The Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
Beverly is the recipient of numerous civic and professional awards
In 2000, she was named Print Journalist of the Year by the Press Club of Houston.
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Jay Steinfeld
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September, 2007
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The Houston
Entrepreneurs’ Forum speaker for
September, 2007 was Jay Steinfeld,
founder and CEO of Global Custom
Commerce, a direct marketing company
that sells more window coverings online
than anyone else in the world. Jay
started a business for $3,000 and grew
it into a $50 million enterprise and the
10th fastest growing ecommerce company
in the U.S. In 1994 Mr. Steinfield
created a Web site and online brochure
to advertise his walk-in drapery stores.
By 2001 his online success caused him to
sell his bricks and mortar retail stores
and launch Blinds.com to sell
exclusively in cyberspace. The first
year sales were $1.5 million and by 2006
had grown to $43 million.
Jay earned a BBA in Accounting with
Honors from the University of Texas at
Austin. After graduating he worked for
KPMA Peat, Marwick, then became
Vice-president, Finance of the national
franchise, Meineke Discount Mufflers.
Jay Steinfeld was honored as the 2006
Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year
in the Retail division for Southeast
Texas and Louisiana.
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Albert J. Nahas
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August, 2007
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Albert J. Nahas, Principal of Focused Leadership was our speaker on August 24, 2007. His presentation was “Building Your Entrepreneurial Team”.
Al Nahas has over forty years of corporate and military leadership experience. He has successfully applied his leadership skills in a wide variety of industries including mobility systems, power generation, construction, transportation, healthcare and telecommunications. His experience has varied from VP of Operations and Engineering to Senior Director of Global Network Operations for an international broadband network.
Mr. Nahas divided his 26 years of Army service between the Infantry and Corps of Engineers. For three years, Al served as an Associate Professor at the United States Military Academy and he has nineteen months of combat experience.
Al received a BS degree from West Point. He holds a MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Stanford University, a MBA from Long Island University and a Masters Degree equivalent in Executive Management from the Industrial College of the Armed Forces. He is a registered Professional Engineer.
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Steven Kay
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July, 2007
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Steven Kay, President and
Founder of Steven Kay Media was our
speaker on July 27th. Steven Kay Media
specializes in radio advertising sales
and promotions, as well as producing and
hosting talk shows. Steven Kay is a talk
show host & producer of “Life, Business
and Money” which airs daily on AM650.
The purpose of the talk show is to
discuss all the different aspects of
life that cause both success and
failure, everything from our health,
lifestyle, marketing & advertising,
technology, investing and more. The show
first aired live on April 4, 2005, and
is continually growing in popularity
among business owners, executives and
sales professionals.
Prior to starting his company, Steven’s
experience included business, sales
management, marketing and financial
services. He owns/has owned numerous
businesses, serves/served on the board
of directors for organizations, and is
actively involved in the Houston
business community. Steven’s
presentation was “Choices and Attitudes
– Choosing Your Path in Life.”
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Daniel Parsley
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May, 2007
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Daniel Parsley, CEO of SalvageSale, Inc. was our speaker on May 18, 2007. SalvageSale is the leading online industrial asset disposition marketplace and services provider for the commercial property & casualty insurance industry and corporations. SalvageSale has dramatically improved the recovery results for sellers of commercial salvage goods by combining comprehensive services and the Internet to increase transaction transparency and efficiency access to a global universe of buyers. The company has been a member of the Fast Tech 50 for the last four years, most recently ranked number six. SalvageSales was a member of the Inaugural Aggie 100 and was a recipient of the A.M. Best 2005 E-Fusion Award.
Mr. Parsley leads the company by drawing on more than twenty years in technology and supply chain management consulting. He was previously a partner with CSC Consulting, the management and systems integration division of Computer Sciences Corporation. Dan started his consulting career in the Houston office of Andersen Consulting (now Accenture). In 2005 Mr. Parsley was a Gulf Coast finalist in the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Program. He received his B.S. from Texas A&M University and his M.B.A. from the University of Virginia.
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Robert Byrd
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April, 2007
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Robert Byrd, Founder and CEO of Truewater was our speaker for April 2007. Truewater provides computer network services, help desk support, offsite backup and spam free email. The company has been a Microsoft Certified Partner since 2001 and manages client networks ranging from 5 to 2000 employees with multiple facilities and international locations.
