Adam Walker/Sideways8 Interactive
Co-Founder
I’m a digital media strategist at heart, though I have worked in design and development as well. My day job is to grow Sideways8, a digital marketing firm, and my “other” day job is making sure that 48in48 is a success. I have a wife and 4 kids with another one due early 2016.
www.48in48.org | Twitter | Facebook | www.Sideways8.com | LinkedIn
Mike Rose/Bank of America
Mortgage Loan Officer (NLMS ID: 448377)
Currently, a Mortgage Loan Officer with Bank of America. He was a successful loan officer for many years with both Wells Fargo and Bank of America. His business network include real estate agents, financial planners, builders and many satisfied clients. He has closed millions of dollars worth of loans and helped many people purchase their first home. In 2008 and 2009, he reached Platinum Club status as in the top 5% of producers for Bank of America. Before starting his career in mortgage banking, he worked primarily in talk radio broadcasting As a producer, talk host and finally Program Director at News Radio WGST in Atlanta, Mike has proven experience in creating the best radio programming in the business. He spent many fun years as part of the team that helped to create brand names out of radio personalities such as consumer guru Clark Howard, Neal Boortz, Sean Hannity, and Kim Peterson . In 1999 and 2000, Mike took on the challenge as General Manager of the eclectic Voice of the Arts, 1190 WGKA. Mike is also a radio personality in his own right. He hosted the daily issue oriented talk show, on Talk Radio 1340, WALR-AM . Creative Loafing readers voted The Mike Rose Show the The Best Radio Show to Seek Out in 2003.
www.MikeRoseMortgage.com Linkedin
Greg Boris/Olympic Properties, Inc.
President and Broker
A current real estate broker with Olympic Properties, Inc. and private investor. Mr. Boris has an extensive executive background in management and sales. His experience has been in diverse areas ranging from Sustainability and Construction to Leasing and Consumer Products. He has held executive positions such as President/CEO Horizon Concrete, President/CEO Boris Rents, Inc., and various executive positions with The Sherwin-Williams Company and Alamo Rent-A-Car, Inc. most notably. Mr. Boriss career has also included participation on several Board of Directors including The College of Management at The Georgia Institute of Technology. As a civic minded individual, he has participated in a variety of philanthropic causes including animal welfare and funding to feed the hungry. Mr. Boris is a former member of the Lions Club and is a graduate of Georgia Tech.
Greg Boris | LinkedIn | Twitter
Al “Knowledge” Clarke/Mortgage Fresh Start
CEO
As the Creator and C.E.O. of MortgageFreshStart.com I saw a need for buyers who have various challenges purchasing a home because of credit, tax issues or lack of information on the various assistance programs. Mortgagefreshstart.com is that Bridge between the Mortgage Companies, Realtors and the Challenged Buyer. We are the go to company for turning the denied lead into the pre-approved buyer in 3-6 months average.
www.MortgageFreshStart.com | Facebook | Instagram
Christian Ross/Village Realty
VP Managing Broker
Christian Ross has been knee deep in real estate for the past 10 years. She is active in the real estate community serving on a host of committees as well as the 2014 Women’s Council of Realtors’ Atlanta Chapter President. An HGTV Househunters alum, she was recently selected for a 3 year term on the Board of Directors for the Atlanta Board of Realtors. She is Managing Broker at Village Realty at Atlanta Tech Village and passionate about technology and how it intersects with real estate.
www.VRATL.com | Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook
Bobbi Meyers/Brown Meyers Brokers
Broker
Bobbi Meyers founded Brown Meyers Brokers to create a team of agents in a high synergy environment. Bobbis main objective is to ensure the success and prosperity, of the agents and their clients. Her objective Together We All Win has yielded her much success, in building a broad spectrum of clients with listings, sales and real estate services, ranging from the First time home-buyer to the Luxury Customer.
Bobbi and her team is committed to providing their clients with the absolute best real estate experience, both domestically and abroad. Prior to launching Brown Meyers Brokers, Bobbi was an award-winning agent at a leading national real estate brokerage. Bobbis background includes a career with the IBM Corporation, where she gained considerable knowledge on business development, marketing and branding as well as heavy negotiation experience.
Bobbis vast knowledge in business, real estate, and property management has gained her tremendous success during her 15 year real estate career. Bobbi serves as principal Broker of Brown Meyers Brokers and lives in Buckhead, with her husband and daughter.
www.BrownMeyersBrokers.com | Facebook
Al “Knowledge” Clarke/Mortgage Fresh Start
CEO
As the Creator and C.E.O. of MortgageFreshStart.com I saw a need for buyers who have various challenges purchasing a home because of credit, tax issues or lack of information on the various assistance programs. Mortgage Fresh Start is that Bridge between the Mortgage Companies, Realtors and the Challenged Buyer. We are the go to company for turning the denied lead into the pre-approved buyer in 3-6 months average.
www.MortgageFreshStart.com | Facebook | Instagram
Gloria Williams/PEMCO Realty
Managing Broker
Responsible for establishing and managing a residential brokerage focused on Senior Sales, REO and short sales. By recruiting REALTORS, implementing procedures and processes, monitoring real estate transactions and Client service and increasing business development. I have represented homeowners, buyers and Investors in the purchasing or selling of real estate in Metro Atlanta since 2006. I am short sale certified by the National Association of Realtors and the CDPE Institute. I am a Bank of America Preferred Agent. I have Successfully closed dozens of short sales helping home owners avoid foreclosure.
2011 -2012 REALTOR, Keller Williams Realty, Cityside, Smyrna, Georgia I represented buyers & sellers of real estate in the State of Georgia. I re-designed my personal marketing strategy to include establishing a database of 2,000 real estate agents and 750 sphere of influence contacts Certified as a Corporate Relocation Specialist & Seniors Real Estate Specialist
2006 – 2011 REALTOR, Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage, Atlanta, Georgia Representing buyers & sellers of real estate in the State of Georgia. Named Rookie of the Year 2006, Selling over $1,000,000 in real estate within 8 months of service. Certified as a Corporate Relocation Specialist & Seniors Real Estate Specialist. Many of my clients were seniors or their families, selling Family-owned property or probate related property.
2003 – 2005 Director of Marketing AccuClean, Inc. Managed new business development, database management, prepared internal and external communications, Created quality-control inspection system & new employee orientation. Established purchase order system, Attended networking events for trade associations. Managed human resource records, assisted in the hiring of Employees. Prepared and monitored procurement bids for federal and state contracts. Generated over 1 Million dollars in revenue for this start up, commercial janitorial service company.
2000-2003 Corporate Sales Manager, Intercontinental Hotel Group Prepared and monitored online contract bids. Identified and exposed corporate meeting planners to the Crowne Plaza, Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport North and the Holiday Inn Select. Established relationships with potential corporate clients through sales calls, social events, networking events, and participating in trade shows. Planned and coordinated marketing events. Responsible for selling the largest corporate meetings at the Crowne Plaza and the Holiday Inn Atlanta Airport.
EDUCATION Bachelor of Science, Speech Pathology & Audiology – Kent State University Marketing (MBA Program) – Georgia State University Certified Distressed Property Expert, Seniors Real Estate Specialist
AFFILIATIONS Providence Baptist Church, Atlanta Board of Realtors, National Board of Realtors, Georgia Board of Realtors, Toastmasters International
www.PemcoRealty.com Linkedin Twitter Facebook
Lauren Fernandez/Origin Development Group
Founding Partner
Lauren is the founder of The Fernandez Company, the culmination of over a decade of practice as a trusted brand consultant and legal advisor with all kinds of clients, from start-ups to multinational companies. She grows new revenue streams for companies, particularly in the food and hospitality industries through strategic consulting and legal support. Lauren is expert in the areas of restaurant development and expansion, franchising, product development and licensing. Before forming The Fernandez Company, Lauren served as the General Counsel for FOCUS Brands, where she ran the legal and franchise departments and provided instrumental leadership in the company’s growth in both licensing and international development.
In Lauren’s most recent venture, she serves as a partner of the newly formed Origin Development Group, a multi-unit franchise developer who serves as a strategic partner for both new and established franchised brands.
Lauren holds an undergraduate degree from Stetson University, as well as a JD/MBA from Emory University. She serves on the Advisory Board for the Atlanta Community Food Bank. She also is a dedicated fundraiser for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and was named the 2015 Woman of the Year for raising nearly $95,000 in less than three months for cancer research.
Thomas Rockwood/The Brand Bank
Vice President, Business Development Officer
Thomas Rockwood is currently a Business Development Officer for Brand Banks Government Guaranteed Lending division out of Buckhead, GA. He is a results driven, commercial banking executive with over 10+ years of experience in government guaranteed financing solutions helping businesses thrive, grow & expand. Thomass focus is in providing Small Business Administration (SBA) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) loans to businesses that qualify for these loan programs. He excels at developing and executing lending strategies vital to helping businesses increase cash flow to grow and expand their business.
What I do:
Thomas’s focus is to help business owners participate in the government loan programs for which they are eligible. There are programs and/or incentives for veteran-owned, women-owned and minority-owned businesses. Additionally, there are programs for companies that export goods to foreign countries, for companies that manufacture in the US and for companies that are implementing green environmentally friendly strategies for their business to reduce energy consumption or produce renewable energy. Taking advantage of these programs helps businesses hold onto more of their cash and in some cases get extended repayment terms compared to non-government guaranteed loans.
The types of financing transactions that Thomas does helps business owners:
Acquire a business
Start a new business or franchise business
Buyout a partner of an existing business
www.TheBrandBank.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
Henry Turner/Turner Law Offices, LLC
Owner
Henry Turner has a law practice in Decatur, Georgia. His Juris Doctorate is from GA State University College of Law, where he was recognized as a best oralist and honored with the Board of Trial Advocates Award as Outstanding Student Litigator. In addition, Henry has a Masters of Business Administration with a concentration on Finance and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Throughout his career he established professional affiliations with the State Bar of Georgia, Georgia Trial Lawyers Association, American Association for Justice, CFA Institute, Atlanta Society of Financial Analysts and Fellow Financial Analysts Federation. He is admitted to practice in the Supreme Court of Georgia, Georgia Court of Appeals, US Court of Appeals-Eleventh Circuit, US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia. Henry’s primary area’s of practice are Franchise Law, Banking Law and Securitities Law.
John Quattrocchi/Corporate Financial Options LLC
Founder
“We Make Business ownership Easier”, is the motto of John Q CPA and his business Corporate Financial Options. Concentrating his practice in the franchise industry, John Q is dedicated to helping business owners not only maintain their accounting records but to help them understand the information to enhance and improve operations. “what is properly measured can be effectively managed”, is john Q’ s way of saying, Lets create an efficient system for keeping your books, ensure that it is accurate and create a process to implement improvements to your operations. John Q works with franchisees, franchisors and business owners that are aggressive growing and looking for true professional help.
Pam Currie/Franchise Intellect, Inc
Founder
Pam Currie has over 20 years in franchising and traditional corporate America; She has acquired business acumen from multiple perspectives of the franchise business model, starting at the franchisee level, then as a franchisor business support & trainer, to a franchisor launch & system developer, all of which included creating strategies for sales development and implementation of relevant training programs.
Her experience puts her in the role of training other franchise advisors. She founded Franchise Intellect and offers franchise consulting to individuals who are interested in pursuing franchise ownership and to franchisors that are looking to receive assistance in developing a franchise growth strategy and/or a training strategy. She specifically enjoys guiding her client’s in making a knowledgeable decision in selecting the best franchise based upon their criteria, with the objective of achieving financial health and life enjoyment.
FranchiseIntellect.com | Linkedin | Twitter | Facebook
Tonni Bennett/Terminus
Director of Sales
Tonni Bennett is the Director of Sales at Terminus, a fast-growing startup in Buckhead, Atlanta. Tonni comes from a background in Marketing and Sales Technology. She was in sales positions with both Pardot, and SalesLoft before joining Terminus to lead the revenue-generation team.
www.Terminus.com | LinkedIn | Twitter
From left to right Boris Petrov and George Kyriakis
George Kyriakis/Freshbooks
Director Business Development
My specialty is in Channel, Sales and Marketing leadership,
My passion is working with innovative companies that are growing and have a need to mature their sales, marketing and partner businesses. The work environment has to be positive and fun. Life’s too short for bureaucracy.
Successes have included developing partner strategy, revenue growth, customer satisfaction and strategic approaches to various sectors, including the Corporate, Consumer, Education and Healthcare industries.
People I work with have called me an excellent communicator with a focus on people, and getting results (see recommendations).
Specialties: Building Channels of Distribution and Strategic Alliances, Marketing Strategy, Direct and Indirect Sales Leadership, Developing teams and individuals, Media Relations, Public Speaking
www.Freshbooks.com Twitter Facebook LinkedIn
Boris Petrov/Freshbooks
Support Rockstar
Easily approachable about anything, Boris is always available to goal coach, chat about life, sports, music, food, nerding out and a myriad of other things. Using his business acumen developed through a marketing diploma and his current pursuit of a management degree, he looks forward to bringing an entrepreneurial and futuristic mindset to the support team.
www.Freshbooks.com Twitter Facebook
Boris & George
Kelly Lynn Prime/Fitness for the Soul
Founder
Kelly Lynn Prime is Founder of Fitness for the Soul and is committed to helping women who have experienced sexual traumas experience emotional healing so they can create balanced and empowered lives. Unlike traditional therapy Kelly combines her personal experience with action steps to create lasting changes. Kelly is committed to help women regain their power and teach them how to love themselves back to L.Y.F.E…
If you are looking for a proven professional who can guide you to address why you keep saying yes when you really mean no, why you always put the needs of others before your own, and why you feel so damn guilty when you do anything for yourself then you have come to the right place.
With seven years of experience working with amazing clients with similar concerns and guiding them to remarkable transformation, Kellys mission and commitment is to be a healer of the S.O.L. (self others and life) through acceptance and love while creating space for others to become the best version of self by uncovering their authenticity and releasing guilt and shame.
www.KellyLynnPrime.com | Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest
Mike Ames/The Biz Garage, CEO
Startup Pirates Atlanta, Event Organizer
A business coach by day, and one of the organizers for the recent Startup Pirates Atlanta event, Mike has more than 30 years of management experience across several industries, but has a passion for helping people unleash their potential and thrive. This passion led him to volunteer to help coordinate and teach at the week-long Startup Pirates Atlanta event held recently (the first of its kind in the United States).
www.TheBizGarage.com | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Nathan Fu
Start-up Pirates attendee
Georgia Institute of Technology alumni. Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. Currently an embedded engineer at Panasonic Automotive Systems of America.
www.Atlanta.StartupPirates.org | Twitter | Facebook
Karen Fortune/IAG Forensics & Valuation
Partner
Karen serves as a Partner in IAG Forensics forensic accounting and litigation services practice. She has over twenty years experience, comprised of both public and private practice, having spent several years in public accounting and serving as a CFO for a biotechnology firm. She possesses extensive experience in financial reporting, auditing of both public and private companies, addressing complex accounting issues, evaluating and designing internal controls, and performing corporate investigations.
She assists attorneys on cases involving complex commercial damages, corporate internal investigations, funds tracing, fraud and alter ego analyses and securities litigation. Additionally, she specializes in matters involving complex financial analyses, M&A disputes and the application of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) and Generally Accepted Auditing Standards (GAAS). Karen has qualified and testified as an expert witness in federal and state courts and has provided assistance to attorneys on several aspects of a case from the complaint stage through trial. She has also testified in both civil and criminal proceedings.
www.IAGForensics.com | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
Aaron Beam
Corporate, Business and Educational Speaker
www.AaronBeam.net | LinkedIn | Twitter
Terrance Ross/RITA-TECH, INC
President and CEO
President and CEO of RITA TECH and Chairman of RITA Software. RITA-TECH, INC “Where Nonprofits Come to Grow” is a social engineering software company that specializes in working with nonprofit organizations using enterprise ideas to address social problems, create sustainability, and promote social responsibility. RITA TECH’s mission is to teach nonprofit organizations how to sustain themselves financially, through social enterprise activities rather than relying solely on grants and donations. Since there are no shareholders in a nonprofit organization, the revenue from the business related activities are completely re-invested in the work of the organization thereby teaching nonprofit organizations how to use a business solution to solve a social problem. Terrance has earned many certificates and awards recognizing his outstanding contributions toward improving the lives in his community. These awards include: Outstanding Young Men in America, Top Ten Outstanding Young Alabamians, Georgia Trend Magazine 2004 Top 40 under 40, Who’s Who of Black Atlanta. Terrance has trained hundreds of small businesses worldwide and was featured in Rolling Out Magazine for his unique way of inspiring entrepreneurs to start a business. Terrance has also contributed his talents to writing two books: If You Don’t Like Your Harvest, Change Your Seed and the RITA Social Engineering Model “the act of using social enterprise activities to address social problems while promoting social responsibility”. Terrance the “Dean of Nonprofits” as he is commonly known, has created a number of business initiatives for entrepreneurs and nonprofit founders ready to go to the next level which includes: RITA 2.0 Software, The RITA Social Engineering Model, Georgia Business Institute, National Association of Social Engineering (NAOSE), and National Association of Micro Business Owners (NAMBO) just to name a few. Availability Terrance Ross is available as a motivational speaker and to conduct business workshops and seminars.
