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KSU Entrepreneurship Center Presents The Shrimp Tank

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.

 

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Ted Jenkin, John Boykin and Chris Hanks

 

 

John Boykin headshotJohn Boykin / Business Golf International 
Founder & CEO

Founder and CEO, John W. Boykin was elected to PGA of America membership in 1979. His nearly 40-  year career has followed a diverse and accomplished path. John has been a PGA head golf professional,  General Manager and golf facility owner, an author, broadcaster, noted international instructor and  corporate spokesman.  Here are a few of the highlights:

  Over 7 years as Editor and Publisher of Golf Industry Magazine.

 Credentialed US PGA Tour and European PGA Tour Instructor for 6 years.

 Has had tips and instruction published in Golf Digest Magazine, Golf Magazine and Senior Golfer  Magazine.

  Has appeared as a featured instructor on the Golf Channel's Academy Live.

  Creator of The Scoring Academy, a "short game" learning program that is the result of working  with more than 100 world class players on every professional tour. This program has been  taught to corporate executives and their guests both in the US and abroad.

 Creator of the Secrets of Scoring, a 50-minute DVD presentation of tour-proven stroke saving  techniques.

 Various radio and television broadcasting credits, including; 14-years as the voice for a 6-city  radio network for The Masters highlights, on-course commentator for multiple PGA Tour and  Champions Tour events for One-On- One Radio Network, color commentator for Sunshine Sports  TV Network's Dodge Celebrity Golf Tour Championship and 2-season radio color voice for  Jacksonville University (FL) basketball.

 Member, Crail Golfing Society, the world's 7th oldest golf club originating in 1786, 8-miles from  St. Andrews, Scotland and the St. Andrews Golf Club (formed in 1843) adjacent to the 18th  fairway of the Old Course, St. Andrews, Scotland.  In the game and business of golf, PGA Professional John W. Boykin and BGI are the unique partner your firm deserves.

 

 

 

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WIT Atlanta features Stephanie Espy author of STEM Gems

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Sandy Welfare and Stephanie Espy

 

Stephanie Espy / author of STEM Gems and founder of MathSP

Stephanie Espy, local author of STEM Gems and MathSP Founder. Stephanie graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley), with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in chemical engineering. She has worked as a chemical engineer both in the U.S. and in England. She is the founder of Math Strategies and Problem-solving (MathSP), and the author of a new book, STEM Gems: How 44 Women Shine in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, And How You Can Too!
The White House states that women and minorities comprise 70 percent of college students but less than 45 percent of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) degrees, representing a largely untapped talent pool. Experiencing this first hand herself compelled Stephanie Espy to do her part to encourage and inspire girls’ interest in STEM.

 

 

 

Sandy Welfare /  WIT 

Sandy D. Welfare is the Executive Director of Women In Technology (WIT). Prior to that, she was the Executive Director of Cool Girls Inc, an award-winning early intervention after-school program dedicated to the empowerment of girls (2009-2015).

Sandy’s career began in 1989 in Greenwich, Connecticut where she joined Rand Insurance as the Controller. Six years later, she accepted a position with Lucent Technologies, an international telecommunications leader, holding a number of positions including serving as Accounting and Treasury Manager in Singapore (1999-2000) and then as Senior Manager in Australia and New Zealand (2000-2002). Sandy returned to Atlanta in 2002 as Senior Manager of Global Financial Services.

In 2003, Sandy accepted a position as Director of Operations for Xchanging, a business processing outsourcing company. In 2006, her career took her to London, England as Managing Director for professional services, where she managed global business processing services for bank financial transactions, insurance and retail.

Sandy received her undergraduate degree from St. John’s University in New York, and a Master of Business Administration from Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. She serves on the board of several non-profits, including Kiwanis Club of Atlanta. Sandy resides in Marietta, Georgia with her husband, Cliff and son, Soloman.