Robert started his first business before he graduated from high school. After high school graduation he started an award winning car audio shop His knowledge of electronics and visionary ideas allowed him to build a successful paging service and Nextel distributorship. Rob’s most recent start-up is AtomicMods, a radio control model automobile and airplane business. Mr Byrd’s presentation will be “The Diary of a Serial Entrepreneur”
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Rick Holdren
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March, 2007
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Rick Holdren was our speaker on March 30, 2007. Mr. Holdren has founded three $100 million companies and is currently a full time Angel Investor. A serial entrepreneur, he has founded or invested in over 26 healthcare start-ups and was named as 2002 Center for Entrepreneurship & Innovation Mentor of the year. He currently owns Appraisal & Mentor Group LLC, which is a top 3 M & A and healthcare valuation firm with over 2500 completed assignments including over 200 court valuations. His current investment is a virtual incubator with “Space-Act” agreement with NASA to commercialize its phase III SBIR companies with matching venture investments.
He is Co-Founder of Equivision, publicly traded on NASDAQ and sold for over $70 million cash, and EquiMed, a publicly traded cancer management company with a market cap over $200 million. Holdren has additionally co-founded/Invested in Physician Trust (venture backed by over $5 million in investment), DaVincian Technologies (picked by Bob Ryan's High-Tech Start-up Boot Camp), Austin Med Tech, a publicly traded surgical 'pack' company, DermAmerica, a national cosmetic dermatology firm and MD Pain Clinics.
Mr. Holdren previously was a partner in the nation's largest physician search firm, a director of physician relations at a major hospital management firm and co-founder of Texas's largest practice management firm.
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Christopher Wasden
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February, 2007
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Christopher Wasden, CEO
and Founder of SimplexityMD was our
speaker on February 23, 2007.
SimplexityMD is a medical device
development company that acquires early
stage technologies from around the world
to create disruptive and next generation
medical devices that address high value
and unmet market needs. The company
simplifies the complexity of
commercializing medical device
innovation by filling the gap between
innovation and commercialization.
Prior to founding SimplexityMD, Wasden
was President, CEO and co-founder of
Tympany, a revolutionary diagnostic
medical device company that designed,
developed, marketed, sold and supported
proprietary, automated diagnostic
hearing testing equipment. The company
was recently successfully acquired.
Mr. Wasden also spent eight years on
Wall Street as an investment banker with
JP Morgan & Co. He also spent a year
with Union Bank of Switzerland, where he
started and led its Latin American
Equity research activities. Additionally
he has been a CFO of a $20 billion
chemical and refining business.
Chris Wasden has been an instructor at
the University of Houston and Rice
University, where he taught courses in
Entrepreneurship, Marketing and
Corporate Finance. Wasden, has an MBA
from UCLA, and two bachelor degrees from
Brigham Young University, where he
graduated summa cum laude.
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Robert Conrad
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January, 2007
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Our first speaker for 2007 was Robert Conrad, Founder and COO of Tyrell, Inc. Tyrell recently won first place in the Houston Business Journal Fast Tech 50 competition, with a revenue growth of more than 1,700 percent over the prior year. The company manufactures Zeno, a unique acne-fighting device that utilizes heat to treat infections. It delivers a specific heat dose for a specific amount of time to kill the bacteria in emerging pimples. In clinical trails, 90 percent of patients saw results within as little as 20 hours.
The company was established in Houston in September 2002. The Zeno product was invented by Robert Conrad and his brother Dr. Charles Conrad. In June of 2005 the company received FDA approval for the treatment device. In September 2006 Tyrell announced an agreement with Walgreens as the exclusive national drugstore retailer of Zeno.
Prior to founding Tyrell, Conrad’s entrepreneurial positions included president, CEO, and owner of a company that provided biologic testing services. He also founder, owner and vice president of operations of Latro Research Inc., a biotech company primarily focused on microbiology and genetic engineering. His professional experience includes previous executive level management positions in the financial industries.
Conrad earned a B.S. in economics from Texas A&M University. He enjoys spending time with his wife and two children and competing in triathlons.
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Peter Hanik
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November, 2006
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Peter Hanik, founder and Managing Co-Director of Pretium Consulting Services, LLC was our guest speaker on November 17, 2006. Pretium provides assistance to clients to generate sustainable economic value from Structured Innovation.