Chris Poelma/NCR Corporation
President & GM of Small Business
From mobile software founder to CTO of Microsofts Operator Channel, Chris Poelma has spent nearly three decades developing innovative, high-growth businesses in the technology industry.
In April 2015, Chris joined NCR Corporation as President and General Manager of NCR Small Business. Chris oversees a very talented and ambitious team to drive business model innovation targeted at small business owners. NCR Silver, a cloud-based POS platform, is NCR Small Business newest solution designed to help small merchants manage and grow their businesses. Chris is accelerating the pace and execution of strategic partnerships, marketing, sales, and engineering to establish NCR Silver as the premier technology partner for small businesses.
Prior to joining NCR Small Business, Chris founded QwikCart®, an innovative mobile software company which provides businesses and consumers access to powerful retailing, transportation and entertainment solutions. Before QwikCart, Chris co-founded, served as CTO, and assisted in an Initial Public Offering (IPO) with USInternetworking, now AT&T Enterprise Application Services. He has led five startup software companies to successful liquidity events as CEO including ControlPath, Comprehensive Software Systems (CSS), and Magellan Network. Additionally Chris has worked as an executive within industry notables Microsoft, Sun Microsystems and EDS. Over the course of his career, Chris has closed over $70 Million in private equity.
www.NCRSilver.com | Twitter | Facebook
Federico “Fred” Castellucci/Castellucci Hospitality Group
President
A graduate of the Hospitality School at Cornell University, Federico Castellucci has worked in the restaurant business his entire life. During his tenure at Cornell, Federico helped create and develop the original Sugo in Roswell. He grew the concept to four locations including three franchises. After graduating in 2007, Federico took over a failed franchise location that is currently Sugo in Johns Creek, Ga. Federico worked tirelessly to re-establish the brand, and within a year and a half the restaurant had become the most successful restaurant his family had ever owned in Georgia.
Building on that success, Federico created a new restaurant concept from scratch in downtown Decatur called The Iberian Pig. A modern Spanish restaurant with a strong focus on imported Spanish cured meats, fresh local produce, creative tapas dishes, wines of the region and classic cocktails, The Iberian Pig has been a hit from opening night in late 2009.
Following the success of The Iberian Pig, Federico embarked on two more projects in 2011 and 2014. Located on Roswell Road near I-285, Double Zero Napoletana opened in May 2011, bringing the regional cuisine of Campania in Southern Italy to Sandy Springs, Ga. The menu features handmade pasta, traditional Neapolitan pizza, handmade pastries and gelato, as well as contemporary takes on classic Southern Italian dishes. In November 2014, Federico opened Cooks & Soldiers, a Basque-inspired concept located in West Midtown, featuring traditional pintxos, raciones, asador and desserts influenced by the signature cooking methods of the region.
Federico currently serves as president of Castellucci Hospitality Group, the management company that he created in 2010, which includes Sugo, The Iberian Pig, Double Zero Napoletana and Cooks & Soldiers.
www.CastellucciHG.com | Facebook | www.SugoRestaurant.com | www.TheIberianPigAtl.com | www.DoubleZeroAtl.com | www.CooksAndSoldiers.com
Jay Bandy/Goliath Consulting Group
President
Jay Bandy has thirty years of experience in the restaurant business including leadership roles at McDonald’s, RTM and Blimpie. Jay started Goliath Consulting Group in 2009 with several McDonald’s executives. the company’s clients include international and regional chains as well as independent restaurants. Locally, Jay is working with the Mrs. Winner’s, Cheeseburger Bobby’s brands and a new start-up at Ponce City Market.
www.GoliathConsulting.com | LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook
