1- Financing Your Business
    Where the Money is & How to Get It

Julian Barnes
President & Cofounder, Barnes Enterprises, Inc.
 

Julian A. Barnes is the President and Cofounder of Barnes Enterprises, a management and financial consulting firm for small and mid-market businesses. Prior to forming Barnes Enterprises, Barnes was the cofounder of BLG Ventures, Inc., a company that produced trade shows for the venture capital and technology industries. At BLG Ventures, Barnes' responsibilities include overseeing the company's sales and marketing operations, legal affairs, business development and strategic planning functions.

Barnes is the co-author of BLG Ventures' 2002 Guide to Venture Capital and Angel Investors for Women and Minorities (Lewis Publishing, 2002). He is also an Adjunct Instructor at New York University where he teaches classes on small businesses and entrepreneurship and he is the Faculty Coordinator for NYU's Summer Institute in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. He is a graduate of Tufts University and he received his JD from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law.

Marshall Kiev
Partner, Main Street Resources

Mr. Kiev is a Partner at Main Street Resources, a private equity firm comprised of over 100 individuals and institutions who provide capital and financial/strategic expertise to companies and individuals with great potential.

Main Street will invest $2 Million to $10 Million of equity capital in minority positions, majority stakes, or complete buyouts. Main Street is focused on strong businesses with positive cash flow in stable, bricks and mortar industries. We do not invest in high-tech companies or startups. We will invest under various circumstances including recapitalizations, spin-offs, growth capital, management buyouts, buyouts of passive/active shareholders, and family and/or management transitions. For larger transactions, Main Street has arranged $15-20 million in equity by accessing the resources of its investor network.

Mr. Kiev joined the firm after eleven years as a principal of Family Management Corporation, a $500.0MM asset management firm. Additionally, Mr. Kiev is an active member of the Metro Chapter of Young President's Organization Marshall received an MBA in Finance and BA from New York University.

Emanuel Martinez
Founder & Managing Director, GreenHills Ventures, LLC

Mr. Martinez has over 15 years' comprehensive CFO, investment banking, and investment management experience. Founder, GreenHills Ventures, LLC, and Managing Partner, GHV, LLC and GHV Fund, LP, a $40 million Early Stage Private Equity Fund. He oversaw the $125 million sale of Sixdegrees.com and the $150 million sale of E@wonders. He executed turnaround strategies and advised on financial management for large and small companies, including American Express, Citibank, Coopers & Lybrand, Inlumen, sixdegrees.com, Coastal Oil, Dial Corporation, Seagram's Beverage Corporation, and Olsten Financial Services.

He is active on several advisory boards including the Sandy Weill Institute, High School of Economics and Finance and E-POL, Inc. (an intelligence and securities Company for which he is a Cofounder and Chief Financial Officer), and Chairman for Venture Capital and Investment Banking for Westchester Business Accelerator, LLC.

In 1994, Mr. Martinez was appointed by the Governor of Georgia, Zell Miller to be a member of Operation Legacy Project responsible for attracting major Corporations to the Revitalization Projects in preparation for the 1996 Centennial Olympics Games in Atlanta.

MBA, Finance and BA, Accounting from St. John's University, New York; Executive Management Program in Mergers & Acquisitions and Corporate Finance from Harvard University; CPA, NY State. Proficiency in Spanish, Italian and Hebrew.

2 - Turning Your Business Idea into a Reality

Professor Jeremy Wiesen
NYU Stern School of Business
Former Chairman & Co-CEO Financial News Network (Now CNBC)

Jeremy Wiesen is Associate Professor of Business Law and Accounting at the Stern School where he has taught business law, entrepreneurship and other subjects. He has also taught in the business schools at Columbia, Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley and at The Wharton School from which he graduated. Professor Wiesen is also a graduate of Harvard Law School, was Chairman and CO-CEO of Financial News Network (acquired by CNBC), and was counsel to SEC and AICPA committees.

3 - The Upside to the Downside
      Starting, Growing & Maintaining Your Business in Troubled Times

Philip Drudy
Mintz Rosenfeld & Company, LLC

With over 15 years of tax and estate planning experience, Philip Drudy, Esq., CPA, is the Director of Mintz Rosenfeld & Co, LLC's tax department and plays a key role in their financial planning organization, Strategic Advisory Group.

Over his career, Philip has worked for national, "Big 5" firms as well as regional firms in the New York Metropolitan area. This broad range of experience helped him build substantial expertise in the areas of estate planning, business succession planning and international tax matters. These skills make him a valuable advisor to our closely-held business clients, high net-worth individuals, and clients in the sports and entertainment industries.

As a recognized authority on tax and estate planning issues, Philip is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences across the country and is often called upon by national and local media for contribution on current topics in these areas. For instance, Philip has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and several Bloomberg financial publications. He has also published estate planning manuals and newsletters dealing with business succession, charitable giving and estate administration issues. On the international front, Philip is recognized for his skills in planning for individuals and businesses entering the United States as well as developing comprehensive exit strategies.

He is the chairman of the Partnership Committee of the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA). He received his BS degree from Brooklyn College and his JD from Brooklyn Law School. He resides in New City, New York with his family.
 

Kaleil Isaza Tuzman
Founder & Partner, Recognition Group, LLC

Mr. Isaza Tuzman is an expert in corporate restructuring and an influential voice on entrepreneurship.

He has overall responsibility for his company's corporate restructuring advisory practice, as well as its proprietary investment activities. In his role at Recognition Group, Isaza Tuzman has served as an interim CEO for troubled companies in the software, technology services, media and business services fields. Prior to founding Recognition Group, Isaza Tuzman was the cofounder and CEO of govWorks, Inc., a leading software services firm serving the state and local government marketplace. govWorks (now called govONE Solutions, Inc.) was a pioneer in the e-government field, and has been backed by over $60 million in venture financing. Isaza Tuzman navigated govWorks through a reorganization in the turbulent markets of late 2000, ultimately resulting in a sale of the company to First Data Corporation (NYSE: FDC).

Previously, Isaza Tuzman cofounded Enicial Ventures, a venture capital firm investing in Latin American and Hispanic-focused technology companies. Isaza Tuzman spent five years at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he worked in the Investment Banking and Equities Risk Arbitrage areas in the New York office.

Isaza Tuzman has appeared in numerous national media outlets, including CNN, NBC News, CNBC, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Barron's, Charlie Rose and most recently, he was profiled on ABC's Nightline UpClose. Isaza Tuzman is also active in the realms of public policy and Hispanic issues. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an Advisor to the World Bank's Gateway Development Project, a Sponsor of the David Rockefeller Center for Latin American Studies at Harvard University, and a Board member of the MicroMentor Program of the Aspen Institute. He is also a member of the Board of Junior Achievement of New York. Isaza Tuzman is on the faculty of the American Bankruptcy Institute, and a member of both the Turnaround Management Association and the American Bankruptcy Association.

Isaza Tuzman graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University with a degree in Government and a Certificate in Latin American Studies. He is fluent in Portuguese and Spanish.

4 - Importing & Exporting
      Circling the World for Profit

Racine Berkow
President & Founder, Racine Berkow Associates, Inc.

Ms. Berkow is President and Founder of Racine Berkow Associates, Inc., licensed customs brokers and freight forwarders specializing in handling fine arts, antiques and museum exhibitions. In addition to serving the art world, RBA also provides logistic services to government agencies and the public sector. RBA holds the distinction of having created the special packaging for the most valuable work ever sold at auction (the 82 million dollar Van Gogh) and having handled such world treasures as the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Prior to establishing RBA in 1987, Ms. Berkow served as Registrar of The Jewish Museum in New York and held executive positions at two international shipping companies - one based in London and one in New York. During her tenure at the museum, she was a founding member of the Registrar's Committee of The American Association of Museums and a regional officer.

Ms. Berkow holds a BFA from Ohio State University and professional certificates from The School of Visual Arts, and The World Trade Institute. She is a member of Arttable, Inc. (Professional Women in the Arts) and is on the Board of Directors of The Tel Aviv Museum of Art.

