30 most inspiring entrepreneur of 2018

www.insightssuccess.com January 2018

The way of business solutions

THE

30

MOST INSPIRING OF 2018

Women in Business Evolution of Female Entrepreneurship

Leadership Insight The Four Most Admired Qualities of an Effective Leader

Michael Risich CEO & Founder BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY

Michael Risich An Entrepreneur Who Leaves a Lasting Impression

Editor’s Note

www.insightssuccess.com January 2018

The way of business solutions

The Need for an Undying Spirit of Entrepreneurship

T

he entrepreneurial mindset begins with a sense of excitement about the success which is yet to come. It stems from a disruptive idea that could go on to potentially become the next unicorn but unfortunately there is no business-startup fairy that would sprinkle the magic dust and turn the idea into success.

When we visualize an entrepreneur, we tend to think of someone who is hard-working, determined and have the knowhow to expand his/her network; someone who is creatively inclined and is willing to take calculated risks to succeed. We think of an entrepreneur as someone with a positive attitude and who possesses an inherent passion.

While cultivating all these qualities is an integral part of entrepreneurship, not all successful entrepreneurs boast these qualities in abundance. Some might completely lack in such qualities others might possess a wealth of others. But, the underlying common chain between all the successful entrepreneurs is the undying spirit of entrepreneurship.

Entrepreneurs are kind of like the societal rebels, who are unwilling to bog down to the status quo and conform to the standards ďŹ xed by others. They are the ones who push themselves to break past these boundaries. It is this spirit that prepares them to face any number of problems and vividly see the solutions and opportunities present in front of them. It is this same spirit that helps them surge ahead of their fear of failure and overcome inherent doubt, allowing them to improvise, invent and

create new roadways and business paths. Entrepreneurial spirit refers to the undying belief in one’s own capabilities. It is what separates an entrepreneur from a successful entrepreneur.

Hence, herein, Insights Success has curated a list of “The 30 Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs of 2018,” who are waving their creative wand to bring-forward the most innovative and disruptive solution to the industry and leaving a benchmark of leadership for emerging Entrepreneurs to follow suit.

Our Cover Story features Michael Risich, the CEO and Founder of BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY, who translated his 20 year old vision into a reality to form the company and lead it towards success. The company designs an automotive software solution that solves the most common struggles facing the Automotive Repair & Maintenance Industry.

The inspiring entrepreneur states that it is a team of really hard-working people that has made the company what is known as today. Talking about facing challenges, Michael mentions “I always tell my children, get comfortable in the uncomfortable. It’s taking the challenges, going with the unknown, which helps in making your way.”

BOLT ON literally bolts onto a shop’s management system, making everything they do easier.

They can simply grab a tablet, take a photo of the license plate and then the entire vehicle’s information, including the VIN, can be pulled into the customer’s profile.

As the CEO of the company, Michael points out “It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Learn from your mistakes and never give up.”

Make sure to scroll through the articles written by our in-house editorial team — How Day Planner Can Help You Become a Better Entrepreneur; Evolution of Female Entrepreneurship; and The Four Most Admired Qualities of an Effective Leader. As well as the CXO Standpoint’s of some of the leading industry experts to have a brief taste of the sector.

Happy Reading!

Sourav Mukherjee

C O V E S R T O R Y

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Michael Risich:

An Entrepreneur Who Leaves a Lasting Impression

CXO Interview with Insights Success

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32

20 Overcoming Barriers

Leadership Thought

How To Overcome Obstacles When Starting Young

To Strive & Thrive in a Competitive Environment Articles

K. SRINIVASAN: An Example of an Embedded Entrepreneur

40

56

Strategy Talk How Day Planner Can Help You Become a Better Entrepreneur

Leadership Insight The Four Most Admired Qualities of an Effective Leader 72

Women In Business Evolution of Female Entrepreneurship

C O N T E N T S 22

Adam Spector: An Entrepreneur Adding Machine Learning Personalization to Product

24

Andrew Bagrin: Jumping into the Entrepreneurial World and Bringing-forward Success

28

Andrew Paradise: An Individual Who Transformed the Mobile Gaming Industry

30

Byrne Murphy: An Entrepreneur who marked his Footprint on the Nordic Lands

34

Chris Carter: A Visionary Leader Striving to Help Employees and Clients

36

Cole Sirucek: A Serial Entrepreneur Transforming Lives

38

Corinna E. Lathan: A Catalyst who Enhances Interaction between Technology and People

44

Erik Bjontegard: A Tenacious Entrepreneur who brings Unprecedented Value to Millions of People

46

Jason Clement: Delivering the Next-Generation Sporting Experience

48

Lanir Shacham: An Industry Expert who Swung the Magic Wand of Success

52

Monica Wooden: Delivering Solutions that Changed an Industry

54

Nick Puntikov: An Entrepreneurial Spirit Fuels Innovation

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Payman Taei: An Entrepreneur who turned his Challenges into Stepping Stones

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Raheela Al Karim: A Woman Entrepreneur Cradling in Various Business Assertively

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Roger Dewey: An Entrepreneur who Leveraged his Experiences to Bring Forward Success

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Tim Bohen: Maximizing the Success of Aspiring Traders

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Vaios Vaitsis: Turning Experience into Unparalleled Entrepreneurial Success

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Yunha Kim: A Women Entrepreneur Meditating a Healthy World

Editor-in-Chief Pooja M. Bansal Senior Editor Anish Miller Managing Editor Sourav Mukherjee Executive Editors Jenny Fernandes Kedar Kulkarni Assistant Editors Brian Smith Ajit Balkawade Visualiser David King Art & Design Director Amol Kamble Associate Designer Vijaykumar Dudhbhate Co-designer Aparna Vanzul Art & Picture Editor Paul Belin Jayant Khanna Senior Sales Manager Abhijeet Mehra Business Development Manager Peter Collins Marketing Manager John Matthew Business Development Executives Steve, Joe, Alan, Kshitij Sales Executives David, Kevin, Mark, Nilesh Technical Head Jacob Smile Technical Specialist Amar, Pratiksha Digital Marketing Manager Marry D’Souza Online Marketing Strategist Alina Sege, Shubham Mahadik, Vaibhav K SME-SMO Executives Prashant Chauhan, Uma Dhenge, Gemson, Irfan Research Analyst Chidiebere Moses Circulation Manager Robert, Tanaji Database Management Stella Andrew Technology Consultant David Stokes sales@insightssuccess.com

January, 2018 Corporate Ofces: Insights Success Media Tech LLC 555 Metro Place North, Suite 100, Dublin, OH 43017, United States Phone - (614)-602-1754 Email: info@insightssuccess.com For Subscription: www.insightssuccess.com

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Reprint rights remain solely with Insights Success.

MICHAEL RISICH An Entrepreneur Who Leaves A Lasting Impression

CEO is just a title. It takes a talented team to change the industry and make an impression

Cover Story

Michael Risich CEO & Founder BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY

Cover Story

When we say we're the industry’s leader in shop management software and we have major partnerships with the largest companies in the business—we mean it “

uccess can be defined in several ways, but it’s the impression you leave on others that makes the difference,” says Michael Risich, The CEO and Founder of BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY.

S

developing automotive software and taking the vehicle inspection process and making it digital. It allows technicians to take photos and videos of the vehicle, which are then saved to a customer’s profile.

The impression this 43-year old entrepreneur leaves on his team members, business partners, and most of all his family, is to set goals, work towards them, and stay the course. “I always tell my children, get comfortable in the uncomfortable,” said Risich. “It’s taking the challenges and going with the unknown that helps in making your way.”

And Mike, most certainly, made it in his own way.

Since 2013, more than ten million photos have been taken by technicians who use BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY. Documenting the vehicle’s condition and then sending a text message to the vehicle owner allows them to see everything they need to know. The vehicle owner can see in real-time what repairs they need or any other recommendations that need fulfillment. They can even follow the status of their car while in the shop, as if tracking a delivery from FedEx or UPS. Everything the tech does, the service advisor can see on their computer.

Born from an Idea BOLT ON started as an idea nearly 20 years ago, but it was only in 2009 when the company came to fruition.

“I didn’t inherit a business, I didn’t buy into anything,” said Risich. “It was about seeing a need and creating the services that would make a shop’s job easier. I wanted to find a way to help them.”

When you look at BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY’s achievements, you would never guess that the company is still in its infancy. Located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, the 19,000 square-foot building has nearly 50 team members helping to lead the charge and change the automotive industry. When Risich humbly talks about ‘success,’ he refers to his family and team who helped him get there.

“It’s a team of really hard-working people who make this company what it is,” said Risich.

Ensuring Transparency At Every Step Today, more than six thousand shops across North America use BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY in their everyday operations; increasing repair orders, making things more efficient, and improving transparency between shops and vehicle owners. The company is known mostly for

Improving Every Aspect of a Shop’s Day-to-Day Process BOLT ON literally bolts onto a shop’s management system, making everything they do easier. They can simply grab a tablet and take a photo of the license plate; pulling in all the vehicle’s information, including the VIN, and put it into the customer’s profile. The software will even remind the owner that their next oil change or other vehicle maintenance is due.

The average shop that uses BOLT ON sees their average repair order increase up to 39% and improvements in customer relationships and retention. BOLT ON works to improve every aspect of a shop’s day-to-day process; from picking up the phone, to notifying customers via text the condition of their vehicle. It is the only software that does it all. Competitors try to catch up, but BOLT ON is years ahead of the pack.

Hard Work Pays Off BOLT ON has been recognized as one of the fastest growing companies in the Philly 100, having won two PTEN Awards, been listed in the Inc. 5000 twice, and have also been featured on ABC News. Its office lobby features

We Drive Innovation in Automotive Software an award table that is quickly running out of room. Rewind a few years, and you would see Risich, and a few others, sitting at a picnic table in the back of an automotive shop.

That’s where they developed, sold, and tested the software.

“There’s a lot of pinchable moments where you stop and think, ‘Is this really happening?’ said Risich. “I’ve never forgotten the people, the moments, and the desire to keep helping others that got me here.”

Leaving Your Mark On The Business World This Bucks County family man is modest when he talks about his achievements as an entrepreneur, even more so when being recognized as one of the 30 Most Inspiring Entrepreneurs of 2017.

“It’s an honor knowing that someone reading this could be inspired to make their own impression, their own mark in the business world; taking their idea and turning it into reality. It means a lot to me.”

Risich said that it takes time, accountability, and even some trying times to make a person realize their success.

“It wasn’t always easy,” said Risich. “There were some tough times; we wondered if we were going to be able to make rent. I even remember borrowing money from my daughter. The challenges you face and how you handle them says a lot about a person. Just don’t give up. I always had this passion, and I knew I could make it possible. There were a few times I wondered what would come next, but you keep trying.”

Success doesn’t come easy or happen overnight. It’s finding innovative business solutions that force us to stay honest and hardworking.

“We don’t use contracts for our software agreements because it keeps us accountable to our promise. We stand behind our product,” said Risich. “For my entire career, I’ve had written on a whiteboard in my office, ‘how can I help

you?’ Why? Because that is what I based this company on and will continue to do no matter how big we get; that won’t change.”

The Future of BOLT ON TECHNOLOGY Innovation and ambition are limitless for this fast-growing company. Risich hopes to add 20 to 30 team members over the next few years to keep up with the ever-growing demand and need for convenience and sleek performance.

“You can teach anyone a product, but you can’t teach personality. Working with a talented team can make or break a company. I may be the CEO, but I am a part of a family where everyone loves coming to work. I am not better than the next person; CEO is just a title. We do a lot of things together; each month, the different departments even make breakfast for each other. You will often hear them sharing stories with each other, and even with customers; it’s who we are. We like to get to know one another, even letting our customers learn more about us,” said Risich.

Education, listening, communication, and willing to swim upstream will continue to motivate Risich.

“We’re just getting started; I think I work harder now than I ever have. Never stop trying, never give up,” said Risich.

“Success is in the eye of each individual on their own level; but again, being successful is more about the impressions you leave on those around you. That’s my advice. That is what can make you a successful entrepreneur.”

Risich said he still has a lot to learn; there’s always something new when running a company. But if it’s easy, then it’s not a challenge that keeps you wanting to do more.

“It’s a marathon, not a sprint. Learn from your mistakes and keep going,” said Risich. “There are two jobs I never want to fail at; my family and my work family.”

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Interview with Insights Success

K. SRINIVASAN: An Example of an Embedded Entrepreneur

I

n an interview with Insights Success, the visionary and the cofounder of the software industry giant AllGo Embedded, K. Srinivasan, reveals his fruitful insights behind the success of his journey as an entrepreneur. Popularly known as Srini, the insightful leader has driven the software solution company to the global scale with his robust innovation and management skills. Below are the highlights of the interview conducted between Srini and Insights Success:

Give us a brief insight of your journey as an Entrepreneur? And the road that led your company to what it is known as today?

Srini: I started AllGo in 2005 along with a few of my colleagues from Motorola. We started doing embedded software development for automotive and consumer products. Other than an initial seed investment from some of our friends, the company operated in a boot-strapped model. We invested in some of our own Intellectual Property development in addition to doing contract software development for our customers. Though we initially

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developed quite a few design and technology in consumer products, our IP in consumer space didn’t really see market success. Notable among them was a low cost tablet design, which though achieved a sub $100 price point, couldn’t compete with consumer tablets from well-known brands and was eventually shelved. Our technological success finally came in automotive infotainment with the advent of smartphone connectivity technologies such as CarPlay and Android Auto. Our media and connectivity software for automotive infotainment achieved good market traction among automotive OEMs and Tier1s. We were only one of the three ISVs offering this software. One of our customers Visteon Corporation was interested to own this technology inhouse. After more than 10 years of journey as an entrepreneurial company, we agreed to be purchased by Visteon, and are part of the Visteon family since July 2016. AllGo continues to operate as an independent software vendor providing IVI and DMS solutions to OEMs and Tier1s even after being acquired by Visteon.

What are the services/solutions/products offered

by AllGo? Srini: We offer solutions for automotive infotainment for media and smartphone connectivity technologies.

Notable among them is our integrated media and smartphone mirroring stack called RACE 2.0, which won a CES innovation award in 2017. We also provide solutions for eCockpit development using Android and Linux.

Our newest investments for future growth are in camera based Driver Monitoring, High speed In-Car connectivity and Embedded Security.

What prompted the inception of AllGo Embedded Systems? What was the pivotal moment?

Srini: After spending over 10 years in Motorola, I was looking for more interesting career options. When Motorola spun off Freescale as a separate semiconductor company, there was an opportunity to do contract software development with Freescale as our customer. This provided the spark to start AllGo.

January 2018

According to you, what is the most important characteristic that every Entrepreneur should possess in this day and age?

Srini: Integrity, perseverance and the ability to work with smart and independent people. I believe that strategic clarity and technical capability, while essential for a technology business, will happen if one has a good team and sticks to the entrepreneurial path.

K. Srinivasan CEO & Co-founder AllGo Embedded Systems

About the Entrepreneur The scholar alumnus of University of California and IIT, Madras, K. Srinivasan started his career with Motorola Global Software Group and advanced the company with his expert solutions for nearly a decade. Prior to that, Srini was at an innovative start-up company in California back in 1994-95.

Srini, with his resilient engineering and people management skills has shouldered the AllGo team to scale new heights. His innovative approach and exceptional business strategies has aunted the company on a global scale with credible acknowledgements. AllGo was acquired by the prestigious automotive giant, Visteon in the year 2016. Srini is also a non-executive board member, and chalks the road maps to make AllGo Vision the pioneer among video analytics solution providers worldwide.

January 2018

Where do you see AllGo Embedded Systems in the next five years and how do you see yourself facilitating that change?

Srini: AllGo is now part of Visteon, but continues to operate as a separate company serving the broader automotive market as a Tier2. We will continue to grow our niche in technology development, serving the fast-growing connected and autonomous car industry. I see myself as the leader setting the stage for future growth of AllGo as part of this journey.

Finally, what would be your advice to some of the young and aspiring entrepreneurs entering the market?

Srini: Stick to the basics of doing business and don’t get carried away by the fad of today. I see that many of today’s youth are driven by getting VC funding rather than business growth. While investment and funding may be necessary for a business, they should never be put ahead of business success.

About the Company AllGo is an Automotive Infotainment expert, which deploys software solutions to Tier 1s and OEMs. It is among the top global In-Vehicle Infotainment technology providers.

Topmost automobile manufactures across Europe, the US and China, are utilizing AllGo developed Media and Mirroring Solutions. Its automotive partner portfolio includes Google, Apple, Genivi, Android, Miracast, Mirror link and SOC partners like Qualcomm, TI, Intel, NXP and more. The solutions delivered by the company are deployed in over 14+ million cars worldwide.

Technical prowess in Avant-grade embedded, multimedia, and connectivity solutions has powered the organization on a global platform. The adaptable and creative expertise of embedded systems, signal processing, software process, and people management contributes with strong foundation, which is a core factor behind AllGo’s enormous success.

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Adam Spector: Y

outh icon and one of the most inspiring entrepreneurs of the twenty first century Mark Zuckerberg exclaimed “The budding entrepreneurs are those who work on the stuff that they are passionate about, as they don’t have to have a master plan with how things will play out.”

The global market has been fortunately evolving with such passionate individuals. The entrepreneurial intelligence of youth has successfully driven the evolution in countless territories. The social technologies, in particular, have been revolutionized by such aspiring personalities. As the world is swarming with such entrepreneurs, branding a hard-wearing mark in the presiding fields is accurately praiseworthy. Adam Spector, the Co-founder of LiftIgniter, is one prime example. LiftIgniter is a machine learning personalization API for mobile apps and websites that lead to more engaged, sticky, and high value users. Adam and his fantastic team have been the motorists behind the company’s success. The company provides its

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An Entrepreneur Adding Machine Learning Personalization to Product

services across various sectors like media, e-commerce, enterprise B2B and more.

Charisma of a Passionate Entrepreneur Adam is known as an optimistic leader who can communicate his vision in a concise, digestible, and actionable way. Adam’s innovative ideas, empowering strategies, and smart skills to execute action plans have resulted in success for LiftIgniter. He believes that to enable fantastic product, one need adaptable and capable teammates who are fascinated with the same set of ideas and challenges. Adam stated, “Passion about my product, my company and my team is what drives me. I work hard and enjoy being surrounded by people who don’t believe in 9-5s.”

The passion to build a valuable product and successful company are what motivates him. He has experience in creating and organizing companies and work different domains including: data science, machine learning/artificial intelligence, fraud/background screens/identity verification, E-

Discovery, cloud technology, clean tech, and investing.

Preliminary Struggles and Motivations Adam moved to Silicon Valley in 2010, and started working in business development partnerships of a startup company named Clearwell Systems. It was an e-discovery company that mainly focused on building e-discovery products. The startup gained enormous popularity, and was later acquired by Symantec for $400 million. Adam then started his own startup, an identity verification company, Virtrue, Inc. The startup was based on the idea of using social media and other big data platforms to verify identification. The idea of a global, universal and verifiable identity fascinated many companies especially in the emerging collaborative consumption economy – such as AirBnB and Lyft. Despite this, building a viable business around this idea was tough and the team decided to shut down the company and return money to investors.

Story of LiftIgniter Invention Dr. Indraneel Mukherjee, was January 2018

Building a product that customers will pay for and evangelize equates to success.

Adam Spector Co-founder LiftIgniter

working in Google’s top machine learning research group. He saw the power of using machine learning personalization for higher engagement on YouTube and other Google properties.

Recognizing a business opportunity, Dr. Mukherjee started LiftIgniter and recruited Adam Spector to join him as co-founder on the business side.

The solution utilized cutting edge data science to help publishers and retailers optimize their websites and mobile apps in real-time. Machine learning personalization put the perfect piece of content (video, article, item to buy) in front of the users with immediate effect. Customers can thereby easily integrate LiftIgniter via Javascript or via server-side APIs. The company has grown from seven employees to twenty four employees. Since its inception it has facilitated organizational growth of many popular global brands, with an average of 80% improvements in click through rate (CTR), engagement, and conversation. A state-of-the-art personalization system is critical for any digital property that wants to retain their users and grow the business.

January 2018

Versatility of an Individual and Catalyzing Factors Adam has also contributed in fields like Sales, Business Development/Partnership, Online marketing/Demand Generation (SEO & SEM), Corporate Development, Mergers and acquisitions, strategy/research, Customer support, Financing, Legal advising and Marketing/PR management. He is a board member for a non-profit organization, the Coral Restoration Foundation, which focuses on rebuilding coral reefs throughout the world.

CRF has received national press attention including from the New York Times, CNN, and Discovery Channel.

Adam states, “Honesty, trust, fun, a sense of urgency and mission are what I look for in colleagues and places I work.” He is often described by colleagues as energetic, positive, and optimistic leader. Another factor that stimulates Adam is the ability and willingness to fight hard for an idea – any idea can become reality. Tell the story, understand why buyers care, why employees should follow the vision, and build a company.

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Andrew Bagrin: E

ntrepreneurship is a demanding and exciting field, one which brings forward new challenges, a sense of satisfaction, and adds spark to your ambition. But jumping from the mundane 9-5 corporate job to being an entrepreneur is by no means a small feat to accomplish. It requires a positive mind-frame, effective planning, unwavering courage, and long-term visionary to survive the entrepreneurial bandwagon. Andrew Bagrin, Founder and CEO of OmniNet, is one such individual who took off his corporate hat to put on his entrepreneurial hat and led his company to what it is known as today.

Jumping into the Entrepreneurial World and Bringing-forward Success companies. From 2000, he held the chair of Director of Network and Security at Regal Entertainment Group. During his four year tenure at the company, Andrew developed a 500-site area network; he built and migrated a datacenter, and played a significant role in four strategic corporate acquisitions – leading the company to become the largest theater chain in the world. He followed that stint with a position at Check Point Software Technologies, where he worked on the managed security services business for four consecutive years.

With such a wide ranging experience in the IT/security spectrum, Andrew brings-in an extensive level of knowledge and experience to effectively shape the business and align technology to achieve the most farreaching goals.

Boasting years of Corporate Experience Andrew grew up in a corporate environment, one which he liked but felt the lack of ability to get things done. He had an inherent capability to make things work better, more efficiently, and with simplicity. Prior to founding OmniNet, Andrew helmed the Director of Service Provider Business Development position for over five years at Fortinet, a network security provider. At Fortnet, Andrews role focused on new security offerings as well as gaps in the security market.

Jumping off the Toxic Ship For Andrew, leaving the corporate landscape in America and starting My Digital Shield, now named OmniNet, was the boldest decision that he ever made. He realized that the road ahead would be full of obstacles, but he wasnt entirely prepared for the challenge.

Andrews career in the IT space began in 1997, wherein he worked for numerous network security consulting

Andrew decided to setup a proof of concept to see if the architecture he had envisioned would work. When it

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did, he realized that this can really shape the way security is delivered in the future. It was only then that he was convinced to take the leap forward.

Additionally, after spending over 5 years of researching security gaps in managed service offerings, Andrew realized that there wasn’t any good security solution provider for the booming small business market at an affordable cost. His desire to fill existing gaps within the industry, combined with his visionary to make better security attainable to all, also contributed significantly to his leap in the entrepreneurial direction.

Turning a Perceived Risk into Success Being the son of an entrepreneur, Andrews upbringing helped him to shape his creative and solution-driven mindset. But his entrepreneurial journey wasnt initially a bed of roses.

He came in from a different market and it required him to understand this market. Understanding how it works and what makes it tick, was one of his biggest challenges at the beginning of his new career path.

Concerning his able leadership skills, Andrew asserts “Leadership is much easier when you have a great team. I love to collaborate and make sure people are working together. I try to promote this as much as I can. I also January 2018

We leave the comfort of corporate pay checks and risk everything to accomplish what we believe in.

Andrew Bagrin Founder & CEO

like to challenge people and focus on making everyone better at what they do.”

A network security expert, Andrew has been quoted in various media outlets, including Small Business Computing, Business Solutions Magazine, The New York Times, Columbia Business Law Review, and Bloomberg BusinessWeek.

Delivering Security Solutions at an Affordable Price My Digital Shield was created in an effort to provide small businesses with an enterprise grade security solution at an affordable price rate. Now renamed as OmniNet, the company provides a platform that allows IT providers and various technology channels to easily offer security as a service to the small business market. OmniNet leverages a fusion of SDWAN and Elastic UTM to deliver an extremely robust and solid network foundation, hence enhancing all other applications that use the network.

huge potential. Within the next five years, Andrew envisions OmniNets platform to be a central platform for secure networking and will continue to enhance user experience of all other applications.

Andrews Sound Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs “Go and do it. Dont stop, keep going! Dont be afraid to sell because someone will see value in what you currently have, even if you feel there is very little value. Sell, observe, improve, and repeat.

By very nature, we are crazy! I think its critical to find and mentor others who are as crazy and guide them to leverage their craziness in an amazing way.”

A Future of Continual Growth Andrew hopes to see OmniNet continue its surge in growth, both in terms of its product and customer base. He believes that there is a lot of work ahead for the company to reach its January 2018

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Omnichannel Agent and Customer Engagement Solutions Simplify and personalize the customer experience, empower agents and achieve business success with one workspace for all channel interactions, application integrations, and CX reporting.

Andrew Paradise: E

very entrepreneur with success to their name has a relatively similar set of praiseworthy qualities. However, the most important quality lies in understanding potential opportunities.

Andrew Paradise, CEO and founder of Skillz Inc., is an exceptional example of this expertise.

As a lifelong gamer, Andrew realized the unharnessed potential within both mobile gaming and eSports that could be utilized to democratize the entire ecosystem. He founded Skillz in 2012 to create technology that game developers could use to power competitions and monetize their games in a new, engaging way. Today, Skillz has patented solutions to captivate players, invented streaming/broadcasting technology, connected passionate gamers worldwide, and challenged stereotypical perceptions regarding eSports.

Initially, Andrew worked at investment firms. However, his passion for solving unique problems led him to become an entrepreneur and in 2005 he founded Double Picture LLC, a pioneer in digital photography and advertising.

He later sold the company to MPA Inc. and founded AisleBuyer LLC, where

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An Individual Who Transformed the Mobile Gaming Industry

he invented mobile self-checkout and built in-store mobile payment solutions for retailers. He sold this successful company to Intuit and became a director within the company. Six months later, his lifelong passion for video games caused him to leave Intuit to scratch his entrepreneurial itch once again and create Skillz to make gaming better for both players and developers.

Delivering eSports to Everyone with Democratizing Technology Skillz, the worldwide leader in mobile eSports, connects the world’s 2.6 billion mobile gamers through competition.

Skillz is dedicated to delivering eSports to everyone – including players, developers, streamers and viewers at every level. The democratizing nature of the Skillz technology benefits every stakeholder involved in the eSports ecosystem. Skillz is the eSports provider for over 3,000 gaming studios and helps developers drive engagement, retention and revenue in their games. The company provides its patented Tournament Management System (TMS) to game studios, enabling developers to transform their games into full-fledged eSports. This platform saves game developers meaningful time and money that would be required to build the necessary infrastructure technology to support eSports functionality.

Skillz has also been actively advancing broadcasting and streaming technology for the entire eSports ecosystem, hosting 500,000 tournaments every day and over 100 million total.

Streamers that partner with Skillz and implement its technology into their broadcasts are able to better entertain, reward and engage with their viewers.

With Skillz leveling the playing field, independent game developers can now compete with top studios to create the next big hit. A key element of the platform is fairness, which Skillz ensures with its patented algorithm that matches players based on their skill level to prevent unfair advantages.

This technology provides a superior gaming experience that results in record engagement metrics. Skillz players spend an average of 61 minutes a day on the platform, which is almost twice the casual mobile gaming industry average of 33 minutes.

Overcoming Obstacles to Become Unparalleled Gaming Platform When Skillz launched in 2012, it was solely partnered with Android game developers. In August of 2013, Google changed its policies and subsequently forced the company’s initial developer partners to remove Skillz tournaments from their games in order to remain in January 2018

An important characteristic every entrepreneur should possess is the ability to honor commitments – to both others and themselves.

Andrew Paradise Founder & CEO Skillz Inc.

the Google Play Store. This led to Skillz losing all of its customers and half of its engineers within the span of a month. Fortunately, Andrew had a successful meeting with Apple that triggered the rebirth of the platform on iOS. After overcoming this significant obstacle in its early days, Skillz has since achieved meteoric success.

It attained 50,000% revenue growth in the last three years alone, which resulted in it being named the #1 fastest-growing company in America on the Inc. 5000.

With all of its talented, hardworking employees, Skillz has been able to exceed expectations and become the worldwide leader in mobile eSports.

Pivotal Moment Behind Creation of Skillz Andrew and his co-founder Casey Chafkin are big mobile gaming fans. One day while playing a racing game on his phone, Andrew accidentally tapped a banner ad that was placed next to the game’s controls, which took him to an unrelated website. This was a frustrating experience that inspired the idea to create a better way for game developers to earn money than just ads and in-app purchases. This led to the inception of Skillz, and inspired Andrew and Casey to enable every video game to have competitions, just like every offline sport has competitions.

January 2018

Integrity, Intellectual Curiosity and Ability to Honor Commitments: The Mantra to Success Andrew is known for his big-picture thinking, but it’s the combination of his unique vision with the team’s executional expertise that has led to impressive results. Andrew invests his personal time into designing optimal training techniques, and employs unique practices to empower his employees to learn essential lessons – such as gifting books to Skillz team members written by leaders throughout history. According to Andrew, the three most important qualities every business leader and entrepreneur must have are integrity, drive and intellectual curiosity. He exemplifies these traits in his daily responsibilities, and mentors his employees to foster these attributes within them as well.