Twitter     Twitter(Sandy)      LinkedIn

Paul Masters with Birch Communications

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Paul Masters / Birch Communications
SVP Alternate Channels

Paul Masters serves as Senior Vice President of Alternate Channels and is responsible for planning, developing and implementing a strategic roadmap for future growth which includes sales, marketing, partner development, sales engineering, and client implementation. Paul Masters has over 20 years of demonstrated accomplishments in the telecommunications industry and in developing multi-channel operations, as well as leading Sales and Marketing teams focused on aggregating voice and data telecom solutions for enterprise firms. Prior to joining Birch, Mr. Masters served as the co-founder and President of Ernest Communications, a nationwide carrier focused on the distributed Enterprise. Mr. Masters hold a Masters of Business Administration degree from Emory University.

Twitter      LinkedIn

 

 

Veterans Connect Radio Episode 012

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. 

#VetsConnect
@VetConnectRadio

 

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Sheb True / KSU

Sheb is a Professor of Marketing and Sr. International Officer in the Michael J. Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University (KSU) in Georgia. He is also the Special Assistant to the Dean for Strategic Initiatives, the Founder and Director of the Georgia Advancing Veterans Education (GAVE) initiative, the Director of the Paul D. Coverdale Fellowship program for Returned Peace Corps Volunteers, and the Director of the United Nations PRME program in the Coles College.  He joined the faculty at KSU in 1998 and has served as the Associate Dean of Graduate Business Programs, and as the Director of the MBA the program that went from never being ranked to # 22 in the country by Bloomberg BusinessWeek.  He has published over 50 articles and edited 4 books, and created and edited the Journal of Executive Education.  He has led and participated in international programs for students and faculty in 53 countries.   He serves as a consultant to organizations in the area of marketing strategy and customer orientation.  Sheb received his Ph.D. from the University of Mississippi, an MBA from the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and a BBA from Stephen F. Austin State University.  He has been certified as a Master Teacher, completed programs at the Harvard Business School for teaching the case method and at the American Graduate School of Business (Thunderbird) for teaching international marketing, and was a a tenured faculty member at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, California.

 

 

 

Dr. Terry W. Loe  PhD University of Memphis; MBA Mississippi State University; BS Mississippi State University

Professor, Kennesaw State University

Director, Center for Professional Selling

Executive Director, National Collegiate Sales Competition

Terry spent 11 years in industry in sales, marketing and management and has over 20 years of experience in sales research, training and consulting.  His recent sales training and consulting clients include NCR, Arch Chemical, AIG, and WellStar Health Care Systems, among others. In 1996, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Memphis and is currently a tenured Full Professor at Kennesaw State University. Dr. Loe is the Director of the Center for Professional Selling, Executive Director and founder of the National Collegiate Sales Competition and is on the Board of Directors for PlayPro Media, an Entertainment and Promotions Marketing company.  Terry is also on the Editorial Review Boards for several international academic journals.  

Terry has published more than 40 research articles in numerous national and international academic conferences and academic journals and also authored The Instructor’s Role-Play Guide used by sales faculty and instructors around the country.  His research has won several awards including the “Journal of Business Ethics Citation Classics” award for publishing one of the top 12 cited articles in the JOBE over 30 years and over 100 volumes, as well as other awards.

Dr. Loe is quoted in numerous regional, national, and international newspapers and trade journals and spoken on sales, sales ethics and sales management topics to organizations and conferences around the United States and globally.  Terry is the Founder and Executive Director of the National Collegiate Sales Competition, the oldest and largest university sales role-play competition in the world that includes the top university sales programs in the country, and has included universities from Mexico, Canada, Belgium and other European countries. The NCSC has contributed more than $5 million to university sales programs and sales education. Terry has also been recognized by the American Marketing Association for his contribution to the sales discipline and sales education for his development of the National Collegiate Sales Competition. He has consulted numerous universities in the U.S. and abroad in developing sales education programs, curriculum and sales role-play competitions and is past President of the University Sales Center Alliance (USCA), a consortium of the top U.S. University Sales Centers that assists in mentoring developing sales centers and sales faculty in the U.S. and abroad. He is also on the board of directors for PlayPro Media, a millennial marketing and promotions company.

Dr. Loe and his wife, Robin, have been happily married for over 29 years and have two children, Rachel (25) and Nathan (23). Terry and Robin are members of Cedarcrest Church.

