Curated Collection Of The Best Interviews From Our Sandy Springs Studio
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Jeff Hilimire with his nephew Logan
Jeff Hilimire / Dragon Army
CEO
Currently Jeff is the CEO of Dragon Army, a mobile agency and game studio. I’m fascinated with entrepreneurship, startups, technology, and specifically mobile apps and gaming.
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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.
Brandon Skolnick, Everett Steele and Ryan Redhawk
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.
Veterans Connect Radio is made possible in part by MarketMate
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Ryan Blanck and David Felfoldi
David Felfoldi / NPressive
Founder
A serial entrepreneur, David has founded and grown three technology services companies — an Inc5000 “Fastest Growing” custom web software development firm, an award-winning “Best Search Engine and Social” digital marketing agency in Atlanta, and most recently a SaaS CRM for nonprofit member associations called NPressive.
David started as the self-taught senior web designer for Siemens USA at the age of 16. Since, he has guided the digital strategy behind ADP, Spanx, Racetrac Petroleum, Rinnai America, Gables Residential, and the National Center of Civil & Human Rights. When not tinkering with technology or musing on marketing David enjoys traveling, hiking, running, and cycling with his wife, daughter, and dogs.
Ryan Blanck / Deviate, LLC
CEO & Founder
It only takes a minute with Deviate Founder and CEO Ryan Blanck to experience the infectious authenticity, enthusiasm, and positive attitude that help make his partnerships with clients so successful. He has a gift for bringing out the best in people and he feels a powerful responsibility to use it as he works with c-suite leaders, high-performing teams, and world-class athletes and entertainers. Since 1999 Ryan has led over 450 inPersonSM experiences meetings, retreats, and workshops for small groups to national conferences. Hes the world’s only dual Certified Professional Facilitator (CPF) and Certified Personal Trainer (CPT). Blending his unique background in Leadership and well-being, he specializes in performance improvement to lead his clients to achieve their champion within (mind and body).
Ryan is a guest leadership educator at Penn State University and Stanford University’s Business Leadership Program. Hes been interviewed about leadership and training in The Huffington Post, The Desert News, Esquire, YFS, and Vim and Vigor Magazines. And CNNs story of his client Marlon Gibsons life-altering transformation is one of the networks most popular online health articles of all time.
He has advised and coached leaders within organizations such as the The Color Run, Joe’s Black Book, Human Movement Management, World Bank, Google, Nike, CRC Insurance, Penn State University, lululemon athletica, and United Way.
Ryan is a well-respected member of the Society for Human Resource Management, International Association of Facilitators, IDEA Health and Fitness Association, and the American Council on Exercise (ACE), for whom he also serves as national spokesman. He also has sat on the boards of national non-profits Freestyle Foundation and Loa Scholarship Fund and currently serves on Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business board.
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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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Colton Moore, Garrett Jacobs, Ted Jenkins, Tammy Bailey, David Pemberton and Chris Hanks.
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Tammy Stokes / Cafe West Express
Ted Jenkin/Oxygen Financial
(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.
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Chris Hanks/ KSU EC
(Co – Host)
Christopher C. Hanks is the founder and executive director of the KSUEntrepreneurship 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.
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Brandi Hackett, Andrew Sever and Jenny Heuer
Brandi is a master’s level social worker who has spent the last 10 years working in geriatrics. Her specific background has consisted of work in multiple aspects of the medical field such as: oncology, skilled nursing, hospice, government benefits, and funeral services. Brandi finds satisfaction in using her experience to offer compassionate education and support to individuals through some of the most difficult of life’s stages.
Brandi is often the initial point of contact for families calling SeniorCare Options – as she serves in the role for intake and initial education regarding our services. She also provides generalized support for family caregivers and professionals through community based in-services, continuing education events, and through the drafting of our monthly newsletter. She is forever curious and enjoys researching community based resources to support the needs of our own clients and also shares these resources with others in the discipline of social work within the metro-Atlanta area.
Andrew Sever, MS, OTR/L, CAPS, CEAC
Andrew is a licensed occupational therapist who has specialized in healthcare for seniors. Andrew gained invaluable practical experience in his 17 years at Wesley Woods Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia.
As an occupational therapist, Andrew is clinically trained to assess a person’s ability to perform everyday activities — despite any physical, cognitive, psychological or emotional limitations they may have. He evaluates the environment in which they live and identifies obstacles that hinder their performance.
In 2012, Andrew founded EnABLE Home Solutions LLC to address the growing desire among homeowners to remain at home despite their changing needs and abilities.
Andrew’s occupational therapy experience gives him unique insight into the individual’s physical ability and how they experience their changing ability. Combine that with the accessibility training he’s received and it’s clear that Andrew brings a unique set of skills to the issues related to remaining at home as your loved one’s physical and cognitive abilities change.
Jenny Heuer, MS, LAPC, NCC is a Doctoral Student at Mercer University studying Counseling Education & Supervision. The focus of her dissertation is on the lived experiences of individuals with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. In addition, she is also working towards a Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Georgia State University. Jenny is an adjunct instructor at Mercer University and is working towards becoming a professor and teaching courses in aging. She also does counseling under direct supervision and specializes in working with older adults, baby boomers, caregivers, and individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. She currently works at the Georgia Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association as a Care Consultant and works with the Director of Public Policy & Advocacy. Her passion and areas of research are focused on aging adults and Alzheimer’s disease.
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March 29th, 2016
Topic: Dare to Reach Your Full Potential
Yvonne Bryant-Johnson and Becky Blalock
Tune into Change Leaders Exclusive as we talk with Becky Blalock, Speaker and Best Selling Author of DARE, and Yvonne Bryant-Johnson, President and CEO of Bryant & Associates. They will give their expertise on today’s topic of “Dare to Reach Your Full Potential”. Listen in on what it has taken both Becky and Yvonne to become successful in their careers as well as the risks they took as “women” in the c-suite.
Yvonne Bryant-Johnson, Becky Blalock and James Dallas
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Spencer Nix, Zaheer Faruqi, Mary Ellen McClanahan, Ryan “Redhawk” McPherson
Mary Ellen McClanahan / Georgia Department of Economic Development
Director, Entrepreneur & Small Business
As Director of Entrepreneur & Small Business Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Mary Ellen McClanahan helps find solutions and effective ways to build an entrepreneurial environment to support small business through mentoring, professional development, strategic planning and resource awareness. She also connects with Georgias business and community associations so that thousands of businesses, local leaders and practitioners are aware of resources and opportunities. She also directs any size businesses to the specific resources they need. Mary Ellen is also an Existing Industry Project Manager within the Metro Atlanta region. She calls on growing companies making them aware of state resources and incentives and provides assistance with their growth plans and decision-making process. She also works closely with the local economic developers with their existing industry support efforts.
During her 18 years with the department, she helped develop and grow its regional economic development program, the Entrepreneur Friendly Initiative and acted as legislative liaison. Prior to that, Mary Ellen was the economic developer and president of two rural South Georgia chambers of commerce in Dodge and Sumter Counties.
Originally from Erie, PA and in Georgia since 1973, Mary Ellen serves on the boards of GEDA (Georgia Economic Developers Association), GACCE (GA Association of Chambers of Commerce Executives), Georgia Mentor Protégé Connection, Adv
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Zaheer Faruqi / Aventure Aviation
Founder and President
Zaheer Faruqi has been president of Aventure Aviation since he co-founded the company in 2001. He has more than 35 years of aviation experience, having worked in the engineering and maintenance departments of several major international airlines for more than 20 years before co-founding Aventure. Zaheer is responsible for the success and strategic direction of the company. He oversees the company’s operations, taking great interest in ensuring that the right staff are hired, and that they are provided with the proper training and facilities needed to make their jobs challenging and fun. His favorite part about working at Aventure is forming relationships with customers, to ensure that he understands their specific parts requirements. He also takes great satisfaction in training the Aventure staff to better serve their customers. Zaheer was first attracted to the aviation field by his childhood love of airplanes.
When not working, he enjoys reading business books, volunteering in the community, and helping those in need improve their daily lives. Zaheer holds a Masters in Administrative Management, and a Bachelor of Science in Aircraft Maintenance Engineering Technology. He has FAA airframe and power plant licenses, and has completed multiple courses from Airbus and Boeing.
Spencer Nix / Reformation Brewery
Founder
Reformation Brewery out of Woodstock, Ga. employs 10 people and is redefining what local beer should be. “We built our entire business model on this concept of enjoying well made beer as a gift and sharing that gift with others,” said Spencer Nix, CEO of Reformation Brewery. And Nix wanted to enjoy the process. Many breweries obtain a lot of capital and skip to the largest equipment they can afford, but Reformation did the opposite and started with a few investors and opened a production brewery on a 1-Barrel Brewhouse. They’ve since scaled that equipment to a 3-Barrel Brewhouse, a 7-Barrel Brewhouse, and recently installed the first High Efficiency Brewing System (HEBS) in the State of Georgia.
Since starting in 2014, the company has gone from zero paid employees to ten and saw $700,000 in sales in 2015. But its impact on people and the community is what fuels their business and has launched them into the new phenomenon of “beer tourism.” The brewery has drawn visitors from as far away as Michigan, and theKeeping Room welcomed 12,000 visitors to its downtown Woodstock location in its first year.
So why start a brewery in Georgia? “Because it’s home,” Nix says. “Home to a growing population relocating from other parts of the country. Home to great small communities where small business thrives. Home to world-class resources the city of Atlanta attracts. And home to where I’m from, and all meaningful adventures start at home.”
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Today’s Special Episode “A Hemp and Medical Cannabis Conversation”
Correction regarding the content on this episode: “The venue for HEMP NY CITY is Cooper Union, not Copper Union. The most famous speech there was Lincoln’s speech against slavery to the Western Territories. Charlotte’s oil is called Charlotte’s Web, named after Charlotte Figi who suffered as many as 400 seizures a week.
James Bell, Joshua Littrell, Terry L. Hester, Ryan Redhawk
Terry L. Hester / HempXpress
Founder & CEO
Grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., raised on a farm in North Carolina during her summers. Spent over 30 years in Houston, TX, and recently relocated to the East coast. Business Entrepreneur and owner of several successful businesses during the last 38 years, with focus on Business Development and Marketing.
As a National & Global Community Coordinator, in 2010 she is listed on record at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. for developing and proposing plans for the City of Atlanta/College Park, GA, to obtain NASA space shuttle ATLANTIS for the building of an international Peace Museum. In September 2004, she coordinated community events on bio-terrorism which led to Houstons former Mayor, Bill White, recognizing and proclaiming Houston as the first city in the United States to proclaim September 11th as 9-1-1 Unity In The Community Day.
Collaborated with Houston’s former Mayor, Annise Parker to raise awareness and promote usage of electric vehicles, campaigned to have electric car charging stations installed in front of Houston’s City Hall, which contributed to Houston being named the Renewable Energy Capital in the Country.
An Holistic Healer- with focus on Mind, Body & Spirit who received her degrees as a Practitioner and Ordained Minister of Metaphysics from the University of Metaphysics, located in Sedona, Arizona.
James Bell / Georgia C.A.R.E. Project
Director
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Dr. Hughan Frederick, Jordan Livosky, Ryan Redhawk, Nekeidra Frederick, David B. Wright,
Dr. Hughan Frederick / NILE Women’s Healthcare
Founder & CEO
A board-certified OB/GYN practicing for nearly 20 years, Dr. Frederick has had the experience of helping thousands of women with childbirth through menopause and everything in between. Trained in the fields of obstetrics, gynecology, bio-identical hormones and bariatrics, he has the unique expertise to help women through lifes many stages.
While he manages several high-risk pregnancies, Dr. Frederick maintains a low c-section rate compared to the national average. He has performed hundreds of gynecological surgeries including hysterectomies, laparoscopies, and routine OB/GYN examinations.
Since establishing Nile in 2006, Dr. Fredericks practice has grown to be among the largest women’s care practices serving the North Fulton area. The reason women choose Nile is not its size, however, but rather the personal attention and emphasis on patient participation in their own holistic care. Known for his friendly beside manner, Dr. Frederick is most popular for his naturalistic approach to women’s health. Pills and surgery are given as final options not the first suggestion. His philosophy has garnered him many accolades including being voted one of the best doctors in Roswell, GA, best on Kudzu.com and Atlanta Parent Magazine.
