cafe business plan
Business at Florida Podcasts - Entrepreneurship Speaker Series (Audio)
A Business at Florida Podcast Series: Entrepreneurship Speaker Series - Bringing entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to the Warrington College of Business Administration to discuss their area of expertise and provide students with valuable insights into the world of entrepreneurship. From the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation at the University of Florida.
- Scott Weiss, Co-Founder and Vice President, General Manager, IronPort Systems
Scott Weiss is an innovator in the email industry. As one of the early team members at Hotmail he was responsible for all partnership and business development efforts. After Hotmail was acquired by Microsoft, Weiss joined idealab! to pursue start-up opportunities. In 2000 at idealab!, he partnered with IronPort co-founder Scott Banister, and developed the concept that became IronPort (anti-spam products). In 2007 they sold the company to Cisco for $830 million. Weiss holds an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from the University of Florida, both with Honors. He co-founded IronPort Systems Inc. (http://www.ironport.com/) in 2000 and then sold the company to Cisco last year for $830 million. - Robert Craven, President and CEO, New Organic Ventures
Robert Craven, President and CEO, New Organic Ventures, was most recently the President and CEO of Garden of Life, a leading dietary supplement company. He oversaw its growth from just over $16 million in 2002 to more than $58 million year ending 2004. He has worked directly for Proctor and Gamble, Boston Scientific and Answerthink. In addition, he has been a driving force in launching three successful start-up companies. He started his career in sales, moved into executive roles in marketing, developed companies as an entrepreneur and has led strategy teams and projects in consulting prior to his CEO position.Mr. Craven has his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Florida and a Masters in Business Administration from Florida International University. He is co-founder of New Organic Ventures (www.neworganic.com) and currently serves as the President and CEO of NewOrganics (www.neworganics.com). He sits on the Board of Better Botanicals (a portfolio company (www.betterbotanicals.com) and is committed to supporting the natural products industry with best-practices in strategy and execution through New Organic Leader (www.neworganicleader.com) a site dedicated to teaching entrepreneurs the "triple bottom-line approach." - "Entrepreneurial Marketing" with Eric Levin
Eric Levin serves as the President and co-founder of Pro Access Inc., and has over 15 years of experience in the world of sports and entertainment marketing.Eric was a pioneer in bringing the worlds of fashion and sports marketing together through his founding of Trouble Sports (A joint venture with Pro Serve), the first talent agency to exclusively feature athletes as models. Eric is also one of the top owner/operators of entertainment complexes in the southeast including hotspots like the Chili Pepper, Karma, Sutra, and Rumi. Graduating from the University of Florida with a BS in 1985, Eric is still a huge Gator fan. - "Angel Investing" with Lee May
Lee May, Partner, Emergent Growth Fund and Vice-President of Florida Angel Investment Alliance, presents "Angel Investing."A founding member of Emergent Growth Fund, LLC, and Vice-President of Florida Angel Investment Alliance, Lee May has been an integral part in the development of new business in the state of Florida. As an aggressive leader, she has worked to bring new intellectual properties from concept to fruition in the marketplace through smart investing. Lee May began her business career in real estate, developing premier single-family homes. In short time, she advanced to the area of multi-family properties, giving her a solid knowledge base for investment strategy. She has attended both Santa Fe Community College and the University of Florida. Along with maintaining her broker’s license, she has traveled the world, scaled mountains, raced cars and hunted wild game on African safari. She has even taken part on an expedition to Ecuador with The Explorers Club to look for lost gold. Lee is an superior example of an intelligent risk taker.Emergent Growth Fund, LLC is a Gainesville, Florida based angel fund investing in start-up companies at their earliest stages of advancement, with the goal of creating a market leading successful entity. EGF works closely with the University of Florida’s Office of Technology and Licensing, always keeping an eye out for new advances in science that are ready to go to market. Since its founding in 2004, Emergent Growth Fund, LLC has invested in seven emerging companies. Founded in February, 2005, The Florida Angel Investment Alliance is an investment group made up of Springboard Capital (Jacksonville), Emergent Growth Fund, LLC (Gainesville), Startup Florida (Sarasota) and New World Angels (South Florida). The four companies under one corporate umbrella provide superior collaborative investment strength for new companies in the state of Florida. Banyan Biomarkers, Inc., a biotechnology company located in the Sid Martin Biotechnology Incubator in Alachua, Florida, works to develop diagnostics for traumatic brain injury. - "The Value Proposition" with Leigh Ann Horton
Leigh Ann Horton, Vice-President, CFO Strategic Partners, presents "The Value Proposition."CFO Strategic Partners is a Florida based company that provides firms with highly qualified financial executives on a consulting basis. CFO serves the needs of companies in numerous industry segments with offices in Orlando and Tampa. CFO strives to help businesses understand true financial well-being and provides the tools to make sound business decisions for a stronger future. The firm has 32 employees and has served over 400 clients. This collective knowledge base of the entire team is tremendously powerful and allows the firm to help their clients excel to new heights.Leigh Ann Horton is Vice-President of CFO Strategic Partners. She graduated from the University of Florida in 1994 with her Bachelors in Accounting and her Masters in Tax. She began her career with IBM as an accounting intern in Somers, New York. She later joined KPMG Peat Marwick in the Mutual Fund Tax Practice in New York City. In 1996, Leigh Ann transferred to the Orlando KPMG office, where she gained more a diverse tax background. In the fall of 1998, Leigh Ann became the International Tax Manager for Hard Rock Cafe International. In 2000, she became a partner at CFO Strategic Partners, offering a wealth of experience for the company's clients. Leigh Ann has been a member of the Board of Directors of Second Harvest Food Bank since 1997, and served as President in 2004 and 2005. She also serves on the Capital Campaign Committee for Summit Church, as a Board Member of the Florida Fellowship Foundation and was on the Florida Economic Education Council in 2002. Leigh Ann was in the 2003 Class of Greater Orlando Leadership Foundation (GOLF) and is in the Leadership Orlando Class 68. In December 2005, she was appointed to the Executive Board for the Orlando Chamber of Commerce and the 2006 - 2008 Board of Governors. In addition, Leigh Ann enjoys spending time with her husband and two children. - "Entrepreneurship and Growth Capital" with Seth Ellis
Seth Ellis is currently a Partner with "GatorMezz", a fund that offers business owners access to mezzanine loans for Florida-based, privately held, mid-market growth companies. The newly launched fund was created to invest in companies with compelling business models, attractive growth prospects and quality management teams. Seth has over 20 years experience as a CPA, investor and serial entrepreneur. He is the former Chief Executive Officer of Digital Infrared Imaging, Inc. and has secured venture capital and managed an expansion of 7 to 50+ employees. In addition, he led the company’s merger with ICx Technologies, Inc, a developer of advance technology solutions for homeland and military security. He has co-founded and engineered the public sale of Florida Regional Emergency Services, the largest hospital based ambulance management company in the United States, and grew services throughout Georgia, Texas and Colorado. Seth also served as former Chief Financial Officer of Waterman Healthcare Systems where he managed the financial turnaround and facilitated the merger between Waterman and Seven Day Adventist Healthcare Systems. Finally, he served as senior manager and auditor with Ernst and Young and KPMG for 10 years. He is a member of the Advisory Board for the University of Florida’s Center of Entrepreneurship and Innovation (CEI) as well as the Lake and Sumter County Hospice and Cornerstone Hospice. Seth received a BSAC in Accounting from the University of Florida. - "Family Businesses" with Wanda de Paz-Ibanez
Wanda de Paz-Ibanez, Co-Owner, Emili