Terry was an All-SEC catcher and team co-captain at Mississippi State University and participated in the College World Series in Omaha, NE in 1979 and in 1981. Miss State finished 5th in the country both years.

Robin is a Family Practice physician in the greater Atlanta area and rated one of the top family practice physicians in patient satisfaction in the country for the past 10 years. Rachel is a graduate of the University of Alabama and currently a salesperson with the international logistics company, DHL, in Charlotte, NC.  Nathan is a recent graduate of the University of Mississippi, an entrepreneur and professional weight lifter with California Strength in San Ramone, CA.

 

 

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Richard J. Welke, Ph.D. with Georgia State University and Andrew Hamilton with Parkmobile

 

 

Richard J. Welke, Ph.D.Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute of the J. Mack Robinson College of Business at Georgia State University /
Director

Richard J. Welke has been an academic and professional entrepreneur (“pracademic”) throughout his professional career beginning in 1962 at General Motors Research Laboratories.

He was founder of Methodsworks, Inc. (in Burlington, ON) and owner/president of Meta Systems, Ltd. (Ann Arbor, MI), the first CASE (computer-aided software engineering) repository and interactive development environment for software development. Both were sold to LBMS, Inc. in the UK. Beyond this, he has been CIO/CTO at Atlanta-based companies including AMTEC, H.J. Russell & Company and Parkmobile, when it introduced its first mobile app.

Dr. Welke has been a professor or visiting professor at McMaster University (Hamilton/ON, CA), Erasmus University (NL), Delft University (NL), and Auckland University (NZ), among others, over the past 50 years of his academic career.

At Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business, Dr. Welke led the Department of Computer Information Systems (CIS) to national prominence, started a number of centers and institutes within the college including the e-Commerce Institute, Center for Process Innovation and now the Entrepreneurship and Innovation Institute. He initiated the business process management stream offered by the CIS Department along with other major modifications to its course offerings.

Outside the Robinson College of Business, Dr. Welke served as interim CIO for Law Companies Group, Inc. (the largest engineering and environmental services company in the U.S., now part of AMEC-Foster-Wheeler). He also co-founded Brainworks and AppsNmotion.

Dr. Welke received his Ph.D. in management systems from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Management, his MBA from the State University of New York at Buffalo and his B.S.E. from the University of Michigan.

LinkedIn     Twitter

 

 

Andrew Hamilton / Parkmobile
CTO

Andrew has over 20 years’ experience in Software Engineering and Executive Management most recently as CTO for Cardlytics, the leader in Transaction Based Marketing. He began his technology career as a Research Developer with IBM in 1988, progressing to the role of Senior Architect working on government and corporate projects in the USA, New Zealand and the UK. Andrew left IBM to join promising start-up WebMD. Andrew was WebMD’s Technical Director responsible for managing the development of the flagship consumer page content management and news syndication.

On a personal level he lives in Buckhead and is married to his beloved wife of 15 years and has 2 wonderful children.

LinkedIn     Facebook     Twitter

 

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KSU Entrepreneurship Center Presents The Shrimp Tank

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.

 

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Richard Howe / Howe & Associates Law Offices
Managing Partner

A native of Atlanta, Richard Howe is the owner and managing partner of Howe & Associates Law Offices.  As lead counsel in over 9000 litigation cases, he is a seasoned attorney and entrepreneur who combines decades of business experience with a keen knowledge of complex litigation to provide cutting edge solutions to his many corporate and individual clients. Since 1985, Howe & Associates has provided experienced and skilled Debt Collection and Personal Injury representation on an affordable contingency basis to the marketplace. Richard has achieved an esteemed “AV Preeminent” rating from Martindale Hubbell, the nation’s oldest and most recognized legal directory.  This rating – which is bestowed on a small percentage of attorneys nationwide, and those with over ten years of experience even being considered as candidates – is actually the highest rating available.
Richard is admitted to practice in the state, district and appellate courts in the state of Georgia and his memberships include the Georgia State Bar Association, The American Bar Association, The Commercial Law League of America, and the National Commercial Collectors Association.  An Atlanta, Georgia native, he received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from Georgia Southern University and his Juris Doctor degree from John Marshall Law School.

