Business Interviews with Entrepreneurs, CEO's, Founders, Funding Sources, and Policy Makers

Jun24

“It’s always OK to say “I think this project isn’t working out for us, I’d like to help you find someone who’s a better fit.”

Steven Bristol

Less Everything, Inc.

Founder

Steven Bristol’s programming adventure started as a 9 year old writing BASIC. In the past 28 years he’s written many languages, become a Ruby on Rails core contributor, 2007 Google Summer of Code Mentor and has never ever written a bug.

Less Everything, Inc. is based out of Jacksonville, Florida. The company has been a successful web firm for several years and began pursuing Ruby on Rails product development in 2007. In the beginning, they struggled with accounting, because accounting is scary, accounting is boring and quite simply, no one likes accounting.

So, they created LessAccounting to help. Over time they expanded the app to include online invoicing, client proposals, mileage tracking, bank integration, payables and more. They hope it brings clarity to your small business accounting needs.

MO: Can you talk a about the creative process behind building a bookkeeping system for entrepreneurs? What kind of challenges did you face in the early stages and how did overcome them?

Jun21

“I was really interested in the idea about how people transact online, especially people who see themselves as adding value as opposed to people selling commoditized products and services.”

Dan Jacobs

enthuse.me

CEO

http://enthuse.me

Dan Jacobs has held various senior technical and commercial roles in early stage start-ups for over 15 years. His previous role was of founder, COO and eventually Managing Director of the Prime Card www.idtprime.com. In his spare time, Dan is an avid choral singer, passionate vegetarian and makes a mean veggie lasagna.

enthuse.me is aimed at people leaving the traditional working world of 9-5 and establishing themselves as independent businesses, consultants, experts etc.

enthuse.me serves this market by helping these people to market themselves online.

Users can create an elegant, one-page profile to show off their expertise. They do this by hand-picking the best examples of what they do to cut through the noise of multiple blogs, social networks and portfolio websites, and focus on the things that really prove they know their stuff.

MO: How did you come up with the concept for enthuse.me.?

Jun21

“It is a welcomed bonus if a leader is charismatic, consistent, innovative, accurate, ethical, and interpersonal; thinks critically; and makes winning decisions all while nurturing those that follow.”

Isha Edwards

EPiC MEASURES

Founder

http://www.EpicMeasures.com

Company Overview: EPiC MEASURES (EM) is a brand-driven, consultancy, which provides a “next practices” approach to establishing, operating, and growing a business; launching products; and implementing programs and initiatives. Extending beyond the ordinary in purpose, promise, and presentation, EM seeks to increase the profitability of individuals and organizations and empower the same to excel through four business services:

• Marketing Strategy

• Brand Management

• Marketing & Business Communications

• Leadership Training (Seminars & Workshops)

Contact service (at) epicmeasures.com to determine next practice solutions for a product, for an individual or an organization.

MO: What are some ways that you help your clients “extend beyond the ordinary?”

Jun20

“Health care reform and other factors are driving sweeping changes in how individuals and employers access health care.”

Jennifer Benz

Benz Communications

CEO & Founder

http://www.BenzCommunications.com

Seven years ago, Jennifer Benz left a large HR consulting firm and started taking on clients of her own. Jen was able to take her consulting team of one and grow that into a thriving business over a short period of time, during a downturn economy. Now at 22 people, Benz Communications continues to push the envelope in the niche-industry of employee benefits communication. By combining her health care know-how with innovative wellness and social media strategies, Jen has been able to evolve Benz Communications into a “small giant” that successfully competes against the big global insurance and outsourcing companies. Clients include Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For and Fortune 500 companies. Jen has seen Benz Communications through to tremendous growth over the past few years. Over the two-year period 2009-2011, Benz Communications increased revenues to $2.2 million from $580,147.

Jen and Benz Communications’ work aims to improve the physical and financial health of employees, and in turn solve some of our nation’s biggest issues. Nearly 60% of Americans under the age of 65 have employer-provided health benefits, and 75% of employees look to their employer for health information. This puts employers in a unique position to make a difference in the lives of employees, their families, and by extension, help solve some of our country’s biggest challenges. And now, with health care reform on the horizon, huge changes are happening in the health care industry overall. Small companies are going to have new options for how their people get health care, and entrepreneurs and people who run small businesses should be making sure they have the right advisors in place to help them navigate through all the changes. Enter Benz Communications.

MO: Can you elaborate on how your pro bono experience prepared you for starting and growing your own company?

Jun20

“Focus on product, it is all that matters. Build a product that is simple and easy to understand.”

Pravin Jadhav

Wishberg

Founder & CEO

http://www.Wishberg.com

Pravin Jadhav is the Founder and CEO at Wishberg. He is responsible for Product, Design, Marketing and Technology at Wishberg

Prior to Wishberg, Pravin was Head of Product & Marketing at Ohana Media where he developed, launched and marketed its flagship product – Ohana QB, a SaaS based unified digital marketing platform. Earlier Pravin was also the Head of Product for eCommerce & Mobile at Rediff.com, the largest internet portal in India.

MO: How does Wishberg work?

Jun19

“We have built our business up from 0 to something in a short period of time.”