Structured Innovation is based on TRIZ (the Russian acronym for Theory of Inventive Problem Solving), function modeling (derived from Value Engineering) and Brainstorming. Using Structured Innovation you can generate 3-10 times the number of ideas that you can using conventional brainstorming techniques alone and the probability of creating out-of-the-box ideas is greatly increased. The method is elegantly simple and can be used by almost anyone and at the same time it is extremely powerful and capable of addressing complex business or technical problems.
Prior to founding Pretium, Mr. Hanik was Senior Vice President of Technology at Millennium Chemicals, President and CEO of Millennium Petrochemicals, Vice President Chemicals & Supply Chain at Quantum Chemical, Vice President Reengineering and Information Systems at Quantum Chemical, Director Applied Research & Technical Service at Quantum Chemical, Regional Sales Manager at Northern Petrochemical, Engineering Manager at Northern Petrochemical and Production Superintendent at Northern Petrochemical. He began his career as a Systems Engineer developing computer based process models and advanced computer control systems. Mr. Hanik holds a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Mr. Hanik is a registered professional engineer.
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Rodrigo Jimenez
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October, 2006
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Rodrigo Jimenez, CEO of Whiteboard Labs was our October ‘06 speaker. Whiteboard Labs was founded in 1994 under the name Webvertising, which revolutionized the hotel industry with its innovative Web application that allows for a OneScreen user-friendly, Flash-based reservation interface. The business also developed MotionNotes, which is a video email application, as well as Tralix, an enterprise-level email marketing solution.
Mr. Jimenez joined and invested in Whiteboard Labs after 10 years in the banking industry. Rod was Vice President and Client Advisor in the International Department of the Chase Manhattan Bank in Houston. In that capacity, he advised subsidiaries of multinational companies in corporate finance and investment banking matters.
Prior to joining Chase, Rod worked for Bank of America's Latin America Division. He was involved in the opening of the bank's representative office in Monterrey, Mexico and spent the last two years of his career with Bank of America managing the bank's Monterrey and Northeast Mexico corporate banking operation, where he was responsible for a portfolio of assets of more than $600 million.
Rodrigo is a graduate of the Financial Management Program at Stanford University and was a participant in the 1999 Focused Financial Management Series at Harvard Business School. He holds a B.B.A. in Marketing and an M.B.A. in International Business & Finance from the University of Houston.
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Marti Frost
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September, 2006
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Marti Frost, Founder and
President of Frost Products was
the speaker at our September 29th
meeting. Frost Products is a
plastic products design and
manufacturing company founded in 1996.
The purpose of the company is to supply
commercial and institutional facility
managers with a single source for a
complete line of indoor and outdoor site
furnishing products. Frost Products is
one of only four national plastic
commercial trash can manufacturers in
the country and offer an variety of
products from waste receptacles,
planters, benches, tables, and even
crash test dummies. The company now
offers over 800 products. In May 2006
Ms. Frost opened a new manufacturing
plant in West Houston. Prior to this all
production was outsourced to a number of
custom molders across the country.
Ms. Frost is a native Houstonian, a
graduate of the University of Houston
with a degree in Consumer Science and
Marketing with a minor in Art. In her
spare time she is involved with the
Woman’s Business Enterprise Alliance
where she has been instrumental in
developing programs to assist women
business owners and serves on several
committees.
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Jack B. Smith
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August, 2006
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Jack B. Smyth,
President and CEO of SpringMedical
Systems was our speaker on August 25,
2006. Spring Medical is a Houston
company founded in 1997 and was a winner
of the FastTech 50 2006 competition. The
company was founded by a team of
physicians and technology professionals
to develop software solutions that
empower physicians to better manage the
clinical and administrative aspects of
their practices while maintaining proven
procedures and workflow. The company
delivers on the promise of Electronic
Health Records in small and mid-sized
medical offices. The flagship product is
SpringCharts, an integrated software
suite that provides measurable benefits
in the areas of clinical data
management, office productivity,
internal and external communications,
and compliance with HIPAA regulations.
Mr. Smyth has over 25 years of
experience with technology companies, 5
previous start-ups. He holds an
engineering degree from Cornell and an
MBA from Stanford.
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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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
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
|
June, 2005
|
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
|
May, 2005
|
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
|
April, 2005
|
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
|
Mar, 2005
|
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
|
Feb, 2005
|
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
|
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
|
Nov, 2004
|
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
|
Oct, 2004
|
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
|
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
|
August, 2004
|
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
|
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
|
June, 2004
|
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
|
May, 2004
|
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
|
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
|
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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