 

 

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors Features Cheryl Legare with Legare, Attwood & Wolfe, LLC

Atlanta’s Most Trusted Advisors interviews industry experts from in and around the Metro Atlanta Area. Our goal is to provide valuable information that all business owners and managers can use in their day-to-day work to help them succeed.

 

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Cheryl Legare / Legare, Attwood & Wolfe, LLC

Cheryl Legare’s practice focuses on representing employees in all aspects of employment law, including claims of disability discrimination and retaliation, sexual harassment, FMLA interference and retaliation, gender, pregnancy, race, religion,  national origin, and age discrimination, and wage and hour disputes. She also represents individuals in contract negotiations and employment separation negotiations. Prior to founding Legare, Attwood Wolfe, Cheryl represented employees at one of the largest plaintiff employment law firms in the southeast for seven years and worked for two large national law firms counseling management on employment law issues and defending employers sued in employment-related lawsuits in federal and state courts.
Cheryl is active in the Atlanta Bar Association, the State Bar of Georgia, and the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers. She currently serves as Founding Co-Chair of GAWL’s Solo/Small Firm Affinity Group and as GAWL’s Representative-at-Large.  Cheryl is also a member of the National Employment Lawyers’ Association and serves on NELA-GA’s board.

Cheryl is admitted to practice law in Georgia and South Carolina. She is also admitted to the United States District Courts for the Northern and Middle Districts of Georgia, the United States Courts of Appeals for the Fourth and Eleventh Circuits, and the United States Supreme Court.
Cheryl and her husband Brad live with their dog Catfish and cat Dixie in the Oakhurst neighborhood of Decatur, Georgia. In their spare time, Cheryl and Brad enjoy spending time with friends, listening to live music and going to the beach.

 

LinkedIn

Tracy Neal with Tracy Neal and Company

 

 

Tracy Neal / Tracy Neal and Company
CEO

Tracy R. Neal is a mom, entrepreneur, innovator and author.  With more than 23 years of experience in corporate America, she has worked in various roles from a consultant at a global consulting firm to a lead position at a Fortune 100 beverage company.  She has two companies, Tracy Neal & Company (www.tracyneal.com) and TrustIntellect (www.trustintellect.com).  She also has a non-profit organization, focused on helping single parent entrepreneurs, with a specific focus on single mothers, start businesses from ideation to launch.  She has a Bachelor of Business Administration from Emory University in Atlanta Ga., and a Masters of Science in Project Management from The George Washington University in Washington D.C. She currently resides in a suburb outside of Atlanta.  She is an active member of On Board, a non-profit organization dedicated to increasing the number of females on Boards in the state of Georgia.   In 2014, she was inducted into the National Association of Professional Womens VIP Woman of the Year Circle 2014-2015. She is also a member and active contributor to the Harvard Business Review Discussion Group, a member of the Technology Association of Georgia, a member of StartUp Atlanta,  Atlanta Chapter Vice President of Women of Global Change.  She also owns 2 Copyrights and 5 Patents.

Twitter      LinkedIn

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Tracy Neal and Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson

 


KP Reddy with The Combine, Adam Jones-Kelly with Conway, Todd Stanton and Manori De Silva with Stanton Law LLC

 

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KP Reddy / The Combine
Co Founder

K.P. Reddy is a venture capitalist, angel investor, and AEC space expert with over 20 years of experience in disruptive innovation. He is a globally-recognized expert on advanced technologies including Building Information Modeling (BIM), Collaborative Communication, Artificial Intelligence, Mobile Applications and Cloud computing. Currently K.P. is the CEO of SoftWear Automation Inc, a leading developer of robotic sewing automation that promises drive down the cost of apparel and textile manufacturing while increasing quality and speed to market for retailers. He also serves as  Partner at The Combine. The Combine partners with enterprise organizations and technical founders to convert their promising intellectual property into viable, scalable businesses with a strict focus on achieving aggressive IRR and multiple targets.

K.P. is a respected expert in helping organizations accelerate change and growth through his highly sought after coaching and startup catalyst programs. IBM, Coca-Cola, UPS, and Cox Communications have all enlisted his services. He served as the Interim General Manager for one of the country’s top startup accelerators, Atlanta’s Advanced Technology Department Center at Georgia Tech.