Aiming to Dominate the Market as a Global Business Leader and Household Brand In the next five years, Skillz is on track to become a true global business and household brand. As the company continues to thrive, its internal headcount will also scale to fulfill the needs of the growing eSports ecosystem. However, Andrew foresees that the company’s success will eventually be less about him and more about the rest of the staff. True to his modest nature, Andrew aims for Skillz to always flourish, even someday when he's no longer at the helm.

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Byrne Murphy: S

tarting his first company as a teenager, Byrne Murphy was involved with painting houses, delivering boats, and rebuilding jetties, every summer. These projects required no small amount of perseverance, diligence, and drive, and were the first signs of a career that would be defined by entrepreneurship. It was this spirit that led him, over the past 30 years, to spearhead a number of ventures across different verticals.

The Start of Something Big Initially focussed on international property development, Byrne’s first step into the European market began with a successful range of outlet centres and private resident clubs. It was while working on these projects that his career was forever changed by the arrival of the internet.

“I realized I had outlets and inventory across Europe and – by utilizing the internet – I could sell the inventory online. Fast distribution, competitive cost, and speed, all of which defined the rapid rise of e-commerce, appealed to me immediately. It didn’t take me long after that to realise that the physical infrastructure that underpinned the digital revolution was an incredibly important growth market.

Hence, I started a data centre business.”

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An Entrepreneur who marked his Footprint on the Nordic Lands

January 2001 saw Byrne start his own data centre service provider, DigiPlex — a small company with big ambitions of redefining innovation in data centres across the world. Today data centres operate at the heart of nearly all streaming, cloud-based or networkbased services. With the world moving quickly towards wider distribution of Internet of Things, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence, the demand for fast, secure, and powerful data centres will grow exponentially each year.

Maintaining an Industry-wide Reputation Today, DigiPlex is one of the most cost-effective, secure, and sustainable data centres in the world, taking full advantage of attractively low Nordic energy prices and clean renewable power to build a compelling offer.

Throughout its 17-year lifetime, the business has constantly worked to improve itself, winning multiple industry awards for innovation, growth and environmental standards all while making strides in security, stability and best-in-class efficiency, including state of the art Air to Air cooling.

Turning Challenges into Stepping Stones The Nordics immediately appealed to Byrne as a place to start and grow a

global data centre business, as it offered some of the lowest costs for clean power in a climate with a low year-round temperature, ideal for the best kinds of efficient cooling. But a long career in international markets has left Byrne no stranger to barriers and setbacks, however.

“The hurdles you face as an entrepreneur all vary based on where you are in your lifecycle. In the infancy phase, the biggest risk lies in a good introduction of the concept. You need to figure out who will put capital in, and what you need to give up to secure it.”

“When you’ve proven the concept, your next challenge becomes growth.

You need even more capital, but also a great team who can deploy the idea, challenging structural norms with something the market hasn’t really seen before.”

“Finally, if your idea works, and you start to realise growth, other people see it as well. From nowhere, you’re suddenly facing a tide of competition, and imitators.”

Key Qualities that Separates an Entrepreneur “This is a very American word, but: ‘Grit.’ It means never, ever, ever giving January 2018

If you really, really, have the urge to be an entrepreneur, take the leap now.

Byrne Murphy Chairman DigiPlex

up. If you don’t fully commit and persevere it’s easy to fall behind. In fact, a version of this mentality has become a core value for DigiPlex: Entrepreneurs must never, ever, ever give up, and DigiPlex never, ever, ever goes down!”

It’s not hard to see how this mindset has helped DigiPlex secure its position as one of the most ambitious, inventive, and market-defining companies in its field.

In 2016, Byrne was awarded the Data Industry Achievement Award in recognition for outstanding individual contribution to the data centre industry. In addition to his entrepreneurial career, Byrne is also the author of the book Le Deal, which was published by St. Martin’s Press in 2008, and subsequently won the “Winner Axiom Award for Best Memoir 2008.”

A Brighter Future Ahead While the company has made incredible strides in the past 17 years, Byrne clearly sees an even brighter future ahead for DigiPlex.

“I think in 5 years DigiPlex will double in size – and by that I mean in our EBITDA, not necessarily doubling staff. I think we can become increasingly differentiated by becoming even more vocal, highlighting how our model January 2018

emphasises the importance of clean, sustainable data centres in an increasingly digitized world.”

“Today, data centres are responsible for about 2 per cent of the world’s annual CO2 emissions and 3 per cent of the world’s power usage. Given that data centers are the heart of the digitization, this is just a sliver of the impact our industry may come to have on our planet in the years to come. Businesses, and the data centers that support them, will both need to take greater responsibility for their environmental footprint. With our commitment to 100% renewable energy and constant drive to innovate to reduce power costs we aim to show the way for meaningful change in our industry. We want to be the company where people want to work, not just because we come up with great ideas, but because we make the world a better, more sustainable place.”

Do Not Wait!

Byrne’s final last piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs is to not wait. “If you really, really, have the urge to be an entrepreneur, take the leap now. You won’t regret having tried, even if you fail. But, you may bitterly regret it if you never do.”

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To Strive & Thrive in

a Competitive Environment

by Seton Claggett

T

he consumer market continues to make drastic shifts in its shopping habits and retail expectations. With big hitters like Amazon and Walmart establishing the standards for organizations regardless of size, how does a company compete? As a retailer in the sports industry, many of our solutions apply to businesses outside of our vertical asking themselves the same question. Companies must leverage new technologies to ensure an enjoyable user experience, stress exceptional customer service, nurture brand loyalty, emphasize thought leadership within and outside the organization, and frequently analyze consumer behavior to differentiate your business from the conglomerate.

Leverage New Technology to Better Engage the Consumer New technologies to listen, communicate, engage, and analyze consumer behavior and performances are rapidly emerging.

Adopting technologies like visual marketing and referral platforms will increase the way a consumer discovers and engages with a brand. Millennials are the driving force in this changing landscape of mainstream media and the largest consumers of user-generated content (UGC).

Brand engagement increases by 28% when consumers are exposed to both professional content and UGC, supporting growing evidence that finds consumers who see UGC during their purchase journey have a 4.6 percent higher conversion rate according to visual commerce platform, Olaic. Referral platforms and third party reviews are proven methods to acquire a customer’s trust, resulting in increased conversions. Companies can utilize their CRM/ERP data to better segment customers in order to deliver relevant and timely communications. As technology advances and the better we are able to make actionable and meaningful connections from this data, the better a company will be able to create a more seamless and intuitive omni-channel customer experience; proactively meeting customer needs with increasingly more accurate product recommendations and content based on search, purchase, and preference history, to name a few.

Measuring Up Against Goliath Evaluating the sports industry, or more specifically the triathlon industry, there are many obvious major hurdles. Some of these obstacles include greater competition in endurance events taking participants away from multisport (i.e. races like Ragnar, Spartan, etc.) and fewer local beginner-friendly races as more participants compete in less races over the year and opt for one costly event. Being a niche retailer in a shrinking sport and competing against colossal companies with vast resources, how does one compete at these great odds? Besides adopting new technology to optimize the consumer experience as previously discussed, the emphasis should focus on delivering exceptional customer service, constant education for customers and employees, and developing brand loyalty and partnerships. Customer service is the key to winning consumer loyalty. Technology will complement the customer service component, but it boils down to the amount of education and care delivered from your staff that will make the biggest impression. A well-trained staff may be your biggest asset as they offer conflict resolution, product education, and promote brand trust when interacting with clients.

Employing a loyalty program is another way to further enhance brand loyalty. With a loyalty program in place consumers are incentivized for repeat business. These programs are the simplest ways to gather customer data and insights into behavior.

Businesses are able to connect across multi-channels and directly reward people for this behavior when using a loyalty program. When executed well, the program nurtures cross-channel engagement, actionable data, and the opportunity to connect with a more responsive audience, contributing to a better customer-centric operation.

Be a Thought Leader Thought leadership has become a corporate buzzword these days, so pardon the lack of a better term, but the term has gained popularity for a reason. Essentially, a thought or knowledge leader is a trusted resource with in-depth knowledge and insight into the many areas of its industry. Chicago-based marketer Jean Van Rensselar explained, “In almost every industry, there is

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January 2018

Leadership Thought an unmet need for insightful information that customers and prospects can use now.” Positioning your company as a thought leader is cost-effective and as basic as providing valuable information that is relative to your consumer and others in your industry, without asking for anything in return. Develop insightful and educational content often and you’ll quickly reap the benefits as you become that trusted voice.

Meeting the Needs of Customers Today Constant analysis of how consumers are interacting and engaging with your brand is a must in today’s fast-paced marketplace. Utilize the technology you already have in place to examine consumer data and trends to develop better engaging campaigns across the various platforms. Consumers today are less concerned about cyber security, and more concerned with a hyper-personalized experience. As customers access your brand on multiple platforms (mobile, tablet, desktop, social), it is imperative that the experience is seamless with consistent messaging and branding across every platform and channel of interaction. As a company competing in today’s highly segmented, yet broadly connected environment, one must be agile and quick to assess what is working and what is not. By leveraging emerging technologies, ensuring a customer-centric focus, creating valuable content as a knowledge leader, and frequent evaluation of consumers, a company can prevail when faced with colossal competition.

Seton Claggett Founder & CEO TriSports

About the Author Seton Claggett is the founder and CEO of TriSports.com, one of the world’s premier triathlon stores. He founded the company with his wife, Debbie, in 1999 while attending the University of Arizona where he earned a BS and MS in Hydrology as well as a degree in Entrepreneurship. Mr. Claggett has been active in the multisport and triathlon industry since 1987, racing in hundreds of races including the Ironman World Championships. Mr. Claggett earned a BS and MS in Hydrology as well as a degree in Entrepreneurship from the University of Arizona.

January 2018

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Chris Carter: C

hris Carter, Founder and CEO of Approyo, a leading enterprise SAP HANA Solutions Provider, defines success as the nexus between customer satisfaction, staff fulfillment and company growth. A strong advocate of employee success, Chris believes in empowering his team, and believes that if they have skin in the game, they are more vested in success.

Over more than two decades in the industry, Chris has observed how other executive teams failed repeatedly, while he and other like him succeeded.

It made him realize, “My first years were up and down, some great days some not so great but hey, I can do this! I can create a company and succeed!”

Helping Companies Prosper and Flourish Chris saw the need for a company that could provide cost effective, strategic solutions using the best of SAP, cloud and big data analytics. He started Approyo in 2011 with the aim of helping other companies to prosper and flourish.

Today, his company supports firms that are looking for the knowledge that will

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A Visionary Leader Striving to Help Employees and Clients

help them to grow through current business process, where even a 1% increase can lead to millions of dollars in business flow.

Approyo follows a strategy based on the platform eco-system trend that is becoming prevalent in the tech world.

“We have seen the success of this model with Apple’s iOS, Google’s Android, and Salesforce’s Force.com.

Using this strategy based on a platform and its eco-system, a large number of developers are able to build their businesses cost-effectively without time-to-market disadvantages,” Chris explains.

Approyo helps companies make their shift to the SAP HANA platform by developing secure, ready-to-deploy predictive analytics solutions. The distinct benefit of the HANA platform over other big data technologies is its ability to fit structured and unstructured data into an existing system without the hassle of massive hardware deployment and huge costs.

Approyo also allows its customers to choose a pay-as-you-go model or a monthly subscription.

Revolutionizing Data and Igniting the Future Chris is proud of the team which has

created “IGNITE”, where the team takes SAP solutions and puts them into its cloud to support clients’ missions.

Recently, they launched SAP S/4HANA Ignite that creates a true SAP S/4HANA sandbox ready for use in minutes. This revolutionizes the SAP world with a production-grade sandbox at a cost lower that any similar product on the market—only $3,000 per month with a 100% secured network. Chris believes that this is a game changer for SAP customers who want to try S/4 1610 and who need to test how they will migrate to S/4.

Key Traits that Distinguish Approyo Approyo’s success lies in how it has made itself unique in the industry. Here are some of the key traits that have led to their growth: Network: Chris and his team bring a wealth of relationships into the SAP ecosystem, which they have used to build business partnerships through the years.

Expertise: Chris has over 25 years of Big Data and technology expertise. He was the creator of the very first customer SAP HANA Cloud Environment. His team has worked with over 100 SAP HANA customer cloud environments.

January 2018

Do it, fail fast or succeed early but just do it and run with it.

Chris Carter Founder & CEO Approyo

Global: Approyo is everywhere that its clients are, and has the resources and team members throughout the world that can help them.

Team: The Approyo team of experts is committed to helping customers realize the business benefits of big data, the Internet of Things, and cloud computing. They drive the success of their customers by providing expertise to help facilitate business growth, improve efficiency and increase profitability.

Technology: Approyo helps customers achieve their dreams through solutions tailored to their business needs. Its cloud environments are built from the ground up for SAP HANA, S/4HANA, Hadoop and other technology solutions.

Making the Right Decisions Chris emphasizes that communication and listening skills have always helped him make the right decisions. He also believes that the buck stops with you, and that it is very important to be a leader who takes responsibility.

Chris gave some insights on his time management strategies. He said, “I am on 24x7, just like my team. I

January 2018

manage staff, technology, customers and sales from a high level. My staff then handles the items down in the dirt. I firmly believe we need to play in the dirt to succeed for them and us.”

Some Advice and the Road Ahead Chris had a piece of advice for budding entrepreneurs: JUST KEEP GOING FORWARD! “Do not stop, do not let others tell you to stop, if you believe you can do it! Trust your technology, but pivot if you need to and do it fast.”

Looking back on his journey, Chris said, “Creating the first SAP cloud was pretty cool. Working with an incredible team every day is awesome, and finding customers who want to be helped by us is fulfilling in itself.”

Talking of his vision for the company’s future, he added, “I would love to see our team size double in the next year, setting the stage to acquire other companies and grow with our clients.”

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Cole Sirucek: F

inding the right doctor is often a challenging and stressful experience and in many cases the stakes could not be higher. Cole Sirucek and Grace Park were once faced with this challenge when their daughter, Rand, was diagnosed with liver failure when she was 100 days old. The couple found themselves needing to find the right surgeon for their daughter within days of her diagnosis. This was no easy feet as the information they needed to make an informed decision was not readily available. Luckily, Grace, as the former Managing Director for the largest medical device company in Southeast Asia, had a sizeable network of doctors she could depend on to help find the needed medical team. They were fortunate and found an exceptional team in Japan that pioneered the live liver transplant procedure which their daughter required. Cole was the donor and the procedure was a success.

However, this experience left an indelible mark on both Cole and Grace in more ways than one. They looked at how difficult this entire experience of finding the right doctor and team was and said to each other, “If not us, then who, and if not now, then when? This is a problem that we will solve because we must. Finding the right doctor for you and your loved ones should not be this hard and cannot be left to chance,” said Cole Sirucek. Being an entrepreneur and former investor for

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A Serial Entrepreneur Transforming Lives

Temasek Holdings, Cole worked with Grace and founded DocDoc to help patients find their right doctor for their unique needs.

