IRC Wealth and 3 Female Entrepreneurs
This week marked the first of a monthly series we’re running with the folks from IRC Wealth. Vice President of Business Development, Joe Schum, co-hosted the show with me. He introduced us to three highly-successful female entrepreneurs from the Atlanta area who, while accomplished in their own rights, are also clients of IRC Wealth.
Jodi Hersh founded Orange Star Design, a firm specializing in graphic and web design and social media content creation. For over 20 years, Jodi has worked with small businesses, Fortune 500 companies, indie artists, and even rock stars, helping them craft and improve their brands. Jodi has been providing her services to the IRC Wealth team for a number of years.
Sarah Huie Coleman, an Atlanta native, founded Huie Design, Inc. in 1996 after completing design and implementation of the “Look Of The Games” for the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Centennial Games for Copeland Hirthler / Iconologic.
Huie Design has been working with municipalities, architects, developers, and owners on public spaces to create entire signage and wayfinding systems that function effectively, entice interaction, and inspire joy. Feeling lost or confused when navigating is frustrating and stressful. Their work achieves project goals, puts patrons and visitors at ease, and makes a lasting impression. In fact, their quality of work and attention to customer service and detail has allowed the firm to grow, heavily through referral and repeat business.
Founded in 1999, Giant Studios offered filmmakers capabilities that simply cant be done anywhere else, from Gollum in Lord of the Rings to Avatar. With a home office in Atlanta, state-of-the art studio facilities in Los Angeles, and To Go capabilities around the world, Giant was the recognized leader in motion capture and virtual environments for even the most demanding film requirements.
Candice Algers joined us to talk about the genesis of Giant Studios and how they leveraged innovative technology to become a sought-after partner in some of the film and gaming industries’ most highly-acclaimed productions.
In 2014, Giant Studios, Inc. sold the rights to its performance capture technology for entertainment applications to Lightstorm Entertainment. The Giant R&D team will continue developing the software under the Lightstorm umbrella. Lightstorm will continue developing and leveraging the technology during the production of the next three Avatar sequels.
Giant was able to demonstrate the robustness of the technology over the past fifteen years on numerous films including, but not limited to: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, The Polar Express, The Lion the Witch and The Wardrobe, Iron Man, Real Steel, Avatar, The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret Unicorn, and Jack the Giant Slayer. Video Game credits include many highly acclaimed titles such as Halo 4, Call of Duty 3, Devil May Cry, Fable II, and Jade Empire.
Special Guests:
Joe Schum, VP of Business Development, IRC Wealth 
- BS, Economics/Commerce, Niagara University
- Founder, The Niagara Group
- Board of Advisors, Safe Haven Museum and Education Center
- Board Member, Visions Anew Institute
Jodi Hersh, Founder, Orange Star Design 
- BFA, Graphic Design & Photography, University of Michigan
- Previous Graphic Designer, Tom Graboski & Associates
- Former Art Director, Dynamic Press
Sarah Huie Coleman, Founder, Huie Design
- BA, Graphic Design/Packaging, Art Center College of Design
- BA, Psychology, Sweet Briar College
- Previous Managing Director of Environmental Design, Iconologic
- Former Senior Graphics Designer/Manager, RTKL
Candice Algers, CEO, Giant Studios
- ABJ, Journalism/Minor in Marketing, University of Georgia
- Previous Executive Vice President, Crawford Communications