Stephen Hindy
President & Cofounder, Brooklyn Brewery

A former journalist, Steve Hindy became interested in home-brewing while serving as a Beirut-based Middle East Correspondent for The Associated Press. Back in the states as Newsday's assistant foreign editor, he began brewing his own beer and persuaded his downstairs neighbor Tom Potter, a banker, that they should quit their jobs and start a brewery. The Brooklyn Brewery is among the top 35 breweries in America and sells beer in eight states, Japan, Britain and Germany. Hindy is a director of Brooklyn's Prospect Park Alliance and the Brewers Association of America.

Andy Ward
Director & EVP, Corporate Power Services, Inc.

Andy Ward has twenty years of apparel industry and technology experience. A third generation apparel executive, he started his career with Evan Picone Ladies' in its Hong Kong sourcing office. Andy was instrumental in two successful Private Label Apparel startups with Bob Ward, former Chairman of Palm Beach Ladies, U.B.A. International and R.B.W. Inc. Andy enhanced his branded experience with Joe Boxer in its Activewear Division and also developed a US marketing plan for retailers as Sales Manager for Peruvian vertical knit manufacturer, Textiles Populares.

In addition to his sales experience, Andy brings crucial soft-goods technology experience as advisor to LTS Digital Textile Printing Service and with QRS's Image Info division. Andy holds a B.A. from the University of Vermont.

5 - Your Own Consulting Firm
      Share Knowledge, Generate Wealth

Grace Dantas
Chief, Fun-Guru
 

Back in 1992, Grace had a hectic life as a Supervisor for the IT Department at a government agency, getting a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, plus tons of homework. She simply had no time for fun and was getting burned out!

She decided to change that scenario and started to arrange activities that she would like to do. Eventually she built up a following of other fun-loving people who would call her up and ask her what happening event she planned to attend every weekend.

In 1998, when she moved to the United States, she had a hard time finding people to share fun events with and again she began her list of exciting things to do.

In her travels, she met someone who inspired her to use her talents of finding adventurous outings and making a business out of it. Fun-Guru, Inc., was born.

Fun-Guru.com is a social based activity service in which people from all walks of life come together and engage in all sorts of things from pottery making, to wine tasting, to sky diving to mountain biking.

Grace Dantas is a native of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She got her Bachelor's degree in Business Administration in 1992, majoring in Public Relations and Information Technology and a MBA in Marketing in 2000.

Lara Kisielewska
Founder, Optimum Design & Consulting
 

Lara J. Kisielewska founded Optimum Design & Consulting in 1992 after completing a BS in Graphic Communications Management and Technology at New York University. Optimum is a ten-person graphic design, print production, and Macintosh computer service/support firm located in midtown Manhattan. Their clients range across all industries, from mom-and-pop shops to Nickelodeon and American Express.

Lara has been a member of the Graphic Artists Guild since 1992, becoming President of the New York Chapter in 2000. She has also held a seat on the National Board of Directors of the Guild since 1998, representing New York on a national level. She has also been a member of the New York Chapter of the National Association of Woman Business Owners (NAWBO) since 1992. She now serves as President-elect and will assume the Presidency of the New York Chapter in June of 2004.

Although the Guild and NAWBO are her two main passions, Lara is also a member of the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce (MCC), and the Let's Talk Business Network (LTBN), and holds a seat on the advisory Board of the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). In her spare time, Lara teaches a workshop called How to Start a Graphic Design Business for The Learning Annex, the Guild, and a variety of local colleges.

Michael Kraner
CEO, Primary Support Solutions

Primary Support Solutions is an information technology firm specializing in premium consulting, full service support, and customized solutions to companies of all sizes. Primary Support's mission is to help companies enhance their technical efficiencies to gain competitive advantages that will help increase their business productivity and profitability. Primary Support also has a special small business unit focusing on the unique needs of emerging companies.

Most recently, Mr. Kraner worked as a foreign exchange trader for the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. He has significant entrepreneurial experience. Prior to being a trader, Michael was President and founder of Collegiate Communications, a collegiate marketing and promotions company representing Fortune 1000 clients nationally. He created event marketing and promotions in 25 states for Ames Department Stores, Rolling Stone magazine, and the F.W. Woolworth Company. Prior to launching Collegiate Communications Inc., Michael CO-founded K & K Marketing, a communications agency serving the Ithaca community. In its first year of business, K & K worked with over 90 local, regional and national franchised businesses. Michael received a Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts from Cornell University.

6 - Sales Fundamentals
      The Lifeblood of Your Business

Steven Morgan
CEO, SalesRecruits.com

Steven Morgan has 19 years of startup, sales, marketing, and senior management experience in the software industry. He is the Founder and CEO of SalesRecruits.com, the leading online recruiting service focused exclusively on software and technology sales processionals.

Steven and his company have been featured in the New York Times, Newsday, Infoworld, Software Business, Selling Power, and numerous other publications, as innovators and industry experts in building, marketing, and operating profitable online recruiting services.

Prior to SalesRecruits.com, Steven was a Senior Vice President of Marketing and Product Management for Allen Systems Group, one of the largest privately held software companies in the world. Before that, he was a Product Vice President responsible for field sales and marketing with McAfee Software during the company's ascent from a small player to a major industry leader. Earlier in his career Steven CO-founded a company that became one of the Top 100 Network Integrators in North America for three years running. Steven lives with his wife and five children in Fort Salonga, New York. He enjoys coaching CYO basketball and fishing off the shores of Long Island.

7 - Cash Flow and Profitability
      Understanding the Numbers for the New Entrepreneur

Alan Badey
Managing Partner, Citrin Cooperman & Company, LLP—White Plains office

Alan G. Badey is a profitability consultant. Most of his work involves working side by side with closely-held businesses and their owners to develop and grow their companies — either internally or by means of merger and acquisition. The focus is always on profit.

Mr. Badey has been working in the field of public accounting for 13 years and has strong accounting, auditing and tax skills. His numerous clients come from various industries — manufacturing to wholesale to professional services.

He is a Certified Public Accountant in State of New York. He received accreditation in Tax Planning and Advising for Closely-Held Businesses by the AICPA and has a Bachelor of Business Administration in Public Accounting from Pace University

He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, a member of the Estate Planning Council of Westchester, and Treasurer-elect of the Westchester Chapter of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accounts (beginning May 1, 2003).

Mr. Badey is currently serving on the Business Advisory Board for the Mahopac National Bank and is Treasurer for the Partnership for a Better Westchester (local non-profit). He is past Chairman of the Young CPA's Committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (Statewide), past Chairman of the Federal & State Tax Committee of the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (Westchester Chapter), past committee member for New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants Executive Committee on Committee Operations (Statewide) and an alumni mentor for Pace University students

He is a frequent speaker for the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants' Foundation for Accounting Education (FAE).

8 - Franchising
      Buying or Creating a Proven Business Model

Mitch Cohen
Franchisee, Dunkin Donuts

Harold Kestenbaum
Franchise Attorney

Harold L. Kestenbaum is an attorney who has specialized in franchise law and other matters relating to franchising since 1977. From May 1982 until September 1986, Mr. Kestenbaum served as franchise and general counsel to Sbarro, Inc., the national franchisor of over 900 family-style Italian restaurants and since March 1985, he has been a director of Sbarro, whose securities were formerly listed on the New York Stock Exchange. In addition, he currently sits on the Board of Directors of RezConnect Technologies, Inc., Ultimate Franchise Systems, Desert Moon Café Franchise Corp., GarageTech, Inc. and Wall Street Deli Systems, Inc. From September 1983 to October 1989, he served as President and Chairman of the Board of FranchiseIt Corporation, the first publicly traded company specializing in providing franchise marketing and consulting services and equity financing to emerging franchise companies, which he CO-founded

Mr. Kestenbaum is or has been franchise counsel to many regional, national and international franchise companies in many diverse industries.

Mr. Kestenbaum's expertise in franchise law is buttressed by his practical experience of serving as the Chief Executive Officer of a national franchisor and serving as a Director of four nationally and internationally known franchisors, experiences that are rare and unique in the area of franchise law.

Currently, Mr. Kestenbaum is engaged exclusively in the independent practice of franchise law, representing franchisors only, both startup and established.

Mr. Kestenbaum is a member of the American Bar Association's Antitrust Section, a member of the Antitrust Section's Forum Committee on Franchising, a member of the Subcommittee on Franchising of the American Bar Association's Corporation Banking and Business Law Section, is a founding member and the current Chairman of the New York State Bar Association's Franchise, Distribution and Licensing Law Section, and currently serves as Chairman for its Education and Seminar Subcommittee (he chaired a statewide seminar programs for New York State attorneys in 1997, 2000 and in 2002). He has published many articles related to franchising and frequently lectures and appears before numerous organizations and law schools speaking on various topics in franchising.

Mr. Kestenbaum received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1971 from Queens College, Queens, New York and earned his Juris Doctor Degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, Richmond, Virginia, in 1975, where he was a member of Law Review. He is listed in "Who's Who in American Law", "The Best Lawyers in America" (Franchising), and is on the Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers

Marc Schuman
Founder & CEO, GarageTek™

GarageTek™ is a high-end garage organization and storage system that creates a neat, clean and useful space out of the garage. The first national brand of its kind, the GarageTek™ system is unlike any other product

TekPanel™ technology, which has withstood the rigors of the retailing establishment, is now the backbone of the GarageTek™ system.

Builders and homeowners value GarageTek™ because it's versatile, weatherproof, bug proof and fire rated. It won't scratch, ding, dent or rust and it is backed by a 10-year warranty.

GarageTek™ was incorporated in January 2001 and franchise sales began in March 2001. Currently, 33 franchises are operating in 29 states and 53 markets from coast to coast, GarageTek™ closed the first year with sales of $2 million; 2002 sales topped $6 million. By 2003, sales are forecasted to reach $18 million.

9 - Women in Business
      The Ceiling Isn't Glass When You Own It

Michelle Benjamin
President & CEO, Benjamin Enterprises, Inc.

As President and Chief Executive Officer of Benjamin Enterprises, Inc., Mrs. Benjamin oversees each of the company's major profit centers. In over seventeen years, she has developed a strong managerial team allowing for a profit center organization, structured with the opportunity to manage selected major projects.

Under her leadership, Benjamin Enterprises, Inc. has become on of the fastest growing facility support businesses in the Hudson Valley region. She is recognized as a pioneer within her profession through the implementation of image-building management and maintenance concepts.

Through the efforts of its President, Benjamin Enterprises, Inc. entered the field of operation and maintenance over 17 years ago. Today, facility support service is the company's main business. Under this discipline, Benjamin Enterprises provides HVAC maintenance, janitorial, unarmed security guard, cafeteria management, worksite traffic control and fleet maintenance.

Mrs. Benjamin's more than 20 years of professional managerial experience has been earmarked by her strong background as a Registered Nurse with Intensive Care Nursing training. Today, these same skills have assisted her firm, Benjamin Enterprises to reach its goals.

She had a BS degree in nursing from the City University of New York, Hunter College and has studied Executive Business Management at Dartmouth's Amos Tuck School of Business.

Leslie Grossman
Founder, Women's Leadership Exchange, B2Women

Leslie Grossman, Founder of B2Women, has been creating b2b and b2c marketing/public relations programs focused on women for more than 20 years. Prior to launching B2Women, Grossman led Communications/Marketing Action, Inc. (CMA), creating public relations/integrated marketing programs in a broad spectrum of industries including new media, financial services, small business, style, entertainment, travel, and publishing.

During the 14-year history of CMA, Grossman observed companies marketing to business women the same way they marketed to men with disappointing results. As a leader in several professional women's organizations she noticed the inability of many corporations to translate sponsorships into business. She was concerned that their lack of success would cause them to give up on business women as the powerful market it is Grossman's experience in marketing to women, integrated with her in-depth study of the business women's market, resulted in her creation of a B2W (business to women) strategy which she began using at CMA. With more and more success with CMA clients, she decided to launch a new company focused on marketing to this elusive group.

In 2000 Grossman launched B2Women, established to support the marketing objectives of companies recognizing the power of the fast-growing market of women business owners and business executives. B2Women creates and implements original groundbreaking marketing and public relations initiatives for corporations, women's business organizations, conferences and leading women-owned firms. A track record of successes includes American Express Small Business Services, Platinum Guild International, Women.Future, MetroPartners, the Corporate State: A Women's CEO and Senior Managers Summit, SAAB Cars and North Fork Bank.

Grossman has been active in the business community in many roles including: National Global Chair and NYC Past President, National Association of Women Business Owners, (NAWBO); National Advisory Council of the US Small Business Administration (SBA)1996-2000; Counselor, American Women's Economic Development (AWED). Grossman serves on the advisory boards of Women's Financial Network and the Center for Women's Business Research, formerly known as the National Foundation of Women Business Owners (NFWBO), Washington, DC. She also served as New York Chair, Women's Leadership Forum; Board of Directors, New York Women's Agenda and Jose Limon Dance Foundation; Board Secretary, Fashion Group International. In 1999 Grossman was named Entrepreneur of the Year by Fashion Group International and received the President's Leadership Award, National Association of Women Business Owners, 2000.

Grossman is a frequent speaker on branding, marketing to women, the women's market and the power of entrepreneurship. She has spoken for three consecutive years at the New York University All-University Entrepreneur's Conference and has traveled as far as Tokyo to address the Tokyo Chamber of Commerce Convention on "Striving Towards A Global Network of Business Women for the 21st Century". Other speaking engagements include JP Morgan-Chase, The Luxury Marketing Council and the Crain's Expo.

Grossman received a BA in psychology/business from George Washington University, Washington, DC and attended graduate school at New York University. A great believer in continuous growth and training, Grossman is a graduate of Insight Seminars, MAP (Managing Accelerated Productivity), Landmark Education and Life Designs. Married to Richard Abrams, Grossman is the mother of two college age children.

Ann Liguori
President, Ann Liguori Productions, Inc.
 

Ms. Liguori is a leader in the sports broadcasting and marketing industries, having had great success as a sports talk show host, interviewer, producer, reporter and journalist for radio, television and print media outlets. She also is the President of her own television production company and owner of the award-winning Sports Innerview with Ann Liguori weekly television series, seen on regional sports networks throughout the country.

Liguori has become one of the top interviewers in the business and is known for asking tough questions in a respectful way. As a producer for many of her shows, she also books the top names and is able to secure some of the most difficult interviews. And on many of her shows, she plays golf with major stars - - while simultaneously interviewing them - - using golf as a "window into the souls" of her guests.

In 2001, Ann became the first woman in sports media to be honored with the Association for Women in Communication's "Headliner's Award," previously awarded to Katherine Graham, Barbara Walters, Sylvia Porter and Gail Sheehy, to name a few. The award is AWC's highest honor bestowed upon a professional member, and is presented on the basis of recent national or international accomplishments. This year, her Sports Innerview show was named the winner of the Media Award in the "Television" category by the International Network of Golf (ING), a media-based networking organization with more than 1,000 members. Ann was also recently honored with the "Trailblazer's Award" from the National Association of Women Business Owners, Long Island Chapter.

Ann also co-hosted Golf 2000 with Peter Jacobsen,a nationally-syndicated golf magazine television show in which she booked, produced and appeared in the celebrity golf segment each week. Ann also hosted and produced Conversations with Ann Liguori, a weekly, prime-time series for The Golf Channel in which she golfed with and interviewed stars such as Celine Dion, Joe Pesci, Sylvester Stallone, Vince Gill, Amy Grant, Dan Quayle, Charles Barkley, the late Charles Schulz and many more.

In addition, Ann is a much sought-after corporate spokesperson and motivational speaker, having addressed a variety of groups at conventions, book signings, universities, golf events and other venues.

Ann is one of only two original WFAN Radio sports talk show hosts still on the air at the New York station, which was the first in the nation to go to an all-sports format in 1987. Her late Friday night show features interviews with top sports personalities, including athletes, coaches, columnists and agents, plus a live chat session (on annliguori.com), as well as calls from listeners. She is the golf and tennis correspondent for WFAN and each year covers The Masters, US Open (Golf and Tennis), the British Open, Ryder Cup, NYC Marathon and other assignments for the station.

Ann has covered five Olympics for network radio as a show host and reporter, including the 1984 Los Angeles Summer Games, the 1992 Albertville and 1994 Lillehammer Winter Olympics, the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, where she reported on alpine skiing for CBS Radio/Westwood One, doing live play-by-play of the men's and women's downhill competitions.

