California | MO.com on www

May17

“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?

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

“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?

May14

No Comments

“Time management and productivity is the platform that your entire life is built on, if you don’t have proper techniques in place you will be missing out on really living the life and having the business you love.”

Erica Duran

Erica Duran International

CEO

http://www.EricaDuran.co

The team at Erica Duran International provides productivity and time management training to small businesses and entrepreneurs through virtual coaching and in-person workshops. They’ve recently added web design, SEO, social media training and marketing plans for their clients because they found those were the areas were most were holding back their success, procrastinating the most on, or getting taken advantage of from other companies. They are excited to soon re-launch a comprehensive planner system to support entrepreneurial women. Most clients sign up for coaching with Erica Duran International to “get more work done”, but actually they learn how to “get more of their life back”.

MO: What inspired you to launch your own company?

May13

No Comments

“I understand that hiring social media professionals can be expensive, but hiring amateurs can cost a fortune.”

Dimple Thakkar

SYNHERGY MARKETING

Founder

http://www.Synhergy.com

Dimple Thakkar began her career at a social media agency in New York as the Executive Director of Promotions. During Dimple’s time at the agency, she supervised social media marketing campaigns for top brands, influential Web 2.0 companies such as Photobucket, meebo, NING and over 50 artists including Kanye West, 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake, and Britney Spears. Additionally, Dimple worked in the talent management division within the same company as the Vice-President of New Media and Online Marketing, serving on the management team for a Grammy-nominated and global touring artist, as well as other Billboard charting rock and pop artists.

Currently, Dimple owns and operates SYNHERGY MARKETING which offers all types of online marketing and consulting with a focus in social media. Within their first year of establishment, SYNHERGY MARKETING was nominated top social media agency of 2009 on Mashable.com, one of the world’s largest blogging and news websites.

MO: What inspired you to launch SYNHERGY instead of working for an established marketing firm?

May10

No Comments

“I believe that today’s society promotes unrealistic images of women with airbrushed skin and perfect proportions. It is my hope to encourage each contestant to feel confident in her own skin.”

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Dani Walker

Miss Icon Organization LLC

Director

http://www.MissIconPageant.com

Established in 2012, the Miss California Icon is an official production of the Miss Icon Organization LLC.

Director Dani Walker, and assistant director, Solange Astudillo, built the business from the ground up with the support of investors and event sponsors. The pair met at a pageant in 2011, Dani twenty-one-years old and Solange a mere fifteen-years-old. The two combined their knowledge of event planning and expertise in the pageant industry to create an innovative scholarship program for women across California. The organization’s mission statement, “to broaden the perception of beauty by facilitating individual potential, volunteerism and integrity through transparency and innovation.” guides business policies.

MO: What inspired you to launch Miss California Icon?

May10

No Comments

“It turned out humans were overrated, and our portfolio of work and word-of-mouth referrals were enough to get even large organizations to work with our bird-brained team.”

Jessica Greenwalt

Pixelkeet

Founder and Principal

http://www.Pixelkeet.com

Pixelkeet is the world’s only “parakeet run” graphic design and web development firm. Their talented parakeets have helped to create projects for clients all over the world including LinkedIn; Telefónica; University of California, Berkeley; CrowdMed; and many more.

The Pixelkeet parakeets have also enjoyed some Internet fame for their good looks in addition to their talents. Pico, the Vice Parakeet of Markeeting, has even done some modeling for Marc Jacobs: http://instagram.com/p/OtwLmEv5M-/ . Pixelkeet was launched in 2012 by Jessica Greenwalt and is based in San Francisco, California.

MO: What inspired you to launch your first business while still attending high school and what were some early entrepreneurial lessons that you learned?

May6

No Comments

They said it couldn’t be done, I said, “Oh yeah? Let me show you what I can do.”

Nick-Anthony Zamucen

President & CEO

Bio-One Inc.

http://www.BioOneInc.com

“Nick-Anthony Zamucen” the President & CEO of Bio-One Inc. The first and only successful franchised crime scene cleaning company. Nick-Anthony has done for the “crime & trauma scene cleaning industry” what Mark Zuckerberg has done for social media. He is also a published author, business strategist, and an award winning serial entrepreneur that has had tremendous success in various business ventures. He has recently been named to the list of “Top 40 Under 40 CEO’s” and has lead the Bio-One franchise organization to three national franchise awards in the last year.

Bio-One Inc. is the first and only successful crime and trauma scene clean-up franchise. Our franchises are in 10 different states and we are by far, the leader in bio-recovery worldwide. Bio-One’s marketing campaigns are industry specific, innovative and have proven successful year after year.

MO: How did you come up with the concept for Bio-One?

May4

No Comments

“I’ve been in love with running and racing ever since and became fascinated with the science of athletic performance.”

Dr. Jason Karp

RunCoachJason.com

Founder

http://www.RunCoachJason.com/

Dr. Jason Karp is a nationally-recognized running and fitness coach and owner of RunCoachJason.com. As one of America’s foremost running experts and the 2011 IDEA Personal Trainer of the Year, he has been profiled and interviewed in a number of publications. A rare combination of education and experience, he holds three degrees in exercise science, including a Ph.D. in exercise physiology. He is a prolific writer, with more than 200 publications in fitness and running magazines and five books, including Running a Marathon For Dummies and Running for Women. He is a frequent speaker at international fitness and coaching conferences.

MO: Where does your passion for running and fitness come from?

May4

No Comments

A new way to shop!

Susan Akbarpour

Mavatar

Co-Founder

http://www.Mavatar.com

A visionary and globally focused executive and entrepreneur, Susan Akbarpour has 20 years of hands-on experience in building successful and innovative businesses in media, management consulting and investment.

As a journalist, editor, publisher, businesswoman, investor, social entrepreneur & political fundraiser, Susan has received multiple media, community and business awards and has been a speaker at various conferences and frequently featured by mainstream media outlets.

Susan co-founded Mavatar along with Dr. Brom Mahbod, former Oracle VP of e-business platform in January 2011. Brom is running the company as the CEO and Susan serves the company as the president. New Sentence option: Brom runs the company as the CEO, while Susan is serving as the company’s president.

MO: What inspired you to launch Mavatar?

May2

No Comments

“An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”

Zabi Kator

guardNOW

President & CEO

http://www.guardNOW.com

guardNOW provides skilled professional security guards who know what to do in the event of an unforeseen incident. Guards are able to come to a location in just two hours without the need of a long term contract. Clients include small businesses, residences where the owners may be out of town, neighborhood surveillance, construction sites or vacant building that needs to be supervised. guardNOW also caters to special events for weddings, bar mitzvahs, quinceaneras, and birthday parties. Specializing in nontraditional security guard services, guardNOW offers premium service for safety and security needs.

MO: How does guardNOW work?

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Spotlight Interview: Gordon Logan

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Spotlight Interview: Chris Babel

“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.”

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

“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.”

“Time management and productivity is the platform that your entire life is built on, if you don’t have proper techniques in place you will be missing out on really living the life and having the business you love.”

“I believe that today’s society promotes unrealistic images of women with airbrushed skin and perfect proportions. It is my hope to encourage each contestant to feel confident in her own skin.”

“It turned out humans were overrated, and our portfolio of work and word-of-mouth referrals were enough to get even large organizations to work with our bird-brained team.”

They said it couldn’t be done, I said, “Oh yeah? Let me show you what I can do.”

“I’ve been in love with running and racing ever since and became fascinated with the science of athletic performance.”

“An ounce of prevention is better than a pound of cure”

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