United States | MO.com on www

May17

No Comments

“Stick with your specialty. Know your market because each one is different.”

Shawn George

Elite Lighting Designs

Founder

http://www.EliteLightingDesigns.com

Elite Lighting Designs specializes in the design/build of Residential and Commercial Outdoor Lighting Systems.

The owner Shawn George, has been designing and installing Outdoor Lighting for over 21 years. Elite Lighting is licensed and insured and their job foreman’s have been with them for over 10 years. The company is a member of the Greater San Antonio Home Builders Association, Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce, and Shawn is a member of the Entrepreneur Organization.

MO: Where does your passion for lighting and design come from?

May17

No Comments

“We strive not to make a religion out of an individual idea — we have to let go if it does not work.”

Sam Lundin

Vimbly

CEO

http://www.Vimbly.com

Sam Lundin was an investor in technology companies at an $8 billion hedge fund, with a focus on the Internet space. In 2011, he switched from investing to operating when he launched Vimbly.to fix a personal pet peeve — the amount of time he would lose when researching & booking recreational activities.

Vimbly shows open time slots for activities, classes, & date ideas by different businesses on a single page and lets users book directly. These activities include dance, cooking, glassblowing, pizza making, wine tasting, intro to cigars, learning to DJ, improv, scotch pairing, samurai sword fighting, persuasion class, and hundreds more.

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

May17

No Comments

“The $0 ad budget marketing strategy that is driving Tower’s growth? Good old roll-up-your-sleeves PR! As my expertise is in search engine optimization (“SEO”), I knew exactly how to best leverage our exposure on ABC’s Shark Tank.”

Stephan Aarstol

Tower Paddle Boards

Founder & CEO

http://www.TowerPaddleboards.com

Tower Paddle Boards garnered an investment from billionaire Mark Cuban on ABC’s “Shark Tank,” and was named one of the top 10 success stories in the history of the show by Entrepreneur Magazine. With only four employees, Tower has grown from $3K revenue in 2010 to a projected 2013 revenue of $4M.

Tower Paddle Boards is a design-centric, manufacturer direct stand up paddle board (“SUP”) company. We’re the brand, the importer, the retail shop, and the marketing arm all rolled into one. This allows us to sell comparable quality boards are $500 less than the competition. Tower’s intuitive website also simplifies the SUP buying process.

MO: How did you come up with the concept of Tower Paddle Boards?

May17

No Comments

“The Naked Truth About Breast Implants”

Dr. Susan Kolb, board certified in plastic surgery in 1985, and is also one of the founders of the American Board of Integrative Holistic Medicine (2000). Dr. Kolb published “The Naked Truth About Breast Implants” in 2009 when the center became the expert facility for surgical and medical treatment of breast implant illness. She has also been featured on The Today Show and in People Magazine, as well as on CNN’s Talkback Live.

Plastikos Plastic & Reconstruction Surgery and Plastikos Surgery Center were founded in 1995 to help patients with difficult problems find answers. Several years later, Millennium Healthcare, an integrated holistic medical practice, was added along with Avatar Cancer Center, to help patients with cancer, breast implant toxicity, patients with chemical toxicity from burns and work exposure, and difficult hand injuries.

Plastikos is the only center of its kind in the United States that combines traditional and integrative medicine with both medical and surgical treatment in one location.

MO: What inspired you to launch the Plastikos Surgery Center and can you talk about some of the challenges of creating a one of a kind facility?

May16

No Comments

“Intention is the most important gift we can give ourselves.”

Laura Pavlou

WWISH

Founder &CEO

http://www.OurWWish.com

Laura Pavlou is the founder and CEO of Women’s Wellness and Integrated Social Health, WWISH (pronounced wish). WWISH helps women through crisis, adversity and transition. By creating philanthropic products, WWISH provides innovative services that promote social and individual change. She founded WWISH because of her vision that every woman knows her value.