In addition to Nile Womens Health Care, he serves as the medical director for Glow Anti-Aging Center and Medical Spa. For the privacy and convenience of several clients, he offers his bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, novel therapies for vaginal atrophy, urinary leakage and vaginal dryness in this full-service, luxury space.
Dr. Frederick currently serves as Chairman of Womens and Childrens Services at North Fulton Hospital. He is board certified by the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a Fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (FACOG), a member of the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Medical Association (NMA). He is also active in the community, a supporter of the March of Dimes and is a member of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce. He is married, has two sons and one daughter.
Jordan Livosky / Atlanta Parent Magazine
Special Events Coordinator
Jordan Lisvosky started her journey with Atlanta Parent 4 years prior to her officially joining the AP family as a a volunteer at their annual Family Festival. After college, she made her way back to Atlanta Parent as an intern in special events and was quickly hired on full time. From there, she became Special Events Coordinator and now runs the annual Family Festival with the help of great volunteers and loves getting students from her alma mater, Chamblee High School. In her spare time (if there is any!) she loves volunteering with local animal rescue groups, helping with the Young Professionals of Dunwoody and watching Shark Tank. She loves getting out into the community and hearing about how parents use Atlanta Parent to plan their birthday parties, summers and weekends year round.
David B. Wright / W3 Marketing Group
President & Chief Marketing Officer
David B. Wright is a bestselling author and is President & Chief Marketing Officer of W3 Group Marketing, a marketing firm that helps growth-oriented businesses get more customers, clients or patients. David provides marketing services ranging from high-level strategic direction down to the tactical implementation including SEO, video marketing, mobile, local, social, online PR, and more. Video SEO is a particular sweet spot – David has gotten to Page One of Google in as fast as two minutes!
David is an international speaker, has lived in Tokyo, Japan, done business around the world and has been quoted in numerous publications including Inc., The Wall Street Journal, CNN, Bloomberg BusinessWeek, AMEX Open Forum, About.com, CEO.com, and Business Insider. He has climbed Mt. Fuji and dozens of other mountains, loves SCUBA diving, kayaking, music and all sorts of adventures. He is a champion fish taco chef, learned to surf in Bali, shot archery in the crater of a Japanese volcano, was a radio DJ in Atlanta, rode an elephant through the jungle in Thailand, and is ready for his next adventure. He lives in Tucker, GA with his wife and stepdaughter.
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The work of Women in Technology has an incredible impact.
Since 1992, Women in Technology has had a mission dedicated to promoting the advancement of women in Georgia’s technology community. Through the WIT COMMUNITY, WIT Also educates and encourages girls and young women to pursue careers in STEM.
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Julie Haley / CEO Edge Solutions
Julie Haley is the CEO and majority owner of Edge Solutions. She is ultimately responsible for all operations and financial aspects of the business, including managing the company’s P & L and overseeing the budget. With a law degree from the University of South Carolina and years of prior experience as a business and commercial litigator, Haley also acts as the company’s legal counsel and she negotiates, drafts and reviews contracts and legal agreements with vendors and customers.
While starting this business, Haley has continually stretched and expanded her capabilities as a leader of a technology solution company, and has adopted many roles. From the start, Haley has refused venture capital funding in order to build and retain the company’s unique culture of inclusion, support and diversity. Accordingly, managing growth has been a significant challenge. Edge Solutions started with one manufacturing (HP) partner and has since become certified to sell all the major technology company’s products, including Hitachi Data Systems, Dell, Citrix, NetApp, Cisco, VMWare, as well as newer, cutting-edge technologies like Veeam, Swiftstack, and cloud offerings. With each new offering, Haley has to weigh the cost of adding qualified engineers and technical training to meet necessary qualifications. Also, Edge’s growth from zero to $24 million in sales has necessitated Haley’s constant search for capitol and credit lines from many different sources. Accordingly, with each new initiative, and Haley successfully evaluated the benefit of each new technology offering versus issues of cash flow and the availability of human resources to support going to market with the new solution.
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Sandy 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.
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