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KSU Entrepreneurship Center

Biz Radio U Featuring Rick Smith with Hometown Pizza and Grill

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Hometown Pizza and Grill

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Biz Radio U
Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Rick Smith / Hometown Pizza and Grill
CEO and Founder

Hometown Pizza and Grill is located in Rockmart, GA. and is a family owned and operated business. They offer a variety of foods from pizza, burgers, and their famous all you can eat wings. Rick Smith founded Hometown Pizza and Grill in 1990, and at one point, had five locations.  Rick’s entrepreneurial expertise has led him to be successful and to continually improve his business for the past 26 years.

 

Biz Radio U Featuring Gary Austin with OneCare

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Biz Radio U
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Biz Radio U
Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Gary Austin / OneCare
CEO and Co-Founder

Gary Austin is an experienced and visionary entrepreneur with 20 years of experience starting businesses, developing technology, building sales channels and raising capital.  He has deep experience in the electronic payment systems industry, and has been involved in the development of unique banking and healthcare solutions, products and transaction systems.

Gary is the inventor of the patent on merchant paid cash rewards tied to credit and debit cards and is the founder and CEO of HERO, Inc., a holding company managing intellectual property in the payment-card-based, cash rewards business. At HERO, developed client relationships with some of the country’s leading financial institutions such as Citibank, Chase Merchant Services, and Discover.  HERO’s Board of Directors included the chairman of MasterCard.  Under Gary’s direction, HERO introduced merchant-paid cash rewards, opt-out auto enroll marketing initiatives and Omnibus-Trust-Lockbox bank accounts. Because of these initiatives, the bank, the cardholder and the merchant were finally aligned. Today almost every card-issuing bank offers merchant-paid, cash reward cards. The patent was sold to a leading credit card rewards transaction processor for $10,000,000.00 in stock plus 15% of patent proceeds.

From HERO, Gary went on to become a co-founder of Clearwave Corporation where he invented a kiosk system that enabled patients to check themselves in and out when visiting their doctors. With the swipe of a card and entry of a 4-digit pin number, the patients were checked in and insurance eligibility was verified. The Clearwave kiosk improved patient flow and cash flow for medical practices, reduced claim rejections and decreased the amount of paperwork patients needed to complete. Today millions of patient self-check-in/check-out transactions are taking place each year through Clearwave Kiosks.

In both HERO and Clearwave, Gary raised more than $15 Million in early-stage, private and venture capital investments.

After Clearwave, Gary formed Austin Capital & Consulting, Inc.   Clients of Austin Capital & Consulting included innovative companies within the healthcare, technology, biometric ID and pharmaceutical industries.

In 2008, Gary became a founder of Symbionce, LLC.  Symbionce is a technology and revenue cycle management company performing medical billing and collections for hospitals and clinics. At Symbionce, Gary designed a healthcare payment technology and transaction processing solution, which replaced the legacy healthcare claims payment system. This novel process creates a healthcare payment solution that works similarly to credit cards. A patent is currently pending on this process.

In 2005, Gary was chosen to receive the CEO Diversity Award by the Georgia Minority Business Leaders Association.  And in 2007, Gary was selected to be a Keynote speaker and was recognized as one of the innovators of the year by the Georgia Chapter of The Healthcare Information Managers Systems Society (HIMSS), the largest healthcare technology organization in the US.

Gary is very active in his church and he enjoys music, hunting, fishing and cooking for his friends and family. Gary and his wife Reva, live in Atlanta, Georgia.

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Biz Radio U Featuring Sven Cowart with Traxion

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Sven Cowart

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Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Sven Cowart / Traxion
Head of Design & Engineering

Sven Cowart is the co-founder of Traxion, a business accelerator that focuses on supporting start-up companies by harnessing the collective power of our community by bringing local governments, corporations, educational institutions and individuals together to provide a solid foundation for early-stage companies to establish themselves, gain traction and thrive.

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Biz Radio U Featuring Ryan Claterbaugh with Mr. Mister Mosquito Control

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Mr. Mister Mosquito Control
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Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Ryan Claterbaugh / Mr. Mister Mosquito Control
CEO

Ryan Claterbaugh is an entrepreneur from a small town in West Texas. At a very young age Ryan dreamed of owning his own company. He started Mr. Mister four years ago, and has since grown it into the largest mosquito control company in the state of Georgia. Ryan also owns a sister company, Peoples Pest Control, that was founded in 2016 to keep up with the growing demand to add household pest control for their current customer base.

