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Spotlight Episode: Doing Good Atlanta

This is a spotlight episode of Atlanta Business Radio featuring non profit organizations in metro Atlanta. Highlighting the good work, community involvement and how to operate a succesful not for profit business.

 

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Michael Dayl, James Franklin, Corey Moore, Dr. Joi Freemont

 

Dr. Joi Freemont / The Freemont Foundation 
President

The James M. and Erma T. Freemont Foundation was created on the legacy of Dr. James McKinley Freemont, Sr. (1942 – 2013).  His life’s works were built on integrity, hard work, and genuine laughter.  He was an obstetrician/gynecologist, medical acupuncturist, and hospital administrator.  He believed in higher education and Christian principles.  His dedicated wife of 47 years, Erma, and children are determined to continue his legacy by funding projects that reflect his nature.

Dr. Freemont’s contributions to his wider community are too numerous to count, from his ongoing dedication to his alma mater, Southern University, to his fraternity, Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., to his beloved family, and many others.  His circle of friends and family was very important to him, as was his sense of service.  His dedication to the South Fulton Medical Center and his community of patients and staff is living on in the lives of the more than 7,800 babies that Dr. Freemont delivered, and in the memories of the lives he touched with his humor, his sense of commitment, and excellence.

Annually, the James M. and Erma T. Freemont Foundation awards scholarships to deserving students attending institutions of higher education. In our first two years, with the help of phenomenal supporters, we raised over $30,000 for scholarships and have named twelve “Freemont Scholars”.

 

 

 

Corey Moore / Social Georgia 
Founder

Corey ‘ NetworKing’ Moore is the founder and CEO of ProNetworker, Atlanta’ s largest online resource center for business events, networking events, seminars, and expos. Currently, ProNetworker hosts four to seven events per month as well as produces two to three conferences/expos and niche events yearly. Two past events have featured speakers like Daymond John & Kevin Harrington, stars of ABC’ s award winning ‘ Shark Tank’ . Companies that have used ProNetworker to feature their products/services include Atlanta Business Chronicle, Microsoft, Sprint, InfusionSoft, BNI, Constant Contact, Fifth Third Bank, and American Express.

Initially, SocialGeorgia started out as a way to raise money for local nonprofits; however, it quickly reshaped into something far greater: a social movement. As SocialGeorgia’s devoted team went out into the community to engage with local nonprofits, a discovery was made. It was more than just money and resources missing. It was the practice of kindness and the understanding of sustainability.

As a way to fulfill this need, SocialGeorgia developed a #12DaysofKindnesscampaign, in which the team reached out to the Atlanta community by performing random acts of kindness. Through this campaign, SocialGeorgia witnessed an enormous transformation thanks to the one key ingredient they added that had been missing from the community pot: togetherness.

During the campaign, the SocialGeorgia team heard countless stories from struggling nonprofits that began their organizations when a problem came tugging at their heart strings. Whether the problem was rooted in their own personal experiences or the experiences of others, they knew something had to be done. Each nonprofit intended to make a difference, but sadly their dream was deferred. Unable to communicate their results and improve on their capabilities, the community members they served became restless. Out of frustration, members of the community attempted to solve these issues on their own. Although their intentions were admirable, they were also unsuccessful.

After hearing similar stories from various nonprofits, our team quickly realized how efforts were being duplicated, resources were being wasted, and members of the community were suffering silently from feeling forgotten. Even though it’s well known that two heads are better than one, many people we interacted with were working separately and losing sight of a universal truth: “Together We Build”.

We believe our community needs a safe space to reconnect, repair, and restore togetherness with like-minded people.  As a way to meet the needs of the community it proudly serves, SocialGeorgia has revamped its mission, vision and structure to eradicate this issue of division.

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James Franklin / Techbridge
CEO

TechBridge® is a nonprofit that drives community impact by bringing affordable technology & business expertise to other nonprofits.   Since 2000, we’ve been providing IT consulting and services to thousands of nonprofits in all 50 states and in seven countries—helping them harness the productivity gains long since enjoyed by the corporate sector, by connecting the needs of nonprofits with the skills and financial resources of the technology community.

James’ service to TechBridge started in 2006 as a volunteer. From there he joined the Board, serving as Products and Services Chair, Digital Ball Chair, and Board Vice-Chair before becoming Board Chair.

Prior to joining TechBridge as CEO, James held executive management positions at a number of IT products and services companies. Most recently, James was General Manager for the Enterprise business segment of Omnilink, a software-as-a-service business. He also worked at Avanade, an Accenture company focused on Microsoft solutions, where he ran the Southeast Region, and HP, where he served as General Manager for HP’s US State Government Consulting business unit. Throughout James’ career he has focused on the delivery of top quality IT products and services for leading brands.