In 2012, K.P. published BIM for Building Owners and Developers, a book on the adoption of advanced technology in the infrastructure space employed by leading companies and universities.

K.P. is also a prolific public speaker delivering addresses to audiences at universities across the U.S., various tech and startup events in the Southeast, and SXSW.

LinkedIn     Twitter

 

 

 

Adam Jones-Kelly / Conway
President

Adam Jones-Kelley is a leading expert in cross-border investment and corporate expansion strategy. He has worked with Conway, Inc., for 17 years and served as President for four. Prior to becoming President of Conway Adam managed the award-winning international magazine Site Selection.

He has broad experience in economic development publishing and marketing, has been a featured speaker at events around the world and has been interviewed for various news media in the US and Europe. Adam has consulted for dozens of government economic development agencies on six continents, helping them position themselves to attract domestic and foreign corporate investment and create jobs.

Adam is also an accomplished writer, having produced original content for Site Selection magazine, OnSite Travel and The FDI Report.

Over the last four decades Adam has visited 80 countries, 78 of which he’s really enjoyed. A deadly parasite in Ghana nearly killed him, as did stepping in front of a tram in Prague, adventures which he dutifully chronicled for the aforementioned OnSite Travel.

Adam grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and Auckland, New Zealand. He and his wife, renowned photographer Soo Jones-Kelley, reside in Peachtree Corners, a suburb of Atlanta where they’re raising a pair of rambunctious kittens.

This idyllic life leaves Adam a little restless. He’s an avid adventure-sport enthusiast who enjoys activities such as bungee jumping and diving with sharks, and does philanthropic work for endangered and abused animals.

Twitter

 

 

 

Todd Stanton/ Stanton Law LLC
Founder

Building upon his decade of big law experience with the reputable firms of Fisher & Phillips and Bryan Cave (formerly Powell Goldstein), and demonstrating the same entrepreneurial drive he admires in his clients, Todd founded Stanton Law LLC in Atlanta, Georgia. Seeking to combine the quality of large firm representation with the flexibility, responsiveness, and cost-effectiveness of a nimbler shop, Todds practice remains dedicated to the employer side of the employer-employee relationship. From on-boarding new talent and assisting with the development of workable job descriptions, personnel policies, and compensation plans, to guiding clients through sticky disciplinary, performance, and leave issues, to executing respectful and amicable separations, Todd provides practical bottom line-oriented legal advice to small and medium-sized employers.

As legal counsel, Todd is focused on helping companies avert employment-related issues without sacrificing managerial efficiency. In most instances, a proactive approach to employment issues can prevent months of disruptive headaches down the road. When the inevitable disputes do arise, however, his litigation experience allows his clients to consider all available options to efficiently resolve the problem. He regularly represents employers in state and federal courts and before administrative agencies such as labor departments, equal opportunity and human rights commissions, and employee safety administrations.

Twitter     LinkedIn     Facebook

 

 

 

Manori de Silva / Stanton Law LLC
Attorney

Manori de Silva is qualified as an attorney in England (solicitor) and the United States. She has spent the last decade assisting businesses and executives with a variety of employment and commercial matters. Manori uses her understanding of cultural differences to help European companies to do business in the United States and American companies navigate the complex web of worker protections in Europe. She also represents clients in actions to have foreign country monetary judgments recognized in the United States. Following her studies at the Royal Conservatory of the Netherlands, Manori worked as a recording engineer as well as writing music and editing radio and television commercials for large businesses in the Netherlands. She then attended law school in the U.K. and subsequently joined the London office of an international law firm, where she advised global brands and senior executives on hiring, termination, discrimination, redundancy, and dispute resolution issues. After moving to the U.S., Manori passed the Georgia Bar and worked for a boutique firm in Atlanta, providing counsel for the U.S. subsidiaries of European businesses on a variety of commonly encountered legal areas; these included hiring, termination, non-disclosure agreements, restrictive covenants, company policies, and discrimination. Manori is fluent in Dutch and proficient in French.