A Passion for Golf - Celebrity Musings About the Game is Ann's book featuring a collection of interviews she has done while on the golf course with some of the most successful celebrities in sports, Hollywood, music and business. Ann has also produced for the Audio Book Club, A Passion for Life, Celebrity Musings from the Fairways, which is an audio version of some of her top interviews.

Ann frequently writes a celebrity golf column for the Sports Section of USA TODAY and contributes to W Magazine, Golf Travel & Leisure, The Masters Journal and other major sports publications.

Ann hosts the Ann Liguori Celebrity Golf Invitational to benefit the American Cancer Society every May at the Westhampton Country Club on Long Island, which has become one of the premier events to attend in The Hamptons. Ann plays in numerous celebrity golf tournaments, serves on the Board of Trustees for the National Academy of TV Arts and Sciences, is on the Advisory Board of the Women's Sports Foundation and chairs the College of Arts & Sciences Annual Fund at the University of South Florida, where she has established an endowed scholarship in memory of her brother Jim.

Ann was recently among the first class from her Brecksville High School in Ohio to be inducted into the Brecksville High School Alumni Hall of Fame, joining the Mayor of the town and three previous Mayors who were also inducted. And Ann was named "Woman of the Year" at the Caitlin Memorial Golf Tournament at the Hackensack Country Club this past June.

Amy Scherber
Baker, Owner & Founder, Amy's Bread

Ms. Scherber is known nationally for her commitment to making handmade, traditional breads. After graduating from St. Olaf College in Minnesota, she began her career in marketing in New York City, but after three years in the business world, realized a passion for cooking and baking. She attended culinary school at New York Restaurant School, then worked as a line cook and pastry cook at Bouley restaurant. To learn more about bread, Amy trained briefly in three bakeries in France, then returned to NY and baked bread at Mondrian Restaurant before launching Amy's Bread. The bakery, which opened in 1992 in a small storefront on Ninth Avenue (Hell's Kitchen) has received rave reviews. Amy's Bread has been featured in the NY Times, New York Magazine, Time Out New York, Gourmet, Food and Wine, Bon Appetit, La Cucina Italiana, and many others as one of the top bread bakeries in New York, and the US. The bakery was included as one of America's favorite neighborhood restaurants in Bon Appetit's recent article.

In 1996, Amy expanded to a second location in the Chelsea Market where you can watch workers through the glass storefront as they mix, shape and bake the bread. In 1992 the staff numbered only 5 workers, and has grown to over 100 employees today. Amy's Bread delivers delicious breads and rolls to more than one-hundred-fifty restaurants and stores in New York daily. Amy also has three retail cafés, her first two locations, plus a new store on the Upper East Side, which opened in June of 2001. Her cafés offer a full line of breads, sweets, cakes, and sandwiches, plus cappuccino and other beverages.

Amy has published a cookbook, Amy's Bread, filled with recipes for many of her breads and morning pastries. The 2003 Zagat Survey of Restaurants ranked Amy's Bread fifth in the "Top 100 Bangs for the Buck in NYC with a rating of 25 for food. The bakery was chosen in Time Out New York's list of top 100 favorite cafes and restaurants in New York for 2001.

Amy is on the board of directors of the Bread Bakers Guild of America, and formerly on the board of Women Chefs and Restaurateurs. She has appeared on the Food Network on the Baker's Dozen, and on many other television cooking shows. Amy was selected in the "40 Under 40" Rising Stars in Business by Crain's New York Business in 1997. In 1999 Amy was selected as New York Woman Business Owner of the Year by NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners.) In May of 2001 the Professional Women's Exchange, NY honored her as Woman of the Year, and she was selected as NOW--New York's Woman of Power and Influence for 2001. The James Beard Foundation also nominated Amy as Pastry Chef of the Year for 2001. She also received the NY Small Business Owner of the Year award from Manhattan Chamber of Commerce in December of 2001. The bakery celebrated its 10th anniversary on June 20, 2002! In November of 2002, Amy was awarded the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs "Golden Bowl Award," a national award among women in the food industry, for her leadership and achievement in the field of baking and pastry.

10 - Launching Not-for-Profits & Entrepreneurial Endeavors to Support Them

Daniel Helfman
Founding Principal, Social Venture Consulting
 

Social Venture Consulting, a New York City-based firm that provides business development, marketing, finance and operations assistance for manufacturing-based socially responsible companies and nonprofit social purpose businesses. Project work is broad and diverse, ranging from re-capitalizing and/or rebuilding a social venture business to researching/writing business plans to developing strategic plans to diversifying revenue streams. The client list includes: The Greyston Bakery, Planet Access (a third party logistics company), Brooklyn Woods (cabinets), The Enterprising Kitchen (soap), Immaculate Consumption (cookies), PeaceKeeper (cosmetics) and others.

Currently Helfman serves as interim Chief Operating Officer for The Enterprising Kitchen, a social enterprise based in Chicago that manufactures all-natural cold processed and glycerin soaps for retail stores and private label. Duties include restructuring debt, devising and implementing a cash flow management tool, developing and implementing a comprehensive marketing plan, establishing new customer relationships, diversifying revenue streams, expanding production capacity, reducing inventory, and creating new efficiencies.

Prior to starting a consulting practice, Helfman served as the Director of Business Development for The Greyston Bakery and The Greyston Foundation for three years. The Yonkers-based Bakery is a for-profit wholesale bakery that trains and hires the hard-to-employ, people who were homeless, in jail, on welfare, living below the poverty level and/or faced with other obstacles to employment. During his tenure with the Bakery, Helfman was instrumental in building relationships with Ben & Jerry's, Stonyfield Farms and Cumberland Farms. In addition, he developed new pricing models, conducted cost accounting analyses, devised more efficient production systems, increased distribution and sales. As a direct result of his work, the business grew more than 25% (from 3.5 MM to 4.5 MM).

In his simultaneous capacity as business development consultant to the parent company, The Greyston Foundation, Helfman conducted feasibility studies regarding new social venture businesses, researched and wrote business plans, and devised social and business models to attract foundations and other investors support to finance new operations.

Helfman holds a Master's in Public Administration from the Robert F. Wagner School for Public Service, New York University; a significant portion of his studies were conducted at the Stern School for Business MBA Program. His Master's Thesis analyzed social and business outcomes produced by social venture groups using metric tools such as The Balance Scorecard and COMSTAT. Previously, he lived in Washington, DC and worked for ten years in the consumer movement. He served as a media director to several consumer groups, and worked as a radio reporter and new producer for NBC News.

S. Victoria Shire
Business Manager, New Horizon Courier Service

Ms. Shire is a social enterprise leader in New York City with significant experience in both visioning and implementation of social venture program models so that social and financial outcomes are maximized.

By day, she is the Business Manager for New Horizon Courier Service — a program of Lenox Hill Neighborhood House — a New York City foot messenger company staffed exclusively by formerly homeless, mentally ill adults. Since 2000, Ms. Shire has increased annual revenue and customer base 20% by developing personalized relationships to meet unique aspects of customer needs, restructuring operations, improving social outcomes, and lowering costs. Simultaneously, she established a supportive employment environment that provides individualized hard- and soft-skills training and leadership opportunities for all workers. She has promoted or placed 10% of employees into jobs with higher wages. Most recently she designed a New Skills curriculum to assist workers to gain the skills required to develop and maintain a business, with courses such as Customer Service Training, Introduction to Business Finance, and Marketing.

Prior to joining New Horizon, she was a member of the Business Development Team for the Greyston Bakery in Yonkers, New York, where she conducted new business research and piloted an outcomes evaluation methodology and tracking tool.

By night, Ms. Shire is a partner in Social Venture Consulting, a New York City-based firm that provides business development, marketing, finance, and operations assistance for manufacturing-based socially responsible companies and nonprofit social purpose businesses. Her market research at national, regional, and local levels, and writing and editing of reports, feasibility studies, and pricing models contributed to the successful development of nearly $1 million in social venture investment in 2002.

Ms. Shire holds an MPA in Nonprofit Management and Finance from the Wagner School of Public Service/NYU and a BA cum laude in philosophy from Wittenberg University.

Lisa Gale Van Brackle
Deputy VP & Senior Program Manager, Seedco

Ms. Van Brackle is a Deputy Vice President & Senior Program Manager at Seedco, a national community development organization. At Seedco, Ms. Van Brackle manages a portfolio of community economic development programs that supports entrepreneurship and strengthens the business base in economically distressed communities.

Prior to joining Seedco, Ms. Van Brackle served as Director of Program Development for the Adult Literacy Media Alliance, national producers of innovative, multimedia-based adult literacy tools and social purpose business. A longtime supporter of microenterprises, she has been a Business Counselor with the Church Avenue Merchant's Block Association's Business Outreach Center and continues to conduct workshops for entrepreneurs on marketing and strategic planning. She served as Director of Prospect Research at the United Negro College Fund, where she established the organization's first prospect research division, and as Research Manager for FIND/SVP, the nation's largest private business information center.

Ms. Van Brackle is an adjunct lecturer at the Hunter College School of Social Work of the City University of New York (CUNY), where she obtained her MSW in nonprofit administration and community organizing. She also holds a BBA in marketing and consumer research from Bernard M. Baruch College of CUNY.

11 - Small Business Essentials
        Don't Just Do It, DO IT RIGHT!

Professor Seymour Jones
NYU Stern School of Business
Retired Senior Partner, Coopers & Lybrand

Seymour Jones, CPA, was a Senior Partner in the New York Office of Coopers & Lybrand on extension to September 30, 1995 to complete his role as the firm’s Partner-in-Charge of its Risk Management Program. He was the National Director of the Business Investigation Services practice which encompasses Business Reorganization Services and Bankruptcy and Litigation Services. He was also the founder of the Emerging Business Services Program at Coopers & Lybrand and former Chairman of the firm’s National Emerging Business Services Program designed to serve the business advisory needs of entrepreneurs. Since the Fall of 1993, Mr. Jones has been a Clinical Professor of Accounting, teaching auditing at New York University’s Stern School of Business. Mr. Jones also serves as an honorary member of the Board of Trustees of the New York Institute of Credit and is a former member of the Board of Directors and General Legislative Committee of the New York Credit and Financial Management Association.

Mr. Jones has considerable experience in dealing with troubled companies that require operational and financial restructuring. He has also been involved in numerous special investigation and litigation support matters and has functioned as an expert witness in accounting and auditing, and certain industries in general. Mr. Jones has devoted a considerable amount of his professional time to consulting with the management of newly acquired and emerging businesses, and has given numerous seminars on accounting and auditing to lending officials and customers of banks and other financial institutions, trade associations and educational institutions. Mr. Jones has conducted financial analysis seminars for Chemical Bank/Manufacturers Hanover Trust Company, Bankers Trust Company, National Westminster Bank, National Association of Credit Management, New York Institute of Credit, Dun & Bradstreet, National Retail Merchants Association, Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business of the University of Virginia (Advanced Credit Seminar), Fashion Institute of Technology, New York University (Managerial Accounting II – Entrepreneurship and Mergers & Seminar).

He is co-author of The Bankers’ Guide to Audit Reports and Financial Statements, The Emerging Business: Managing for Growth, and The Coopers & Lybrand Guide to Growing Your Business. Mr. Jones holds an MBA degree in accounting (Beta Gamma Sigma) from New York University and a BA degree in economics (Phi Beta Kappa) from City College of New York. He is a Certified Public Accountant in the State of New York and is a member of the AICPA and the New York State Society of CPAs. He has served as a member of the AICPA Subcommittee on Litigation Services and is a principal author of its publication, "Conflicts of Interest."

Melvin Stein, CPA
Partner, Stein, Stein & Feit, PC
 

Melvin A. Stein has been a practicing CPA since 1961 and is currently a Partner in Stein, Stein & Feit, P.C. of Hicksville, New York.

Mr. Stein is a 1953 graduate of the New York University School of Commerce, Accounts and Finance (now Stern). He has been involved in University activities for over a decade and is currently a member of the Alumni Board of Directors of New York University and The Alumni Board of Directors of the Stern School of Business at NYU.

In addition to his New York accounting practice, he also maintains an accounting practice in the US Virgin Islands where he also holds a CPA Certificate. He has appeared on public television in the US Virgin Islands on many occasions to update Virgin Islanders on changes in the tax code and their effect on Virgin Islands taxpayers.

Mr. Stein is married and resides in White Plains, New York. He has two daughters and four grandchildren.

Michael Zeldes
SVP, Kaye Insurance Associates, Inc.

Kaye Insurance Associates, Inc is, a HUB International Limited Company (NYSE: HBG) and one of the largest commercial insurance brokers in America. Mr. Zeldes, who has been with Kaye since 1988, established and manages a division of Kaye dedicated to servicing the general insurance and risk management needs of emerging growth businesses and venture capital firms. During his career, he has been instrumental in developing and marketing insurance programs for a variety of affinity groups including residential real estate owners and managers, law firms and manufacturers. He also manages the public relations, advertising and corporate marketing efforts at Kaye.

Mr. Zeldes holds a Bachelor's Degree from the State University of New York at Albany (1988). He is a frequent speaker at industry seminars and has been quoted in national media publications such as Business Week and Business Insurance, along with various real estate trade journals.

12 - Writing an Effective Business Plan
        Taking the Steps to Ensure Your Success

Dr. Joseph Mancuso
Founder, CEO Clubs of America, Inc.

Dr. Mancuso is the Founder of the not-for-profit Chief Executive Officers Club (CEO Club). He is the entrepreneur's entrepreneur. For 24 years, he has published the Chief Executive Officers Newsletter. He meets with the membership of the 12 CEO Club chapters eight times annually in programs held in private clubs. The mailing list of customers totals about 40,000, reflecting people who purchased something from the CEO Club since it began its operations in Worcester, MA, in 1978.

AUTHOR. Mancuso is undoubtedly best known as an author. His books and tapes have been heard or read by more small business people than those of any other management author, according to Simon & Schuster. He has edited or written twenty-four books, and currently ten books are classified as backlist books which sell about the same quantity every year. They are:

o How to Start, Finance& Manage Your Own Small Business
o How to Write a Winning Business Plan
o How to Prepare and Present a Business Plan
o Mancuso's Small Business Resource Guide
o How to Get a Business Loan Without Signing Your Life Away (Fortune Book Club Selection)
o Buying a Business for Very Little Cash (With Doug Germann)
o Mancuso's Small Business Basics
o How to Buy and Manage a Franchise (With Donald Boroian)
o Winning with the Power of Persuasion (Main Selection Fortune Book Club)
o The Mid-Career Entrepreneur

The above books are also available on four hour audio and video cassettes. In addition, Joe has authored numerous magazine articles and booklets, in such a diverse magazines as Playboy, Penthouse, Success, Harvard Business Review, The Journal of Marketing and The Journal of Small Business. His materials about business plan preparation has outsold all other authors combined.

SPEAKER. Dr. Mancuso has addressed groups from a dozen to two thousand people in over three hundred American cities and thirty foreign countries. He has addressed trade groups from truckers to dentists and keynoted full day seminars. His talks have been presented to Bankers and Venture Capitalists, both at conventions and for in-house efforts. His economic development efforts have included ten cities for a Louisiana Public Utility, and workshops for over seventy of the Fortune 500 companies. For larger companies, his presentation on how to install entrepreneurial management is very popular. He is most at home before small business owners or franchisees, talking about growing a business. His Favorite luncheon talk is the title of his first book, Fun and Guts: The Entrepreneur's Philosophy, in which he shows how these "Ready-Fire-Aim" types spot a growth industry, select a first mate, negotiate for money, create resources where none exists, who wrote the best business plan and why, avoid personally guaranteeing bank debt, motivate employees to work harder than humanly possible, inspire investors/shareholders to believe in the vision, and deal with family complexities.

Mancuso often works the traits of the members who completed the diagnostic test for entrepreneurs into these talks. And his blend of humor puts the audience at ease. His other presentations include the titles of his books, but he always tailors all of his talks to fit the audience. In his overseas appearances, he does a one day session called: "Encouraging Entrepreneurship", which has been attended by thousands of people. In all, participants have paid over $20M to hear the talks and workshops conducted or arranged by Joseph Mancuso.

ENTREPRENEUR. Dr. Mancuso has founded seven businesses and is a member of a board of advisors for forty diverse US companies. He also was the general partner for a real estate based venture capital partnership. He currently has investments in several small businesses. He's a director of the Globus Growth Group, a public venture capital firm and TEAM, Mucho, Inc. (Nasdaq: TMOS), in Columbus, Ohio. He is also a director of two Dallas private companies, Hi-Line and Tri-Steel Structures. His two hour consultation, a service unique to him, has been conducted over 1500 times in over 25 years, with the success rate of about 80% of those people claiming it was worth the time and money. In all these encounters, he has never been presented with any easy questions.

Dr. Mancuso holds an Electrical Engineering degree from WPI and an MBA from the Harvard Business School. His Doctorate is from Boston University in Educational Administration. He was the Chairman of the Management Department at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) in Massachusetts before launching the CEO Club. He lives in Manhattan, with his wife and business partner Karla, their two children Max and May. His three married daughters have given him six grandchildren.

13 - Marketing
        Cost Effective Methods for Acquiring & Retaining Customers

Kevin Friedman
Founder & CEO, eCustomerConnect

Kevin Friedman is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of eCustomerConnect. eCustomerConnect, headquartered in College Point, New York, was started in 2002 to provide small business owners an effortless and effective way to use e-mail and the Internet for advertising and growing their business. eCustomerConnect provides a unique e-mail advertising program that brings technology and advertising techniques previously feasible only for multi-million dollar corporations to the marketplace of 800,000 foodservice and 1.4 million retail establishments.

Before starting eCustomerConnect, Kevin Friedman founded an Internet service provider (ISP) during the early commercialization of the Internet in 1996 that continues to service the New York City area. This ISP, ASANet Internet Service, grew to thousands of dial-up customers and hundreds of corporate customers and provided Mr. Friedman with considerable experience helping small businesses build and leverage their Internet presence. Mr. Friedman has also completed a variety of consulting projects for clients including the New York City Board of Education, New York University, and the Women's Leadership Exchange. While now primarily using his entrepreneurial spirit for business development, Mr. Friedman has a technology background with years of experience in software programming, computer system design, and network engineering and administration. Mr. Friedman graduated with honors from the New York University Stern School of Business in 2000 with a dual BS in Information Systems and Management and received the prestigious International Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) award.
 

Jim Shulman
President, Marketing Results

Marketing Results is a consulting group that caters to the specific marketing needs of entrepreneurs. Marketing Results creates customized marketing programs, from plans to execution, in a variety of technical and manufacturing industries. For more than twenty years Jim has created customized marketing solutions in consumer catalog, direct response television, print, web and other media. He currently serves on the board of directors of the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association, and contributes regularly to a variety of business and marketing publications.

Kathy Yohalem
Principal, Tait Advisory Services, LLC

Ms. Yohalem is practice leader for the strategic solutions and branding practice of Tait Advisory Services, LLC. She was the founder and Managing Director of Mahoney Cohen Management Consulting Services. She is a world noted strategist and futurist with over 18 years experience in providing strategic marketing, branding, organizational management, business process improvement, business process reengineering, CRM and E-business solutions to traditional companies, professional service firms, not-for-profits, financial services, retail, consumer products, manufacturing/distribution, wholesale/retail, licensing, cosmetics, fragrance, jewelry, intellectual property, healthcare, pharmaceutical, and sports marketing industries.

In an ever-changing and increasingly competitive middle market, it is essential that companies employ a strategy that enables them to create and sustain growth. Ms. Yohalem's approach to strategic consulting helps clients continually improve and develop breakthrough strategies that will take them through the new millennium, and improve the bottom line.

Ms. Yohalem was formerly CEO of C Source Communications - a Coopers & Lybrand Company specializing in strategy, branding, and E-business; and was a senior strategist with PriceWaterhouseCoopers. The client roster includes companies in the middle market, such as The Judith Ripka Company, The Brand Names Education Foundation, Crain's, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP, The Fragrance Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, Bank Leumi, Kiko, Ubex-Diam, YOUNetwork Inc., iStadium.com, and World Diagnostics.com, to Fortune 500's - Sears & Roebuck, Hanes, Sara Lee and Dockers to name only a few. She is also the author of the noted best seller Thinking Out of the Box…How to Market Your Company into the Future, a catch phrase a lot of us now use in our everyday business conversations. Kathy also produces and hosts an online business radio talk show, Insights and Answers, appearing on Silicon Alley Station.

Ms. Yohalem is actively involved with leading associations, speaks often at major industry conferences, and is frequently published. She has been quoted in many facets of media including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today and Women's Wear Daily. Ms. Yohalem has taught and lectured for the Wharton School of Business and speaks frequently at conferences and associations such as JP Morgan Chase, The Commercial Finance Association, The National Retail Federation, The Department of Commerce, The Fragrance Foundation, Bank Leumi, Crain's New York Business, IIDA, and The American Apparel Manufacturers Association to name only a few. In the international arena, she has worked with The Gotleib Dutweiler Institute-Switzerland, Proctor & Gamble, BKR-Mexico, and Cash Austria-Vienna. She also taught marketing for two years at the New School undergraduate division in New York.

Ms. Yohalem also worked with former Mayor Koch, the City of New York, building brand awareness and high level special events for The Fashion Salute to the City of New York. Ms. Yohalem is a graduate of NYU with BS and MBA degrees.

14 - Getting Your Business Started
       Strategic Alliances& Bootstrapping

Kevin Lee
CEO, Did-it.com

As CEO of Did-it.com — search engine campaign management that guarantees ROI — Kevin shares best practices in search engine marketing. Kevin's specialty is the application of direct marketing principles and branding principles to search engine marketing, to assure effective and efficient campaigns. Clients in assorted businesses include Marriott, Shoedini, Intimo, BigFunToys, and hundreds more, including Interactive agencies.

Prior to cofounding Did-it.com (1996) and INTERACT Multimedia (1994) and bringing them both to profitability, Kevin Lee honed his marketing and advertising skills on Madison Avenue at J. Walter Thompson and McCann-Erickson. Kevin is active with the New York New Media Association (NYNMA), chairing the Sales and Marketing SIG. He also chairs the "Plain Talk About Technology" lecture series for the NY Ad Club, and serves on the board of directors of the WWWAC. Kevin's specialty is developing, honing and implementing interactive business strategies effectively.

Kevin lives on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with his wife, Allison Conner, who specializes in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. Kevin writes for ClickZ i-Marketing News, Internet.com, eMarketer, BRIEFME.COM and other publications, and speaks on a variety of topics. Kevin received an MBA from the Yale School of Management in 1992.

William Lundberg
Founding President & Executive Director, Association of Strategic Alliance Professionals

As President and Executive Director of A.S.A.P., William T. Lundberg determines and manages the overall strategic direction of the Association. His credentials include years of experience in the development and management of strategic alliances and other cooperative business ventures.

Before helping to found A.S.A.P., Mr. Lundberg was the Cofounder of WebEnable, Inc. of Concord, MA, that develops and markets integrated suites of Java-based applications for the indirect sales channel automation market. While there, he served as Vice President of Corporate Development and Strategic Relations, working with the company chairman and CEO to form and establish the Company; recruit initial management team and board members; develop corporate, product and marketing strategies; create the company's business plan; and source, negotiate and structure the company's initial financing and alliance agreements, reseller agreements and sales.

Prior to CO-founding WebEnable, Mr. Lundberg was President of Alliance Associates of Wellesley, MA, a consulting firm assisting major corporations with their corporate venture investment and alliance programs. He also worked with emerging technology companies to form strategic alliances and obtain venture financing.

Mr. Lundberg also served as Vice President of Business Development for Scientific Dimensions, Inc., based in Lexington, MA, where he was involved in the development of joint ventures and strategic alliances. He also served as Senior Consultant/Associate Director of Client Services in the Corporate Services Consulting Group of Venture Economics, Inc. of Needham, MA, which is a leading consulting and information services firm providing services to major corporations, emerging technology companies and the venture capital industry.

Mr. Lundberg obtained an MBA with high honors in Entrepreneurial Finance from Boston University's Graduate School of Management. He also holds a Masters of Education degree from The Harvard Graduate School of Education and a BA English/Writing from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Mr. Lundberg has been a contributor to Best Practices in Alliance Formation and Management and Strategic Partnering and Corporate Development, both multi-client studies. He resides in Wellesley, MA with his wife and children.

Professor Jeremy Wiesen
NYU Stern School of Business
Former Chairman & Co-CEO Financial News Network (Now CNBC)

Jeremy Wiesen is Associate Professor of Business Law and Accounting at the Stern School where he has taught business law, entrepreneurship and other subjects. He has also taught in the business schools at Columbia, Stanford, UCLA, Berkeley and at The Wharton School from which he graduated. Professor Wiesen is also a graduate of Harvard Law School, was Chairman and CO-CEO of Financial News Network (acquired by CNBC), and was counsel to SEC and AICPA committees.

15 - Travel, Dining and Hospitality
        Serving Up Success

Tanya Jackson
Founder & Principal, Classic Encounters in South Africa

Ms. Jackson founded Classic Encounters in Southern Africa in 1994. It is a niche tour operator specializing in customized tours to Southern Africa with offices in Manhattan.

Her business career started off in the hospitality industry, as the promotions manager of a 5-star hotel, with the specific responsibility for promoting and maintaining the high-profile image of the exclusive members-only club. Her entrepreneurial spirit emerged in the form of a small chocolate factory—supplying hotels and specialty shops—with a retail outlet in a shopping center.

She also founded Marketing Concepts—a marketing/advertising and event-planning business. She then took a transatlantic ocean crossing in 53-foot schooner yacht from South Africa to Brazil. There she saw a great opportunity and started private English classes for executives. She also made a three-month ocean sailing to Seychelles and Comoros in a 34-foot racing yacht.

Prior to starting her current business, she was the Director of Marketing for Mullet Bay Resort & Casino in St. Maarten, the Caribbean.

Ms. Jackson was born and raised in South Africa and graduated from college in Durban, South Africa with a marketing diploma.

Recently attended the New York University studying Graphic Design and Implementation.

Henry Kallan
Founder, Hotel Elysee, New York, NY
 

Own and operate 99-room luxury boutique property. Completely renovated hotel, creating atmosphere of a private club while offering amenities of a luxury hotel. Currently generating year-round occupancy of 82%, average rate of $285, with 75% repeat business. Hotel Elysee received The Five Star Diamond Award for excellence in the hospitality industry.

Owner/Operator, Library Hotel, New York, NY
Opened August, 2000
Own and operate 60-room luxury boutique property. Completely renovated a 1920s office building, creating a club-like hotel with such details as mahogany wood paneling, modern amenities and high speed Internet access in each room. Based hotel on a library theme where each floor has a different literary category and the guest rooms are furnished with books specific to each floor’s topic.

Managing Partner, Hotel Giraffe, New York, NY
Opened March 2000
Own and operate 94-room luxury boutique property. Newly constructed hotel, creating a sleek, modern décor based on the European Moderne Period of the 1920s and 1930s, with all of the technology and amenities expected in the year 2000. Currently generating occupancy of 80% with an average rate of $285.

Owner/Operator, Hotel Casablanca, New York, NY
Own and operate a 48-room property. Only luxury boutique property west of Fifth Avenue. Completely renovated and created theme hotel with Moroccan details throughout.

Managing Partner, Hotel Wales, New York, NY, 1988-1992
Completely renovated and conceptualized first authentic boutique hotel in New York City. Sold interest in 1992.

Managing Director, Warwick International Hotels, 1976-1988
Responsible for acquisition, development and operations of hotels in Jamaica, West Indies, Washington, Denver, Paris and New York.

General Manager, Gotham Hotel, New York, NY, 1975-1976
At age 27 achieved position of General Manager for 300-room first class property. Managed and coordinated operations of all departments. Implemented renovation of hotel. Increased revenue resulting in profit. Hotel Owners: Sol and Irving Goldman.

Robert Platzer
President, PJW Restaurant Group

Mr. Platzer started in the restaurant business at age 26 in 1976. Although "Bob" had held various positions prior to 1976 as a bartender, porter and short order cook it wasn't until 1976 that he decided to make it his career. From 1976 to 1979 Bob held Chef positions at two different restaurants before following the casino boom to Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was in Atlantic City that he became the sauté chef at the high volume Capriccio Room at Resorts International Hotel & Casino. Seeing the potential of the "Jersey Shore", Bob took an opportunity to operate kitchens at two landmark hotspots, The Green House and Merrill's, in nearby Margate, NJ. In 1981 Bob left the Jersey Shore to open a restaurant/video arcade in Cherry Hill, NJ, "Blast from the Past".

In 1983 Bob sold "The Blast" and headed north toward the Pocono's in Lehighton, PA. It was there that he would purchase Getz's Hotel, a three story run-down roadside watering hole. During the following years Platzer would work as owner/ operator to transform this property into a landmark 300-seat restaurant called Platz's. Still operating today, Platz's is a famous spot for locals, tourists and Pocono weekenders alike for great food and great people.

In 1993 Platzer ventured to nearby Allentown, PA and purchased another roadside eyesore and started P.J. Whelihan's Pub, a neighborhood pub concept known for it's buffalo wings, crab cakes, & burgers all served in a friendly atmosphere. Platzer would open six more PJ Whelihan's Pub in Southern New Jersey and Pennsylvania over the next nine years, each time purchasing existing restaurants, renovating them over time and becoming a fixture in the community known for great food, great people and an atmosphere that is second to none.

In 2001 Bob purchased a piece of land in Gibbsboro, NJ to build The Chophouse, his third concept and first restaurant from the ground up. Opened in fall 2002, The Chophouse, a fine dining steakhouse, has become an overnight success in the very competitive Philadelphia restaurant market.

Today Bob is in the planning stages for the building of his tenth restaurant in Medford Lakes, NJ. Over the last 20 years Bob has built his PJW Restaurant Group into a well-respected regional chain boasting 3 different concepts and annual sales that will exceed $23 million in 2003. Bob resides in Haddonfield, New Jersey with his wife Donna and his two daughters Danielle and Jacky. Although Bob has hung up his apron his still remains active in the development of new restaurant concepts, weekly meeting with management, real estate development and the renovation and design of his restaurants present and future. He hopes to continue to grow beyond 10 restaurants, develop more concepts and remain a force in the restaurant industry in the Philadelphia Region and beyond in the years to come.

16 - Negotiating Techniques
        Getting the Deal Done

David Leffler
Owner, Law Firm of David J. Leffler

David J. Leffler is a business lawyer in New York City who represents technology clients, women-owned businesses and other entrepreneurial and growing companies.

His work involves a wide variety of transactions and matters in the areas of corporate, business, real estate, employment, Internet/new media and intellectual property law. His client roster includes institutions, privately-held companies and individuals in startup businesses.

In his law practice Mr. Leffler focuses first on the client relationship, making sure that there is good communication between him and his client and that the client is satisfied with the services being provided. He brings over 20 years of business law experience to his clients, which includes creatively addressing novel business situations and a keen understanding of his clients' needs.

Mr. Leffler serves on the Advisory Board of several New York businesses, was a member of the Mayor's Small Business Advisory Board in NYC from 1996 to 2001, and in March 2001 was appointed to the Board of Directors of American Woman's Economic Development Corporation, a 25 year old not-for-profit organization which provides training and counseling for entrepreneurial women.

Mr. Leffler has written a number of articles related to the Internet and law practice management. Last fall he became a columnist for the American Bar Association magazine GPSolo, which is distributed to general practitioners and solo attorneys nationwide. His column, called "Being Solo", helps attorneys thrive in the solo setting by advising them on many aspects of their law practices, including marketing, technology and ethics.

Susan Onaitis
Founder & Principal, Global Learning Link
 

Global Learning Link is a New York-based firm that specializes in sales & management training and consulting. The firm has worked with a variety of Fortune 1000 companies worldwide in the following areas:

• customized design and development of training programs for sales and management populations;
• comprehensive sales force assessment;
• delivery of training and development programs;
• one-on-one skills coaching for individuals with specific growth needs;
• development of internal marketing and training plans;
• design of customized job aids and self-paced learning materials.

Prior to forming Global Learning Link, Susan was a Principal in the New York consulting firm of Robert A. Jud & Associates, specializing in sales and management development. Before that, she had been Vice President of Sales Training for The Knoll Group, the international furniture division of Westinghouse, where she was responsible for all sales, management, technical, and marketing training in North America.

