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.
Ted Kolwicz / Kopier Net
President
Ted Kolwicz, President of Kopier Net, has been in sales and management for over 40 years within the corporate world and now owning his own business, brings large company “know how” and experience to small to medium companies who want the “personal touch” included in their business solutions.
Ted was born and raised in Danbury, Connecticut. He graduated from St. Leo’s University (Florida) with a BA in Criminology. Ted began his sales career selling copiers for Lanier Worldwide in Clearwater, Florida. He was relocated to Atlanta in 1992 as Vice President of Sales for a local Lanier Dealership. In 2000, he bought an existing copy company called Kopier Net, which was generating $250,000 per year, and in the last 16 years has grown the total revenue of the business to over $3,000,000+ with 16 employees!
Kopier Net specializes in meeting the needs of the surrounding Atlanta area with effective document image solutions by offering high quality products and service at low cost alternatives. Providing maintenance and sales support for most Konica Minolta, Kyocera, Brother and Ricoh copiers, printers and scanners and wide-format plotters. Kopier Net strives to provide their customers with the best level of maintenance and support with the most experienced service technicians, sales representatives and support staff.
Ted lives in Roswell with his wife Kerri and three children: Meghan, Samantha, and Thad. Outside of the business world, Ted donates his time to several charities; He serves on the board of the Family Preservation of Uganda and Safe America’s Welcome Home Heroes Foundation.
Chris Hanks/ KSU EC
(Co – Host)
Christopher 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.
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.
