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Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio





KSU Entrepreneurship Center “The Shrimp Tank” Featuring Brandon Lewis

 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.

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Ted Jenkin and Brandon Lewis

 

 

Brandon Lewis/Benchmark Public Adjusting Group

Brandon-Lewis-New-Pic-5COO and Partner of BenchMark Public Adjusting Group. As a 22 plus-year Atlanta business leader and executive coupled with nine years in the insurance advocacy profession, Brandon Lewis has forged a unique industry crossover. Brandon brings with him the experience of handling over 15 major natural disasters globally.

Brandon is a member of NAPIA and the Founding Treasurer of GAPIA. His other participations include the Atlanta Apartment Association, where he is a member and has educated the association on disaster preparedness. He is also a member of the National Suppliers Council. He has been a guest speaker at Emory University and worked closely with the Red Cross. Brandon attended both Pace University Lubin School of Business and Hofstra University.

 

The Establishment Atlanta     Supply And Demand Atlanta      Click Models 

 

 

KSUEntrepreneurship

 

 

 

Ted Jenkin/Oxygen Financial
TedJenkin
(Co – Host)

Ted Jenkin has spent the past 22 years giving personal financial advice to thousands of people across the United States. After graduating from Boston College in 1991, Ted spent more than 16 years working for American Express Financial Advisors/Ameriprise Financial. He was one of the youngest people in the history of the company to reach both Field Vice President and Group Vice President level. He managed more than 800 financial advisors throughout 8 states in his last position with the company. He won the premier performer award, leader of the year award, and had the number one office in the country for more than two years in a row. In 2008, Ted founded oXYGen Financial to help revolutionize the financial services industry by creating a new company that focused on serving the X and Y Generation. oXYGen Financial now has more than 1,700 clients throughout 25 states across the country. Ted has been featured in over 25 magazines and newspapers including the Wall Street Journal, Business Week, and The Huffington Post. He has six advanced designations from the College for Financial Planning (CFP®, CRPC®, CRPS®, AWMA®, AAMS®, CMFC®) and is an on air radio personality featured on the popular drive time Atlanta radio show The Rock 100.5 Morning Show on Rock 100.5 FM. Ted lives in Milton, GA with his wife Genna and three kids Olivia, Lyla, and Louden.

 

 

 

 Chris Hanks/ KSU EC
(Co – Host)


ChrisHanksChristopher C. Hanks
is the founder and executive director of the KSU Entrepreneurship Center. Prior to this, Hanks was the founder and director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of Georgia. He has owned multiple businesses, including music, e-commerce, publishing, and export ventures. He is also the co-author of a best-selling book on low risk entrepreneurship.

Hanks leads the International Entrepreneurship Institute and is certified in business valuation, providing expert witness testimony. Before teaching at UGA, Hanks taught entrepreneurship at Georgia State University and assisted in leading the Russell Center for Entrepreneurship. He earned a BBA from University of Georgia and an MBA from San Jose State University. Before launching his first business, Hanks held corporate risk management positions in the pharmaceutical and beverage industries.

 

 

KSUEntrepreneurship

 

 

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Spotlight on TiE Atlanta

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Kanchana Raman / Avacend, Inc. and Avion Networks Twitter 

Kanchana Raman founded Avion Systems in 1996 and has built an organization with extensive knowledge of the ICT industry. Avion provides value-added end-to-end network planning, design, deployment and optimization services. Avion has direct involvement in the deployment of OEM products, Operational performance monitoring & management and optimization of the network to achieve customer satisfaction for global OEMs and Carriers.

Kanchana chairs several board positions. The Georgia Women’s Business Council representing Georgia on the National Leadership forum for WBENC, Emory University Board serving as Ambassador for Emory’s innovation in Health care and advanced academics, President-Elect TiE-Atlanta.org to foster Entrepreneurship, the Quest board for global quality standards in TL9000 . In 2010, Kanchana has been selected by AT&T to be part of a 25 member AT&T Women Entrepreneurs’ Forum. The forum will serve the emerging communications technology needs of U.S. businesses and help drive continued innovation and growth for AT&T.

Kanchana was selected to represent three US delegations to S. Africa, S. America and UK. The mission involved advising disabled, minority and women entrepreneurs on growth within the region and globally.

In 2015, Avion Systems, Inc. has been split into two companies. Avion Networks, a JV with Tech Mahindra for Network Engineering and Avacend, Inc. for Analytics and Staffing.

Kanchana holds an MBA from Goizueta Business School, Emory University to augment her broad experience in telecommunications and technology, which spans 20 years. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with her husband, daughter and son.

Paul Lopez / Element Funding 

Dr. Paul Lopez is the co-founder and co-managing principal of Element Funding, a mortgage lending company offering residential mortgages in GA, FL and NC. The company’s website is www.elementfunding.com, headquartered in Atlanta with branches located in the southeast. From its de novo startup in June 2007, Element employees have helped over 20,000 families with housing financing totaling $4.2 billion.

In order to “give back,” Paul serves on the Finance Committee of MUST Ministries, and is also on the boards of Action Ministries and TiE Atlanta where he was recently elected as the President-elect.

 

 

Spotlight on TiE Atlanta

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Sue Boehlke / TiE job Chair of 2015 Top Entrepreneurs Award Linkedin Twitter

Sue Boehlke is a tech-savvy senior executive with a track record of building and leading high growth mid-sized businesses for investors and privately owned companies. She regularly serves as a trusted advisor to CEOs and investors on omni-channel strategies for B2B businesses. Her diverse industry background includes leadership roles in both B2C and B2B online and multichannel environments. Her functional experience includes extensive digital, product, marketing and technology leadership as well as P&L responsibility. – I think you don’t need this next bit? She is currently employed by a PE-backed information company with responsibility for a portfolio of information and marketing services for the transportation industry.

Amyn Sadruddin / TiE Atlanta

 

 

Spotlight on TiE Atlanta

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K.P. Reddy / Softwear Automation, Inc. Linkedin Twitter Facebook

K. P. Reddy is a nationally recognized speaker for entrepreneurs and Fortune 5000 companies. His expertise in building companies for over 20 years has made him a sought-after speaker and advisor. A wealth of knowledge in multiple areas, K.P. is a globally recognized expert on advanced technologies including BIM, collaborative communications, AI, semantics database, mobile applications, cloud computing and innovation.

Currently, he is CEO for SoftWear Automation, pioneering robotic automation in the textile industry. As a general partner with CTW Venture Partners, he invests in innovative startups such as: ReelLife a video sharing social media app and Gauge.ly a speaking management app. He is also a managing partner with AMPIRIX, an analyst-researchconsulting firm that recommends innovative solutions, launches new products, directs strategic acquisitions and forges corporate relationships. Prior to his role at SoftWear, K.P. lead the Advanced Technology Development Center (ATDC), one of the top 10 incubators in the world and more than doubled their membership.

Hans Utz / The Combine Twitter

 

 

 

 

Special Edition: TiE Atlanta

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Amyn Sadruddin / TiE Atlanta Linkedin Twitter 

Sid Mookerji / SPI Linkedin Twitter Facebook

Sid Mookerji is Global CEO and Founder of SPI. He has built the organization with a passion about providing the best client experience for Retailers worldwide looking for services and innovation in IT and is recognized as an expert on outsourcing, IT services and technology solutions for the Retail Industry. He has received the Indian government’s Excellence in IT Exports award twice. In 2008, he helped secure SPI’s placement in the Atlanta Business Magazine’s list of Top Ten Fastest-Growing Companies. He has been honored for SPI’s rapid growth by USPAACC as well as by Inc Magazine several times.

Sid holds a BE (Hons) Electrical and Electronics from BITS, Pilani, India and an MBA from Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. He serves on NASSCOM’s Regional Council and the Academic Advisory Board of SDM Institute for Management Development.

 

 

Special Edition: TiE Atlanta

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Steven Cook / FortuneCMO Linkedin Twitter

Working with VCs, PEs and startup Founders in Atlanta, Silicon Valley and Silicon Beach/LA. Biographical Data (This space will expand.) Steven has 25+ years experience as an accomplished Fortune 50 global strategic brand marketer and CMO with GM expertise in consumer-centric brand building, transformational innovation, B2C and B2B business development and account management with P&G, Coca-Cola and Samsung Electronics, as well as startup experience in Palo Alto, LA and Atlanta.

He has built and led iconic, image-based CPG and durable passion brands globally online and offline in the highly competitive Electronics, Tech, Entertainment, Beverage, Food, Cosmetics, Personal Care, and Health & Well-being categories where building customer intimacy and strong emotional connections with consumers is critical to growing brand equity and KPI results.

Steven is the Founder, Managing Partner of FortuneCMO LLC www.FortuneCMO.co working with Fortune 1000 companies, VCs, PEs & startup Founders leveraging his global CMO experience. He is working with Forté Ventures www.ForteVentures.com/Advisors and Champion Capital Group www.ChampionCapitalGroup.com serving in CMO, Biz Dev, Product Innovation & capital raise roles.

Steven was Samsung Electronics SVP, CMO, North America where he led Brand Marketing B2C and B2B teams and agencies across the $25 Billion Divisions. He was part of the Executive Team that contributed to Samsung maintaining its #1 share in HDTV and achieving #1 share in Mobile Phone in the U.S., and creating synergy across Product Groups.

Steven served as Coca-Cola VP Worldwide Strategic Planning, Business Development and Marketing for 13 years leading global and local teams to develop innovative consumer-driven brand strategies, technologies and programs. His brand marketing career started with P&G leading iconic brands and growth initiatives in N. America, Europe, Latin America and Asia-Pacific for 13 years.

Steven is regularly invited to Chair CMO events, keynote, and lead panels at global CMO thought leadership conferences. Steven is the Resident Digital CMO and Contributing Editor for CMO.com , a Writer for Forbes CMO Network, and has been published in other leading CMO and business ePubs. http://newsle.com/StevenCook He is on the Palo Alto-based CMO Council Advisory Board. He is a Charter Member of TiE Atlanta https://atlanta.tie.org the 4th largest Chapter in the TiE global entrepreneur network.

Matthew Kroge and Nathan Evans / Viapore Linkedin 

Matthew Kroge, 2015 MBA candidate, Georgia Tech, Strategy and Entrepreneurship Matthew has a BS in Civil Engineering, BA in Physics, Black Belt in Six Sigma and is a registered Professional Engineer in GA and SC. He has over a decade of experience in operations and sales in multiple industries, and is currently a Territory Manager for a heavy industrial equipment distributor.

Nathan is a PhD candidate in Material Science and Engineering at Georgia Tech. Nathan is an inventor of Viapore’s surface-porous technology and has practical experience commercializing new technologies from his time at MedShape, Inc., where he worked as part of a team to clear new materials and devices through the FDA approval process.

 

 

Special Edition: TiE Atlanta

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Ashish Thakur and Amyn Sadruddin / TiE Atlanta

TiE is a non-profit, global community welcoming entrepreneurs from all over the world. We believe in the power of ideas to change the face of entrepreneurship and growing business through our five pillars; mentoring, networking, education, incubating and funding. TiE was founded in 1992 by a group of successful entrepreneurs and is currently the world’s largest entrepreneurial organization out there. With programs like TiE Young Entrepreneurs (TYE) and Mentor Match, we are reaching out and fostering the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Jeetan Singh / HighPoints Learning, Inc. Linkedin

Founder & President/CEO, Datamatics Inc : www.Datamatucs.us: Sept 1993, started a Software Consultancy company (Datamatics Consultants Inc) from a 1-Bedroom Apt. The main focus of Datamatics Consultants is to provide high quality software consultants & professional services to Fortune 500 companies in USA.

In 1999, Datamatics Consultants Inc was recognized as #81ranked fastest privately held company by Inc 500. Datamatics Consultants has completed 21 years successful years since Sept 1993.

In early 2000’s, saw the emerging trends in the internet market. Companies like Google, Facebook, Netflix, Amazon were fast emerging leveraging on the power of internet. Driven by own entrepreneurship started software based services projects in the K12 eLearning space under HighPoints Learning with a focus to provide software based products & services to K12 schools (elementary to high schools ) in USA.

In last 8+ years, HighPoints eLearning program has been approved by Dept of Education in 26 states as Supplemental Educational Program.