Ryan moved to Atlanta in 2008 from Austin, TX. He and his wife married in 2013, and they had their first child last year.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Tara Murphy

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Shrimptank1

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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

 

Tara Murphy / 360 Media
Founder

Tara MurphyTara Murphy is the definition of a self-made woman. As founder and president of 360 Media, a leading Atlanta-based public relations boutique, she started on her own and now has a flourishing media and marketing company serving top-name clients. Since establishing the firm in 1996, Tara has become well-known as one of Atlanta’s foremost public relations and media mavens, having launched many of city’s top events including Music Midtown and Peach Drop. Renowned events like these, plus her dedicated work ethic and overall knowledge of what works, makes Tara a prominent in voice Atlanta’s entertainment, lifestyle and hospitality industries.

Earning her stripes as a successful public relations practitioner in the music industry, Tara headed up PR for notable companies including Ichiban Records, NMC Records and Concert Southern, where she successfully managed PR and promotions as an independent contractor for what would become Atlanta’s largest outdoor entertainment event, Music Midtown. Out of a simple need for space and a business name rather than an entrepreneurial plan, 360 Media was born in her former boss’s basement. Her reputation for creativity and integrity spread quickly and soon additional clients and projects came her way out of natural, authentic relationships.

From its humble beginnings as a one-person shop, now 21 years later, Tara has grown 360 to seven employees and expanded the agency’s services by adding culinary, lifestyle and hospitality clients to its roster. With clients and connections that span the globe, 360 Media represents some of the best culinary personalities, hotels, brands, bands, non-profits and food and wine events. Some notable 360 clients have included Atlanta Food & Wine Festival, Music Midtown, Voodoo Music Experience, BottleRock Napa Valley, Lakewood Amphitheatre, Charlotte Marriott City Center Hotel, Krog Street Market, Netherworld Haunted House, Miracle On Monroe Christmas Pop Up, ADAC, Renaissance Atlanta Airport Gateway Hotel, Jennifer Nettles/Sugarland, 10th Anniversary of the Olympics, The Atlanta Jazz Festival, W Atlanta Downtown, Cousins Properties, The Lawrence, radio personality Bert Weiss of Q100, Eight Sushi Lounge and non-profits such as Bert’s Big Adventure, The Frank Ski Kids Foundation, Grady Health Foundation and March of Dimes.

Tara has spoken to groups at many conferences including the Winter Music Dance Conference, Atlantis Music Conference, GA Chapter of PRSSA, Georgia State University, other universities and the International Festivals and Events Association Southeast Conference. Tara is also the recipient of several professional awards, including the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Best in Atlanta Real Estate – Retail, for Underground Atlanta (Public Relations mention); and a nomination for the National Leadership Award. She was also named as “One of the 25 Power Women to Watch,” and was nominated as one of Atlanta’s Top 25 Women by Rolling Out Magazine and has received leadership accolades by the MS Society and March of Dimes and has been featured in Styleblueprint, Jezebel, Rolling Out, Piedmont Review, The Atlanta Journal and Women’s Business Daily. Tara is also an active member in the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS), was featured in the 2014 digital curriculum for Usher’s New Look Foundation about entertainment PR and landed on the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s Book of Lists for “Top 25 PR Firms” in 2015.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Suprit Patel with The Bestige Group

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Suprit Patel
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

 

Suprit Patel / The Bestige Group
CEO

Suprit Patel Headshot

Suprit Patel: As CEO, Suprit drives The Bestige Group’s Strategy, Vision, and Growth. Formerly a Management Consultant for leading companies such as Ernst & Young and The Advisory Board Company, Suprit helped Healthcare Providers improve processes, deliver better patient experiences, and sustain improvements through the use of Analytics. He brings deep experience in the Healthcare Industry to our clients and is passionate about helping Providers develop effective strategies to grow in the evolving Healthcare landscape. Suprit received his BS in Economics from Duke University.

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Biz Radio U Featuring Bryan Keller with Keller Guitars

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Bryan Keller

KSUEntrepreneurship

Biz Radio U

Hosted by Adam Wozniak and Darren Parkinson

 

Bryan Keller / Keller Guitars
Owner

Bryan Keller is a Senior at Kennesaw State University and will be graduating in May with a degree in Business Management. Bryan’s passion is music, specifically guitar, and he enjoys utilizing that passion for worship. Because of this passion, Bryan started Keller Guitars, which sells acoustic and electric guitars that have bible verses burned, or foil pressed, onto the face of the guitar.

Bryan recently began the venture, and will be launching the first line of acoustic guitars, called The Carpenter Series, in March, 2017. The line will display Psalms 95 on the guitar.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Al Meyers with TiE Atlanta

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Al-Meyers-Shrimptank1

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

 

Al Meyers / TiE Atlanta
Executive Director

Al Meyers Al Meyers, the Executive Director of TiE Atlanta, is an entrepreneur and media executive with more than 25 years of experience across Fortune 500 companies, for-profit and nonprofit startups.  Meyers has launched two award-winning, sustainable, Atlanta-based nonprofit organizations: TEDxPeachtree and the Atlanta Music Project.  Both are successful community assets that have made a significant social impact in Metro Atlanta.  TEDxPeachtree has become the premier TEDx event in Georgia and one of the leading TEDx events in the world, with several talks garnering millions of views.  The Atlanta Music Project is the first music program in the state of Georgia inspired by the globally acclaimed Venezuelan youth music program, El Sistema. AMP is an intensive music program for at-risk youth right in their neighborhood, and now serves hundreds of at-risk youth across several locations in Metro Atlanta who are now on a path to college and career.

Previously, Meyers ran his own boutique consulting practice, Saisei Consulting, a provider of strategy and corporate development advisory services to early-stage, growth-stage and mature digital media companies around the world. Al has advised several startups in the areas of digital media, 3D technology, online games and games for K-12 education.  Al has spoken to external audiences on such topics as disruptive innovation in education, and the role of online games outside of the “purely entertainment” arena.

Meyers accumulated more than two decades of experience in the media and entertainment industry with several Fortune 100 companies.  Meyers served as Vice President of Strategic Planning at Turner Broadcasting  where he was a founding member of GameTap, and facilitated the sale of GameTap to a French company in 2008.  Meyers spent nearly 13 years at the company (1995-2008), and spent considerable time on M&A transactions and strategy development for Turner (and across Time Warner) and its portfolio of businesses, with an emphasis on Cartoon Network.

Al received his Bachelor’s degree from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, and his Masters in Business Administration from the Leonard Stern School of Business at New York University.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Chau Nguyen with Hirewire

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Chau Nguyen

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

 

Chau Nguyen / HireWire
Founder/CEO

Chau NguyenChau Nguyen has been an entrepreneur for over 10 years. In 2005, Chau co-founded Campus Special, which was recognized by Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in the US for four consecutive years. Campus Special reached millions of college students at over 500 universities through mobile apps, ecommerce, and print media. Nearly 4,000 college students launched their career in sales and marketing through his award winning internship program. In 2014, Campus Special was acquired by Chegg (NYSE: CHGG).

In 2015, Chau launched Hirewire, a hiring marketplace where employers can connect with job seekers on-demand. Unlike traditional job boards, there is no need to post a job and wait for resumes to come in. Instead employers can run a search and filter candidates by location, experience, availability, and instantly view job seeker profiles with job history, video interview, and message directly within the app.

Hirewire currently serves 4,000 employers and 100,000 job seekers within the restaurant, retail, and hospitality industry in Atlanta with plans to expand to additional cities and industries in 2017. To date, Hirewire has raised $3.9M in funding to improve the way hiring is done.

Chau has been named one of the Highest Rated CEOs of 2014 among small to mid sized companies by Glassdoor and voted to the annual list of Most Loved CEOs in America 2014 by Inc. Magazine. Chau has a passion for coaching, mentoring, and developing people.

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center The Shrimp Tank Featuring Hanuman Nandanampati with SVK Systems

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Hanuman Nandanampati

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

 

Hanuman Nandanampati / SVK Systems

Hanuman NandanampatiHanuman Nandanampati came to USA in 1993 as a student to complete his master’s degree at the University of Massachusetts. After graduation, Hanuman worked with several companies, including Inrange, ADC Telecom, and Regions, as a Software Engineer.

Hanuman started SVK Systems in 2003 providing Computer IT Solutions to various mid-range companies, primarily for help desk solutions. Today SVK has nearly 550 consultants working all over the USA for large companies such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Wells Fargo, FedEx, and Verizon.

SVK is a Gold certified partner for Microsoft and Oracle companies. SVK provides and supports IT solutions in business intelligence, data management, cloud and CRM applications. SVK is the fastest growing company in Georgia, and has been an Inc. 5000 certified company for the last several years.

SVK has nearly 50 million dollars in revenue with many branch office locations, including Fremont, CA, St Louis, MO, Houston, TX, and Rochelle Park, NJ.

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