Helping Patients Find the Right Doctor at the Right Time Today, DocDoc has become Asia’s largest healthcare network with over 23,000 physicians, 600 clinics and 100 hospitals from a broad panel of specialties throughout the region. With its virtual network of physicians and hospitals supporting patients to find high quality medical care, DocDoc is transforming healthcare while empowering patients to find the right course of care.

The company combines deep expertise in clinical informatics, artificial intelligence, and healthcare quality assessment to deliver simple yet powerful patient empowerment solutions. DocDoc does this by collecting information no one in the industry has and then categorizing that information in a way that allows for medical quality assessment at the procedure level. DocDoc leverages their knowledge based assets through a medically trained contact center which supports each patient to help them understand the information the company provides and to answer questions. “We are there for our clients as if they were family because in our minds they are,” said Grace Park, Cofounder and President of DocDoc.

An Entrepreneurial Journey Cole has founded a diverse range of businesses in his career spanning over 17 years of experience in founding, investing into and otherwise supporting entrepreneurial ventures. He has also served as an Independent Member of the Board of Directors for Global Eagle Acquisition Corp, a US$190 million NASDAQ listed Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation focused on the media and entertainment industry. Cole spent seven years as a direct investment professional with Temasek Holdings.

In this capacity, he sourced, executed, and monitored investments on a global basis in the firm’s telecommunications, media and technology group. He has successfully invested over US$500 million in private equity direct and secondary transactions.

Before Temasek, he was the CoFounder and Executive Vice President of Pluto Networks – a wireless data networking company. He has formerly held executive positions in Hawaii’s State Government and has worked as a technology venture capitalist and strategy business consultant.

Cole attended Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management (Master of Business Administration) and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (Master in Public Administration). In his free time, Cole is a martial artist, adventure racer, scuba diver and mountaineer. He has completed selfsupported 250KM foot races across January 2018

The job of the entrepreneur is to push through the limitations of humanity to build a better future.

Cole Sirucek Co-founder and CEO DocDoc China’s Gobi Desert and Egypt’s Sahara Desert, funding medical missions in Vietnam and China that directly saved the lives of +13 children.

Making Well-Reasoned Convictions Every time, All the Time Having founded various businesses of his own, Cole believes that there are several existing common issues, which you are bound to face every time you start a company. According to him, team building comes first, followed by the distribution model and then fund raising.

He says, startups have considerable variability and lots of ambiguity which is difficult to deal with at a personal and team level. For him, building and keeping a high-quality team together while selling the vision during periods of difficulty is the hardest part of building a successful innovative company.

When asked about the qualities he possesses that makes him an inspirational business leader, he said “I believe in having the guts to follow well-reasoned convictions and the work ethic to get people comfortable that we are going to make it happen. I think the team also knows that I will be the first person to sacrifice if needed from the group and the first to share praise when we win. It is all about servant leadership.”

January 2018

Pushing the Limitations for the Better Future His advice for aspiring and stagnant entrepreneurs: “Pursue something bigger than yourself. Have a goal that is beyond the mundane and that is part and parcel to your soul. Then, never give up and never give in. The world will always push back and try and stop almost all forms of change. This is human nature. The job of an entrepreneur is to push through this limitation of human character to build a better future. This requires near pathological determination.”

He also believes that he would not enter the health care market as a young entrepreneur. It is too complicated and the channel partners are too complex to deal with unless you have significant background in the space before you start the company. Unlike many B to C startups, health care requires significant domain expertise and experience to interface with industry partners. “I am so thankful for the team at DocDoc. Grace and I could not do this without the near ‘jedi’ expertise and insights of Dr. Dan Riskin, Dr. Ari Widodo and Chad Parsons. These guys make this vision real every day and we are so thankful for their leadership, friendship and expertise,” said Cole Sirucek.

Going ahead, Cole envisions DocDoc as the preferred partner for insurance companies and employers throughout Asia who want to provide high quality doctor discovery services to their policyholders and employees.

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Corinna E. Lathan: C

hanges call for innovation and innovation leads to progress.

For years, Entrepreneurship and innovation has had a hand-in-hand relationship. The amalgamation between the both has enabled businesses to produce new ideas, provide better services and originate new products. Alongside hundreds of traits that a successful entrepreneur possesses, innovation is one of the key traits amongst them. One such entrepreneur who flexed her innovation muscles to attain unrivaled success is Dr. Corinna E. Lathan, the Cofounder and CEO of AnthroTronix.

The former Associate Professor, has featured in multiple magazines and has won numerous distinctions for her contributions and efforts towards the industry and her company. She is also a thought leader on some of the latest technological trends that are impacting the healthcare sector.

Planting the Seeds of Innovation AnthroTronix is a human inspired, technology driven Research and Development company that offers a plethora of software and hardware services. It works with a diverse client base, ranging from the private sector to government agencies in the fields of rehabilitation, education, entertainment, military, and communication.

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A Catalyst who Enhances Interaction between Technology and People

The idea behind the inception of AnthroTronix stemmed from Cori’s dedicated interest in empowering people through technology. She cofounded the company, with Jack Vice, back in 1999 to focus on enhancing capabilities beyond what could be done without technology. One of their first products was conceptualized with the same idea and innovation. The product was a computer access device for children with disabilities.

Boasting an Impressive Portfolio Cori’s educational resume includes a Bachelor’s in Biopsychology and Mathematics from the Swarthmore College, which she followed up with a Master’s in Aeronautics and Astronautics and a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from MIT. Prior to AnthroTronix, Cori was an Associate Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Catholic University. She was also an adjunct Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Maryland.

She is part of the Board of Directors panels for non-profits like Engineering World Health and The KID-Museum and also on the Advisory Board for the Smithsonian Institute’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation. Aside from AnthroTronix, Cori serves as an Independent Director of PTC, Inc., which is a global technology provider of Internet of

Things and Augmented Reality platforms.

Enhancing the Interaction between People and Technology As a research and development company, AnthroTronix is truly dedicated to enhance the interaction between people and technology. By improving that connection, the company can increase the benefits that technology can provide. The company had developed a mobile medical application, DANA™: The Brain Thermometer®, which administers game-like tests that can provide data within minutes to help assess and measure a person’s brain/cognitive health. Cori states “The app can help clinicians track cognitive function as a quantitative outcome during treatment for such conditions as depression, dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease, and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”

AnthroTronix has also undertaken educational technology projects with products like the Cosmos Learning Systems™. This computer interface device provides educational tools to children with and without disabilities.

The company also has a product named CosmoBot, which is a prototype interactive robot used to promote educational and therapeutic activities.

CosmoBot has been tested with children with a wide range of disabilities including children with January 2018

We design and develop systems to optimize human technology interaction.

Dr. Corinna E. Lathan CEO & Co-founder AnthroTronix Autism Spectrum Disorders, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, apraxia, neurodevelopmental disorders, and language developmental disorders.

All of these products highlight AnthroTronix’s humancomputer interface technology, and product development specializations.

Supporting and Nurturing each Employee Cori mentions, “I think it is critical that leaders, whether for a small, mid-size or large business, remember that their most important resource is their staff.” She firmly believes that supporting and nurturing your employees should be embedded within the DNA of every entrepreneur.

At AnthroTronix, there is an incredible group of engineers, designers, scientists, and administrators, who all contribute towards the company in their own unique way. Cori values the different skill sets and perspectives of her employees, allowing her to have a multi-disciplinary approach to developing exclusive technology solutions that help solve real life challenges.

face since founding the company, she exclaims “The biggest challenges we had were personnel and timing.”

Neither Cori nor Jack had the requisite business experience or expertise. It took them about 12-18 months to find the right business partner, which is an eternity in the life of a startup.

Add to that, timing was another challenge; as lots of things affect the markets that are beyond the control of a company.

One of which was when AnthroTronix launched its first round of fund-raising — the night before the 9/11 attack.

Needless to say, no one was investing. Inspite of all these, Cori and her team’s unwavering determination to attain success led the company to what it is known as today.

The Roadmap Moving Ahead “I see AnthroTronix growing and adapting to meet the everchanging technological needs of humans,” Cori asserts.

Moving ahead, AnthroTronix will continue to push the envelope in its collective thinking to ensure meaningful research and development. “We will stay true to our company, nurturing our employees and treating our customers as co-creators,” she concludes.

Overcoming the Stumbling Blocks along the Journey When asked about the challenges and struggles Cori had to

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Can Help You Entrepreneur F

or budding entrepreneurs, “The best advice that I can offer is that being proactive and a careful planner is key. Think about the major things that could shake up your financial life, and I’ll bet there are some great ways to protect yourself,” says Alexa Von Tobel, the famous American Entrepreneur and the author of New York Times Bestseller.

Technology is now involved everywhere, from doing daily chores to developing rocket science. In this fast pacing world, everything involves technology and technological devices from portable computers to smartphone. Subsequently, for people to do everything from making monthly budget to booking a movie ticket, taking a break from the so-called tech-savvy world and using a notepad and pen can help better.

Write down everything, even the smallest things count The demonstration of composing resembles zen for your bustling personality, and research indicates will probably recollect things you work out. Taking the time every day to record the greater part of your arrangements, undertakings and objectives is justified regardless of consistent spends. It will spare you time the following day when you have a genuine arrangement and aren't scrambling to make sense of what should be finished.

No undertaking is too little to record if it’s something you would prefer not to overlook.

Record it, and after that make a move.

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January 2018

Strategy Talk Experts generally prescribe taking a couple of minutes out, each earlier night before bed, to design your following day, and above and beyond, to take some time every Setting up month to month motivation is significantly more viable, than basically making yearly resolutions, and keeps things new. Record what makes bliss in your life, things you need to state no to, schedules and propensities that assist you to remain sound, extraordinary dates and a month to month can list. Make a point to allude back to your notes each week so you keep the motivation going.

Use Your Planner to Track Every Minute Detail Utilize your organizer minus all potential limitations degree conceivable. Your funds are an enormous piece of your life and business, so for what reason not record things to monitor your cash?

Stamp when your bills as due on the date that they should be paid, define money related objectives and verify them when you achieve them! You in all likelihood have planning programming set up for your business, yet how often have you been in a rush amid the week and understood your electric bill is expected today or - much more lamentably - yesterday? Record it and erase that worry from your life totally.

Not just tracking your finances, use your planner to do jot down every minute detail of the yourself. Plan your personal life and incorporate self-care as that is what is acting as the main source of power behind your and your enterprise’s success.

Sunday night to design your up and coming week.

You will discover your brain is clearer and all the extra time will surface.

Choose a planner where you can fill up your timetable and daily agenda every day As a visual creator and a nitty gritty organizer identity, most entrepreneurs take their affection for organizers and makes their own particular image of organizers a couple of years before. One of the fundamental segments of the planner is the design to offer enough space for every day schedule.

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It is imperative to entrepreneurs to have the capacity to see the greater part of their chance delicate exercises amid the day, yet additionally have a space to compose undertakings. We as a whole have a great deal to achieve every day, except with an appropriate organizer setup, we can remain focused and accomplish our objectives sooner.

Write down your monthly goals so that you can achieve them In case you plan your schedules every day, you ought to likewise be considering an outline every month. One of the key elements for business visionaries is defining objectives and afterward finding a way to contact them. Take some time toward the finish of every month to choose what you need to achieve in the next month, and compose everything out in your organizer or planner book.

A current report directed by Dominican University of California demonstrated recording your objectives makes them significantly more prone to happen. These objectives can be business-related and individual. You are not a different element from your business. You are a piece of it, so making objectives that work for your business and for you is critical.

Use the Planner to Inspire Yourself A planner diary isn’t only a place to confirm things and see what time you should be some place. It ought to be a place that houses motivation too. Something most entrepreneurs generally write in their own particular organizer is a word to concentrate on every month. A great deal of us pick an expression of the year or set a New Year’s determination, yet we know that it is so difficult to remain enlivened all year.

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January 2018

Erik Bjontegard: S

teve Jobs once said, “I’m convinced that about half of what separates the successful entrepreneurs from the non-successful ones is pure perseverance.”

Likewise, often discussions about entrepreneurship boil down to the difference between patience and perseverance. Entrepreneurs believe patience is the key to survive in today’s ever-changing digital world.

But for many, it is perseverance and not patience – the key to virtue. One such tenacious entrepreneur, Erik Bjontegard has always been driven by the challenge to combine science and innovation in ways that improve our lives. Currently, President and founder of Total Communicator Solutions, Erik is bringing unprecedented value to millions of people by enabling smart devices to become even more powerful even smart cities to become intelligent – giving you personalized, contextual relevant curated experiences that make life even better.

Leading from front, Erik has guided Total Communicator to become a fully integrated, contextually intelligent mobile communications platform. The solution leverages real-data analytics with real-time sensor data to deliver “augmented reality communication ™” that combines location, user, and activity knowledge, to deliver curated experiences on mobile devices and other connected displays. The company’s patented, contextually

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A Tenacious Entrepreneur who brings Unprecedented Value to Millions of People

intelligent communications platform, Spark Compass™, integrates proximity beacons, NFC, augmented reality, smart city sensors, NFC and other IoT and smart city sensors. With several installations, Spark Compass is used by enterprises such as airports, hospitals, university facilities, sport venues, stadiums and convention centers. Total Communicator is headquartered in San Diego, CA, with locations in USA, Spain, Mexico, UK, Norway, and New Zealand.

The Journey that Traces back to 90s Erik’s journey to become an entrepreneur roots back to his four-year term in the University of Salford, UK in 1986. His academics had run its course, and it was therefore time to bid farewell. The days that followed left Erik questionable about his choice of profession after working at the Norwegian Underwater Technology Center developing underwater robotics he yearned to explore further beyond the shores of the North Sea. He was soon found packing his bag for an expedition to the U.S. – a nation with promises in store for a young engineer, seeking to explore and develop aerospace and deep space vehicles instead of subsea terrain. After years working on fighter jets, Space Shuttle and commercial airliners and rocket science engineering, followed by a couple of years in real estate and land development, Erik joined Qualcomm, the telecommunications giant and before long, he ascended to join the executive leadership in the Corporate

R&D division. It was here, that it occurred to him: science and advancement that encompassed technology lacked real-life value and vision. He saw a need to establish a solution and platform provider that can leverage their technologies into usable and powerful platforms and end-to-end solutions. Assembling a little group of dedicated, like-minded specialists, in the midst of limited resources and budget, Erik laid the foundation for Total Communicator Solutions, Inc. in 2012.

Development and Growth of Precise Mobile Marketing Platform He along with a team of industry experts, architected and developed a one-of-a-kind platform (PaaS) that connected existing sensor networks, devices and their users. The platform was designed to deliver compelling relevant content within a unique localized experience to the user, while capturing appurtenant user-behavior data for platform stakeholders.