Laura was inspired to create services for women based on her own experience with crisis, adversity and transition. At 36 she left her very last abusive relationship and went out on her own. She was a single mother, uneducated, living below the poverty level and suffering from substance abuse and mental illness. Through resources and support she was able to move out of every issue that held her back. Now she is giving back and helping other women uncover the power they have to create lives they can thrive in.

MO: What inspired you to create WWISH? Did you have an “aha moment” or was more of a gradual realization of a long-term goal?

May16

No Comments

“Luxury is a lifestyle, not a price point.”

Emily Gimmel

GRACESHIP

Founder & Creative Director

http://www.TheGraceship.com

Emily Gimmel is no stranger to style and trendsetting. The Founder and Creative Director for GRACESHIP spent 10 years working with some of the most famous and influential people on the planet. An entertainment TV reporter and personality, Emily’s has appeared on billboards in Times Square, The View, Entertainment Tonight, CNN, US Weekly, InTouch Weekly, SOAPnet, The Speed Channel, 702.tv and reported for a number of major local TV stations. An expert in entertainment and lifestyle coverage, Emily developed a keen eye for style by covering the biggest fashion and culture events in the world. She’s interviewed pop culture icons such as Eva Longoria, Kim Kardashian, Jeremy Piven, Donald Trump, T.I., and James Denton, just to name a few.

Today Emily is the chief architect behind GRACESHIP’s fresh, innovative product line. The brand is mastering the women’s computer bag market with fashionable and functional computer bags catering to professional women. Emily is passionate about creating bold, yet refined pieces that complement the lifestyle of today’s modern females. She believes the key to great design lies within the balance of simplicity and the subtle art of detail with her line of chic and stylish laptop bags designed exclusively for women combining the specs of a laptop bag with the swank of a purse.

MO: What inspired you to launch GRACESHIP?

May16

No Comments

“Design your life around what is important to you, not around how much time you have.”

Jenée Dana

My Focus Book

President and Chief Focusing Officer

http://MyFocusBook.com/

Jenée Dana graduated UCLA in 3 years and still had a blast, in spite of struggling with ADHD and undiagnosed reading disabilities! How did she freakin’ do that?

Jenée completed the final two years of the UCLA academic requirements in one year, all while working to help cover her living expenses. As a single parent, her mom was grateful to save a year of tuition. Those condensed two years of upper division courses were supposed to be the most difficult, however, by combining the best productivity tools she could find, her grades went up, and so did her social life!

Since then she became the President and Chief Focusing Officer of www.myfocusbook.com. Her book, Have Fun & Get It Done, debuted on Amazon as a #1 Best-Seller and received the Gold Medal for Non-Fiction Education from the Readers Favorite International Book Awards. Jenée lives in Hawaii with her husband.

MO: Can you elaborate on creating the first system that teaches students and entrepreneurs that time management does not exist?

May16

No Comments

“Remarkable Dreams = Remarkable Products = Remarkable Experiences.”

Chuck Bowen

TrueBlue Production

CEO

What do you do when your suppliers aren’t as remarkable as your brand? How is it possible start-up and significantly grow your own production operation debt-free? Chuck Bowen has been able to figure out the answers to both.

Chuck and his team at TrueBlue Production manufactures high quality products for many well-known brands. They are a rapidly growing US company with operations in a region in Mexico recognized worldwide as the center for leatherwork. TrueBlue is sought-after for their expertise handcrafting a wide range of high-end products (from luggage to wallets, women’s clutches to iPad cases), primarily with materials such as leather, waxed canvas and custom hardware. Their values are focused on delivering “Wow!” to their clients through leveraging the collective strength of their remarkable team members.

MO: What inspired you to launch TrueBlue?

May15

No Comments

“We are seeing such a huge increase in stress-related disease, I wanted more knowledge so that could help people handle their stress better.”

