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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Bryan Keller, Rotey, Joey Ruse and Elise Akin

Rotey Joey Ruse Elise Akin Bryan Keller
KSUEntrepreneurship

Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Bryan Keller

Bryan Keller

Bryan Keller is a senior at KSU, graduating in May with a business management degree and finance minor. Bryan’s passion is music, specifically guitar, and he enjoys utilizing that passion for worship. Because of this passion, Bryan decided to start a company called Keller Guitars, which sells acoustic/electric guitars with different bible verses burned or foil pressed onto the face of the piece. Bryan began the venture only 3 months ago, so it is very new, but will be launching its first line of acoustic guitars in March, 2017. This line will be called The Carpenter Series and will display Psalms 95 on the guitar.

 

Rotey

Rotey

Rotey was born in a relatively small town named Waterloo, Iowa, where he spent his early childhood. When Rotey was 9 years old, he moved south to the metro Atlanta area. It was shortly after the move, when Rotey’s parents split up, and his Father moved back north to Chicago, leaving his mother to provide for the two of them, and a young Rotey with plenty of time alone. It was during this isolation that his passion for hip hop was born. Rotey bought his first “rhyme book” in high school, and hasn’t looked back since. What started out as just a way to express himself, has since blossomed into a full-blown career as both an artist and producer, sweeping across college campuses in the southeast. Fueled by a relentless ambition, Rotey’s fast paced wordplay and emotionally packed memoirs, coupled with his charming charisma and sharp wit, ensure the young MC is not only here to stay, but to thrive.

 

Joey Ruse

Joey Ruse

Joey Ruse is a junior at Kennesaw State in the Entrepreneurship Program. He is the Vice President of Kennesaw State’s Enactus team, an organization dedicated to economic empowerment through sustainable, entrepreneurial action. He is also the Project Manager for Art’NspirED, a business which fulfills the Enactus principles by creating American markets for handmade goods from artisans in developing countries.  In addition to serving as the Vice President of External Affairs for the Epsilon Nu Tau Entrepreneurship Fraternity which is starting at Kennesaw State. Joey is the marketing intern at AquaGuard Foundation Solutions in Marietta, GA.

In his free time, Joey works on his first novel, The Freedom Initiative, consults aspiring college entrepreneurs, and tries to keep a consistent gym schedule.

 

Elise Akin

Elise Akin

Elise Akin is a senior at Kennesaw State University. Elise loves baking and the entire atmosphere of surfing, so she’s opening a half-bakery, half-longboarding shop called Bake and Skate. Elise has lived on every continent except Australia. Her heart aches for the women she’s lived with who create beautiful hand-crafted goods, but don’t get nearly as much as they deserve for their products. Elise has plans to incorporate her not-for-profit, Sew The World Knows, and will sell the products in her shop. Profits from sales will go back to their villages.

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Tony Marzullo

Tony Marzullo

KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Tony Marzullo / Gas Motorcars, Inc.
Founder

Tony Marzullo Founded in 2011 by lifelong automotive enthusiast and Atlanta native Tony Marzullo, Gas Motorcars, Inc. is a family-owned and operated car dealership with headquarters located in Marietta, Ga. After spending several years in retail sales with AM General and Hummer, Marzullo decided in 2000 to open Global Auto Solutions, a full-service automotive concierge. Global’s mission was to help private individuals buy and sell vehicles. Acting as an independent broker allowed Marzullo to use his informed automotive knowledge in an objective fashion. Global never pressured a prospective buyer toward any specific product. Instead, Global’s mission was to find the right fit for the customer. This principled set of values, still maintained today, results in customers purchasing only what they need.

For over 12 years, Global Auto Solutions, and now Gas Motorcars, Inc., transformed the car purchase and sale into the business of helping people save time and save money. Gas Motorcars’ clients consist of professional athletes, business owners, executives of Fortune 500 companies, doctors, attorneys, accountants, school teachers, housewives, and anyone who recognizes that their time is valuable and that the task of finding the proper vehicle is one that is best delegated to Gas Motorcars. Gas Motorcars, Inc. is a fully licensed and bonded car dealer in the state of Georgia. Gas Motorcars goal is to sell vehicles of only the highest quality. We do not sell cars with mystery stories. We do not charge extra fees. We do not waste our clients’ time. We provide a comfortable experience, free of hassle, with an honest approach to buying and selling cars. We know what we sell: the majority of the vehicles listed for sale are on consignment from existing clients, friends, and family. What we do: Pre-owned vehicle sales Pre-owned vehicle consignment sales Vehicle purchasing assistance Vehicle reconditioning Vehicle repair Wheel and tire repair Automotive shipping (both domestic and international).

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Robyn Marzullo / Norcross Gun Club & RangeSandy Springs Gun Club & Range

Robin Marzullo

 

 

 

 

 

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Stan Friedman

Stan Friedman

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

 

Stan Friedman / FRM Solutions
President

StanFriedmanStan Friedman, CFE is President of FRMSolutions a “franchise-centric: technology company that enables franchisors to better manage relationships with prospective and existing franchisees.