Together, they developed a complete precise mobile marketing platform with dynamic mobile apps – the Spark Compass platform. Today, Spark Compass is covered by an awarded US patent with numerous pending patents in USA and worldwide with providers and partners, channel partners and system integration partners ranging from ATOS, Qualcomm,CGI and Samsung to smaller local BOT (Build Operate Train) partners. “We are finally out of stealth mode and are deploying with some powerful brands January 2018

I’ve always been driven by the challenge to combine science and innovation in ways that improve our lives.

Erik Bjontegard Founder & President Total Communicator Solutions, Inc

and partners. The Spark Compass platform has been tested and validated in real commercial enterprise deployments, across multiple vertical markets. It drives conversion and result, now endorsed and promoted by our channel partners globally” Erik affirms.

Helping Businesses Expand their Brands Total Communicator’s customers are typically big brands and they have a very big asset in their brands. Total Communicator – going beyond the conventional business approach – proposes to help them expand their brands – not its own apps. The firm therefore provides the tools, the plumbing if clients want – to deliver their branded messages to their fans.

“Our INCLUSIVE approach enables us to integrate with legacy systems – from client databases to existing apps for our clients. We work to enhance the communications for our clients and drive a loyalty with their customers and fans. We do this by ensuring that it’s the BRAND’s app we build and interact with, and then we enable the BRAND to communicate with THEIR fans. We can even leverage the platform to enhance and improve internal dialog and communications too for improved operations” he further explains.

January 2018

Revolutionizing the Way Location Based Businesses Work The Spark Compass™ mobile proximity platform is the ‘brains’ that’s enabling a wide range of experiences. Based on its patented technology, it takes advantage of the latest innovations in proximity beacons, sensor integrations, geofences, augmented reality and virtual reality to name a few – creating a layer of “Augmented Intelligent Communication (TM)” to enable businesses and organizations drive dynamic marketing, services as well as internal and external communications. The end result is the ability to easily bring real-time, contextually intelligent experiences to people in places like convention centers, universities, airports, medical centers and hospitals, events, convention centers, office buildings and tourist destinations.

Spark Compass is already in all of these.

The Internet of Things industry has emerged rapidly and looks all set for a great future. Some interesting business models have emerged as well and Total Communicator Solutions seems poised to revolutionize the way the location based businesses work! Led by Erik, the firm is looking for innovative, self-starters that are eager to make things happen as they set to make the Smart City Intelligent™.

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Jason Clement: Y

outh sports participation has become an important tool in catalyzing positive change to upstream health solutions, character development, and fueling the economic engine of communities. As seen in mainstream media outlets such as HBO Real Sports, TIME Magazine, and The TODAY Show, topics surrounding youth sports such as the state of healthcare, the future of youth physical activity, the family dynamic and the economic growth throughout our country are making headlines. So much so, that youth and amateur sports have become big business. The intersection of this emerging market, life experiences, and an ethic to service have manifested into a dedication to social entrepreneurship for Jason Clement.

Jason Clement is the Founder Partner and CEO of a successful sports management solution, Sports Facilities Management (SFM) and Managing Partner of Sports Facilities Advisory (SFA). Today, these firms have overseen more than $8 billion dollars worth of planned investments and over 60 million visits in associated venues. Raised in Iowa, Jason was surrounded by an industrious, entrepreneurial family who successfully owned agricultural service various other businesses ranging from

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Delivering the Next-Generation Sporting Experience

manufacturing, auto and plane dealerships, grain elevators, and real estate development. Building on this foundation, Jason honed his instincts through a hands-on architectural and entrepreneurship programs at Iowa State University, which taught him to value originality in problem solving, innovation and the pragmatic aspect of business. During his adulthood, he made the most out of his formal and informal learning to build a successful enterprise, Sports Facilities Advisory and Sports Facilities Management.

Capturing Opportunities to Create an Enterprise Jason was working for an outsourced corporate real estate management firm when he saw an upcoming opportunity to create an enterprise in an emerging market. The corporate real estate firm provided facility management services to growing corporations like Cisco, NOKIA, USAA and more. During his time with this corporate real estate firm, Jason saw an opportunity to help public entities, private developers and entrepreneurs avail sophisticated management solutions in the sport, entertainment, and recreation industry.

Today, SFA and SFM provide a widerange of solutions starting from strategic planning all the way to organizational development and management services. SFA and SFM

have become a global force in the industry. Over the course of 15 years, the firms have created various entities including numerous SFM-managed venues, Empower Adventures, Bo Jackson’s Elite Sports Development Group, Sports Leadership Centers of America, and more. Their work towards the development of sports, leisure, and entertainment industry has also lead to the creation of over 60 entities around the world. SFA and SFM, during inception, were a small leap of faith in the future on the part of Jason and his partners, and today they are a glowing face of success in the industry.

Measuring the Immeasurable Scale of Excellence In the early days, SFM and Jason faced many challenges in order to establish their presence in the industry. Of which, one of the most recurrent struggles has been scaling to the “next” level of organization. In the beginning, Jason and a dedicated team worked hard to prove the business concept, serve the operations, and set the highest standards of service to their clients.

During its early stages, building a culture of accountability, controlling quality, and setting a bar for service was the unspoken norm. As the

January 2018

As an Entrepreneur, I am focused on the health and economic growth of the communities we serve.

Jason Clement Managing Partner & CEO Sports Facilities Advisory and Sports Facilities Management company grew, it expanded into a team of over 300 managing over 2000 venue staff. As a result, the company holds the values of accountability, collaboration, excellence and service sacrosanct for all team members. Scaling those standards is the recurring challenge Jason and the leadership team seem poised to meet.

One of Jason’s core beliefs is that people do not care about what leaders know until they come to understand the extent of their care, passion and dedication. He believes every organization and entrepreneur should consider making a positive difference in the lives of the people they intersect.

This passion provides the fuel for perseverance required to reach new ground. This passion drove SFA and SFM to succeed during the most challenging growth periods, something which Jason makes every effort to share with employees, clients, and the management each day.

The Future and a Sound Word of Advice SFM continues to innovate their management solutions by applying new technologies and incorporating the latest industry trends. Jason envisions a future for the industry that will serve families and participants in new and innovative ways in which they will interact on the courts, fields, pools and ice differently as the result of new technologies. “Smart courts”, entertainment and active

January 2018

amenities will be more prevalent as compared to now.

Hence, he invests the resources of SFA and SFM in finding strategic partners and solutions that will take their service offerings to the next level. Additionally, Jason recognizes the current trend of dwindling youth sports participation rates. The downstream effect results in societies around the world becoming less active, healthy and investing less effort on physical, mental and emotional wellbeing. Jason believes in the importance for the industry to provide opportunities for access to all kids and innovate within communities to promote participation for people who cannot afford quality sports services.

Jason led the company from the front in difficult times and has learned that in order to dive into the future, entrepreneurs must accept this as a way of life. Jason shared that giant corporations like Apple, Uber, Amazon, and others grew over a long period of time and were established through continuous efforts and change. Additionally, these companies also keep innovating to stay ahead of the curve and be the best in their respective fields. Hence, he advises young entrepreneurs to invest their time, effort, and focus without wasting time worrying about overnight success.

According to Jason, success is not a destination but a journey marked by sustained effort filled with relationships, collaboration and commitment to service.

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Lanir Shacham: W

ith over 25 years of experience in the software industry, Lanir Shacham holds the distinction of building a company from scratch and leading it towards success. Originally the Founder & CEO of Correlsense, during the company’s initial years, Lanir went on to shoulder the position of a CTO and supervised Product Management and Customer Relation roles at the company. He developed channels and partners to expand Correlsense’s presence within the market and three years ago he returned to the CEO position to help the company expand globally.

An Industry Expert who Swung the Magic Wand of Success

His educational resume includes a BSc in Computer Science and MSc in Physics from Bar-Ilan University and graduate of the MAMRAM IDF Computer Academy.

The Inception of a Big Idea from a Simple Question While working as a performance consultant, Lanir kept trying to help IT organizations solve hard performance problems. It was obvious that there was no answer to the question: Why is this user transaction hanging? Lanir incepted Correlsense to bring-forward a relevant answer to the above question.

A Portfolio worth Boasting About!

Prior to the inception of Correlsense, Lanir was one of the senior members of the IBM Global Technology Unit.

His responsibility, back then, involved generating technical and business relations with the Israeli Hi-Tech community. Moving further back, Lanir served as the Chief Architect and R&D Manager at Indocs Online, a start-up company that developed unique services for the pre-print industry. He also served as an officer in the IDF Intelligence Corps, wherein Lanir led the development of Big Data systems of Knowledge Management.

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But as with any other companies, the road wasn’t a bed of roses. Lanir and his team of experts started working on a solution ten years ago, but the challenge existed for at least ten years prior to that time. Owing to the diverse and complex application environment, the challenges were enormous. There was no solution out there that could trace single user transactions across multiple technology types to monitor enterprise data.

The company invested four years to just get to the stage where its software agents could attach themselves to any

type of technology that created transactions automatically. Following that, Correlsense focused more on how to capture all of that data in an effective manner, so that it could be analyzed, indexed, and collated - all in real-time. The company as a result faced a Big Data problem, which it started working on during 2010, and completed the task three years later.

Visibility into Every Single User Transaction The concept behind Correlsense is to give organizations visibility into every single user transaction that lies within their applications — Application Performance Management (APM) — and this is what constitutes its vision, mission, and core technology. Lanir rightly points out, “We enable organizations to accurately answer the question: ‘How are my applications performing?’ by giving them information on each and every user click.”

Correlsenses’ main investment goes into the technology behind its flagship product, SharePath, which gives organizations both a bird’s-eye and detailed view of how transactions are performed across multiple tiers in their data centres.

January 2018

When things crumble you have to be able to see the light, be the captain of the ship and take charge.

Lanir Shacham CEO & Founder Correlsense

Qualities that Separate an Entrepreneur from the Crowd Lanir mentions that an inherent passion for technology, persistence and an acute understanding that it takes a loyal team of professionals, who are smarter than you, translates a dream into a reality for any entrepreneur. The most important part of it is finding and keeping hold of a winning team.

Talking about his own contributions and entrepreneurial traits, Lanir exclaims, “When things crumble you have to be able to see the light, be the captain of the ship and take charge. This is what your employees and shareholders expect from you. I saw no other option for myself, as an aspiring engineer this was the only thing I wanted to do.

Also you have to be determined and calculated working in small steps that lead you to your ultimate objective.”

Envisioning a Future that Reaps Positive Results

script’s automatic injection at the web-server level, enabling customers to measure real user experience as opposed to synthetic monitoring, which was common until a few years ago. Correlsense was also the first to introduce a whole new concept of binary interception, and only now a few other vendors are trying to reach this level of granularity, usually with less success.

Looking ahead, Lanir is excited with what the future holds for the company and plans to innovate and bring new ways of managing the performance of large-scale data centers into the market.

A Fruitful Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs Lanir concludes with his advice for emerging entrepreneurs by stating, “You have to really enjoy what you do and be passionate about it. Things for certain will not develop as you planned; you will need to overcome constant obstacles – and as an entrepreneur, this is not a cliché – look at them as opportunities to grow your business and yourself.”

Correlsense has always been at the forefront of innovation in its market. The company was the first to introduce java

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Monica Wooden: M

ario Andretti, one of the most successful American race car drivers, once said, “Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.”

The single-most important characteristic that every entrepreneur should possess in this day and age is commitment — commitment towards one’s dreams, one’s desires, and one’s own abilities.

“The entire universe is conspiring to give you everything that you want”Abraham Hicks. Out of the 7 billion people on this planet, only 8% go on to achieve their goals. It is not because the universe is biased towards this 8% population. It’s just their commitment that convinced their fate to take a turn for the best. Everyone is born with a talent, but it requires undeterred determination to really bear the fruit of that talent. Entrepreneurs become successful when they commit to their idea, team, customers, and the community.

Entrepreneurs should have great leadership qualities to become leaders who inspire a shared passion for the work being done at every level in the company. This story is about one such

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Delivering Solutions that Changed an Industry

inspiring leader at MercuryGate, a company recognized as a leading provider of transportation management solutions. At MercuryGate, every employee is focused on customer service. And that focus is an extension of the company’s leadership, which recognizes their teams for their contributions and help them realize that their efforts do make a difference.

The inspiring entrepreneur leading the way at MercuryGate is Monica Wooden.

Predicted Opportunity and Grabbed it Instantly Monica and her MercuryGate Cofounder, Steve Blough, anticipated an opportunity to reduce costs in the supply chain. They were amazed by the level of inefficiency and various untapped opportunities to reduce costs and optimize supply chain performance. They had experienced first-hand the frustrations of using technology applications that were developed from a purely academic perspective. They recognized the significant need for technology designed based on how the transportation industry operates.

Together, they developed a Transportation Management System (TMS) and worked with others to accelerate a significant disruption in the logistics industry. Monica and Steve were the first ones to put TMS in the cloud.

What began with an idea, later evolved into a full-fledged conviction to leverage the resources that would improve transportation technology systems. Monica took an active role in the industry by planning, listening, and adapting to the changing norms and trends of the market and its stakeholders. With ongoing support from colleagues, friends and family, Monica continued to innovate and expand the technology solutions offered by MercuryGate, while rapidly increasing the company’s customer base.

Keeping the Entrepreneurial Spirit Alive MercuryGate has been well received since its being founded in 2000. Steve Blough came from an operational background and like Monica, launched his career from a warehouse floor.

Monica and Steve developed MercuryGate’s initial product offering with an up-close, hands-on understanding of the challenges faced by the transportation and the logistics managers.

MercuryGate has been very well received since its earliest days of operation. Monica and her team continue to operate with a clear vision based on an in-depth knowledge of the industries they serve. She has built a strong team of talented and passionate individuals who are dedicated to doing

January 2018

The most important characteristic an entrepreneur should have today is commitment. There’s no faking it.

Those who make it have depth and are curious and cerebral.

Monica Wooden CEO & Co-Founder MercuryGate

the best job possible for their customers. The only limiting factor to their master plan was the rate of expansion.

Monica and her team are constantly executing solutions to match the pace of their growth.

Perfect Blend of Technology, Process, and Business Intelligence Since its beginning, MercuryGate has focused on tailoring its solutions to their customers. Monica and her team developed the first transportation management solution for a large electronics company with extremely complex, high volume transportation needs. The system was so successful that it began saving the company millions of dollars as soon as it was implemented. This was the genesis of their advanced, proven solutions that today serve hundreds of customers.

MercuryGate continues to be a competitive advantage for today’s most successful shippers, 3PLs, freight forwarders, brokers, and carriers. Monica has dedicated all her efforts in turning MercuryGate into a unique solution provider; one which would natively support all modes of transportation in a single platform, including Parcel, LTL, Truckload, Air, Ocean, Rail, and Intermodal. Monica has collaborated with various experts to consistently release innovative, resultsdriven technology. Her commitment towards making customers successful has led MercuryGate to become an January 2018

invaluable asset to various TMS users. Even after several years of operation, Monica is still driving the evolution of MercuryGate by improving productivity and operational efficiency. MercuryGate has also earned cheers for its sophisticated and stable Business Intelligence system that improves transportation processes, increases customer satisfaction, and reduces costs; and all the credit goes to Monica and the efforts of her dedicated team, today.

Believe in an Idea Honestly and be Unconditionally Faithful Toward It Monica believes that in this age of fast-paced growth, we just cannot afford to be intimidated by failure. Every new venture should be approached with a vision of what success means to you and that entrepreneurs should never stop learning, working, and improving. “It is imperative to have an unwavering focus on achieving your goals,” Monica said.

Monica is confident that by keeping her entrepreneurial spirit alive, MercuryGate will continue to experience rapid growth through expansion of important features and functionalities in the current platform for their existing customers. She pledges to explore new opportunities, customers, and markets along with her incredibly talented team.

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Nick Puntikov: T

he attitude of technical specialists at First Line Software resembles that of an entrepreneur as they embrace the challenges of, and opportunities for, delivering technical excellence on each new client project. They are known for taking personal ownership on projects that demand their best efforts. By constantly thinking about how to solve project challenges or fine-tune code for optimal performance, which delivers the best possible user experience, they routinely exceed customer expectations with exceptional outcomes.

First Line’s Co-founder: An Entrepreneur Leading by Example Of course it helps to have a serial entrepreneur running the company.

Meet CEO and Founder, Nick Puntikov. After earning his M.Sc. degree in 1983, Nick worked as a researcher in the field of computational linguistics and natural language processing. Nick also holds a Ph.D. from the Institute of Informatics of the Academy of Sciences.

Nick founded his first company, a privately-held software engineering firm, StarSoft in 1991. Under his leadership, over the next 15 years, the company established its reputation as a premier software services provider to clients in North America and Europe.

The company was based in Cambridge, MA and employed over 700 technical specialists and engineers.

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An Entrepreneurial Spirit Fuels Innovation

In 2007, StarSoft merged with Exigen Services of San Francisco, and Nick took on the role as the head of delivery for the next three years. In this role, Nick was responsible for business development, managing customer relationships, and overseeing a staff of 1,500 technical experts working in 10 R&D centers in 6 countries across Europe, the Baltics and China.

Nick’s next phase as an entrepreneur began when he co-founded First Line Software, a full-service, software engineering solution provider. He now serves as the company’s CEO and has nurtured the company to nearly 500 resources over the last nine years with the help of a very experienced management team.

Entrepreneurial attitude opens up new opportunities First Line is a global company that over time, has built up a reputation for serving a diverse mix of customers and partners around the world and introducing cutting-edge technology that creates a distinct competitive advantage. Customer satisfaction has been confirmed with over 80% of its customers placing two or more projects with First Line Software.

Being adaptable and forward-thinking has opened up new opportunities for First Line – specifically, working with promising startups that are disrupting how services are delivered. When presented with their vision, First Line

forges ahead to execute on developing the technology that will enable these startups to launch their innovative products and services. Again, it’s an agile and entrepreneurial spirit that fuels the expansion of First Line’s customer base to include working with innovative startups.

Currently, First Line is working on two mobile apps that will serve individuals who would otherwise not have access to such valuable services. The first app will connect patients in remote parts of Africa with participating physicians around the world who will provide medical advice on demand. Eventually the Yapili platform and this app will expand its reach to include patients in other remote parts of the world. The second app will serve hearing-impaired visitors to the State Russian Museum, which is the world’s largest collection of Russian art and is housed in a unique architectural complex in the historical center of St. Petersburg. The app will deliver a guided tour experience, including sign language that would not typically be available to hearing-impaired museum visitors.

A completely different project is centered on big data and is so complex that it requires the collaboration of multiple companies. First Line has been participating in developing a vocabulary system containing thousands of medical terms and methodologies from countries around the world.

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I’m proud to have instilled the attitude of being an entrepreneur by empowering each member of the First Line team.

Nick Puntikov Co-founder & CEO First Line Software Finally, First Line worked with iTraq to develop a tracking device used by a range of companies to track objects and cargo around the world. This device utilizes a range of technologies that allow it to be located (even indoors) including cellular ID, GPS, WiFi triangulation, and LoRa, among others, while also allowing for monitoring temperature changes and motion/falls. In fact, iTraq and First Line Software were recognized by Ventana Research for the technology developed to operate the device.

Prepared for innovation with deep technical expertise and industry experience The technology experts at First Line have built up an extensive repository of expertise spanning multiple industries, deep knowledge of industry-leading, and function-specific technologies, as well as engineering skills that cover platforms, systems, and software. In addition to these, First Line has fostered a culture that inspires their technology experts to use these horizontal engineering skills and capabilities to meet and exceed customer expectations in many different industry verticals.

And First Line doesn’t believe these interesting projects come along because of luck. In fact, Nick Puntikov often quotes Thomas Edison regarding luck: “We should remember that good fortune often happens when opportunity meets with preparation.” Time has no meaning when engineers embrace challenging assignments.

January 2018

Technology experts must be disciplined, curious and sufficiently educated or experienced to deliver innovative technical solutions and products. Fostering a corporate culture of innovation is driven by First Line’s stakeholders, executives and founders.

Fortunately for First Line, entrepreneur Nick Puntikov is at the helm and inspires excellence from the entire team of technology experts. And even though the company is no longer a startup and has 500 plus employees, the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well at First Line. Nick had this to say, “I’m proud to have instilled the attitude of being an entrepreneur by empowering each member of the First Line team. It has without a doubt been instrumental in consistently delivering the exceptional quality of development projects for our clients.”

First Line offers technology enablement services, custom software development, intellectual integration, and digitalization, plus the three primary Big Data categories: Big Data Engineering, Business Analysis and Data Insights.

The range of industries and markets First Line serves includes: Healthcare IT, Internet of Things (IoT), Industrial IOT (IIoT), Wearables, Enterprise Mobility, Digital Media and Marketing, Web Content Management, e-Commerce, eGovernment, Travel and Transportation, Warehouse Logistics, and Gas and Oil.

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Leadership Insight

T

he extent an organization can grow depends about 70% of the leadership strategies implemented on daily basis. As an eective leader who aims to steer your organization to the next and better level, you may need to consider the criticality of the below-highlighted points: They Find passion and See Possibility in their Big Dream: A true leader ďŹ rst dream so big that his dream also feels as though it would not be realizable, but he/she follows it up with strategy like; Dissecting his dream into smaller modules, and identifying passion out of it. They understand that a dream as whole may not have all the interesting elements all over it, but when they sit down and identify the little things that matters more, then position their mind to prioritize it with genuine admiration. Within a short time, everything will start to fall right into place. So they identify one or two things they like more about their goals and always think of it as a driving force.

After this step, true leaders, takes the time to draw the attention of their team to that driving force and motivate them to see reasons to achieve each goal eectively.

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January 2018

They Delegate Power with Community-First Approach in their Organization Having Owners in every corner builds trust ~ Harold MacDowell, CEO of TDIndustries Delegation of power to capable hands in the organization helps the organization with considerable relief in their efforts to manage business operations effectively.

This strategy fortifies their employees with a sense of support and selflessness. True leaders who delegates power and think about his organization first before them are seen as both humble and inspiring. There is a complete sense of Shared Vision which enables the organization to lead a healthy work culture.

They Acknowledge Time Management and Understanding of Team Individuality Time is money and money is a big factor in every business growth. Every effective leader knows the numerous growth potentials that lay ahead of their organization if they manage their time well. They see opportunities to grow when it arrives and never waste time in utilizing them. “Effectiveness,” is empty without the values of, “Time Management”.

The effective leaders oblige their team to maintain time. When there is difficulty in this, they always give a listening ear and suggest the most possible way to improve the wellbeing of their team/employees.

They Have Servant Leadership and Help-others Mindset: You are a leader because there are people who follow you. An effective leader puts his/her people first. They first become the servants before they step up as the leader. Though there is the need to always be a decision maker as the leader, but they take the initiatives of their team to encourage participative team spirit.

The first and most important values that an effective leader considers are putting the individual and professional growth of their team first. It takes a certain degree of discipline to portray this quality, but if an individual is able to attempt it with keen interest, then the end will be a glorious return on investment. Be the leader that when people are going to refer to leaders with; Positive Thinking, Good Heart towards others, Understanding of individuality & Accommodation and Selfless Personality, they will call your name. It will pay you more than your investment.

January 2018

57

Payman Taei: B

eing an entrepreneur is not about waiting for the storm to pass by but rather, learning to bounce back.

One of the most distinctive characteristics that separates entrepreneurs who succeed from those who do not is their undying persistence. Standing out with distinction from the crowd has never been a challenge for Payman Taei, an inspiring entrepreneur who translated his vision into reality with sheer determination.

The Start of Something Big In his final year of college at the University of Maryland, Payman had just $170 in his bank account. He resisted the temptation to get a school loan because, even then, he knew that he wanted his future earnings to go into funding his business, not into repaying loans.

He launched ‘UclipM’, a single web page where small businesses could post their coupons. In hindsight, it is perhaps fortunate that the site had no takers because one business owner asked for a website instead. Payman had his first web design client, which marked the start of a venture that

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An Entrepreneur who turned his Challenges into Stepping Stones

would become the HindSite Interactive digital agency the following year.

By 2008, HindSite was creating interactive animated websites using Flash for major clients like ABC News.

Apple’s 2010 decision to bar Flash from the iPhone gave the company a massive jolt - no one wanted Flashbased websites anymore. Business dropped by 50% subsequently.

HindSite survived and continues to operate today as a custom digital agency but Payman had been taught an invaluable lesson: “I learned that to succeed in business you have to keep up or get left behind.”

The experience opened his eyes and he used the demise of Flash as a stepping stone to incubate a start-up known today as Visme.

Creating and Executing an Experiment in Success Visme began as an experiment to try to recreate flash animations using HTML5, which is the fabric of the internet, not a plugin that can be squashed by a conglomerate. The idea was to empower individuals and companies as visual communicators.

“This has broad meaning and that’s the beauty behind Visme; our mission is to

democratize the creation of visual content so even someone with little or no design knowledge, and with limited time, can create professional-looking visual content - presentations, infographics, reports, flyers or social banners,” says Payman.

The Initial Challenges As with any other company, irrespective of the industry and size, Visme faced many hurdles when it was a fledgling start-up. Chief among them was a lack of funding but Payman used that obstacle as an opportunity to learn, to create something from nothing with limited resources. It taught him the importance of every decision and the value of every dollar.

Speaking of that tumultuous time, he reveals, “The first intuition of most founders is to go after funding, everyone would tell me that, even those internally involved in Visme. But I had a strong feeling that this would eat way too much energy early on. Since we didn’t even have a proof of concept, bootstrapping was the lower risk option.”

Payman knew that building Visme from the bottom up into a successful venture would take longer than most venture capitalist would have the January 2018

I learned that to succeed in business you have to keep up or get left behind.

Payman Taei Founder Visme

patience for, and he relished having control over its decision-making process in those early stages.

He adds, “Since there is no set path before you, you have to create your own and along the way, you make so many mistakes and take wrong turns. Over time, as you learn from those mistakes - or as I now call them, ‘experiments’ you build a sort of sixth sense where you can distinguish between what could work or what very likely won’t.”

The other major hurdle Payman faced was recruitment and he has had his fair share of mistakes hiring the wrong people. Those experiences have made him much better at it and he now hires individuals not based solely on their experience but also on motivation, dignity and trust; “a combination which is very hard to come by but critical to the success of any business.”

Leading by Example Being an upfront and hardworking individual, Payman likes to lead by example. “I don’t like to waste time beating around the bush; life is too short for that and there are too many things to accomplish in a day.”

January 2018

His passion and zealous attitude ignites a sense of excitement that drives him to do everything within his power to succeed. Aside from this, Payman cares deeply for his team members, especially those who go above and beyond the call of duty.

The Road Ahead and Advice to Emerging Entrepreneurs Although not one to plan too far ahead, Payman typically does one- or two-year outlooks to keep abreast of changes.

He believes that Visme will completely disrupt the speed and ease with which non-design professionals communicate visually if the company can achieve its list of goals for the next two years.

As for his advice to emerging and aspiring entrepreneurs, he says, “If you want to increase your odds of being successful, make sure you have a deep passion for your endeavor. There is a dark side to the glamour of being an entrepreneur - you can get hit from all sides at any time and if you don’t have a deep passion and love for what you do (it’s really an addiction I think), don’t waste your time and do something else.”

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Raheela Al Karim: S

teve Jobs had once said that “The only way to be satisfied in your life is to do work that you truly believe in.” During school-life everyone has some inherent aim or vision in life; everyone believes in their ideas but in retrospect we observe that very few of us have the capability to translate that vision into a reality.

Obstacles can lead to a collapse or can be a learning curve. Entrepreneurs, in particular, go through many of such obstacles. However, converting these challenges into opportunities is one of the salient characteristics of budding entrepreneurs. Among such empowering personalities across the globe, some women entrepreneurs have pedaled their way into various industry verticals with courage and dedication. Raheela Al Karim, the Founder and CEO of Plush Event Planning, is a perfect example of such courage and dedication. The selfassured woman has successfully fulfilled her father’s wish by proving her capabilities in various industries in the United States.

Whims of a Father and Primary Objectives Raheela mentions that her father is her chief inspiration and idol. She dreamed of being a successful entrepreneur and philanthropist. Hence, she perused her MBA in the United States. But her prime motivator expired just after the completion of her MBA degree. He wanted her to have a PhD from DePaul University and also shared a last wish

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A Woman Entrepreneur Cradling in Various Business Assertively

of creating a non-profit charity organization before demise. Being a compliant daughter, Raheela thereafter made her fathers’ aspirations her primary objective and decided to fulfill his wish.

Initially, the immigration status of Raheela had been a crucial hindrance.

She was in America on a student visa, thereby restricting her work proceedings many a times. She could not get a job or even time to work on her ideas. After reassessing her situation, she took the decision to join a variety of professional courses in her area of interest and strengthened her portfolio. The two years of hard work transpired into productive outcomes.

Today, Raheela is an Educational Leadership Doctoral Student at Depaul. She has been successfully running businesses like event planning.

Her success also exceeded for profit organizations to include her non-profit organization, Al Karim Foundation.

A Passion that Drives Numerous Businesses to Prominence Driving numerous businesses with the same enthusiasm is not an easy task.

Raheela Al Karim currently carries three diverse businesses on her shoulder.

Plush Multimedia: It is a multimedia company based in Chicago, IL. It satisfies communication needs of small and medium sized businesses. Her company provides a wide-array of

communication products and services such as logo designing, branding, print collateral, customized web applications, and websites. It also offers photography, videography, IT consulting services, and other promotional services as well. Raheela is an integrated partner in the company and handles dedicated teams of experienced professionals therein.

Plush Event Planning: As a certified event planner, she provides event planning for important occasions like wedding, cooperate events, anniversaries, and other family events including birthdays. It’s a one-stop shopping event platform that offers Event Planning, Photography, Cinematography, Wedding Cake & Sweet Table, Salad Station, Stage Décor, and Centrepieces, Flower Bouquets, Flower Garland, Floral Décor, Romantic Wedding Room Décor, Sound, Lighting, Videography of event, Wedding Designer Dresses Boutique, Makeup, Hairdo and Tattoo for bridal, Invitation Cards Design and Print. The timeless designs, flawless co-ordination and chic styling of companies are widely acknowledged by the clients, and Raheela has been the key facilitator to assure that. She asserts, “We believe that ‘Dreams Really Come True’ and We want our clients to be absolutely stress free, all that we ask from our clients is to enjoy every single moment of your event.”

January 2018

I have vision, courage, integrity, humility and focus along with the ability to plan strategically and catalyze cooperation amongst my company team.

Raheela Al Karim Founder & CEO Plush Event Planning

Al Karim Foundation: The foundation was a dream of a father cradled by his daughter. Raheela has handled multiple ambitious social projects under this roof. She is currently involved in three major initiatives that include New-born Cloths Drive and Fazal Food Drive for Karachi, Warm Coats Drive for Chicago. She desires to help as many people as possible through this platform and take her father’s dream project to an indisputable level.

Fazal Karim

Raheela’s Father

Pivotal Qualities that Crafted Success Raheela believes that her passion to be a philanthropist, courageous and an adept professional is due to the resolute support from her employees. She further states that “My weakness and my failures build a solid foundation of spark and positive energy inside me which motivates and excites me about prospects of work” She has faith in her God gifted talents, and is proud of her individual struggles that has enhanced her persona and catered in business booming.

She has a pivotal action plan to enhance organizational January 2018

infrastructure, with some essential alleviated areas of concerns at center. Raheela predominantly focuses on, understanding and prompting learning reciprocity. She encourages leadership through reciprocity and meaningful interactions with others, and believes such initiatives improve organizational context. Indexing and monitoring personal growth and organizational growth is another concern area for her. She retains a personal journal listed with essential actions and daily reports to enhance individual performance levels. Raheela claims that organizational improvements can be enabled persistently through biding an action plan understanding the complete progression as organizational unit. She has formed a working relationship with the administrative department, which promotes the company policies and improves the restraints upon every unit, thereby further assisting in the complete organizational growth.

Imperative Insights for Nascent Entrepreneurs Raheela is known to be a versatile and multitalented individual amongst her associates. For years, Raheela has been mentoring in various leading institutes. She exclaims that no one succeeds immediately; it is of utmost importance to have faith on one’s own capabilities. She advices emerging entrepreneurs to believe in themselves and challenge their pre-conceived abilities and to have a vision, and build a capable team that shares the same set of goals as the organization.

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Overcoming Barriers

How To Overcome Obstacles When Starting Young

About The Author Eugene Cheng is Partner & Creative Lead at HighSpark a company that provides presentation design services and consultancy to Fortune 500 companies. He also mentors for a video production company: MotionSauce

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January 2018

I

t was stated in a BNP Paribas Global Entrepreneurs report surveying 2,600 entrepreneurs based in 18 countries, that millennials are launching more than two times more businesses versus their older counterparts. Time are changing and the inevitable rise of the 20-something CXOs will follow, whether we like it or not.

That said, starting young also comes bundled with its own set of unique challenges. For wide-eyed millennials entering the world of business, this can prove to be daunting and at times overwhelming.

Back when my partner and I first started HighSpark, a company that provides presentation design services and skills training, it was by no means a walk in the park. Here are some obstacles we faced along the way and how we overcame them:

1.You will be underestimated Would you trust your business with someone that is two-times younger?

Not an easy answer is it?

Our struggle initially was to get experienced or senior business owners to trust a couple of teenagers trying to help them in communications.

Naturally, we got plenty of objections ranging from disbelief : “What makes you qualified?” to outright rejection “We can’t work with you, you're too young”.

It was only after a year into the business that we were finally figured out how to get past this obstacle: Credible references from past clients.

Perception is almost as important as actually being able to deliver. Having someone else toot your horn for you can be invaluable when you’re starting out young. No doubt it'll be harder versus already having professional clout as a more experienced professional, but the lessons you learn January 2018

will be inherently more valuable.

Another great way is to work with other experts to cover areas where you falter. In our case, we collaborated with experts in sales training and public speaking to provide more holistic solutions. That way, by association, you quickly appear more trustworthy.

2. You will feel like you’re missing out Entrepreneurship is a lonely, risky road less travelled. When you’re younger, you can stomach more risk, but it might be tougher to be doing something that goes against what the rest of your peers are doing.

In our case, my partner and I started the business at the expense of further education at the time - we didn’t go to college. On the flip side, about 80% of our peers were heading to university, graduating and finding employment.

There were numerous instances where we were genuinely uncertain about whether our business would be profitable enough to justify our sacrifices. Peers our age were already progressing in their careers, while we were still trying to determine if we made the right decision to do this.

The old proverb, “show me your friends and I'll tell you who you are,” rings true here.

Surrounding yourself with like-minded people going through the same struggles is a great way to manage selfdoubt and accelerate your learning in the process. Just remember that no one ever did anything special by being like everyone else and that the risks you take now can pay off handsomely in the future.

3. You will never truly ‘know what

everyone else has got life figured out except you and your team.

The truth is that even the most seasoned entrepreneurs (young or old) feel unsure at times. Heck, even entrepreneurs that are doing well might constantly have a case of impostor syndrome. When we consistently entertain thoughts of self-doubt, these thoughts can manifest into paralysis where we end up worrying more than doing anything productive.

A simple solution as renowned marketing expert Seth Godin often says is to ‘Start Shipping’. Don’t fear making mistakes because you will definitely run into obstacles along the way.

The Business Insider recently reported on a 6-year old boy that makes $11 Million a year on Youtube reviewing toys on his channel: Ryan ToysReview.

It really goes to show what one can accomplish when applying yourself correctly and silencing any feelings of inadequacy.

Whether you’re a CEO in your fifties or a startup founder in your twenties, sometimes the best thing to do is to hunker down and tread along your planned path rather than worry if you're making the wrong decisions.

Starting young can be an advantage if you use it right. Don’t be bogged down by things that you can control, but instead focus on: 1. Building solid relationships and developing your credo 2. Grow through osmosis by surrounding yourself with outstanding people 3. Focus on ‘shipping’ and the steps ahead.

you’re doing’ With news outlets reporting successful fundraising rounds in the millions and new startup stories on the press every other day, it can sometimes seem like

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Roger Dewey: “

P

An Entrepreneur who Leveraged his Experiences to Bring Forward Success

erseverance and more perseverance,” mentions Roger Dewey, the CEO and Founder of Able Device, as one of the key aspects for an entrepreneur to foster success. The internationally recognized business leader, Roger Dewey, is known for his unrivaled contributions in the emerging growth areas of Internet of Things (IoT) and Machineto-Machine (M2M) communications.

Boasting an extensive portfolio, the inspiring entrepreneur has ably shouldered the responsibilities at Able Device to lead it towards success.

The Next Phase of the Chapter After working at Sony Ericsson for five years, Roger left the company in 2006 to explore more opportunities and challenges. He subsequently joined Telit Wireless Solutions, an M2M wireless technology company, and led it into the Americas region as it previously had operations only in the EMEA. He mentions “While Telit’s financial backing provided security, the effort provided an interesting challenge for me as the company had scant support functions and none with any experience in the Americas region.”

The Start of a Future Entrepreneur While working at Ericsson and Sony Ericsson back in the late 90s, Roger was fortunate to work in Machine-toMachine technology, now broadly known as the Internet of Things. He mentions how the culture at both the companies heavily encouraged internal entrepreneurship focused on technological innovation. His stint at both the companies was a great training ground for future entrepreneurs. With the safety net of the company’s financial and support functioning, it facilitated the development of the requisite skill sets and approach needed for a burgeoning entrepreneur.

After successfully growing Telit’s business in the Americas, Roger’s experience fostered the realization and the vision of launching a new business unit or region for another company.

This experience firmly strengthened Roger’s official leap into the entrepreneurial bandwagon. He recalls that “…since I had proven twice that I could succeed in my industry, it gave me the emotional freedom to try something new and potentially fail, as it wouldn’t be a reflection on me or impact my sense of myself.”

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The First Step Towards the Vision While serving at Telit, Roger realized that he had a strong desire to launch, build, and run something unique in his

area of expertise i.e., M2M. The first step towards that vision was leaving Telit and starting an M2M/IoT business strategy consulting firm with a partner.

A consulting firm named M2MV provided the vehicle to generate income while staying engaged in the cutting-edge developments of the industry.

His non-engineering educational background and his lack of SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) expertise stemmed a curiosity of what Roger perceived to be an underutilization of the standard SIM, embedded in every device connected to the mobile network. “From my understanding, it was a processor that was required to authenticate on the network and thus a sunk cost,” Roger exclaims. He saw the value in reducing components and cost, while driving standardization if the SIM’s capabilities could be extended to act at the device’s embedded M2M/IoT application processor. SIM experts told him over and over again, how it wouldn’t be a possibility because of the SIM standards and the way the SIM fits into the mobile device architecture. Roger couldn’t let go of the idea and recruited some former Sony Ericsson colleagues, who were experts in embedded device connectivity. The team took a January 2018

Believe in your offering vision, but be willing to adapt when it’s obvious that the market is telling you that you should.

Roger Dewey CEO & Founder Able Device

systematic view of how the SIM interacted with the rest of the device and quickly determined a method to achieve the objective of extending the SIM’s utility to act as the IoT application processor.

through ownership and financial structures while gaining experience in pitching ideas to VCs. Though the company ultimately failed, it provided Roger with the ability to move on to the next stage — back to Able Device.

Hurdles Along the Way Roger immediately began the task of establishing a legal entity with equity allocation across the team members, thus forming the inception of Able Device. Following that, Roger and his team’s main focus was filing patents and developing proof of concept devices and applications. From thereon, the journey was filled with various roadblocks for Roger, wherein each was a learning process. As the idea was so unique and ahead of its time, the company initially experienced very little traction from potential customers or investors.

Back into Building the Vision While away from Able Device, the company was not only ably led by its two co-founders, but also obtained an initial investment and business support from a local technology accelerator, The Startup Factory. This provided the resources as well as the time needed for the patent process to successfully run its course and for the IoT industry to begin to catch up to the vision of the power of the standards based SIM. Roger states that these visions might not have been totally aligned, but they were close enough for the company to modify its offerings and market message to respond to the existing needs of its potential customers.

After establishing Able Device’s foothold in the industry, Roger boldly took a major step in his career. He took the position as the COO of an M2M/IoT startup; for which Roger’s consulting firm developed the business plan and strategy. He took this position to replenish his personal finances and to give the market some time to catch up to with his vision. It was also educational for him to work January 2018

He concluded with the following advice for emerging entrepreneurs, “You need to be open to continuous failing and learning. You also will need to be willing to take decisive action even when you have scant evidence as to what the best decision will be.”

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Tim Bohen: A

Maximizing the Success of Aspiring Traders

spiring investors on the verge of taking their first step towards acquiring knowledge concerning the basics of stock trading need adequate education regarding the same. Just like learning to ride a bike, stock trading involves numerous instances of trial and error method coupled with the knowledgeable guidance of a trainer, eventually leading towards success. Having built an enormous body of knowledge and experience, Tim Bohen, Head Trainer of StocksToTrade, is one such inspiring trainer whose lifelong interest in finance has fabricated an entire career path in trading.

typically on a monthly basis. The positive response from the social media audience drove him to play a more active trainer of finance.

Ironically, StocksToTrade approached Tim during this period, leading him to bring-forward his online role into the organization.

The Spark that Ignited Fire Prior to his stock training days, Tim worked as a technology consultant, wherein he would often hold seminars and one-on-ones on how to best utilize technology. As and when he started to actively trade in the market, he quickly started creating both audio and video contents online; helping others to learn the intricacies of day trading. “I’m surprised to look back actually and see that I was doing how to trading videos on YouTube in 2009,” mentions Tim.

“Never before has there been a stock research platform with built in preprogrammed strategies that allow you to locate the best stocks to trade in as little time as possible,” asserts Tim. In today’s market filled with rapid fire powerhouse hedge funds, the company puts the same tools in the hands of the individual trader.

In 2013, Tim committed himself to full-time day trading. During this time, he started doing longer and more detailed forms of training webinars,

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An Organization Growing in Strides StocksToTrade is one of the most innovative and rapidly advancing stock research and charting platform within the industry. It features real-time level 2 news feeds and stock scanning STT, which is truly built by traders for traders.

Mentoring towards the Path of Profitability The Pro mentorship program of StocksToTrade primarily consists of daily live and interactive webinars, twice. Through this platform, real-time trainees can ask direct questions on

how to best implement all facets of the software. On top of this, it discusses fundamental aspects of trading such as earning reports, SEC filings, and other company news.

Traders also have direct email access to Tim; as a way to get answers to queries or inputs on situations outside of the webinars. As is the case in almost any competitive environment, dedication and commitment is of paramount importance. Tim points out, “as a mental discipline there may be no such competitive and fast moving industry than trading. Day trading is truly ‘eat what you kill’ and you need to be prepared and committed to excel.”

Refining and Developing a Discipline One of the biggest impediments in attaining consistency is the willingness to sit and wait for the best trade opportunities. Many new and intermediate traders over-trade and risk non ideal setups. Overcoming this is mostly a function of time and experience, as mentioned by Tim. With the StocksToTrade Pro program, he hopes to help shorten this timeline for aspiring traders. Tim’s motto of building and rebuilding discipline every day vividly glistens in his advice for fellow traders, “As a trader you must recognize that you are never January 2018

I intend to be trading the markets until I can no longer use a mouse and keyboard. If you are prepared and ready to take this journey, I welcome you.

Tim Bohen Head Trainer StocksToTrade

“done” you must constantly sharpen the sword every day and never become complacent. Stay humble or the markets will humble you.”

have showed up prepared and ready every trading day. My commitment to teaching is the most important thing in my life second only to my family.”

A Pro in the Trading Landscape When asked about one of the most important characteristic that an aspiring trader should possess, Tim rightfully mentions “a growth mindset.” He provides the example of Warren Buffet, an American business magnate, philanthropist, and investor, who is rumored to read over 500 pages per day. As a day trader, markets are constantly evolving; what had worked last year, last month, or even yesterday might not work today. Tim advises traders to be always willing to adapt and learn from every source possible. “If your goal is to be trading long term you need to be willing to work even harder than Warren Buffett” he adds.

This sort of passion and discipline coupled with consistency is what it takes to be a Pro in this field.

A Future Full of Promises As StocksToTrade evolves into more markets such as Options, Futures, Crypto currencies, etc., it will continue its surge ahead to be one of the best platforms for trading instrument. Tim aims to expand the educational aspects of StocksToTrade Pro to include these markets, as well.

“Access to markets has very limited value without education. My goals over the next 5 years include reaching 10,000 aspiring traders and giving them the tools and education to help maximize their success,” Tim concludes.