Dr. Kathy Gruver

Alternative Medicine Cabinet

http://www.TheAlternativeMedicineCabinet.com

Dr. Kathy Gruver is an award-winning author and the host of the national TV show based on her first book, The Alternative Medicine Cabinet.

She has earned her PhD in Natural Health and has just authored her second book entitled Body/Mind Therapies for the Bodyworker. Her third book, Conquer Your Stress with Mind/Body Therapies will be released shortly.

Kathy has studied mind/body medicine at the famed Benson-Henry Institute for Mind-Body Medicine at Harvard Medical School and pursued further education at The National Institutes of Health. She has been featured as an expert in countless publications including Yahoo.com, Ladies Home Journal, Massage and Bodyworks Magazine and Massage Magazine.

MO: What initially attracted you to mind/body medicine?

May15

No Comments

“GTD has gone from a t-shirt selling punk on the Internet to a highly skilled and well-managed professional forensic engineering company in just four years.”

Dr. Geoffrey Thor Desmoulin

GTD Engineering

Principal and Senior Engineer

http://www.GTDEngineering.com

GTD Engineering provides world-class forensic services internationally. We specialize in injury biomechanics, event reconstruction and product safety to determine injury cause and prevention. Typical investigations include: collision and non-collision incidents, terminal ballistics, sporting equipment failures, recreational accidents, and violent encounters. During these investigations we build, test, bend, break, crash, shoot, deconstruct and reconstruct while measuring objective data to extract all critical information. With Federal Court qualifications and experience involving high profile clients such as the National Basketball Association, Cornell University, and TASER International, GTD Engineering brings all necessary knowledge and skill to provide the highest quality forensic engineering.

MO: What motivated you to launch GTD Engineering? What were some early challenges that you faced and how did you overcome them?

May15

No Comments

“There has been a lack of actionable information on how much to feed your dog given their activity levels and thus, most advice is far too generic and may not be suited for your particular situation. No wonder why more than half of all dogs in this country are overweight or obese.”

Steve Pelletier

SlimDoggy

Founder & CEO

http://www.SlimDoggy.com

Steve Pelletier has been in the software business since 1998 and has recently launched SlimDoggy. Previously he has founded an advertising technology company, (ironically named “FatTail”). Pelletier has worked on Wall Street and began his career at the Ronald Regan White House. He is passionate about both fitness and dogs.

SlimDoggy provides tools and technology that helps dog owners keep their dogs fit and healthy. SlimDoggy helps dog owners’ answer several key questions related to their dog including: “how much should I feed my dog?”and “what should I feed my dog?”

MO: What lessons did you learn while working on Wall Street and at the White House that you’ve been able to apply to running your own business?

Page 1 of 12812 3 4 5...10 20 30...»Last »

Spotlight Interview: Gordon Logan

Spotlight Interview: David Allen

Spotlight Interview: Chris Babel

“We strive not to make a religion out of an individual idea — we have to let go if it does not work.”

“The $0 ad budget marketing strategy that is driving Tower’s growth? Good old roll-up-your-sleeves PR! As my expertise is in search engine optimization (“SEO”), I knew exactly how to best leverage our exposure on ABC’s Shark Tank.”

“The Naked Truth About Breast Implants”

“Intention is the most important gift we can give ourselves.”

“Design your life around what is important to you, not around how much time you have.”

“Remarkable Dreams = Remarkable Products = Remarkable Experiences.”

“We are seeing such a huge increase in stress-related disease, I wanted more knowledge so that could help people handle their stress better.”

“GTD has gone from a t-shirt selling punk on the Internet to a highly skilled and well-managed professional forensic engineering company in just four years.”

“There has been a lack of actionable information on how much to feed your dog given their activity levels and thus, most advice is far too generic and may not be suited for your particular situation. No wonder why more than half of all dogs in this country are overweight or obese.”

MO Partners

Follow us on Twitter

Subscribe

MO.com Best Places to Work!

Some Notable Past Interviews

Our Interviews By Area: