SoundRiver Advisors Archives - Business RadioX ®

Businesses With Integrity

March 30, 2016 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Businesses With Integrity

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Businesses With Integrity

I continued our series with Life University’s Dr. Gilles LaMarche, focusing on business leaders with integrity. The series is a lead-in to Life University’s Life Talks World Congress event coming up May 12-13. The 2 day event will be featuring numerous subject matter experts on relationships, personal and professional, and various aspects of our lives where we can improve how we experience others and how they experience us. Last year’s event was very popular with its attendees, with many proclaiming it to have made significant impact on their lives for having gone.

Gilles introduced us to Chuck Papandrea, of Life Leadership (unrelated to Life University). His firm works with businesses seeking to increase morale, productivity, and customer satisfaction through improved communication and leadership. He has seen his small- to mid-sized business clients experience major turn-arounds in morale and employee retention, coupled with growing revenues as employees begin to truly personalize their work and the company.

Bo Wilkins of SoundRiver advisors works with business owners and entrepreneurs to help them plan and execute transition of their business through successful sales or migration to heirs/family. He talked about how challenging it can be for a busy owner to effectively manage the business and coordinate what is a multi-person team who needs to be evaluating and in some cases modifying elements of the business’s financial plan and execution.

Bo explained how important it is to begin planning for a transition 3-5+ years ahead of an anticipated move to sell or transfer the company, as it can take that long to have all elements lined out that affect sale value and pay-outs, viability of the business after the owner moves aside, etc.

He introduced us to Steve Hunter, of Greene, Holcomb, and Fisher. With offices in Minneapolis, Phoenix, Seattle and Atlanta, is an investment banking firm that specializes in mergers and acquisitions, private placements and financial advisory services for the middle market.

At Greene Holcomb Fisher, experience from nationally prominent investment banks and leading law firms is blended with senior-level attention and entrepreneurial ingenuity to deliver creative services to high quality companies. The firm’s investment bankers specialize in the Consumer, Food & Agribusiness, Healthcare, Industrial Products & Services, Business & Education Services, Technology and Energy & Infrastructure sectors. Greene Holcomb Fisher provides global reach through Clairfield International. For more information, please visit www.ghf.net and www.clairfield.com.

J Cornelius of Nine Labs stopped by to talk about how his company helps companies insure they are effectively projecting their brand across digital platforms such as website and social media, and mobile devices. The company also provides consulting services that seek to clearly identify the client’s true customer base such that messaging will be appropriate to meet the needs of that customer, who is often not who the business initially thought they were.

With a complement of experts in branding, digital media, and web design, J’s team at Nine Labs help companies to know the time and revenue invested in their website and branding is actually achieving the desired goal and allowing it to create the ROI that should come with such efforts.

Sabetay Palatchi, of Just Military Loans shared information about their service, providing active duty and military veterans with access to needed capital through small loans and other options. He talked about some of the challenges military personnel face getting access to loans such as frequently moving and/or being deployed, which occasionally results in negative credit events. Just Military Loans is able to work with military personnel with a personalized approach that helps them re-establish their good credit and take care of personal business in need of funds.

Special Guests:

Dr. Gilles LaMarche, DC, VP of Professional Relations at Life University

Chuck Papandrea, Member, Life Leadership

Bo Wilkins, Partner, SoundRiver Advisors

Steve Hunter, Managing Director, Greene, Holcomb, Fisher

J Cornelius / Nine Labs

Sabetay Palatchi, Partner, Just Military Loans

Midtown Business Radio Features The Icebox and Encore Recycling – Business RadioX

October 15, 2015 by angishields

ATLANTA, GA–(Marketwired – October 15, 2015) – On October 1, 2015, Midtown Business Radio welcomed to the studio Jordy Gamson with The Icebox and Gary Blase with Encore Recycling. Host CW Hall sat down with his guest co-host Bo Wilkins from SoundRiver Advisors to learn more about these two companies and their roles in the Atlanta business community.

Gamson is the CEO and co-founder of The Icebox, a promotional products company that offers “smart and cool solutions” to corporate America. For nearly 15 years, The Icebox has specialized in not only promotional items and apparel, but also uniform and incentive programs. Their business model shows how valuable the right promotional product can be in keeping a company top-of-mind for its customers.

“We take your brand message and connect it with today’s culture, trends, and attitudes through memorable swag and apparel,” explained Gamson. “The result is a brilliant new brand perception and increased brand awareness.”

Joining in the conversation was Gary Blase, Managing Member of Encore Recycling. Encore offers multiple services utilizing the latest technology and state of the art equipment to process scrap, enabling less waste and more recycled materials available for further use in new products.

Encore Recycling recently opened a vehicle recycling plant in Lawrenceville, GA. Blase described the process for recycling old cars. “An automobile at the end of its life is a mass of upholstery, aluminum, copper, steel. Our recycler is basically like a huge, massive blender that chews it up into little pieces, and then through all types of hi-tech separating, it turns chicken trash into chicken salad, all it about 8 seconds.”

To learn more about these featured guests, listen to the entire interview on Midtown Business Radio.

About Midtown Business Radio:

Each week, from the Business RadioX® studio in Midtown, host CW Hall interviews Atlanta’s top business professionals to learn what makes them the best at what they do. Midtown Business Radio airs on Tuesdays at 11:30am Eastern.

About Business RadioX®:

Business RadioX® interviews dozens of innovative entrepreneurs and successful leaders each week. Its mission is to help local businesses Get the Word Out about the important work they’re doing for their market, their community, and their profession. With a pro-business slant and a long-form interview format, guests don’t have to worry about being ambushed or talking in “sound bites.” Guests have enough time to tell their whole story and to share their insights and experience without interruptions. Business RadioX® hosts are business professionals interviewing their peers, drilling down on the critical issues, and delivering practical information to an engaged business audience. Business topics that are frequently covered include: Law, Finance, Healthcare, Technology, Trade Shows, B2B Marketing, Venture Capital, Training and Development and other issues impacting the business community. For more information, visit: https://businessradiox.com.

The Ice Box and Encore Recycling

September 29, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

The Ice Box and Encore Recycling

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Business Radio — Gary Blase and Jordy Gamson talk shredding autos and effective brand marketing

The Ice Box and Encore Recycling

Guest co-host, Bo Wilkins from SoundRiver Advisors sat in with me as we interviewed one of the founders of The Ice Box, Jordy Gamson, and his good friend, Gary Blase, of Encore Recycling. Learn how valuable the right promotional product can be for keeping your company top-of-mind for your customers. And, learn about technology that can grind a car—yes, a CAR, into bits in 8 seconds.

Check back soon for more info!

Special Guests:

Bo Wilkins, Partner, SoundRiver Advisors

Former Executive Managing Director, Wealth Management, Reliance Trust Company
Former Partner, Nease, Lagana, Eden, & Culley
BA, History & German, Hampden-Sydney College
CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter; ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant; CAP – Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy

Jordy Gamson, CEO/Co-founder, The Ice Box

Gary Blase, Managing Member of Encore Recycling

SoundRiver Advisors and Emerging Artist Network

February 3, 2015 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

SoundRiver Advisors and Emerging Artist Network

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SoundRiver Advisors and Emerging Artist Network

This week we sat down with experts from SoundRiver Advisors and Emerging Artist Network. Bo Wilkins, one of the experts from SoundRiver Advisors who focuses on insurance strategies and solutions came back on and introduced us to Dave Sutton of Emerging Artist Network. Dave brought along his partner, well-known guitarist, Peter Stroud. SoundRiver Advisors is an Atlanta firm whose team is made up of investment finance, insurance, and tax experts. They work with privately-held companies to help them plan compensation packages for key executives as well as position themselves for generational transition.

Bo introduced me to Dave Sutton, who along with Peter Stroud and Dan Lipson, had started a technology company called Emerging Artist Network. With his extensive background as a marketing expert with TopRight Partners charged with helping companies expand their brands’ awareness, he saw an opportunity to fill a void in the entertainment industry. Dave has leveraged this experience with brand development and marketing with a passion for music to help develop a technology platform that utilizes a collection of data points about emerging bands as well as brands. The data enables Emerging Artist Network to use gamification and analytics to match brands seeking to grow to emerging artists whose data profile and band dynamic matches the picture for that particular brand. Peter Stroud has been a touring musician with a long list of artists such as Sheryl Crow, Sara McLaughlin, Don Henley, Peter Droge, and numerous others. He co-founded the boutique amplifier company, “65amps“, whose amps are used by a host of accomplished artists as well.