Stan is a Board Member of the Southeast Franchise Forum and a founding board member of the International Franchise Association’s (IFA) Diversity Institute, In 2011, the IFA honored Friedman with its Ronald E. Harrison Diversity Award, previously awarded only seven times in IFA’s 5o+ year history.

Stan is also co-founder and Advisory Board Chair of (PAFI) The Professional Athlete Franchise Initiative. PAFI is a collaborative that educates twilight year professional athletes to the potential of franchise ownership, as a follow-up to their athletic careers.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Derrick Meek

GreenSeasonGroup

 

KSUEntrepreneurship

Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Derrick Meek / The GreenSeason Group
Founder

Derrick founded The GreenSeason Group because he wanted to do business differently.  His family, particularly his mother, influenced his old school way of doing business.  There’s no snake oil here – for Derrick, business is about honesty, helping others succeed and a passion for excellence.  Calling himself a landscape evangelist, Derrick believes there’s something magical about a beautiful landscape and being able to deliver beauty coupled with an awesome client experience is what it’s all about.

Growing up, Derrick’s entrepreneurial talents were always encouraged by his mother and father – something he’s very grateful for as, he laughs, “I never imagined mowing the neighbor’s grass in middle school to support his fishing habit would later develop into a calling”.

If he’s not spending time with his wonderful wife, or chasing his four boys around, he’s nose-deep in a book, or working on what seems like an ever growing honey-do list.  He’ll tell you his inspiration comes from his faith, his family, and a never ending desire to win.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring David Gould

david-gould

 

KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

David Gould / Thermopro
President/CEO

David Gould has been a business owner and entrepreneur for 40 years.  Originally from Long Island, NY, David joined his family’s business, Gould Products, in 1977, selling plastic storage containers to the material handling industry. The family moved the business to Boynton Beach, FL in 1978, where sales began to grow rapidly through expanded distribution of our products.  In 1982, David’s brother Michael joined the business to spearhead sales and marketing.  To gain a stronger foothold in the marketplace, we decided to move the business to a more strategic, centralized location in Metro Atlanta in 1992.

Shortly thereafter, we expanded a budding product line of clear, wall hanging magazine and pamphlet racks sold to the office products industry.  The company soon focused on the office products line rather than the materials handling products, due to less completion and better profit margins.  In 1998, we moved our facility from Lawrenceville to Duluth, GA, where we began to manufacture what we sold through a process called plastic vacuum forming.  (We had previously contracted the manufacturing to other companies.) So by changing what we sold and by manufacturing our own products, we completely reinvented our business.  This proved fortuitous as office product sales grew for several years.

In 2005, we introduced a new product, the Prize Wheel, which was sold through promotional products dealers.  A year later, in 2005, we sold our office products to a company from Minneapolis who, to this day, still contracts us to manufacture the products for them.  Additionally, we began to contract other custom vacuum forming business from a variety of companies to supplement our proprietary promotional products.  In the same year, we renamed our parent company, “Thermopro”, promoted for contract manufacturing, with a DBA, “Games People Play” for our proprietary products.  For the past several years, we’ve enjoyed steady sales at good gross margins and very positive cash flow.

David has a BA in Biology from the State University of NY at Buffalo and an MS in Microbiology at Long Island University.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Joe English

joe-english

KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Joe English / Taylor English 
Partner

Joe English works in close partnership with his clients to provide practical and cost-effective business solutions to employment law issues. Mr. English has earned a reputation as a trusted counselor for his business clients, providing day-to-day advice on general employment-related matters, including risk management and preventative practices. When clients are faced with a legal claim arising from employment practices, Mr. English is an effective advocate for management, regularly defending employers in employment litigation and arbitration cases. Mr. English’s litigation practice has included restrictive covenant claims, complex class-action litigation, employee benefits lawsuits, wage and hour matters, and the spectrum of employment discrimination and retaliation claims. Mr. English has nearly 20 years of experience representing clients in claims that trigger an employer’s Employment Practices Liability Insurance (EPLI) coverage, working with clients and insurance carriers to coordinate the defense of insured employment-related claims in a cost-effective and efficient manner.

Mr. English enjoys working with early-stage companies, and helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses while developing best practices and legal safeguards in employment and related areas. At the same time, Mr. English is able to work with human resources professionals and in-house attorneys at more established employers, assisting them in remaining legally compliant despite an ever-changing landscape of laws and regulations at the federal, state and local levels.

Mr. English is a founding member of the Executive Advisory Council for the KSU Entrepreneurship Center, and a participating member with the Oxford Center for Entrepreneurs.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Ric Zampatti

ric-zampatti

KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Ric Zampatti / The Barter Company
President and CEO

Ric ZampattiExceptional Success

Ric is a career Georgia business owner and entrepreneur and has been a leader in the barter industry for more than 20 years. In 1996, Ric started The Barter Company in Kennesaw, GA.  Since that time, Ric has grown the company into the leading force in the barter industry throughout the Southeast with offices in Georgia and Florida. Ric currently serves as the CEO of The Barter Company, one of the premier business-to-business trade exchanges in the country serving more than 2,500 clients.