Over the past 20 years, Susan has held various sales, training, and management positions in the health care, publishing, cosmetics, and furniture industries. She has trained audiences all over the world including Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, the United Kingdom, Singapore, South Africa, Germany and Belgium. In her consulting capacity, Susan has developed and conducted sales and management training for a host of companies in a variety of areas, such as interviewing skills, performance management, coaching, sales negotiation skills, sales management skills, business and sales writing, and sales presentation/facilitation skills.

Susan holds a degree in Journalism, and an M.Ed. in Personnel Training and Development from Xavier University in Ohio. She is a member of The Professional Society for Sales and Marketing Training and was awarded that organization's highest honor in 1995, the President's Award, for professional contributions. She is also a member of the Management Development Forum, the American Society for Training and Development, and the National Alliance of Sales and Marketing Executives.

Susan's book Negotiate Like the Big Guys (isbn: 1-56343-167-X) is available on amazon.com and barnesandnoble.com.

17 - Arts & Media Businesses
       Money, Lights, Camera, Action, Mo' Money!

Tommy LaSorsa
Day Dream City Entertainment

Mr. LaSorsa is a director, writer and producer. In the summer of 2000, Tommy's first feature film, All Saints Day  went on to capture the coveted award for Best Comedy at both the Long Island Film Festival and the Brooklyn Film Festival. These honors initiated a tidal wave of momentum, resulting in a worldwide distribution deal from Winstar Cinema/Wellspring Media. After its theatrical release in May 2001, All Saints Day  quickly moved into the home video market. DVD and VHS copies of the film are available everywhere nationwide, including Blockbuster Video, Hollywood Video and countless others stores. Television & Cable premieres for the film will follow in 2003.

In the meantime, Tommy has shifted his endeavors to television, directing commercial spots for DKNY, along with several promo spots for CMP Music and Metropolitan College of New York. He plans to shoot his second feature film by the end of 2003.

Dick Clark
President & CEO, Netstar Corporation

Prior to assuming the role of President and CEO of Netstar Corporation most recently, Mr. Clark, a twenty-five year veteran of the telecommunications and media industries, was the President and CEO of B3 BroadBand Business, Inc for three years. He pioneered the introduction of "multicast" delivery of video via cable broadband networks — delivering in real-time broadcast quality video to the PC; created the first B2B portals for AOLTimeWarner's Road Runner and Charter Communications as their "branded face" to the commercial clientele; developed the concept of "content in context" for the cable B2B segments and built the first dynamic multicast scheduler and multicast conditional access system. Netstar Corporation is the combination of B3 BroadBand Business and Corstar.

Mr. Clark was the EVP and Chief Marketing Officer of Multicast ISP and HugeClick.com. Mr. Clark's role in those broadband in Internet entities included designing and implementing all sales and marketing strategies and programs, identifying and negotiating all content and affiliation relationships, numbering more than 500, as well building a Sales and Marketing organization. Prior to that, Mr. Clark was responsible for strategic planning and new business launches at Time Warner, NYNEX and Cablevision. At Cablevision, Mr. Clark was the VP/General Manager of Cablevision's Boston complex, where he was credited with turning around the business at a critical point in its history. During his career, Mr. Clark has launched and managed cable systems, Internet products and services, network solutions, cable modem and digital cable projects in multiple markets. Mr. Clark was SVP of Marketing and Strategic Planning at Time Warner New York, Helicon Technologies, and at NYNEX Video.

Jon Housman
Cofounder, Jungle Interactive Media Inc

Jon Housman is Cofounder and CEO of Jungle Media Group, Inc., a New York based media company with print, online, and live-event properties.

The Company is the parent of MBA Jungle and JD Jungle magazines, Web sites and trade books, which together provide over 300,000 of the nation's top young executives in business and law with vital, world-class content on today's career and lifestyle issues. Jungle Media has won numerous awards for the innovation and high quality of its content, including nominations for three ASME awards, the equivalent of the Oscar or the Pulitzer, and the highest honor in magazine journalism.

Jungle also publishes two national magazines on a custom / partnership basis: Savoy Professional, a magazine targeted at African American executives & professionals with a launch circulation of 100,000 and Break, a travel magazine for the 18-25 age group, with a circulation of 400,000. The company also is the publisher of over a dozen e-newsletters on behalf of top universities around the world.

In 1990, he cofounded Green Earth Gourmet Specialties, a US-based gourmet food company, and managed the company until its sale in 1994. From 1994-1996 he worked for Leedan Group, a publicly traded merchant bank / private equity firm, working primarily outside the US on corporate restructurings and mergers & acquisitions. Most recently, he worked as a consultant with McKinsey & Company, specializing in strategic planning for companies in the media & entertainment industries.

Mr. Housman is an adjunct faculty member in the Media Entertainment & Technology Department of the NYU-Stern School of Business, where he teaches a graduate level course in strategy for companies in media and entertainment. He has written several articles on the media industry, which have been published by Ad Age and Media Life, among others. He is the co-author of the internationally released book, The Business School Survival Guide (Perseus / Random House).

He holds an MBA (Finance / Marketing) from Stern-NYU, and a BA (History) from Cornell University.

18 - Employee to Entrepreneur
        Making the Transition

Robert Kaunitz
President & Founder, Internet Services Center, LLC

Robert Kaunitz has worked in the computer field since 1962. As President & Founder of Internet Services Center, LLC, Robert's mission is to bring the benefits of handheld wireless devices to field salespeople and their clients. These benefits include speeding up order fulfillment, verification in real-time of stock availability, ease of order entry at the client site, and order validation and verification for the customer before the salesperson leaves the client's location.

Prior to forming Internet Services Center, LLC, Robert was owner of Information Systems Consultants. In its first 8 years of operation, the company successfully completed major information system projects for large and mid-sized publishing companies including Gralla, Thompson, and CBS. In its last 10 years, Information Systems Consultants directed its efforts toward the computer needs of small firms and independent professionals such as investors, doctors, lawyers, consultants, educators, and writers. Robert successfully built a large customer base.

Before becoming an entrepreneur, Robert worked for 20 years for a variety of companies and became a software developer for systems that focused on end-user ease of use. These applications included automated publishing systems and information storage and retrieval systems. He worked for Union Carbide, RCA Graphics Systems, small and large consulting companies, and clients included NASA, Government Printing Office, Library of Congress, Congressional Information Services, American Geological Institute, and Department of Justice.

Robert has a BA in Chemistry form Adelphi University and a MS in Administration in General Management Systems and Organizational Cybernetics from George Washington University. He is a member of The Association for Computing Machinery and was president of the local chapter. He is a judge for the New York Academy of Sciences New York City Science and Engineering Event. He was Adjunct Professor at Pace University and taught a variety of computer courses for undergraduate and graduate students.

Steve Mariotti
Founder & President, National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship

Steve Mariotti received his undergraduate and MBA degrees from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and has studied at Harvard University, Stanford University, and Brooklyn College. His professional career began by serving as a Treasury Analyst for Ford Motor Company. He then founded Mason Import/Export Services in New York.

In 1982, Steve Mariotti made a significant career change and became a Business Teacher in the New York City public school system. It was at Jane Addams Vocational High School in the Bronx that Steve Mariotti developed the insight and inspiration to bring entrepreneurial education to youth. This led to founding the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE) in 1987.

Since its founding, NFTE has become a major force in promoting and teaching entrepreneurial literacy and basic academic and business skills to young people both in the United States and abroad. To date, NFTE has served over 65,000 young people and trained more than 2,700 teachers and youth workers in 43 states and 14 countries.

Mr. Mariotti has received many honors and awards for his work in the field of youth entrepreneurship including: Best Economics Teacher in New York State (1988); National Award for Teaching Economics, The Joint Council of Economic Education (1988); Best Teacher of the Year, National Federation of Independent Businesses (1988); Honorary Doctorate in Business and Entrepreneurship, Johnson & Wales University (1990); Entrepreneur of the Year Award, Inc. magazine, with Ernst & Young and Merrill Lynch (1992); The Appel Award, Price Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies (1994); and The University of Michigan Business School Entrepreneurship Award (1999).

He has co-authored sixteen books, including How to Start and Operate a Small Business, with Tony Towle, and Entrepreneurs in Profile, with Jenny Rosenbaum. A more advanced version of How to Start and Operate a Small Business was published by Times Books, a division of Random House, in 1996. Now in its second edition, A Young Entrepreneur's Guide to Starting and Running A Bu