Dave and Peter talked about how challenging the music business is now for artists to make money on their music, outside of touring. In today’s digital age that has changed the way fans purchase music, royalties have declined significantly. That means emerging artists must look for sources of revenue to support their creative efforts and recording costs through such channels as strategic relationships with brands willing to sponsor their work. Peter talked about how securing sponsorship has often had a negative stigma in the music industry among artists, being viewed as “Selling out”. Emerging Artist Network seeks to get to know a band, their style/genre, and their listeners and using innovative algorithms, they’re able to match artists with brands who are looking to include musical acts in their brand awareness campaigns. As Peter and Dave described, they seek to let the bands they work with be who they are rather than seeking to change them to fit a sponsor. I look forward to having them back on the show to feature a delighted brand they were able to link up with a band.

Special Guests

Bo Wilkins, Partner, SoundRiver Advisors

Former Executive Managing Director, Wealth Management, Reliance Trust Company
Former Partner, Nease, Lagana, Eden, & Culley
BA, History & German, Hampden-Sydney College
CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter; ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant; CAP – Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy

Dave Sutton, CEO/Co-Founder of Emerging Artist Network

MBA, Marketing, George Washington University
Published Author
President/CEO, TopRight Partners

Peter Stroud, Co-Founder/ Artist Relations of Emerging Artist Network

Guitarist, Musical Director for Sheryl Crow
Co-Founder/Partner, 65amps
Founder of the band, Big Hat

Nine Labs, Polygon, Casey Gilson, Nelson Mullins, and SoundRiver Advisors

November 18, 2014 by angishields

Midtown Business Radio

Nine Labs, Polygon, Casey Gilson, Nelson Mullins, and SoundRiver Advisors

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Nine Labs, Polygon, Casey Gilson, Nelson Mullins, and SoundRiver Advisors

This week we heard from experts in corporate law (workers compensation and mergers & acquisitions), web design and customer experience, and corporate executive compensation and financial planning. I hosted folks from Nine Labs, Polygon, Casey Gilson, Nelson Mullins, and SoundRiver Advisors.

J. Cornelius is the President of Nine Labs, a web design and customer experience company based in Atlanta. He also started Polygon, an event space designed and dedicated to support Atlanta’s growing technology industry. Nine Labs is a user experience consultancy that helps businesses improve the look and feel of their digital technologies, making sure that a customer’s experience is useful, intuitive, and branding is maintained across the variety of digital media, mobile devices, and other user interfaces. The company will provide message content or work with their client’s internal team to optimize the way the client presents their brand to the public. Nine Labs is able to help businesses that are putting effort into making sure their customers can have a consistent experience across all digital/mobile platforms. They often encounter situations where a user’s experience on a mobile device is very different in terms of look and feel of a company’s branding, along with less-than-optimal navigation or functionality. Nine Labs’ experts are able to bring a consistent, positive experience to a company’s web visitors, regardless of technology used to access it. Polygon is an event space located in popular Atlantic Station in Midtown Atlanta that was created to provide technology companies and associations with a place to have productive networking, planning, and educational events. The space is located, laid out, and equipped with the Atlanta technology industry in mind.

Rayford Taylor is an attorney with the firm, Casey Gilson PC, admitted to practice law in Florida and Georgia. The majority of his practice is providing advice and representation to employers, insurance companies, insurance funds, and third party administrators in the defense of workers’ compensation claims, whether at trial or on appeal. Rayford also represents such entities in disputes with both Florida and Georgia state governments and regulators involving the operation of their companies and businesses. He has handled workers’ compensation cases all over Georgia and North Florida since 1990. The law firm of Casey Gilson is a firm that practices in the areas of labor law, personal injury defense, business litigation, trademark matters, patent disputes, bankruptcy cases and general litigation throughout all parts of Georgia. Rayford talked about some key areas where businesses make mistakes that can create increased exposure to workers compensation costs. He shared recommendations that employers could use to improve relations with injured employees as well as reducing risk for fraudulent behaviors.