Currently working on launching a new global brand ‘YouScore’, a social-media based platform with focus of educators, learners in K12 Space.

Dick Ingwersen and Matthew Frooman / Warren Averett

Dick Ingwersen is a Member of the Warren Averett Tax Division and serves on the Firm’s Executive Committee. Dick brings to clients extensive experience in individual tax and financial planning, estate and fiduciary planning, retirement plans, employee compensation, partnership taxation, private investment partnerships and closely-held corporations.

Matthew Frooman is a Member in the Tax Division of Warren Averett where his practice includes a wide variety of business and individual client matters. In addition, he is a Technical Compliance Firm Best Practices Leader. He has extensive experience with income tax compliance and planning for corporations, partnerships, trusts and individuals, including having worked with a number of multi-state and inbound and outbound foreign business clients, many with heavy capital and/or personnel investments. Some of Matthew’s special projects have included detailed analysis and mediation relating to litigation support (including divorce) matters, purchases and sales of businesses and Internal Revenue Service examinations. Additionally, he has led the roll-out of various specialized tax services for the Firm in conjunction with alliance partners, such as cost segregation studies, Georgia retraining tax credits and Section 412i defined benefit plans. He’s particularly adept at locating and executing opportunities to amend new clients’ prior tax returns for tax refunds, and at identifying improved tax filing positions on a current and ongoing basis for continued tax savings. Clients have called him “tenacious” in his approach to finding the best results for them. They value the creativity and acumen he brings to the table, along with his integrity and commitment to the Firm’s 5-STAR client service. Matthew resides in Atlanta with his wife of 30 years, and they have four children and one grandson.

 

 

 

Spotlight on TiE Atlanta

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Paul Lopez / Element Funding Linkedin

Dr. Lopez is a Co-Founder and Managing Principal of Element Funding, a residential mortgage lender with branches across Georgia, Florida and North Carolina (www.elementfunding.com) that has served over 18,000 families with $3 billion in mortgage financing since opening as a startup business in the summer of 2007 when the housing industry was not the place to be!

In his corporate career, Paul was Executive Vice President of Business Development & Sales at HomeBanc Mortgage Corporation. Prior to that, he was employed in high tech for 20 years at IBM and Xerox in field and headquarters positions, and has been a faculty member at the business schools of Kennesaw State University and California State University.

Paul is highly involved in the community, currently serving on the boards of MUST Ministries and Action Ministries, and co-chairs the TiE-Atlanta chapter’s Entrepreneurship Competition for universities across Georgia.

Dr. Lopez holds a doctorate in business administration from Louisiana Tech University, and an MBA from the Queen’s University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Jeff Patterson / SBDC at Georgia State University

Jeff has extensive financial industry experience that includes leadership roles in credit administration, commercial lending, operations management, regulatory compliance, and audit administration. His expertise includes loan proposal and business plan preparation, cash flow management, budgeting, and customer satisfaction. He also has brokerage and financial planning training as well as his Commercial Lending Diploma from RMA. He received his MBA from Brenau University.

 

 

Special Edition: TiE Atlanta

TiERachel Zick – TiE Atlanta Program Director

Karen Robinson Cope / NanoLumens Linkedin Twitter Facebook

Karen Robinson-Cope is a serial entrepreneur who has been CEO of 4 high growth companies, all of whom had angel or venture capital. As one of only a handful of women who have raised over $75 million USD in the Southeast, she has successfully built and sold three companies.

She is currently Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing at NanoLumens, Inc. an award-winning privately-held corporation that is transforming the way creative professionals and businesses perceive, utilize, and benefit from large format, patented digital displays.

Previously, Karen was CEO of Prime Point Media, one of the largest Alternative out of Home advertising companies in the United States that was acquired by a Canadian publicly traded company in 2006. Prior to Prime Point Media, Karen was Chairwoman, President and CEO of Enrev Corporation, a technology company that was sold in 2001.

Karen is an investor and board member for a number of private, non-profit and public companies on the local, national and international level. She is currently serving as the first female president of TiE Atlanta, a non-profit organization focused on promoting Entrepreneurship with over 15,000 members worldwide. She is founder of the Council of Board Advisors (COBA), a non-profit organization that aligns executive level talent with profitable, privately held companies.