How I Built This Small Business... l🔨

202. Solar Simplified | Aviv Shalgi is a serial entrepreneur, and is the CEO of an energy tech startup Solar Simplified, which is a platform that matches renters and homeowners who care about the environment and want to save money on the electricity bill with local solar farms. For more than 6 years, Aviv has been a Board Member, Mentor, and Advisor to many entrepreneurs, startups, investors, VCs, and non-profit organizations.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Aviv Shalgi Interview. ***

201. Ficks Beverage | Ron Alvarado co-founded Ficks Beverage Co, the leading manufacturer of better-for-you bar products with its line of pure fruit juice hard seltzers and wellness-focused cocktail mixers. They are based in San Francisco, California, and currently expanding their two main products to national retailers such as Whole Foods, H-E-B, Target, QFC, BevMo, and Safeway. Ron and his co-founder, Mike, have been perfecting their craft since their college days, experimenting and brewing in their small studio apartment. They were obsessed with the challenge of creating the best tasting drinks solely using all-natural ingredients.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Ron Alvarado Interview. ***

200. Strikingly | David Chen dropped out from the University of Chicago to start Strikingly along with his two co founders, Teng Bao and Dafeng Guo. They moved to Silicon Valley with $100 in their pocket and were accepted into Y Combinator after eating ramen noodle in their 1-bedroom apartment for 5 months. Strikingly is a Y Combinator-backed startup that allows anyone to create a gorgeous, mobile optimized website in minutes, without any coding or design work. It has raised $1.5MM seed funding from top Silicon Valley investors.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: David Chen Interview. ***

199. Zipcan | Fritz Brumder is an entrepreneur, video strategist, avid skier, proud dad & husband. In 2010 Fritz Brumder co-founded Brandlive, the leading SaaS live video events platform for brands and retailers. In 2020 he co-founded Zipcan.com - the fastest way to enable video chat inside your website or application. Zipcan's vision is to bring video chat to every corner of the web, by making it easy to embed.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Fritz Brumder Interview. ***

198. KeyMark | Jim Wanner is the founder and Chief Expectations Officer at KeyMark, an intelligent automation systems integrator headquartered in Liberty, SC. KeyMark delivers capture (OCR), workflow (ECM), case management, virtual collaboration and robotic process automation (RPA) solutions to businesses and government organizations. KeyMark helps clients leverage technology, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, to maximize productivity and increase efficiency.

Listen to Part II, right now: The Burning Desire to Be Successful (a Continuation of EP 198).

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Jim Wanner Interview. ***

197. Two Maids & A Mop | Ron Holt founded the original Two Maids & A Mop inside a 250 square foot office space on April Fools' Day way back in 2003. In their first year of operations, they cleaned less than one hundred homes and only staffed a few part-time employees. It took the business eighteen months to make its first dollar in profits and took Ron more than two years to earn his first paycheck. It was a humbling start packed full of desperate moments that nearly forced the business to close its doors on multiple occasions.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Ron Holt Interview. ***

196. Cheekd | Lori Cheek is an architect turned entrepreneur, Founder, and CEO of Cheekd, a mobile dating app that makes missed connections obsolete. Cheekd uses a cross-platform low energy Bluetooth technology, which fosters hyper local engagement. The app connects people in real time, versus virtual time. After working in architecture, Lori came up with an idea that led her into the NYC World of Tech and solving missed connections.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Lori Cheek Interview. ***

195. Read-a-Thon | Howard Gottlieb is the founder and CEO of Read-a-thon but in the office, everyone just calls him the Big Cheese. Howard spends most of his waking hours obsessing about how to make Read-a-thon the absolute best school fundraising idea anywhere on the planet Earth. Their goal is to have every elementary school and school library in the world raise the money they need by focusing on reading rather than selling fundraising products.

Listen to Part II, right now: How the Rise & Fall of Athletic Attic... led to an Easy Fundraising Idea! (a Continuation of EP 195).

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Howard Gottlieb Interview. ***

194. Balani Custom Clothiers | Sonny Balani is CEO of Balani Custom Clothiers, which has re-imagined the custom clothing experience as it applies to today’s client. He has designed a contemporary showroom and developed a collaborative selection process, establishing Balani as the premier custom clothier in Chicago.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Sonny Balani Interview. ***

193. Alpha M. | Aaron Marino started a men’s image consulting firm, Alpha M. Image Consulting, to help average men with simple common-sense advice; aimed to enhance their image, style, grooming, fashion and most importantly their confidence. Aaron Marino has been featured in countless publications, as well as guest appearances on various television and radio programs, both locally, as well as nationally.

*** For Show Notes, Key Points, Contact Info, Resources Mentioned, & the Fabulous 4 Questions on this episode visit our website: Aaron Marino Interview. ***