It is Tim’s unwavering willingness to literally show up every day with high energy and discipline, which has made him a pro in the trading sphere. “Nothing worth having comes easy, in over 1.5 years of the STT Pro program I

January 2018

71

Evolution of

Women In Business

Female

Entrepreneurship

“

“ S

everal female entrepreneurs today are so successful that it is easy to assume that high-profile businesswomen in a variety of fields have always been a feature of this economy. Regrettably, it has not always been so. The fact is that achievements of today’s women owe much to the groundwork of earlier generations of female entrepreneurs and workers. Businesswomen have always struggled with unique challenges presented by the society, which have both created opportunities for women’s advancement and limited their growth as professionals.

For many decades, women’s role in business and workforce was determined by the cultural notions about women’s appropriate role in society. ‘The cult of domesticity’ in the early nineteenth century dictated that women’s proper place was at home and that they could best serve the political and social needs by dedicating their energies to the creation of a wholesome and nurturing household. The idea of domesticity in the public arena shaped the perception of what types of jobs were “proper” for women, who needed to work outside their homes and family farms. These factors limited the avenues for women entrepreneurship and

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dictated that women were suited for few selected occupations more than others.

The Genesis of Change The nineteenth century witnessed a boom within the textile industry and industrialization and also the development of the national railroad system and the telegraph. These changes brought by the big business, industrialization and urbanization helped to redefine women’s place in the economy. Women began to work outside of the home, mostly as “helpmates” of various types. Some women ventured into management by establishing their own companies, but most of these companies still fell within the purview of woman’s sphere. Dorothy Shaver, in an effort to upgrade women’s fashion, rose to the top of American retailing between the 1920s and the 1950s in the exclusive capacity of the departmental store Lord & Taylor.

During the Progressive Era, although women were propelled into the workforce, little opportunity was provided for the establishment of creative enterprises.

Madame C. J. Walker is one such entrepreneur who took January 2018

advantage of the industrial revolution. She was the initiator of hair care products and needed the creation of the railroad and telegraphs to be able to communicate effectively and establish the network that enabled her in becoming one of the most successful business women of her time.

Revolutionizing the Economy In 1932, Olive Ann Beech co-founded the Beech Aircraft Company, which supplied the US, military aircrafts during the World War II. As the war progressed, many women entered the workforce to fill the void men had left behind to serve in the military. Some women took these jobs as a patriotic duty, whereas others ventured into establishing their own enterprises. One of them was Pauline Trigere, who started a tailoring business which later on turned into a high-end fashion house. Another such inspirational woman was Estee Lauder who launched a line of beauty products post-war and was the only women featured in the Time magazine’s list of 20 most influential business geniuses of the 20th century.

The “Federation of Business” and “Professional Women’s Club” were sources of inspiration to female entrepreneurs at this time by providing advice and holding workshops with already established entrepreneurs like Elizabeth Arden. In 1940, Khertek Anchimaa-Toka became chairwoman of the Little Khural of the Tuvan People’s Republic, making her the world’s first non-hereditary female head of state. As the 1950s rolled in, women like Estelle Ellis helped magazine

January 2018

publishers and many others in understanding the changing economic roles and personal aspirations of girls and women. A sales executive by the name of Brownie Wise accumulated a personal fortune and made Tupperware into a household name by capitalizing on well-established traditions of women’s social network to create ‘Tupperware Home Parties’. The 1950s also witnessed the first female governor of the American Stock Exchange, Mary Roebling.

Propelling towards Modernization The 1970s brought about the feminist movement that encouraged equal opportunity. This was also when the divorce rates rose and several women were forced back into the role of being the sole provider. This urged them back into the working world, where they were not well-received.

When the recession hit, many of these women were the first ones to be out of work. And once again, the entrepreneurial ventures of women came to the rescue. Mary Kay Ash and Ruth Fertel were a part of this crusade.

In 1972, Katharine Graham became CEO of the Washington Post Company, making her the first female CEO of a Fortune 500 company. She led the newspaper during its coverage of the Watergate scandal, and went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for her memoirs.

The 1980s and 1990s proved to be the time for reaping the benefits of the hard work that women had put in. Martha Stewart and Barbara Bradley were among the top business

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Business owners. The public became more receptive and encouraging to women entrepreneurs and started acknowledging and appreciating their valuable contribution to the economy.

Another historic moment for women in business was the appointment of Susan Engeleiter as the lead of the US government’s Small Business Administration in 1989.

Throughout the 1990s, the world of female entrepreneurs was focused on propagating networking opportunities and assisting those who were interested in starting their own business. Organizations like ‘Women’s Business Development Centre’ provided financial help and seminars to support upcoming women entrepreneurs.

is just

& we had we had

before

BUSINESS -Edith Mae Cummings

An Ongoing Struggle The 1990s brought the advancement in computers and the increasing popularity of the internet gave a much needed boost to women in business. This development allowed them to be more prevalent in the business world and helped showcase their skills. Even though women in business increased in popularity and the availability of technology and support from different organizations encouraged them further, female entrepreneurs are still struggling.

The economic downturn of 2008 further resulted in a troubled condition. However, with the continual attention given to female entrepreneurs and the educational programs provided to women seeking to start out with their own business venture, there is comparatively much more information and help available.

In 2009, Elinor Ostrom became the first and till date the only women to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

2014 saw the highest-ever number of female Fortune 500 CEOs ever recorded. Women in various areas are willing to support and offer encouragement and advice to moms who seek to provide for their families through their own businesses. Several small groups and organizations are seeking to bring women business owners together to collaborate with each other for the betterment of their business. Moreover, there are several government supported programs available for the female entrepreneurs today.

Businesswomen across the centuries have often adopted a work-oriented view. Business has been a way to make a living and survive. Business has been so essential in women’s lives that some have steadfastly refused to distinguish business from life.

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,

long

January 2018

Vaios Vaitsis: O

ne thorn of experience is worth a whole wilderness of warning.

At its core, successful entrepreneurship is one which is about risk-taking. It’s not solely about pushing the boundaries; instead it’s about ripping it up and inscribing new boundaries. It’s about having the requisite confidence and conviction behind your idea. It’s about experience!

Boasting over 25 years of extensive experience in the software industry, Vaios Vaitsis—The Founder and CEO of Validata—is one such dedicated entrepreneur who leveraged his years of experience to bringforward a vision and pioneered it into a success. Responsible for developing software companies through the development of global partnerships and channel sales, Vaios possesses deep domain knowledge in data lifecycle management, Project Intelligence, and test analytics software. Prior to Validata, Vaios was the Founder, President and CEO of another two successful start-ups, where he was responsible for developing channel sales &franchising, talent acquisition and team building.

The Spark that Ignited Fire Vaios’ extensive knowledge and understanding of the Automated Lifecycle Management industry stemmed the vision and the need for a model-driven, integrated ALM solution

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Turning Experience into Unparalleled Entrepreneurial Success provider with automated testing capabilities. He translated his vision into a reality with the inception of Validata in 2004.

Vaios had a set vision for Validata, which was to make automation work and turn the manual testers into automation experts. Additionally, Validata strived to move away from the fragmented methodologies, spreadsheets, etc. and introduce a unified platform by leveraging all the technology innovations: service virtualization, mobile testing, distributed executions, agile test data management and others. Vaios eliminated two of the most expensive aspects of the testing business—environment costs and human intervention & errors. The entrepreneur helming from the United Kingdom, thus embarked on a mission to change the way we perceive automation forever.

Leading the Industry with its Unrivaled Solutions and Services Being the leader in the Enterprise Software market for DevOps and Application Lifecycle Management (ALM), Validata strives to help its clients by accelerating their application delivery, optimizing business risks and reduction of costs.

It provides the only unified DevOps and ALM platform for the financial services sector, which can address all of DevOps initiatives such as

Continuous Testing, Continuous Integration and Deployment, including real-time Test Analytics. Keeping both Agile and Cloud in mind, Validata was built from the ground to bring together requirements, testing, defects, planning, resources, development & deployment, capable of integrating with external systems such as HP QC, CA Clarity, IBM RTM, Atlassian Jira etc., and in delivering a ‘single version of the truth’ across all of its clients’ projects.

Presently, Validata has a vast combination of loyal marquee customers, innovative market tested products and an amazingly talented workforce.

“I am honoured to continue working with such talented people dedicated to technology, innovation and passionate about listening to our clients,” Vaios mentions.

Rising Above the Initial Hurdle Validata’s initial establishment of the business was not straight-forward with investors, banks, and partners. While others seemed skeptical of the venture into the world of automation and robotics. But the company’s success proved all of its early critics wrong.

Today, Validata is expanding its presence and spreading its tentacle of services by opening new offices across Asia, ME and the US. They possess a diverse group of employees, proficient and capable in their individual

January 2018

We drive innovation. We hire smart, innovative people with a track record of delivering ‘smart’ work.

Vaios Vaitsis Founder & CEO Validata

spectrum of work. Validata’s link up with Temenos—one of the leading companies specializing in enterprise software for banks and financial services—is also one of its key positive highlights.

An Acute Understanding of the Industry Manual testing is a time consuming, error-prone process, engaging testers in repetitive tasks and writing scripts to test requirements, gaps, chasing change, but this approach gets unwieldly over time as the volume of scripts that need to be managed just keeps growing. only 20% of functional testing is now automated. 80% is still carried out manually due to the failure of automated testing processes, scripting languages which are fundamentally limiting, special technical skills which is difficult to find and expensive to hire. “Our vision was to make automation work, and turn the manual testers into automation experts” Vaios points out.

Since we can produce repeatable testing assets, this eliminates the additional costs for automation script maintenance which are a resource-intensive and expensive activity every time an application undergoes a change.

Clients are now be able to adopt test automation as a

January 2018

strategic and long-term solution and benefit from lower costs and faster return on investment (ROI).

As software development and testing teams move from waterfall approaches to continuous delivery and continuous testing, QA and DevOps needs monitoring that brings greater visibility across the entire lifecycle.

Validata’s AI driven test automation and test analytics platform was built from the ground-up to drive Agile and DevOps, thereby empowering teams to increase test and code coverage, test real-user flows better, track down root causes, and use prediction models based on extensive datamining and iterative learning techniques. This, in turn, maximizes the efficiency and minimizes costs and risks related to recurring software lifecycles.

The Key Attributes to Entrepreneurial Success Unusual among other CEOs, Vaios has an uncanny ability to adapt to unpredictable circumstances, with a unique understanding of the market landscape and the needs of its clients. He is an innovative thinker, an accelerator of talent and an incubator, and believes in thinking big. Additionally, Vaios stresses upon the importance of persistence and dedication as two of the key attributes for aspiring entrepreneurs.

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Yunha Kim: Y

outhful women are chartering across unique and challenging global territories; be it in commerce, education, travel, fashion, law, or any other conventional sector.

Their wisdom and enthusiasm has dominated every possible industry.

Some young women entrepreneurs are pedaling with unique healthcare ideas and solutions. One such pioneering precedent is Yunha Kim, the Founder and CEO of Simple Habit.

The Transcendent Meditation App of Yunha Kim Simple Habit has gone onto become a leading wellness guidance platform, within one year since its formation.

The unique smartphone application has over four lakh plus potential users and has been awarded by Google Play Store as one of the best apps of 2017 Simple Habit is an extremely unequivocal meditation app for engrossed people. The application is designed by meditation expertise, which offers a premium library of more than 1000 meditation techniques and 50+ free sessions. The innovative application by Yunha provides a meditating solution that can be utilized as per the situation and mood; for example, the apt meditation methods can be carried out while commuting,

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A Women Entrepreneur Meditating a Healthy World

before sleeping, or taking work breaks.

The platform also felicitates customized accessibility to more than 60 global meditation experts, who provides personal consultation. The catered meditation habits can reduce stress, improve focus, and also provides better sleep, faster relaxation and healthy breathing hygiene.

Customers can even customize their session from one minute to 30 minutes.

The application offers free version as well as a very economic premium subscription. Yunha states that the working youth in modernized world is struggling with insomnia, anxiety, and other mental stress problems; five minutes of meditation everyday can be very persuasive.

Stimulations and Aspirations of the Founder The Duke University, magna cum laude alumnus, Yunha Kim, served as the Investment Banker on Wall Street during the initial phase of her career.

She commenced her first startup in 2013, Locket, a lock screen application that served tailored news on mobile screen. She raised $3.2 million in venture capital and then sold the same to an e-commerce company named Wish, in 2015. She shares that she created the app at the age of 23 and tried to do everything, because there

was an endless amount of work, and during these period she had to be more disciplined about prioritizing.

The idea of Simple Habit was coined

by Yunha, at Stanford Graduate School of business where it was like a personal passion project for her. She describes that she went through a serious stress in her early 20s; even while working on Wall Street, where she spent over sixteen hours a day in work. Yunha observed that the problem of falling asleep, finding no time for relaxation is normal for associates as well. She thereafter tried many techniques for stress relief, including meditation. She was fascinated by the benefits of meditation and found it to be the most effective and economic practice. However, she discovered that there is not a single platform which significantly elaborates this technique and its numerous benefits. She claims, after self-trial she realized the powerful impact of regular meditation on people’s life and began to work on the idea of creating a meditation application by utilizing the knowledge of top meditation expertise. She subsequently dropped out of Stanford and primarily focused on forming a platform for mindfulness and meditation.

January 2018

As an Entrepreneur, You have to build mental resilience against challenges. This is why I meditate.

Yunha Kim Founder Simple Habit

Challenges Conquered as a Women Entrepreneur As a women entrepreneur, many male dominant people often characterize you in a manner that somehow affects your professional potential. According to her, resilience is the most important quality that emerging entrepreneur must possess as things animate unproductively. One must have the requisite mental resilience to fight against analogous obstacles. She further adds that, meditation is the best way to find resilience. Hiring of capable and adaptable employees is another salient way to conquer business obstacles. In her opinion, the enthusiasm and reliability of employees is one of the vital factors for her company which strives to overcome existing or imminent challenges. She mentions, “Strive to be kind and fearless attitude towards risk taking might been the prominent qualities that helped her in being successful individual”.

The Essentials for Entrepreneurial Excellence Yunha advises aspiring entrepreneur, “…the earlier you take action, the better. Every year you wait, your opportunity cost goes up (cost of a family, mortgage, lifestyle and salary, etc.) If you feel passionate about an idea, act when you’re young(er).”

She concludes, “For young entrepreneurs, remember to invest in yourself. Self-care is critical. You will work long days, and stress is inevitable, so it’s important to take a little time each day to step away, breath and reset. I learned this the hard way with my first startup where I experienced burnout. Now, I meditate at least once every day. As a boss, leader and team member, I am more alert, focused and equipped to handle the hundreds of un-expectancies that happen at a startup.”

Simple Habit has been accelerating with fast pace, Yunha expects to facilitate expansion and envisions the company to be a globally leading wellness platform. She contemplates, to conceive a globally leading wellness tool which will embolden human life to be better and stress free.

She presupposes to make the meditation and mindfulness platform extremely substantial and highly accessible.

January 2018

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