James has a MBA from the University of Maryland and BA in Management Information Systems from the University of Georgia. With generations of family history in Georgia, James is honored to have the opportunity to serve the community through TechBridge.

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Michael Dayl /Orange Duffel Bag Initiative  
President

Orange Duffel Bag Initiative, a 501c3, provides at-risk teens and young adults programs proven to improve their education success, ongoing advocacy, support to their guardians and caring adults, and service to the community in a spirit of offering hope and positive systemic change.

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G. Martinez with Strateegus

 

G. Martinez and Ryan McPherson

G. Martinez and Ryan McPherson

 

 

G. Martinez / Strateegus 
CEO

I’m an Industrial Designer (major: Product Design), graduate of the prestigious Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. I’m currently CEO of Strateegus, a full service “design to retail shelf” firm focused on getting customers products or services into retail and online channels. During my 28 year career, I have held positions of high visibility and increased importance, ranging from Founder, to Director, General Manager, to V.P. of Product Development for both design firms and major corporations such as Catalyst Strategic Design, Herbst/ LaZar/Bell, The Art Institutes, TOTO USA, and now Strateegus. I have led teams of designers, researchers, and R & D pros for the Design/Development and Launch of products in the Appliance (small), Bath (luxury), Consumer, Fitness & Sporting Goods, Hardware (powered and mechanical), Lawn & Garden (powered; watering; equipment), Medical Devices, Outdoor (hearth; structures), and other sectors, for start-ups and F-1000 sized companies with sales ranging up to $90B+! In addition to my background in Design, I’ve also amassed a wealth of knowledge and have led efforts in Brand-Building (ground up to re-branding), Market & Consumer Research (market sectors; competitive; focus groups; ethnographic research), Retail Strategy, QC/QA, Sourcing, and Global Project Management. Additionally, I am a:
– Strategic & Rare combination of “Right & Left Brain” Thinking
– Innovator/Inventor–Always looking for a better solution
– Exceptional & Passionate Collaborator and Team Leader
– Looking for opportunities of mutual benefit to all parties!

 

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Marvin Price with The Container Store

 

Your Most Trusted and Respected Source For Pro Business Talk in Atlanta. Tune in LIVE Monday, Wednesday and Friday 10am and always on at AtlantaBusinessRadio.com

 

Marvin Price and Ryan "Redhawk" McPherson

Marvin Price and Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson

Marvin Price / The Container Store
Area Director

Marvin has been an employee of The Container Store’s since 2005 and has held multiple roles throughout his career. He began with The Container Store in 2005 as full-time salesperson in Portland Oregon, quickly became a Store Manager, then General Manager of the store in Portland. in 2013 he moved to Tampa, Florida to be General Manager of their new store in Tampa and was promoted to Area Director in 2015 and now oversees all three stores in Georgia, two stores in North Carolina and one in Tennessee.

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Tim Fulton with Small Business Matters

Atlanta’s Most Exclusive Small Business Conference

The Conference will be held at the Hyatt Atlanta Perimeter at Villa Christina on Friday, May 20, and feature over 200 of Atlanta’s most-recognized small business leaders.

 

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Tim Fulton / Small Business Matters
President

Small Business Matters is a leader in small business coaching and development.

Small Business Matters - Tim Fulton

With over 30 years of experience, Small Business Matters brings a results-based approach to each and every client. Whether your business has been established for 30 years or 30 days, Small Business Matters is passionate about helping you achieve your goals and mission.

Small Business Matters was established in 1994 as an independent management consulting and training practice. It is the goal of SBM to increase the effectiveness and enhance the lives of CEO’s. Since its existence Small Business Matters has worked with companies such asLucent Technologies, Carlson Companies, CB Richard Ellis Real Estate Services, Inc.(formerly Insignia/ESG, Inc.), and Georgia Power.

Small Business Matters is owned and operated in Atlanta, Georgia by Tim Fulton. Tim is a nationally-recognized small business coach, consultant, and advocate. He has been involved in the field of entrepreneurship for the past 30 years as a successful business owner, a small business counselor, and as an adjunct university professor.

Tim currently is a Vistage Group Chair in Atlanta. Vistage is an international membership organization for company CEO’s and Presidents that provides a very unique growth experience for its members.

In 2012, Tim’s oldest son, Taylor, joined the Small Business Matters team as Director of Marketing. With a BS in Marketing/Entrepreneurship from the University of Kansas, Taylor shares Tim’s passion for small business and the entrepreneurial spirit. He has a professional background in publishing and content marketing and uses his experiences in these fields to help Small Business Matters develop and promote resources for the SBM community.

www.smallbusinessmattersonline.com

 

 

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Veterans Connect Radio Episode 05

Veterans Connect Radio

A spotlight episode of Atlanta Business Radio and powered by Business RadioX. Co-Hosted by Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson and Brandon Skolnick with Gathering Of Angels.Featuring veteran entrepreneurs, support organizations, outreach groups and more in the Atlanta area continuing to serve our families, our communities and our country. 

#VeteransConnectRadio
@VetConnectRadio

 

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Len Pagano / Safe America Foundation
CEO & Founder

Len Pagano is a social entrepreneur who has spent over 30 years developing communication programs that address key issues across North America. As President, CEO and founder of Safe America, Mr. Pagano launched the 501(c) 3 organization with a $1 million grant from the Travelers Insurance Foundation.

In its early days, Safe America focused on highway safety issues with Operation Baby Buckle, a child protection program that has distributed over 150,000 infant/child car seats to disadvantaged families across the United States.

Mr. Pagano then organized a ‘Safe Team Coalition’ that was recognized by General Motors (GM) for its work. Innovative safety education programs followed which addressed emerging issues. These included initiatives in teen driver education, water safety, cyber-safety, homeland security, youth safety and disaster readiness.

Through Len’s leadership, the Safe America Foundation has developed educational and practical safety and preparedness programs for businesses and communities. These include safety product distribution, national youth programming, international travel security, and advocating that non-profit organizations screen volunteers (to avoid predatory activities by adults).  His accomplishments include raising over $30 million for injury prevention initiatives and engaging organizations including Porsche North America, the Woodruff, Motorola and UPS Foundations along with the National PTA, Allstate, Wal-Mart, Chevrolet, Verizon, State Farm, NBC/Comcast, USA TODAY, Sprint, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and a variety of public safety and government agencies at state and national levels.

 

 

 

Tem Frierson / First Data Salutes
VP, Veteran Business Solutions

 

 

 

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Veterans Connect Radio Episode 3

 

Veterans Connect Radio

A spotlight episode of Atlanta Business Radio and powered by Business RadioX. Co-Hosted by Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson and Brandon Skolnick with Gathering Of Angels. Featuring veteran entrepreneurs, support organizations, outreach groups and more in the Atlanta area continuing to serve our families, our communities and our country. 

#VeteransConnectRadio

 

Brandon Skolnick, Everett Steele and Ryan Redhawk

Brandon Skolnick, Everett Steele and Ryan Redhawk

 

 

Everrett Steele / Steele Technology Partners
Chief Operating Officer
As the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kanga Technology, Everett led the company through raising millions in funding, building an award winning mobile and web application, and being named “Atlanta’s Best Startup” by General Assembly. Everett’s global vision for Kanga helped grow the small operation into a well-known brand that has been covered in The Motley Fool, TechCrunch, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Atlanta Business Chronicle, and countless others. The company was a Finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt and was selected to the prestigious “Signature” program of the Advanced Technology Development Center in 2014.

Everett was named one of the Atlanta Business Chronicle’s “40 Under 40” in 2015, graduated from LEAD Atlanta in 2014, and is an active participant and board member of several non-profits. Everett is a Veteran of the United States Army, where he earned awards for his participation in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and Operation New Dawn. Everett is a proud native Atlantan, a graduate of the University of Georgia, and a diehard Atlanta sports fan. When he isn’t at the office, Everett enjoys spending time exploring the city, dining out, and writing music.

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Veterans Connect Radio is made possible in part by MarketMate

Michael Flock with FLOCK Specialty Finance and Kit Hughes with Look Listen

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Kit Hughes and Michael Flock

 

Michael Flock / FLOCK Specialty Finance 
Founder, Chairman & CEO

Michael Flock has been involved in the credit, collections, debt buying, and outsourcing businesses for more than 20 years, beginning with Dun & Bradstreet and more recently as a financial advisor and investment banker.

In 2007, he founded Flock Advisors to provide M&A advisory and capital funding services to these same industries.  In 2013, Flock Advisors became FLOCK Specialty Finance.  This change enabled the company to provide more funding solutions to current clients. The change also gave FLOCK the ability to expand its offerings into more market segments that have been under served by traditional banking.

Prior to founding FLOCK, Michael provided M&A advisory support to private equity firms, helped companies reengineer their operations, and led a successful recapitalization of a consumer collections agency where he was interim CEO. He was also an advisor to Croft & Bender, a middle market investment bank.

He earned his BA from the University of Virginia as an Echols Scholar and graduated Phi Beta Kappa. During his college years, he served as a White House Intern. Later he worked as a Fulbright Teaching Assistant in France and also did graduate work at the Institut d’Etudes de Sciences-Politiques in Paris. He received an MBA in finance from Fordham University.

 

 

Kit Hughes / Look Listen
CEO

Kit Hughes is a typical technology entrepreneur. He dropped out of college to start a company in 1999, spent a period of time homeless, and (slowly) became an overnight success.

Eventually, Kit returned to school as a two-time research fellow at the University of Georgia leading experimental technology research projects exploring mobile computing and connected devices. He credits his business smarts to his studies in strategy and innovation at MIT.

In his agency career, Kit has worked with a variety of B2B and B2C brands across multiple touchpoints: AnheuserBusch, BP, Char-Broil, Coca-Cola, GE, NCR, Philips, Steve Harvey, and Synchrony Financial.

He co-founded Look Listen with his collaborator in punk bands, Paul Sternberg. In 2015, Look Listen was recognized as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the US by hitting the Inc 500 and the 64th fastest growing company in Atlanta, according to the Atlanta Business Chronicle Pacesetter Awards.

 

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Brian M. Douglas with Brian M. Douglas and Associates and Mike Pearson with CBI

 

 

Mike Pearson, Brian M. Douglas and Ryan Redhawk

Mike Pearson, Brian M. Douglas and Ryan Redhawk

 

Brian M. Douglas / Brian M. Douglas and Associates, LLC
Attorney

Brian M. Douglas, Esq. has always been committed to the belief that a persons legal needs are personal and not just business. This is a cornerstone in Brians approach to law and how he serves his clients. In 2003, when he founded Brian M. Douglas & Associates, LLC, his vision was to create an entire culture that embraced this same powerful concept.
Brian received his Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he studied Mechanical Engineering while working full time as a manufacturing supervisor for a Fortune 100 Corporation. Upon graduation, he moved to Atlanta to attend John Marshall Law School, where he graduated cum laude and as class valedictorian. Brian was initially drawn from engineering to law because of his gifts for reasoning and logictwo qualities that are essential for a successful attorney.

Today, Brian is a highly respected attorney with a solid reputation with his clients, colleagues, opposing counsel, and within the court system throughout the state of Georgia. Through his firm, he has taken on very diverse cases, working with real estate law, estate planning and elder law. What Brian is highly acclaimed forestate planning and asset protection. Today, Brian is married to a wonderful woman, Tess. They have two small children who make life a daily adventure, and are passionate about animal rescue and fostering, along with all causes that help promote it.

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Mike Pearson / CBI 
Information Security Strategist

Mike Pearson serves as an Information Security Strategist for CBI, a provider of IT risk management services and solutions. Possessing more than 25 years of industry experience, Mike provides oversight and leadership on client engagements in the Atlanta area, helping organizations assess their IT risk and then build a road map to minimize and mitigate those risks.

 

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Kunbi Tinuoye with UrbanGeekz, Patrick Lynch with The Frontier Group, Linda Minnick with Linda Minnick Consulting and Sherry Wheat with TeleSales, Inc

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Linda Minnick, Sherry Wheat, Patrick Lynch, Kunbi Tinuoye and Ryan Redhawk

On March 16, 2016 we featured Kunbi Tinuoye with UrbanGeekz, Patrick Lynch with The Frontier Group, Linda Minnick with Linda Minnick Consulting and Sherry Wheat with TeleSales, Inc.

 

 

Kunbi Tinuoye / UrbanGeekz
Founder and CEO

Kunbi Tinuoye is an award-winning British-born journalist and broadcaster based in the United States. She is the Founder and CEO of UrbanGeekz.com, a groundbreaking digital news platform focused on technology, science and business.
Tinuoye is a sought after on-air contributor, speaker, panelist, and moderator at conferences across the country. More recently she has appeared on MSNBC & Arise News and facilitated a panel discussion at the Spelman College Leadership and Women of Color Conference.
Tinuoye is a former News Correspondent for NBCs African American digital news platform theGrio.com. In 2013, she provided commentary as an investigative reporter on the Investigation Discovery hit television series Deadline: Crime with Tamron Hall.
Prior to relocating stateside, Tinuoye was a senior broadcast journalist for the BBC in London. She is an international writer whose work has been published in The Daily Mail, Londons Evening Standard, Ebony.com and The Voice newspaper
lShe is one of the original founders of Aspire, a support network for ethnic minority journalists in the United Kingdom. The organization has partnered with and attracted sponsorship from mainstream media outlets, including the BBC, Channel 4, Trinity-Mirror, the Guardian and the Financial Times
Tinuoye graduated from Trinity College, University of Cambridge, with a bachelors and masters degree in Social & Political Sciences. She studied a post-graduate in journalism and is an NCTJ qualified journalist.

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Patrick Lynch / The Frontier Group
President

Patrick Lynch is the President of The Frontier Group, a human capital management consulting firm that provides executive coaching, talent management and outplacement solutions. The company has offices in Atlanta and Charlotte. Previously, Patrick had a 25 year career in consumer products marketing.

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Linda Minnick / Linda Minnick Consulting
Sherry Wheat /  TeleSales, Inc

Linda Minnick-A student of the sales & success process, Linda studied with some of the worlds greatest sales & success teachers Zig Ziglar, Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, Wayne Dyer & others. As CEO of her own marketing company, Linda worked with companies and organizations from startups to corporations such as Verizon, Microsoft, Siemens and Coca Cola.
Linda is a sought after speaker & coach who works with individuals & companies helping them build successful sales & management teams that reach both their business & personal goals.
Linda is a personal development coach, sales trainer, speaker, author & PSYCH-K (R) Facilitator. For more information about Linda, please check out her website atwww.lindaminnick.com of LinkedIn.
Sherry Wheat – Sherry Wheat, founder of TeleSales, Inc , and her Inside Sales Team has opened doors for 100s of growth oriented companies for the past 18 years. Her team works with companies that struggle to consistently generate new business opportunities, leads, and appointments with qualified decision-makers.
We are Business Development & Lead Generation Experts, extending our clients reach, designing & implementing Outbound Calling Campaigns, coordinating Integrated Marketing Campaigns that include the telephone, and managing Inbound Lead Follow Up Campaigns.
Sherry was also a member of the Management Team that started and grew a Solar Business in Metro Atlanta to $4M within 3 years.

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Exclusive Interview with Dana Oliver from Medtronic and Author of Mantra Design

 

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Mantra Design – Innovate, Buy or Die!, by Dana A. Oliver, is the definitive innovation leadership guide book.

 

Dana A. Oliver has helped grow Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies ENT / NT division from $100 million to approximately $2 billion in annual revenues over fourteen years. With 30 years of experience and an impressive track record of revenue generation, Dana’s latest book Mantra Design is a must-read for every new product development professional aspiring to introduce premium priced, patent protected, market share leading products. 

 

In Mantra Design, Dana reveals the secrets for profitable and lasting innovation, including how to identify your customer’s unmet needs and how to expedite new product development. He provides an easy to understand methodology in the form of 14 quick, digestible mantras that highlight the power of true innovation.

 

“Innovation is the lifeblood of any company’s continued growth and future survival,” says Dana A. Oliver. “To this day, I continue to read, learn, and evolve my leadership and innovation philosophies; and I hope that this book is beneficial to the next generation of innovation professionals.”

 

Mantra Design emphasizes the importance of continued innovation to keep sales teams and customers excited about the products and loyal to the business where they invest their time and money, creating the cash flow vital to a company’s success.

 

Mantra Design was published in October 2015 and is available for sale on Amazon.

 

To learn more, please visit MantraLeadership.com  

 

About the Author:

 

Dana A. Oliver lives in Jacksonville, FL with his wife Linda and daughter “Lexi” Alexandra. He is the Senior Director of Research & Development at Medtronic’s Surgical Technologies ENT / NT division and has helped grow this business unit from $100 million to approximately $2 billion in annual revenues over fourteen years. He has approximately 30 years of experience in the field of medical devices, working for such companies as Medtronic, Genzyme, SIMS Level 1, Kirwan Surgical, and Strichman Medical. He has applied for over 30 patent applications and has been granted over 20 US patents to date.

 

Dana is a graduate of Northeastern University and ITT Technical Institute.

 

He published his first business guide book “Mantra Leadership – Don’t Become the Emperor with No Clothes!” in January 2015. His second book Mantra Design – Innovate, Buy or Die! was published in October 2015.

 

Dana plans to become an independent Consultant and Educator in calendar year 2016 offering expertise in Innovation Leadership.  

 

To learn more about the author or inquire about his services, please visit http://www.mantraleadership.com/
Readers can connect with Dana on Goodreads, Facebook, and Twitter.

 

DANA OLIVER HEADSHOT