POP NYC

Gina Panella

Founder

http://www.POP-NYC.com

POP NYC is a full service sourcing, product development, and manufacturing company offering private label, promotional and retail capabilities. The firm has worked with over 40 brands and companies across the United States, Canada, Australia and the Middle East.

MO: What inspired you to launch your business?

Jun19

“Almost all marketing mistakes stem from one fundamental problem – failure to consider the customer.”

Hillary Berman

Popcorn & Ice Cream

Founder

http://www.Popcorn-Icecream.com

Hillary Berman believes that to succeed in small business, a good idea and an entrepreneurial spirit are just the beginning.

Working in and for small businesses and start-ups over the course of her career, Hillary noticed a common theme – while small business owners are incredibly passionate and knowledgeable about their businesses, they’re not marketers. Yet in small business, everyone needs to be both a marketer and in sales. She and her team at Popcorn & Ice Cream help. In just two years, they’ve worked with more than two dozen clients to better engage with customers, raise their profiles and grow their revenues.

Popcorn & Ice Cream leverages a network of talented marketing professionals under Hillary Berman’s guidance. Hillary brings experience working in and for businesses of varying size to her small business clients. Cutting her teeth on Madison Avenue, Hillary got her first taste of small business at a dot.com reminiscent of Facebook, but sadly before its time. Upon moving back to Washington, DC, Hillary worked for a start-up technology company before turning back to the agency world where she supported both FORTUNE 500 and small businesses alike. Prior to launching Popcorn & Ice Cream, Hillary worked with her husband to build and grow a financial services business.

MO: What inspired you to launch Popcorn & Ice Cream instead of working for an established firm?

Jun18

“My 5 Ps for success are : Prayer, Passion, Perserverence, Persistence and Presence.”

Cindy Tawiah

Diva by Cindy

Founder

http://www.DivaByCindy.com

Diva by Cindy hair products was founded in 2007. Cindy Tawiah , had a deep desire to create a hair product which would help stop hair shedding and breakage after 4 years of operating a Shades of U Hair Salon ( a full service salon), the product was launched.

Cindy had experienced tremendous turnover and questioned the direction of her business. A friend asked Cindy the reason why she had started a business in the beauty business to begin with. That’s when she recalled being taught to make nail polish and lipstick at the age of 16 and always having a deep desire to pursue her passion.

MO: Can you recall your “aha moment” of deciding to launch your business or was it more of a gradual realization?

Jun18

“My design professor defiantly replied “Computers will NEVER be used for graphic design!”

Dana Edmonds

Creation Hotcomb Designs

CEO & Creative Director

http://www.HotcombDesign.com

Creation Hotcomb Design is a graphic & web design studio based in Montreal, working globally.

They are an international Web & Graphic Design Studio that creates clean, cutting-edge, professional and custom designs for clients.

Some of their impressive clients have included ELLE Quebec, United Nations, Esprit, Mega Bloks, La Vie en Rose, MUHC and recently Hans Koechling the image is to name a few.

MO: Can you elaborate on how a disagreement with a Graphic Design Professor was the springboard for leaving the Graphic Design program and ultimately launching your own business?

Jun17

“YouMail’s goal is to provide everyone an automated secretary for handling missed calls.”

Alex Quilici

YouMail

CEO

http://www.YouMail.com

YouMail helps consumers and businesses deal with incoming mobile phone calls.

The YouMail Visual Voicemail Plus service is the world’s most popular third-party voicemail service, having answered the phone well over two billion times. They directly provide top-rated iPhone and Android apps, and third-parties have brought YouMail to Windows 8 and Windows Phone.

They have well over 4 million registered users and 150,000+ businesses of all sizes that have discovered how YouMail can help them interact more efficient with customers, prospects, and partners, through a combination of unique features like smart business greetings, automatic replies to voicemail, high quality voicemail to text conversion, and much more.

MO: How did you come up with the concept for YouMail?

Jun17

“At Instacanvas, we believe the most interesting artwork of our generation is mobile photography. We love giving those artists a platform to sell their work and gain more exposure!”

Matt Munson

Instacanvas

CEO & Co-Founder

http://Instacanv.as

Matt Munson is the captain of the ship at Instacanv.as and is involved in just about every aspect of the Instacanvas site. Instacanvas is a mobile photography marketplace that allows Instagram users to receive a free online gallery to sell their work as beautiful design objects. Casual Instagrammers can also turn their own photos into wall decorations, greeting cards, and more.

MO: Do you think that mobile photography is starting to gain credibility as an art form? If so, how do you anticipate this growing trend to evolve in the coming years?

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Spotlight Interview: Ryan Holmes

Spotlight Interview: David Allen

Spotlight Interview: Gordon Logan

“It’s always OK to say “I think this project isn’t working out for us, I’d like to help you find someone who’s a better fit.”

“It is a welcomed bonus if a leader is charismatic, consistent, innovative, accurate, ethical, and interpersonal; thinks critically; and makes winning decisions all while nurturing those that follow.”

“We have built our business up from 0 to something in a short period of time.”

“Almost all marketing mistakes stem from one fundamental problem – failure to consider the customer.”

“My 5 Ps for success are : Prayer, Passion, Perserverence, Persistence and Presence.”

“At Instacanvas, we believe the most interesting artwork of our generation is mobile photography. We love giving those artists a platform to sell their work and gain more exposure!”

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