Background

Ric is a seasoned entrepreneur working with businesses that provide services in media buying, new business development, and growth. His passion is helping start-ups and small businesses grow and prosper through barter as well as sound fiscal management and common sense cash flow strategies. Ric is a four-time past president and board member on and off for the past 20 years for the National Association of Trade Exchanges (NATE). He is a member of the International Reciprocal Trade Association, The Brain Trust (a CEO Think Tank), and Optimist International.

The Barter Company provides businesses with an alternative currency network by using barter dollars instead of cash to handle transactions. The Barter Company actively manages the network with highly skilled trade coordinators making the barter experience simple and smooth. In 2016, The Barter Company was selected as one of the “Top 25” Small Businesses of the Year by the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce.

When he’s not at The Barter Company, Ric is in the sky. He is an instrument-rated pilot with over 1,000 hours of flying time.

Ric attended Ohio University with a degree in Hotel Restaurant Management.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Parish Kohanim

parish-kohanim

KSUEntrepreneurship

Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Parish Kohanim / Parish Kohanim Photography
Photographer

 

parish-kohanimParish Kohanim has been intimately involved with professional photography for over 25 years. Parish, who is a renowned commercial photographer, is now devoting his efforts towards his first love, fine art photography. Parish’s passion for the subtle beauty of life is apparent in his photographs. He has focused on many exquisite subjects, and is able to bring them out of the frame and into the live imagination of the viewer.

After working in San Francisco and New York, he decided to open his professional photography studio in Atlanta. He has been very successful in his commercial endeavors for many years in Atlanta. Advertising agencies, design firms, and Fortune 500 companies have been his primary clients, some of which include IBM, AT&T, Coca-Cola, DeBeers Diamonds, Hanes, Fossil, and Kimberly Clark. His work has repeatedly appeared on pages of such publications as Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Forbes, Time and Newsweek.

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Terry “Doc” Dockery, Ph.D

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KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks, Ted Jenkin and Lee Heisman

 

Terry “Doc” Dockery, PH.D. / The Business Psychology Company
President

T. Dockery - small fileTerry “Doc” Dockery, Ph.D. is a licensed Business Psychologist, speaker, and writer who is Founder and President of The Business Psychology Company. Since 1993 he has helped leaders in small to Fortune 500 companies to be happier and more successful.

He specializes in Business Transformation, and has a track record of doubling revenue and happiness at a minimum 10:1 Return On Investment with a money-back guarantee. His clients have won numerous national “Best Place to Work” awards.

He holds a PhD in Industrial/Organizational Psychology, and he has been interviewed as an expert on leadership and organizational high performance by USA Today, Forbes.com, CFO Magazine, and the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

He has served on the faculty of the U.S Chamber of Commerce executive training program and the Psychologically Healthy Workplace Awards committee of the Georgia Psychological Association. He has also served on numerous Boards of Advisers, and is currently most active with the Kennesaw State University Entrepreneurship Center.

In his spare time Terry is widely known as a man who puts the “harm” in harmonica. He plays and sings in a classic rock/rocking blues band that often performs free for nonprofit fundraisers and other worthy causes. He is a former professional musician who received the Lucille Award from B.B. King himself.

His proudest achievement, however, is his happy family.

 

 

KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank with Shawn Vernimo

KSUEntrepreneurship

 Where can a young entrepreneur figure out how to turn their dreams into reality? Just take a step into the Shrimp Tank. The Shrimp Tank brings you interviews with some of the most successful business owners in the United States to learn the do’s and don’ts of starting and running a successful business. Then, the fun really starts when we bring in high school and college students to pitch their business ideas to the Shrimp Tank. We don’t fund any business, but we do teach kids how to turn their business ideas into a successful business.

Hosts of The Shrimp Tank Chris Hanks and Ted Jenkin.

 

 

shawn-headshotShawn Vernimo / Greystone Consulting Group
Owner
Shawn Vernimo is the expert in solving roofing problems and applying an investment approach to all roofing portfolios. An engineer by training and roofer by choice, Mr. Vernimo’s clients have included 3 of the top 5 property management firms and the largest pension fund in the United States. Additionally, he has consulted on numerous multimillion dollar projects including a $6.6 million roofing project in Dallas, Texas and $4 million project in St. Louis, Missouri. Throughout his 27+ years of roof consulting and contracting experience, Mr. Vernimo has saved business owners and property managers alike hundreds of thousands of dollars by providing clients with his roofing expertise, insight into industry realities and investment approach solutions. Leading efforts to elevate roofing industry standards, Mr. Vernimo makes it easy for clients to make cost-effective decisions for all investments surrounding the roof.