Michael Hollingsworth is an award-winning attorney with Nelson, Mullins, Riley, and Scarborough LLP, located in Atlanta. He is a managing partner of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough’s Atlanta office, and is co-head of the Firm’s Mergers & Acquisitions Group. Mr. Hollingsworth focuses on middle-market corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and joint ventures. He also serves on the Firm’s Executive Committee, the governing body of seven partners who oversee firm standing committees, strategic initiatives, and firm operations. Michael represents private equity and hedge funds relative to their formation, operations and investments. He has a broad range of industry experience including food and beverage, consumer-branded products, healthcare, construction and aggregates, technology and telecommunications, media, manufacturing and distribution, and business services. Michael is also a transactional lawyer in the Firm’s multidisciplinary National Healthcare Practice Group.

Nelson Mullins provides advice and counsel in litigation, corporate, securities, finance, intellectual property, employment, government relations, regulatory, and other needs of clients ranging from private individuals to large businesses, including many publicly held companies. Nelson Mullins offers services in over 40 practice areas and as such they are able to provide expertise to a wide range of legal and business problems while offering value-added service to clients. Many Nelson Mullins clients—including growth companies, expanding local businesses, and major international companies—retain the Firm to provide all of their legal services. Other clients are national companies requiring assistance with specific regional or local legal matters. The Firm also has experience representing international companies interested in locating facilities in the Southeast. Start-up assistance for entrepreneurial endeavors, multi-action litigation defense, and representation of underwriters and investment bankers are only a few of the services that are provided by Nelson Mullins attorneys. Michael talked about how rewarding it is to become a trusted adviser for his clients as well as helping them to successfully navigate the sale of a successful business to the betterment of their financial situations.

Bo Wilkins, of SoundRiver Advisors stopped by to talk about the way their firm helps privately-owned businesses plan for generational transitions of ownership as well as preparation for sale or merger should those options be the chosen path for their clients. SoundRiver Advisors is an independent wealth management and life insurance advisory firm providing strategies to help privately held business owners invest, protect, and perpetuate their wealth. We talked about how challenging it can be for companies to retain high-performing, key executives (as well as how expensive it can be to replace them). SoundRiver Advisors is able to help the business owner develop a compensation plan that affords their key executives with a compelling pay and bonus structure along with effective investment/benefit vehicles that will optimize the tax picture of that compensation package, making it much more likely those important executives will remain in place. The firm provides certified financial and insurance experts and is a Registered Investment Advisor. SoundRiver is structured to offer their clients unbiased and untethered solutions. They avoid selling captive investment or insurance solutions. You don’t have to talk with their folks very long before you realize they are in the business of finding the best solution for each of their clients.

Special Guests:

J. Cornelius, President of Nine Labs, Founder of Polygon

President, Atlanta Web Design Group
Former VP Operations, CoffeeCup Software, Inc.
Mentor, ATDC
Creative Circus Advisory Board Member

Rayford Taylor, Attorney of Casey Gilson PC

Former VP, Stiles, Taylor, and Grace
Former General Counsel and Legislative Counsel, Florida Bar
Juris Doctor, Florida State University College of Law
Fellow, National Workers Compensation Lawyers

Michael Hollingsworth, Managing Partner, of Nelson, Mullins, Riley, & Scarborough

Juris Doctor, Samford Cumberland School of Law
Master of Laws, Taxation, University of Alabama School of Law
Member, Executive Committee, Managing Partner-Atlanta, Co-chair Mergers & Acquisitions
Recipient: BTI Client Service All-Stars (2012), Chambers & Partners (M&A), International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers, SuperLawyers (Georgia)

Bo Wilkins, Partner, SoundRiver Advisors

Former Executive Managing Director, Wealth Management, Reliance Trust Company
Former Partner, Nease, Lagana, Eden, & Culley
BA, History & German, Hampden-Sydney College
CLU – Chartered Life Underwriter; ChFC – Chartered Financial Consultant; CAP – Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy