Profile, #5

Profile S t r a t e g i e s f o r I n d u s t r y L e a d e r s

KING OF THE FROZEN ROAD

Ice Road Truckers star Alex Debogorski rules the trucking world as lionhearted leader and savvy businessman. p.50 Charting the Course of the Aerospace-Design Industry CIRCOR Aerospace, Inc p. 30

Mobile Charging On the Go HERCULES NETWORKS p. 56

The Science of Advertising

Innerscope Research p. 62

n o v / d e c 2 0 1 0 1:5

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CONTENTS EXPERTISE [20] walter Fawcett iii of The Plexus Groupe LLC [22] Adam nelson of Workhouse Publicity [24] theresa deischer of AVM Biotechnology, LLC

alliance [28] Bill brown & bob manni of Agent 16 [30] chris celtruda of CIRCOR Aerospace, Inc. [32] Howard Root of Vascular Solutions [34] doreen garrett of Otis Products

products & services [38] jim betland of Challenge Machine & Manufacturing, Inc. [41] john laughlin of Conference Technologies Inc.

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Serving as a meeting place for design and the bottom line, Workhouse Publicity embodies Adam Nelson's business philosophy.

CUSTOMER CARE

[44] ron petnuch of Intertech Security LLC

[68] dean maynard of The Maynard Group

[46] GEORGETTE MOSBACHER of Borghese

[70] ray medina & mi­ chael holzman of Cumbre, Inc.

[48] MIKE JUSTICE of Grid Connect

[72] mary lou redding of The Upper Room

46 A longtime proponent of affordable skincare, Borghese features natural cosmetics for men and women on-the-go.

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cOMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT [74] christine sullo of Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant [78] Josh anderson of TiLite [80] bob jackson of The Chrichton Group

+ PLUS [6] EDITOR’S NOTE [8] RECOMMENDED READING [9] EXECUTIVE Q&A [10] facts & figures [12] THE TOOLBOX [14] in the workplace [18] FIVE THINGS TO KNOW [82] GLOBE•TROTTING

CONTENTS features the iceman cometh

Meet one of reality-TV's most unlikely stars—a trucker with a fearless attitude and quirky sense of humor. Alex Debogorski, of Ice Road Truckers fame, talks to us about the highlights, the setbacks, and the dangers of a career in truck driving. Offering a fresh take on a field that is often overlooked, the larger-than-life personality tracks the life he has spent on the road and the key decisions he has made on his way to the top of the transportation industry. [50]

56

50 take a power trip

Paul King took a simple need and created an empire. Desperate to charge his mobile device while away from home, King conjured up the idea to introduce charging stations for those on the go. Now, with his company, Hercules Networks, King has placed charging kiosks everywhere from airports to malls— and harnessed the power of digital advertising to up their appeal to companies who want to engage a mobile audience. [56]

this is your brain on ads

Innerscope Research might just know you better than you know yourself. With advanced tracking technology, the firm helps companies cater marketing and advertising campaigns to a consumer's subconcious emotional reactions. [62]

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editor’s note

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elcome to the age of the thinker. No longer is taking over another's venture or franchising out an established business enough. The men and women in today's business world imagine, act, and innovate to create fresh concepts and impeccable execution.

Some thinkers constantly reinvent and expand, even when business is booming. Chris Celtruda of CIRCOR Aerospace, Inc. (page 30) is one of those thinkers. Even with almost half of its business coming from US military accounts, the aerospace-component company is in an ongoing cycle of improving the fuel-system components and landing-gear solutions it provides to military aircrafts. And with the military sector's increasing need, it doesn't look like Celtruda will ever be content with just good enough.

Others think to take a lifelong career and broadcast it to the world, garnering more exposure not only for their personal business but also for their industry. Case in point: Alex Debogorski (page 50). As the star of Ice Road Truckers, Debogorski works in a field that a majority of the population relies on but oftentimes overlooks: trucking. Bringing fame to the dangerous frozen roads of North America, the reality-TV star and bold trucker shows how a well-thoughtout career move can bring publicity to even the roughest of occupations.

Then there's the companies who have made a living out of the very idea of thoughts. Innerscope Research (page 62) dissects consumer thinking for companies looking to customize and test drive their advertising. With advanced technology, including heart-rate recorders, heat maps, and eye-tracking devices, the thinktank can read a consumer's subconcious emotional reactions to any form of advertising—and cater a company's campaign to create certain consumer responses.

Some businesses are the offspring of on-the-spot thinking, and Paul King's idea for Hercules Networks (page 56) grew from just that. Realizing he had locked his roommate out of their apartment while on his way to catch a flight, King panicked when his mobile phone died and he had no way of reaching anyone. Spotting an ATM from his car window, King thought the same concepts of mobile availability and convenience should and could be applied to charging, and his company was born. Taking his thinking to the next level, he also added digital screens on each of his charging stations to increase their appeal and fund them.

I dedicate this issue to the garden of thinkers in today's market, and the men and women who cultivate it each and every day.

Punam Patel Features Editor

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Editorial

Research

Publishing

Adver tising

editor-in-chief Christopher Howe

director of editorial research Jeff Powell jeff@bgandh.com

bowen, guerrero + howe, llc

director of sales Titus Dawson titus@bgandh.com

features editor Punam Patel punam@bgandh.com associate editor Leslie Price leslie@bgandh.com correspondents Cristina Adams Chris Allsop Laura Clark Christopher Cussat Tricia Despres Shawn Drury Sheena Harrison Jennifer Hogeland David Hudnall Julie Schaeffer Bryan Swan Laura Williams-Tracy Brigitte Yuille

Ar t

creative director Karin Bolliger designer Aaron Lewis photo editor Zach Huelsing associate photo editor Courtney Weber

editorial research managers Dawn Collins Anthony D’Amico Carolyn Marx Gerald Mathews Heather Matson editorial researchers Holly Begle Genevieve Bellon Liz Boyd Ashley Brookes Ashley Brown Amanda Bush Charlie Calvin Deidre Davis Scott Ferrier Jackie Geweke Laura Heidenreich Shelley Hickey Dan Hopmann Ryan Jones Ellie Kim Amanda Kirvan Joe Madurski John McDonough Bronwyn Milliken Matt O’Connor Hayley O’Hara Brian Panezich Zach Patterson Molly Potnick Issa Rizkallah Dan Schaeflein Tom Swierczewski Natalie Taylor Ben Warren Erin Windle Katie Yost editorial research assistants Adam Castillo Justin Davis

Cory Bowen, president Pedro Guerrero, coo Christopher Howe, ceo & publisher

www.bgandh.com

Administrative

controller Andrea DeMarte accounting assistant Anya Hostetler hr generalist Greg Waechter circulation manager Lee Posey assistant to the publisher Brittany Miranda executive assistant Katherine Lazaroff

sales managers Desmond Chester Stacy Kraft Krista Lane Williams sales representatives James Ainscough Blake Burkhart Jennifer Carlisle Gavin Coll Michael DiGiovonni Drew Dimit Chuck Finney Patrick Good Justin Joseph Stacy Kraft Lauren Lackovich Rebekah Mayer Chris Miller Colleen Wall Brendan Wittry Dan Zierk senior account manager Cheyenne Eiswald account managers Kimberly Callanta Lindsay Davis Megan Hamlin Amy Lara

administrative assistant Jacquleine M. Lowisz

Subscriptions + Reprints

Printed in South Korea. Reprinting of articles is prohibited without permission of BG+H, LLC. To order reprints, call Karen Tate at 312.450.2129.

For a free subscription, please visit profilemagazineonline.com/sub.

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production 53 W Jackson Blvd., Suite 315, Chicago, IL 60604 sales & research 28 E Jackson Blvd., Suite 300, Chicago, IL 60604

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[ recommended reading ]

Something Out of Nothing Learn the secrets to making a fortune with limited finances, from the mastermind behind one of America's most influential nonprofits Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business Nancy Lublin, 256 pages, $25.95 Nonprofit leader Nancy Lublin shares how to get more with less in her most recent book, Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business. Lublin, the founder of Dress for Success and the CEO of DoSomething. org, reveals the techniques used by many nonprofits to succeed on a shoestring budget. She argues that any company, from a large corporation to a small business, can learn from the nonprofits who operate their business with next to nothing.

The book features a roster of experts that reads like a Who's Who of leading nonprofit executives, including Wendy Kopp of Teach for America, Darell Hammond of KaBOOM!, Greg Baldwin of VolunteerMatch.org, Jimmy Wales of Wikipedia, and John Lilly of Mozilla. And the all-star line up provides insight on how to make something out of nothing and shows that nonprofit principles can be applied to any company.

Book Excerpt [Zilch: The Power of Zero in Business] “Simply put, really great not-for-profits are brilliant at doing more with less. We understand the power of zero. We motivate employees to work past five o’clock with commitment, creativity, and passion totally disproportionate to their tiny salaries. We engage our board members to truly add value to our companies.

We don’t pay them a dime—and actually, most of them pay us! We skillfully land donors with ... the knowledge of—and warm fuzzies from— doing something good.”

Zilch explores the strength in working from scratch. The book includes tips on how to motivate and retain a strong workforce without financial perks, how to barter to your benefit, and how to create an appealing brand and market effectively without heavy spending. Chapters include information on doing more with your brand, your external people, your board, your staff, your story, and your finances as well as information on bartering with zero and providing more for customers.

The tell-it-like-it-is attitude along with the real-life accounts make the book a guide on starting from scratch and maximizing your resources. And in an age of stiff competition and a constant cycle of reinvention, a little advice can never hurt.

Excerpted from ZILCH: THE POWER OF ZERO IN BUSINESS by Nancy Lublin by arrangement with Portfolio, a member of Penguin Group (USA), Inc., Copyright © Nancy Lublin, 2010.

Author, Nancy Lublin Nancy Lublin, a graduate of Brown University, Oxford University, and NYU School of Law, has a thriving career in the nonprofit sector. As CEO and “Chief Old Person” of DoSomething.org, a website started in 2003 that promotes youth volunteering and activism, Lublin turned the barely-there nonprofit into a booming Internet company that speaks to an entire generation.

Lublin is also founder of Dress for Success, an organization that provides women with interview suits and career-development training in more than 70 cities across four countries.

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The 1% Windfall: How Successful Companies Use Price to Profit and Grow Rafi Mohammed, 256 pages, $27.99 In The 1% Windfall: How Successful Companies Use Price to Profit and Grow, pricing pro Rafi Mohammed teaches businesses how to grow through the strategy of setting prices. The book reveals the rewards of modest, incremental changes to an everyday business practice—pricing.

Better pricing involves more than simply raising prices. Mohammed argues that businesses should offer consumers a variety of pricing options—a win-win strategy that will provide companies with profits and consumers with choices.

How do you set the right price? The 1% Windfall offers guidelines that any company can follow to create a comprehensive pricing strategy for any product or service.

The result is a mind-opening, clear blueprint for companies to use price to profit and grow.

[ executive Q&A ]

Mark Bonfigli Founder & CEO, Dealer.com/Earthcars One of the fastest-growing automotive-marketing companies today, Dealer.com provides online marketing solutions with founder and CEO Mark Bonfigli at its helm. An offspring of Earthcars, a New England-based automotive retailer specializing in green cars, the website catapulted to success with mass appeal and brilliantly crafted employee-retention techniques. Bonfigli talks about the company's start, its success, and its promising future.

ANSWER Earthcars the dealership was thought up during the early ’90s as a means to provide Vermonters cleaner, recycled vehicles to better promote a green environment. The need was there and Vermonters were very supportive of the effort. Our dealership did not have any salespeople either, which was a breakthrough. We used the Internet and a sophisticated website (at the time) to drive customers to our dealership and inventory.

QUESTION How did you come up with Earthcars?

QUESTION What about dealer.com?

QUESTION What is your business strategy?

ANSWER

ANSWER From the beginning, simply to pay attention to what we knew would drive business for our dealer clients and to create an internal work environment that would be truly inspiring for our team. A lot like Apple, we didn’t just use feedback from our clients but invented solutions that the industry didn’t even know it needed or wanted!

The website we originally created for our dealership became so successful that it became apparent that we had a model that could serve the tens of thousands of dealers in the US that had not yet taken advantage of the Internet.

Our website was essentially communicating with customers in an automated way and bringing car buyers into the store without us having to employ salespeople— that was the biggest value to us.

QUESTION Who is your primary clientele?

ANSWER Auto dealerships, dealer groups, and OEM's in North America.

QUESTION QUESTION What are you most proud of?

ANSWER Our people and culture and what that has turned into is truly one of a kind. We have a utopia of sorts that I have yet to see elsewhere in this country. We have created a one-of-a-kind wellness and culture program that we call dealer.com LIFE. The LIFE program incorporates a 25,000-square-foot state–of-the art fitness center that includes indoor tennis, indoor basketball, world-class pingpong arenas, a full free-weight and cardio-fitness center, yoga and boot-camp classes, over 20 sports teams, and bike-sharing programs.

QUESTION What are some obstacles you overcame when starting out?

Where do you see both of the companies in 5–10 years?

ANSWER ANSWER Dealer.com will be a major solutions platform for the auto industry and possibly other related verticals in transportation, since our platform works so well for all dealers that have an inventory. We will mostly expand globally and offer these solutions to media companies that have auto clients as well as various OEMs that need solutions in different markets around the world. Based on the last 10 years of growth, a multibillion-dollar company should develop from this focus.

Our biggest obstacles were dealing with so many people who were negative about what we were trying to do. We had to ignore almost everyone to get past the first year. We also had to deal with extreme stereotypes, being in the auto industry, and people assuming we’re out to rip people off.

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[ facts & figures ] ďťż

The Long Haul

Navigating the trucking and freight industry Americans increasingly rely on trucking and freight to transport food, mail, and industry must-haves across the country. However, we rarely consider the companies and people who bring us the products on which we depend. Hit the road with statistics about the people who bring your favorite things to their destinations.

local trucking

companies in 2008

29,400

//////// TOP 10 TRUCKING COMPANIES* 1. United Parcel Service (UPS) $21,339,874 // //////// 4. Roadway Express, Inc. 2,844,214 // 5. Yellow Transportation Inc. $2,788,078 / //////// 8. Swift Transportation Co. 2,397,655 // 9. Con-Way Trptn. Services $2,107,258 //

2.1 MILLION: wage and salary jobs provided by truck-transportation and warehousing industry in 2008

914,100

truck drivers in the trucktransportation and warehousing industries nationwide

40,900 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

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69%

of the nation's goods are de ered by the trucking indust long-distance-trucking establishments

[ facts & figures ]

Industry Breakdown

by Occupation: 44%: Truck drivers 26%: Other transportation & material-moving jobs 17%: Various office & administrativesupport occupations 4%: Management, business, & financial occupations 3%: vehicle mechanics, installers & repairers 2%: Sales & related workers Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

ďťż

$$$ Average earnings

of nonsupervisory workers in truck transportation and warehousing, 2008

Truck transportation $17.99/HOUR General freight trucking $17.99/HOUR Specialized freight trucking $17.97/HOUR Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

2. FedEx Ground $3,912,000 // 3. Schneider National $2,905,000 ////////////////////////// // 6. FedEx Freight $2,689,000 // 7. J.B. Hunt Transport, Inc. $2,433,469 /////////////////// / 10. Overnite Transportation $1,475,463 ////////////////////////////*BY 2002 REVENUE ///////

% livry

11:00 14:00 60:00 41:50

maximum number of hours per day a long-distance driver is allowed to drive maximum number of total hours that a long-distance driver can work (driving & non-driving duties) maximum number of hours a driver can work per week (unless off-duty for at least 34 straight hours) average number of hours per week that workers in the truck-transportation industry worked in 2008 Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics Source: U.S. Department of Transportation

Source: American Trucking Associations

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[ the toolbox ]

The Thinkers Streamlining work through creative office tools seltzer, LLC Offerings: The Seven Year Pen comes in seven different designs; a portion of each sale goes to environmental causes, including Earthjustice, which defends the rights of the environment.

Cost: $7.50 each

Shiftboard, inc.

Offerings: Online-scheduling software service Cost: Varies; monthly subscriptions start at $24

Motormouse Offerings: Wireless mouse; available in red, silver, and black Cost: $49.95

syncing.net Offerings: Outlook syncing solution for multi-PC syncing Cost: $119.90 per PC

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[ the toolbox ] 

GAY W. LAM & BRIAN GOLD

Founders, Seltzer, LLC Industry: Consumer Goods/Design About: Seltzer specializes in con-

temporary graphics, eco-friendly greeting cards, and cool gifts. After learning that over 100 million pens are discarded everyday, Seltzer’s designers worked with a Swiss pen maker to create the Seven Year Pen, which allows users to write 2 meters a day for 7 years (Standard pens last 1000m; Seltzer’s last 5000m). The pen was also designed to not only last 7 years (reducing waste) but to be the sort of pen you’d want to keep that long.

BRYAN LHUILLIER roger shaw

Managing Partner, Motormouse Industry: Consumer Electronics About: Inspired by the Porsche 911,

the PC- and Mac-compatible Motormouse is perfect for office or home use, and makes a great gift and conversation starter. The wireless mouse features the world's smallest 2.4GHz USB receiver and has a slim, ergonomic design. The functional trunk opens to store batteries and the receiver. Motormouse has a high-quality paint finish with chromealloy wheels, real rubber tires, and an extra-wide scroll wheel in the shape of a spare tire.

Founder/Chief Product & Technology Officer, Shiftboard, Inc. Industry: Software Solutions About: Shiftboard, Inc. provides online sched-

uling as a hosted software service to enable businesses, educational institutions, municipal government departments, and nonprofits to engage, schedule, and manage communications with their workers. Shiftboard’s unique capability and intellectual property are within its flexible profile-information management, notification, and online-scheduling "coverage system." This system enables qualified workers to confirm positions online in real time, as well as to be assigned schedules, positions, and other business information. Schedules are always up-to-date, minute-to-minute, which limits additional dataentry steps required by schedulers.

JOACHIM VOEGELE CEO, Syncing.net Industry: Online Syncing Solutions About: Syncing.net, an Outlook syncing solution, takes a fresh

approach to syncing data and contacts—tailoring it for the mobile, global, and collaborative world of business today. The software allows for multi-PC syncing, making it ideal for road warriors, telecommuters, and distributed work teams. It also offers tiered user rights, so administrators can control access and protect the integrity of shared documents. While most companies take a “one person, many e-mail accounts” approach to syncing, Syncing.net offers a solution that is more flexible and relevant for today’s professionals.

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[in the workplace] ďťż

Fahrenheit 212 Perfecting the innovation equation New York City-based Fahrenheit 212 brings design-inspired pipe dreams to life through an examination of how business strategies combine with innovation to create results. Resolving the inevitable clash between "the money" and "the magic," the people of Fahrenheit 212 pride themselves on their ability to create new products, brands, and businesses that artfully combine the warring constituencies of money and creativity; their solutions postively affect consumers and drive revenue.

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[in the workplace] 

welcome to Fahrenheit 212: The company workspace visually defines the innovation equation, combining design-driven magic with business-driven aesthetics—the two of which culminate in the reception area: an open space which serves as the meeting place for magic and business, each of which occupy opposite ends of the building but meet in the middle.

company gathering: Innovation Director Jon Crawford-Phillips (far right) and

team settle down for lunch on the library’s leather couches. Photo: Henry Hargreaves

idea incubation: CEO Geoff Vuleta (far right) and Innovation Director Marcus Oliver

(second from left) conduct a meeting in front of the fireplace. Photo: Henry Hargreaves

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[in the workplace] ďťż

Reference point: The old-school dark-

walnut library is a respite from the kinetic buzz that permeates the workplace—and a great place to do research. Photo: Bjorg Magnea

in the workplace

meeting of the minds: The heart of Fahrenheit 212's space is the convertible presentation room, which houses a massive 700-pound conference table that can seat the entire office team. Photo: Bjorg Magnea

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the best-laid plans: The design team

brainstorms in one of the “greenhouses”—glasswalled meeting rooms designed to ignite collaboration and capture stray thoughts before they slip away. Photo: Henry Hargreaves

The Face of Fahrenheit 212 Geoff Vuleta is the CEO and Head of Commercial Strategy at Fahrenheit 212, an innovation consultancy that catalyzes top-line growth by framing strategies for growth, creating new products, brands, and businesses and driving them to market.

Prior to Fahrenheit 212, Vuleta, a native New Zealander, was the worldwide board director of Saatchi & Saatchi. In 2006, Vuleta led a successful management buy-out that established Fahrenheit 212 as a privately held company with a unique working philosophy of Money and Magic—an approach that is reflected in the company's workspace.

Fahrenheit 212’s office stretches the full length of a city block in a 12-story office building in the heart of Noho. In designing the space and much of the furniture, Innovation Directors and partners in the business Jon Crawford-Phillips and Marcus Oliver took inspiration from the way the consultancy works, both culturally and functionally, to set a tone that is professional while simultaneously stimulating and surprising. The resulting interior reflects

the unique combination of strategic and creative—the Money and the Magic—that defines its business, creating a powerful representation of the brand. The west end of the space houses the Magic (Idea Development and Design) while the east end is Money (Commercial Strategy). The reception area and open-plan presentation space in the middle function as meeting points for these diverse disciplines.

Geoff Vuleta

To further accelerate Fahrenheit 212’s ambition of becoming the country’s most recognized commercial-innovation firm, Vuleta created a unique performance-based business model in which Fahrenheit 212 puts over half its potential remuneration at risk, contingent on hitting mutually agreed commercial milestones. This aligns objectives by ensuring that it only profits if its clients profit. Fahrenheit 212’s current clients include adidas, Best Buy, Church & Dwight, Citibank, Clorox, The CocaCola Company, Goldman Sachs, The Hershey Company, McKinsey & Company, LG, Nestle, Nutrisystem, Samsung, Starwood, and Time Warner Cable.

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[ five things to know ] 

The Rumor Mill The communication vacuum fills whether you want it to or not. Some call it the grapevine; others call it hearsay. Communicate well, and you can minimize the downside of change, maximize the upside, and turn employee apathy and confusion into engagement. If you aren’t talking proactively about issues that are important to your employees, chances are that someone else is. The larger and more robust a rumor mill, the less effective your communications are. David Grossman, founder and CEO of The Grossman Group, counsels some of the world’s leading organizations on internal and leadership communication. Here, he shares five ways to minimize the grapevine in your organization.

1

Make communication a priority.

Everything you do or say communicates something, whether you intend for it to or not. Communication is the competency most critical to moving businesses forward and the best defense in managing change and difficult situations. Since you are always communicating—you can’t lead without communicating well—you might as well get great at it.

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2

Tap rumor starters and bust myths.

Engage key influencers, thought leaders, and supervisors, who typically feed and influence the grapevine most, to communicate regularly.

When employees hear the same messages from their supervisor, from the CEO, read it on the intranet, and hear it through the grapevine, they’re more likely to believe it and act on it.

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3

Saying "I don’t know” builds trust.

The test of great leadership is to ensure understanding in the tough times as well as the good. In challenging times, the best leaders are communicating even more. It’s okay for leaders to not have all the answers. The three best credibility-building words a leader can say are, “I don’t know.” So admit it, and then go out and find the answer.

4

Know your audience.

It’s a common mistake to communicate from your perspective instead of the audience’s perspective. Because communication is in the eye of the receiver, develop messages based on your audience’s needs. The more you know about where your employees are coming from, the better you’re able to persuade and motivate them. Write down what you want employees to think, feel, and do as a result of hearing the message.

Then, create your messages and communicate them in multiple ways.

5

Don’t wait to communicate, and do it often.

Communicate proactively and purposefully, and whatever you do, don’t wait until you think you’ll have all the answers— you never will. In almost all cases, you know more than you think that would be valuable to employees—and that builds trust and credibility.

Waiting to communicate means someone else will communicate instead of you, and then you’ll spend your timing doing clean up. During times of change, communicate a) what you know, b) what you don’t know, c) what you’re working on figuring out, and d) myths that need to be corrected. Communicate early and often, and repeat your messages regularly.

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expertise expertise

20 The Plexus Groupe LLC 22 Workhouse publicity 24 AVM Biotechnology, llc

deep understanding of the insurance industry and allowed him to grow The Plexus Groupe into a successful company. Here, Fawcett reveals the workings of his $13 million brokerage and the reasons it has grown every year since its founding.

How did The Plexus Groupe get its start?

At the end of 1989, I started putting everything together. I gave six-months notice to my job and used my 401(k) to set up The Plexus Groupe on my own time. In the beginning, it was just a secretary who did everything from accounting to proposals and me. I had a couple of clients in tow when I moved from Dallas to Chicago, so my plate was somewhat full from day one.

Walter Fawcett III

The Plexus Groupe LLC. Dependable service and company investment leads to consistent growth for insurance firm

by Sheena Harrison

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alter Fawcett III, president and CEO of The Plexus Groupe LLC, comes from a family of entrepreneurs—his father and father-in-law are both business owners, and their encouragement helped give him the motivation to start his own insurance company.

The Plexus Groupe's offices in the Chicago suburb of Deer Park, Illinois, and in Dallas, Texas, represent the significant cities in Fawcett's life. Fawcett was born in Dallas, moved to Chicago during his childhood, and came back to Dallas to earn his bachelor's degree in economics from Southern Methodist University. Following his undergraduate education, Fawcett spent seven years working as a sales representative and underwriter for a Fortune 100 insurance company in Texas. That job, he says, provided him with a

BY THE NUMBERS

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What kind of company did you want to build?

I wanted to build a company that differentiated itself through service and innovation. I envisioned a company where insurance professionals would be unencumbered by organizational friction, allowing them to maximize and expand their talents on behalf of their clientele. So far, the model has worked. Plexus has grown organically every year since inception, and we expect to grow between 8 and 15 percent in 2010. As a result, we have been able to continually invest in personnel, hiring highlevel technicians and producers and supporting them with investments in technology that enhance their ability to succeed.

What's different about The Plexus Groupe in comparison to its competition?

Being a boutique firm, our primary point of differentiation is our ability to bring resources to our clients that you wouldn’t normally see from a broker our size; however, we deliver those resources and results to our clients with the intimacy more often found at boutique firms. We are able to customize our client solutions. In contrast, some of our larger competitors are conflicted by selling a unique deliverable all the while commoditizing the delivery. These two philosophies are by definition mutually exclusive. Restated, we take pride in our flexibility, business acumen, and dedication to absolute customer satisfaction. Recently, we received a sincere compliment from a client: “I feel that I'm the only client that your agency has.” That statement sums up our service objective. It means the culture we're creating is working.

67: employees • 1990: founded • 2: office locations • $6.3 million: 2005 revenues • $13 million: 2009 revenues

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expertise

teamwork: The Plexus Group team tackles the insurance industry with a $13 million brokerage that continues to grow.

over the years 1984: Fawcett began

his insurance career 1990: Founded The

Plexus Groupe LLC 1996: Mitchell An-

drews joined the firm as first partner 2004: Dallas office opened (Plexus Texas); Bill Lacey joined the firm as a partner 2007: Kerry Martin joined the firm as COO to manage both the Chicago and Dallas offices 2010: Formed agency broker dealer “Plexus Financial Services, LLC” to handle the agency’s 401(k), retirement plans, and related valued-added services

strategy to share

“We received a sincere compliment from a client: ‘I feel that I'm the only client that your agency has.’ That statement sums up our service objective.

It means the culture we're creating is working.” Walter Fawcett III, President & CEO we are a more vibrant organization as a result of this. We exWhat’s the company’s corporate culture like?

We operate a fast-paced environment where individuals strive for pect our management team to support and enhance our culture. personal improvement and professional excellence. We promote They exemplify their support by being measured, consistent, and subscribe to teamwork and collaboration. Our organization- and predictable. al chart is horizontal, not vertical. It makes me feel good when I see our employees working together. Our incentive programs What's next for The Plexus Groupe? are aligned with these operational goals. Our company bonus While we realize that the ingredients that compose our operaprogram applies to all non-producer employees from the COO tional model can be found in other brokerage organizations, we to the receptionist. The bonus pool is determined as a fixed per- feel that our recipe is unique. We try to capture the best elecentage of our revenue. The pool then gets allocated between the ments of a variety of operating models, capitalizing on the best profit centers based on performance. We feel that the program is aspects of both big and small brokerage operations. Today, we unique in its simplicity. Our associates understand that growth are at the stage in our life cycle where the returns generated by our investments during the last several years are bearing fruit equates to a bigger bonus pool, which benefits everyone. as measured by top-line growth and increasing margins. In the Culture is a living thing that evolves daily. Recently, we have short term, we are focusing on what we do best and working to focused on hiring college graduates with human-resources or get better each and every day. We’ll keep our eyes open for opinsurance and risk-management backgrounds. Blending these portunities, but if none are available, we’ve been successful with new hires with our tenured staff has energized the office, and our existing value proposition. [P]

REINVEST IN THE COMPANY The Plexus Groupe reinvests its profits to help the company grow. This includes paying competitive salaries to attract topnotch employees and upgrading the company's technology and infrastructure in order to help staff members do their jobs more efficiently. Fawcett believes reinvestment can be a crucial development strategy for all businesses and encourages other companies to do so as well.

nov/dec 2010

profile

21

expertise

High School for Performing & Visual Arts. I got into a lot of fist fights with cowboys. I moved to Philadelphia and attended the University of the Arts where I received my BFA. Spent a summer at Yale and the British American Drama Academy at Oxford University. I moved back to Manhattan determined to make a life in the theatre. I became a founding member of Workhouse Theatre Company, whose members included Adrienne Shelly, Maria Bellow, Gil Bellows, and Calista Flockhart.

When my girlfriend—now my wife—said she wanted to move in, I realized it was time to give up the ghost. I used my acting credentials to get a job at a PR firm whose clients included topranked celebrities. It was meant to be a temporary gig, but it didn’t really work out that way.

Why did you want to start your own company?

Desperation. Workhouse only came about because my world caved in. The celebrity agency that employed me had closed its doors, and I found myself out of work in the middle of an economic depression. Much like today, employment wasn’t an option. No one was hiring. I had $196 in the bank and one client: the photographer David LaChapelle, who so very graciously agreed to allow me the honor of continued representation.

adam nelson

Workhouse Publicity. Adam Nelson helms a PR wonderland with playful workspaces and an all-guts attitude

by Punam Patel

I

n 1996, in a rented kitchen on a wayward side street in SoHo, with nothing more than a telephone, a fax machine, and $196 dollars in the bank, Adam Nelson launched a PR think tank.

One move to a Chelsea loft, 15 employees, and over a decade later, Workhouse Publicity is a funhouse for publicity genius, rubbing elbows with the likes of P Diddy and Versace, and hosting events for Sundance and Mercedes Benz Fashion Week. With a whimsical workspace and an industrious work ethic, Nelson spills on what made him hatch the agency, what drives him everyday, and even what makes him cry.

What did you want to be growing up?

As the son of a school teacher, I was truly a hopeless student. That kid. Each summer you’d find me embarking on yet another semester while the rest of the world was enjoying Disneyland or some beach retreat. I blame it on The Bowery Boys and those kids from Our Gang. I wanted to be just like them.

A big shot in short pants. We moved from New York City to Houston, Texas, where I enrolled in the

BY THE NUMBERS

22

profile

So how did you do it?

I rented the kitchen of a Soho film outfit and just plain hustled. I pitched new business completely cold, took every client I could for pennies on the dollar, gathered a group of interns, and slowly built it from the ground up. My original vision was simple: I wanted to eat every day. Not much has changed except today I’m hungry in a different way. Eventually, I was able to rent larger portions of the space, and after a few years, I took possession of the entire space. My wife, who was my vice president at the time, and I transformed it ourselves through old-fashioned elbow grease, paint, and tile work. Six years down the road, we relocated to our current home, a 3,000-squarefoot Chelsea loft. We’re celebrating our 12th anniversary, and trust me, it feels like it.

What’s the meaning behind the name?

Workhouse celebrates a history of builders who, once upon a time, went to produce honest work.

The very concept of our "Workhouse" is to recount a history of invisible masses, unsung orphans, hotel pageboys, secretarial desk clerks, and other servants of business. Our humble task is to bring attention to a roster of clients’ work unseen.

More than just a pretty face, Workhouse is plenty comfortable. The neighborhood is filled with world leaders, real-estate power brokers, celebrity

1999: founded • $196: amount the company started with • 15: employees by 2010 • 20: clients by 2010 3 years: average employee-retention rate • 5 years: average client-retention rate

nov/dec 2010

expertise

over the years 1996: Opened Workhouse Publicity in a rented kitchen in SoHo 2002: Relocated to

current offices in Chelsea 2003: Won the Na-

tional Congressional Committee’s 2003 National Leadership Award; elected to serve as an Honorary Chairman of the Business Advisory Council 2004: Selected by the

International Who's Who of Executives

a unique workspace: This updated sofa set against a backdrop of colorful busts embodies the aesthetic feel Nelson aspires to create in his office, for his staff, and for his clients.

chefs, Hollywood royalty, sports figures, top models, congressional representatives, notorious fashion designers, long-lost ’80s celebrities, the homeless, abandoned immigrants, crazy cab drivers, and so much more. My kind of town.

Five Freddy, Francesco Clemente, Edward Furlong, and Russell Simmons, among others. It was straight Warhol circa 1999.

The kind of electric night you couldn’t completely comprehend in a city that never sleeps.

The agency dubs itself “A Creative Playground for Serious Business.” What does that mean?

The intention is really to create a den of curiosity. Warm wood tones and a jamming soundtrack keep it all very mod and 21st century, a kind of modern-nostalgia. There’s a definitive, aesthetical vision, but there is always some new design that comes along to discover and embellish. The office should be a wonderland inspiring both staff and clients alike, yet promote a sense of play.

What is the funniest thing that has happened to you at work?

It involves a whiffle-ball bat and a bottle of Jack. Suffice to say that a good PR man knows when to keep his mouth shut.

What is the highlight of your career?

Before we were fully staffed, I produced Interview Magazine's 30th Anniversary in two weeks without a budget. This meant aligning massive corporate sponsors over 10 working days to even build the thing. A seemingly impossible task given that I was in Paris when we got the assignment. However, David LaChapelle’s incredible vision transformed New York’s Kit Kat Club into Hotel LaChapelle. The room was filled with massive rows of twin beds, night stands, Bibles, alarm clocks, topless Bell boys, giant inflatable dolls, cupcakes by Donatella Versace, and a transsexual Amanda LePore leaping out of a giant birthday cake. Entertainment was provided by Elton John, Lil' Kim, and Groove Armada. A who's who of arrivals included Demi Moore, Michael Kors, Jon Bon Jovi, Diane Von Furstenberg, Calvin Klein, Donna Karan, Moby, Iman, Jane Holzer, Gabby Hoffman, Thora Birch, Harmony Korine, Paul Morrissey, Fab

What do you like most about your staff?

We’re a fortunate lot. We still get to play with toys, swing on a grass-covered swing, scratch the right brain, and keep our eyes on the prize. Challenge is found within the risk that we create for ourselves. It’s a high bar and we always aim to finish strong.

How do you balance your career and your personal life?

In building my business, it was take no prisoners. I could burn the candle nightly or let the ink run dry. If you've ever had the grit to built something from the ground up, love it or loathe it, you deeply understand the struggle. Nothing comes between the sacrifice and those prayers for its timelessness.

But then I had children. I needed the open-heart surgery that only the magic of childhood could produce. Where once I had been an emotionless surveyor, when the kids came along, I was crying on a dime. I just don't have it in me to steal the old lady's purse. The older I get the rougher it is to mouth the industry standard. If it’s a transparent grab for a fist full of dollars, I'd rather take a pass and serve the unknown shoe designer from Des Moines. [P]

strategy to share

HONOR YOUR WORD Handshakes mean something. They are moral compasses to better business.

When the stakes are high and the chips are down, my word is my bond. In a world of lip service, I stridently work to remain true to my word. I look for exactly the same thing in my staff. Still having the guts, the creative manpower, the stuff. Methodically building, brick by brick. Ten years from now, our hands will still be dirty. Just the way we like it.

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expertise

How did the company get its start?

The concept of the company came to me over several weeks where I spent 30 minutes each morning in prayer in our church’s chapel. I then turned to a friend who is currently our outside general counsel, told him my idea, asked if he would help me, and with his simple reply of "yes," the company got its start.

What business strategies did you employ to grow this company?

Press coverage of AVM brought us additional people, all of whom work pro-bono for the company.

We did not seek out press coverage, but have tried to respond to every request for an interview or an article about us. Our unique foundation brings great interest and enthusiasm about the company.

What is the main concern when developing these types of therapies?

Embryonic stem-cell research has been clearly documented as impractical, due to the tumorforming characteristics inherent in embryonic stem cells. Adult stem cells, in contrast, are in late-stage clinical trials, not only in the US, but also in many other countries. Adult stem cells from bone marrow and blood are very effective in providing therapy; however, their effectiveness could be enhanced by a more efficient delivery system and by drugs that enhance cell viability.

dr. theresa deisher

AVM Biotechnology, LLC. Biotech pro offers alternative solutions and research for stem-cell therapies and vaccines

by Bryan Swan

I

n 2008, Dr. Theresa Deisher’s company, AVM Biotechnology, LLC, incorporated with the intention to address the need for sustainable vaccines and stem-cell therapies. The main issue for AVM is the lack of choice that customers face when undergoing vaccination. Deisher and fellow AVM scientists believe that the practice of using fetal tissue for biomedical research and drug manufacture should be transparent, and additional alternatives should be available.

With the advent of newly created cell lines, there exists a new market for both researchers who want to work on alternative adult stem cells and customers who feel strongly that their drugs should not contain fetal material. Here, Deisher shares the progress of her company, the research in today’s market, and the future of the biotech industry.

BY THE NUMBERS

24

profile

How would you describe your personal management style? What approach do you think is the best to managing a workforce?

My preferred management style is one of a mentor, enabling employees to reach their full potential in line with professional aspirations and goals. This has been the best style in the unique situation of AVM Biotechnology, where employees are here primarily because of their commitment to alternative stem-cell therapies.

I believe that each project, each team, each company goes through phases of growth and that a manager must respond appropriately to each phase.

Within a company, different teams or projects may well be in different phases, and the challenge for a manager is to know and to provide the correct balance of guidance, direction, feedback, and independence to allow each team to become an efficient and functioning entity.

What is the biggest challenge you have faced and overcome?

The biggest hurdle that I've had to overcome is to be able to take off my scientist hat and function solely from a business perspective in some situations.

2008: founded • 4,777: miles traveled by a volunteer to work at AVM • 8: student interns • 5: international student interns $700,000: donated professional services • 20 million: mononuclear stem cells isolated per week on average

nov/dec 2010

expertise

over the years January 2008:

AVM incorporated; joined by Chris Brown and Marissa LaMadrid, PhD June 2008: Re-

tained development and marketing firm MacKenzie-Romero Consulting September 2008:

Intern Sarah Bwabye joins AVM from Uganda October 2008: Invit-

ed participant in JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization)/ Hyogo/Kobe Business Invitation Program May 2009: Comprepping the next generation: AVM interns work to provide consumers with alternative strategy to share

COMMON GROUND There is a huge need for Biotech companies, willing to be built on a similar platform.

We focus on adult stem-cell therapies and vaccines, but there is a great need for other companies to provide alternative drugs and biologics in all areas of the biotechnology industry.

This is an opportunity for scientists, businessmen, and others to take charge of our field. We like to talk about choice, which is meaningless unless there is one.

therapies and vaccines. Deisher and her fellow scientists pursue adult-stem-cell-related research and strive to create a professional environment where personal beliefs are valued.

What would you consider to be AVM’s biggest challenges going forward?

Our biggest challenge is raising capital because we have chosen to take a different route than normal biotech start-up firms. Our primary goal is to protect the foundation of the company rather than placing profits above all. Our secondary goal is to create financial return to our investors. All of our investors are people who share that commitment.

What would you consider the largest hurdle for new scientists within American academia?

We play quite a large role in the development of new scientists in our firm, particularly for individuals who want to tailor their career to be compatible with their philosophies. It’s extremely important that people are able to pursue their professional calling without violating their beliefs. Often, it seems that scientists have to leave their beliefs at the door; we try to alleviate that.

If you look at the success rates for pharmaceutical development, there is a long history of highly successful products without the use of fetal material.

If you follow new-drug approval rates since these practices were embraced, they have not yielded an economic benefit. The promises that we initially embraced, that these drugs would benefit our lives, were essentially false. Success in the biotech industry comes when promises are compatible.

AVM attempts to make biotechnology, vaccines, and personal choice compatible.

How would you like to see AVM Biotech develop in the future?

AVM is a research-staged firm, focused on enhancing the clinical effectiveness of adult stemcell therapies and providing alternative vaccines; we hope to appeal to everyone on a national setting.

We do plan to expand into other critical areas of need, one of which would be to provide alternative cell lines for the production of recombinant, research-grade reagents. The reason that we became involved in this area was due to a shift that occurred rapidly over the past 15 years, beginning in the 1970s, to use fetal material for drug and vaccine production. [P]

pleted first investment round; joined by Mark Ungs, director of business development May–August 2009:

Student interns Tessa Mathews (Canada), Adam Ard, and Mary Mattax join AVM August 2009: Stu-

dent intern Kumiko Koyama joins AVM from Japan May–August 2010:

International graduate-student intern Dina Sikpa (France) joins AVM on scholarship; student interns Rachael Fox and Katie Doan (Vietnam) join AVM

nov/dec 2010

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25

“We know there is a better way” Dedicated to the discovery, development, and commercialization of safe, effective and affordable pro-life therapeutics 1124 Columbia Street Suite 650 Life Sciences Center Seattle, WA 98104 WWW.AVMBIOTECH.COM

Theresa Deisher Ph.D.

Managing Member and Research & Development Director

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alliance alliance

28 agent 16 30 circor aerospace, inc. 32 vascular solutions 34 otis products, inc.

monitors of the mainstream

Agent 16 nurtures employee creativity to infuse pop culture into branding solutions and viral-marketing campaigns

by Sheena Harrison When CNN's Anderson Cooper did a story last fall about the “World's Fastest Nudist,” millions of people were exposed to the work of Agent 16.

The nudist was part of a viral marketing campaign that Agent 16 completed to help Zappos.com advertise its new clothing-sales division. The plan worked. Besides

creating visuals of a naked man running around New York City, online searches for the “World's Fastest Nudist” also drove traffic to Zappos.com.

Agent 16 uses innovative methods to generate buzz for its clients.

The New York City-based firm has roots in the traditional advertising agency, but has evolved to become one of the nation's leaders in “culture branding”—the concept of

tapping into pop culture to communicate with each client's target market. “We position ourselves as an idea company,” president Bob Manni says. “Our value is bringing the best possible ideas and service, and connecting our clients to their consumer in a way that forges longterm relationships” Bill Brown and John Mezzina founded the firm as Mezzina Brown & Partners in 1991. When Mezzina

left the company in the late 1990s, Brown began looking at ways to evolve with the industry's newly developing digital culture. In 2001, the firm changed its name to Agent 16, a name that represents the company's role as a change agent for its clients. Brown hired Manni as a consultant during that time to help shape the firm's new direction, and Manni was later hired as Agent 16's chief marketing officer. Brown says that Manni, who was promoted to

EMPLOYEE SNAPSHOT

Name Title

Why do you like working at Agent 16?

Years at Agent 16

28

profile

nov/dec 2010

Chris Lenox

Dave Pachence

Jim Flynn

Alexandra Bissett

Creative Director

Creative Director

Group Creative Director

Director of Project Management

There are no politics, which is unusual for an ad agency. Everything is integrated, and there aren't many layers, so the work actually gets through to the client in its purest form, which I think is unique.

It's a very open place to work, and it's the farthest thing you can get from a sweatshop.

I have a music background, and it's been really fun to be able to use that on projects.

I came here as a classically trained print-art director, but then I decided to try something wildly different with this whole World Wide Web thing. The agency said, "Absolutely, let's do some interesting things together."

I definitely like that everyone is inclusive and friendly, especially since a lot of agencies have a hard dividing line between the account and creative sides. It's nice to be able to use all parts of your brain.

10+

15

11+

5

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president last year, has been instrumental in building Agent 16's focus on innovative marketing campaigns.

Today, Agent 16 has 30 employees—and they are here to stay.

"I've been here for just over 11 years, which is a long time in agency life," says Jim Flynn, group creative director. "I think that speaks to the quality of the experience at this agency." Creative director Chris Lenox attributes this to the agency's open environment. "I have my own product-design firm, and some of my pieces can be found in the lobby. Being able to contribute our interests to the company is a huge advantage," Lenox says.

Last year, the firm generated $6.5 million in revenue. Though its scope has changed during the last decade, Brown says that Agent 16

BY THE NUMBERS

remains true to its founding principles. “We've tried to create an environment that is service-oriented,” Brown says. “We do the very best for our clients that we can, we have an environment that attracts the very top talent in the business, and we work to connect our business with everything that's going on in pop culture.”

Agent 16 has worked with such clients as Yale University, Atari, and Proximo Spirits, owner of the Three Olives Vodka brand. The firm recently picked up General Cigar Co., and it is working to promote such cigar brands as Macanudo, Cohiba, and Punch to the US market.

Creative directors for Agent 16 say the firm is focused on generating unique ideas for each of its clients that will allow each brand to stand out in the minds of consumers.

“We look at what's in the culture right now, and then we pile all the crazy creative ideas on top of that,” says Flynn, who also heads up Agent 16's digital efforts.

“We're able to evolve for each client and each project,” creative director Dave Pachence adds.

Manni and Brown say Agent 16's strength comes from employees who work well together while using their unique personalities to help create culturally relevant ideas.

Manni says all employees are encouraged to contribute ideas, no matter what their title at the firm.

“We have such a diverse group of people that is culturally forward thinking, so we get a lot of different ideas,” Manni says. “Everyone is open to each other's ideas. It's very integrated.” [P]

strategy to share

ATTRACT THE TOP TIER As a small firm competing with some of the nation's largest ad agencies, Agent 16 finds it essential to hire and retain top talent who can make its work stand out. Chairman Bill Brown says all small businesses should strive to create a corporate culture that attracts the “best and brightest” employees. “The most important strategy for our business has been to attract the very best people we can,” Brown says. “This is a very competitive industry and that's not always an easy thing to do.

That's where you want to create an attractive work environment that offers challenges and lessons for your employees, and that's where our clients get the best service.”

1991: Mezzina Brown & Partners founded • 2001: Mezzina Brown becomes Agent 16 • 30: employees $6.5 million: 2009 revenues • 1: number of times that Agent 16's work has appeared on CNN's Anderson Cooper 360

nov/dec 2010

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industry pilots

CIRCOR Aerospace, Inc. steers military- and commercialaerospace design and manufacturing to new heights

by Cristina Adams Not many companies can claim to have a piece of equipment in nearly every commercial airliner flying the friendly skies—except for CIRCOR Aerospace, Inc. (CAI). In fact, the aerospace-design and -manufacturing powerhouse provides fuelsystem components and fuel systems and landing-gear solutions for military aircrafts, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg. In an age of stiff competition and hurdles in the aerospace industry, CAI has risen to the challenge—and to the top.

Founded in 2008, CAI is the result of a merger between Circle Seal Controls, Inc. and Loud Engineering and Manufacturing, two companies that boasted more than half a century of experience in the aerospace industry.

CAI is one of four companies composing the CIRCOR Aerospace Products Group, which designs, develops, and manufactures aircraft components and subsystems.

At the helm of the parent group is vice president Chris Celtruda, whose vast experience in the aerospace industry includes positions at Honeywell

Aerospace, AlliedSignal, and General Dynamics, among others. Indeed, it’s that experience that has helped him map out successful strategies for both the company and its parent group.

Competition is a welcome opportunity for the CAI team to look at each individual project and its unique set of requirements. It’s not just about beating the other guys out for the business; it’s also about the importance of crafting a cost-effective and appropriate solution.

“In some cases, we compete against smaller companies,” Celtruda says.

“In other cases, it’s against large multinationals. Each has its own set of challenges that requires us to really understand our value proposition.”

To that end, management has invested in state-of-the-art technology and program management, and emphasized the importance of developing collaborative customer relationships to its employees. Staying connected with the customer is one of CAI’s top priorities, and it shows in the company’s growth trajectory. Over the past five years, CAI has grown nearly 12 percent per year, and despite the eco-

EMPLOYEE SNAPSHOT

Name Title

What do you enjoy most about working at CIRCOR?

30

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nov/dec 2010

Chris Celtruda

Michelle Martell

Tony Grant

Ryan Nelson

Vice President

Group Director of Strategic Sourcing

Global Transitions Leader

Product Line Director, Landing Gear/Actuation

It is refreshing to be able to have the ability to be small enough to be nimble and meet customer expectations, while enjoying the backing and stability of a larger company.

CIRCOR has the leadership and vision of a large company with the flexibility and speed of a small company. I’ve been given the freedom to build a sourcing strategy and international team connecting our business units with a global supply base.

CIRCOR’s growth strategy, global outlook, and career opportunities attracted me the most.

Coming from companies with 100,000 employees or more, the increased visibility and decreased bureaucracy made it an easy choice.

CIRCOR Business System’s focus on people development and process improvement shows me it has the structure and organizational framework to be successful and the vision of establishing a global footprint in excellence.

alliance

strategy to share

DEVELOP A THINKING CULTURE

Landing Gear: CIRCOR creates parts for military, governmental, and civilian aerospace projects.

BY THE NUMBERS

Problem solving at CIRCOR Aerospace is every employee’s responsibility, so the company has developed CPS, or CIRCOR Problem Solving, a proprietary training approach to developing a “thinking culture.” CPS is a process by which the discrepancy between a current problem and an existing expectation is identified, analyzed, and eliminated. The company strives to have as many employees as possible trained in this problemsolving method, which helps drive improvements for both the business and its customers.

2008: founded • 280: employees • $109 million: 2009 revenues • 12%: annual growth for the past five years 49%: percentage of business in US military accounts • 42%: percentage in commercial business

nomic recession, which has affected some of the company’s end markets, 2010 revenue is slated to come in at around $115 million, up nearly six percent from 2009. “Our team has worked hard to ensure we have minimized the business impact of the current economic crisis and focused on making investments for the future,” Celtruda says. “Among other things, that means continuing to monitor key markets and staying connected to our customers.”

Not surprisingly, it also means continuing to design and manufacture those products that have become a vital part of the defense and aerospace industries. CAI’s sleek, contemporary, 95,000-square-foot headquarters in California accommodates every step of the manufacturing process, from the machining of raw materials and assembly to testing and shipment.

In addition, it’s there that the company’s team of engineers translates concepts into design by using cuttingedge, computer modeling software and mathematical simulation pro-

grams. From those designs emerge landing-gear product lines, actuation systems, fluid-control systems, and pneumatic systems for commercial and military aircraft.

It’s no wonder, then, that the US military accounts for 49 percent of CAI’s business. Indeed, among the company’s bestsellers are a complete landing-gear solution for the CH-47 Chinook helicopter and various hydraulic, fuel, and pneumatic systems for such military aircraft as the F-16 Super Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II joint-strike fighter. Another 42 percent of the business belongs to the commercial side: airlines, including Lufthansa, American Airlines, and Japan Airlines, and aerospace companies, such as Boeing and Airbus; even NASA is a customer.

“The foundation of our business is focused on continuous improvement to drive superior results and increase customer value,” Celtruda says of CAI. “We strive for operational excellence and we stay connected to our customers.” [P]

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recruiting in the heartland

Vascular Solutions' hand-picked workforce fashions medical devices for cardiologists and radiologists worlwide

by Tricia Despres With Minnesota boasting the highest per-capita med-tech employment of any other state, Vascular Solutions CEO Howard Root has had quite the pool to pick from when it comes to employees. “Minnesota is an amazing place,” he says. “It is one of the hardest places to recruit to, but once people are here, it is one of the hardest places to recruit from because they simply don’t want to leave.”

Since cofounding Vascular Solutions in 1997, Root and his 270 employees

have seen overwhelming success in the $22 billion medical-device industry. The company focuses on products needed for both coronary- and peripheral-vascular procedures and currently lists 50 different proprietary products, including catheters, hemostat, and vein products in use by cardiologists and radiologists throughout the world.

Vascular recently launched the FDAapproved Guideline Catheter for coronary procedures—a device that will transform the way complex angioplasty procedures are performed.

Root’s resilient attitude has certainly played a part in Vascular Solutions’ overwhelming success in the marketplace in recent years. Yet, he admits the success starts from the employees he surrounds himself with. “When I’m hiring people, I am looking for people I can trust who will pay attention to the job at hand,” Root says. “I want someone who puts their head down and gets the work done. We are in the business of medical devices. A mistake can kill people.”

Earlier this year, Vascular’s first-quarter revenue jumped 15 percent to an

all-time high of $18.2 million. The company, however, has seen tougher times. Nearly a decade ago, the company was selling only one product, the Duett: a sealing device that stops the bleeding of the femoral artery during surgery. When neighboring St. Jude acquired similar technology, Vascular was left in the cold.

“There were some concerns back in 2001 and 2002, and I remember during one of those years we experienced a 100-percent turnover in our sales force,” Root recalls. “I couldn’t fault any one of them for leaving. It’s tough

EMPLOYEE SNAPSHOT

Name Title

What's your personal business philosophy?

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nov/dec 2010

Howard Root

Bill Rutstein

Carrie Powers

Heather Bergmann

CEO

Senior VP, Worldwide Sales

Vice President of Marketing

Director of Human Resources

My management centers around three concepts: deal in reality, learn what the customer does (as opposed to what they want or what they say they want), and focus everyone in the organization on planning their work and working their plan.

From a sales perspective, my business philosophy is straightforward: Show up everyday and execute your responsibilities, practice a strong work ethic, show passion and have an unshakable belief in your cause, and follow up and follow through.

Four elements: a core mission statement, putting the right people in the right positions, the ability and systems in place to take a good business idea from inception to implementation, and strong, consistent leaders who understand what it takes.

While I haven’t defined a specific personal business philosophy, I believe it is important to be honest and treat people with respect.

When in doubt, do the right thing.

alliance

strategy to share

KNOW YOUR PRODUCT Our sales strategy is very simple—know everything you can about our products and use that knowledge to present the product as a specific solution to existing difficulties that physicians face in treating vascular conditions. Then, get the product through purchasing by proving the value.

VARI-LASE: This Endovenous Laser Console is for the treatment of varicose veins.

BY THE NUMBERS

1997: founded • 270: employees • $70 million: annual sales • 50: different proprietary products $18.2 million: first-quarter revenue • 15%: revenue jump in first quarter

to hear rumors and read the newspaper and have your family asking about how secure your job is.

their outside lives. We give our employees the freedom to not only succeed, but also fail.”

"Now, with annual sales topping $70 million," he continues, "we are profitable and people tend to stay. Our retention is tied to our success.”

When it comes to work, however, Root ensures his workforce is on point. "Our sales strategy is very simple: know everything you can about our products and use that knowledge to present the product as a specific solution to existing difficulties that physicians face in treating vascular conditions," he says. "Then, get the product through purchasing by proving the value."

Employees who have stayed with Vascular have benefitted from an impressive incentive package that includes full medical insurance, shortand long-term disability benefits, and standard 401(k) plans that are matched by the company. Vascular Solutions also offers education assistance and a generous employee stockpurchase plan.

“I wouldn’t ever consider ourselves some sort of New Age company,” Root says. “We tend to stick to the basics and completely believe in each employee’s individual empowerment.

We have many people from many different backgrounds all working together under one roof. We want them to come to work and get the job done.

We do not want to somehow manage

As Root looks to the future, he admits he doesn’t have a grand scheme for the success of the company and its employees. ”I tell my employees to accept the situation they are in and not bet on miracles; learn what the customer does as opposed to what they want or, worse yet, what they say they want; and focus everyone in the organization on planning their work and working their plan,” he says. “By managing around those three concepts, it’s amazing how new products appear and sales keep growing.” [P]

Specialists in Procedural and Interventional Wire Products • • • •

Interventional Radiology Peripheral Vascular Access Interventional Cardiology Interventional Neurology

Featuring Nitinol & Stainless Designs NeoMetrics, Inc. 2605 Fernbrook Lane North – Suite J Plymouth, MN, 55447 Ph: 763-559-4440 Fax: 763-559-7676

neometricsinc.com

nov/dec 2010

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33

alliance

One woman's gun show

Otis Products, Inc. founder Doreen Garrett created her guncleaning-kit company at the kitchen table—and it shot off

by Julie Schaeffer With 30 patents and ABOUT 250 different products, Otis Products, Inc. is a success by any standard—the fact that it was founded by someone who wasn’t even old enough to drive makes its success even more remarkable.

Doreen Garrett was only 15 years old when, during a hunting trip with her father in the Tughill Plateau, she got the idea for the product that would lead to the company’s creation. “My

gun’s barrel got lodged, and I didn’t have anything to clean it with, ” she recalls. “So I went home and found a chain with a weight on the end that my grandfather had carried to clean his gun when he was fighting in WWII. I put it in a tin can, and that became my gun-cleaning kit.”

All of her father’s friends liked the idea. However, Garret wasn’t going to part with her only kit, so she decided to make more. Her father's workspace provided a perfect platform to launch the idea. “I was apprenticing

at my dad’s machine shop, working under a female engineer, and developed a prototype,” Garrett says.

In 1985, Garrett took the prototype to a gun show and had orders from two of the country’s largest distributors by the end of the day. The rest is history: Garrett went home and, with the help of high-school friends, started making gun-cleaning kits on her parents’ kitchen table. Over the years, she added to her product and her workforce. Otis Products now employs 160.

“We’ve listened to customers. For example, the gun-cleaning kit used to be in a tin can, which was noisy, so we changed it to a soft pack,” she says. “Then, at the request of hunters, we added a belt loop to the soft pack, which became an apparel item at L.L. Bean.”

In addition, Otis Products provides its customers and employees with directions and rules for gun cleaning, including "always clean in the natural direction of the bullett," and "always use a clean patch surface when clean-

EMPLOYEE SNAPSHOT

Name

34

Leonard Puzzuoli

D. Ross Wachowski

Michael York

Denise Miller

Kel Shipman

Title

Chief Financial Officer

Director of Human Resources

Director of Operations

VP of Sales & Marketing

Director of Research & Development

What makes Otis Products successful?

Otis’ success can be attributed to its unparalleled commitment to its customers, vendors, employees, and community—living our core values each and every day.

What makes Otis Products so successful starts at the top and permeates through the entire organization. It begins with an unflinching dedication to our customers and ends with a sincere appreciation of the Otis team.

I had never worked for a company that put its employees first until I came to work at Otis.

The philosophy that if we take care of our employees, they will take care of the customer is a key ingredient that has led to Otis’ success.

I believe the key to Otis' success is the passion for the business and industry, upholding the highest standards of quality and integrity, and listening to the voice of the customer and being nimble enough to change and improve to meet their needs.

While our superior product has been key, it is still a difficult task to sell to the military; our success in that is due in large part to the entire Otis family's commitment to doing their very best for the soldier and, ultimately, any Otis customer.

profile

nov/dec 2010

alliance

strategy to share

SUPPORT YOUR WORKFORCE We have a lot of great employees we consider diamonds in the rough, so we give them opportunities to grow. We also take care of our employees’ needs by paying 100 percent of their healthcare premiums, offering profit sharing and 401(k) plans, operating a daycare facility, and paying employees to do eight hours of community service every year. After all, we’re all working hard to provide for our families, so it’s important that we like what we do. I think it shows in the product when employees are happy.

ing the barrel." These tips are listed on the company website, which also includes access to Otis' European and Scandinavian distributors as well as product highlights—including specific information about why the cleaning products work. Specific attention is paid to Otis' copyrighted System and Bore Cleaning Technology. Besides written instructions on the website, Otis also offers its customers gun-cleaning instructions and safety tips on DVD, VHS, CDROM, and brochure.

Today, the company is primarily a defense contractor, which Garrett is proud of given that her grandfather’s WWII cleaning kit was the

BY THE NUMBERS

“It's nice to have soldiers come back from duty and thank the women on the assembly line for making a great product that may have saved their lives." Doreen Garrett, President impetus for the whole operation. It also now manufactures around 250 different firearms accessories—a long road from the one original tin can that Garrett started out with.

“It’s nice to have soldiers come back from duty and thank the women on the assembly line for making a great product that may have saved their lives,” Garrett says.

Even with tremendous growth, Garret is commited to keeping the company’s roots alive. “Otis Products started as family business, and that family culture resonates throughout the company,” she says.

“As you grow, it gets harder and harder to keep that culture alive, but everyone here values it, so we work hard at doing so.” [P]

15: age that Doreen Garrett started the business • 160: employees • 1: employees when business started 13%: growth in 2009 • 11 years: average employee tenure • 98%: employee-retention rate

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35

MORE THAN a Typical CPA Firm 2009

accountingtoday TOP 100 FIRMS

B e s t P laces

T O WO RK In Western New York

2009

We have offices in six locations (Rochester, Buffalo, Albany, Syracuse, Perry and Geneva), over 300 employees, and revenues of over $40 million per year. Combined with our Moore Stephens affiliation, a worldwide organization consisting of over 350 leading independent accounting and consulting firms with over 600 offices in over 95 countries, we offer the resources of a national firm with the responsiveness and personal attention of a local firm.

Our clients turn to us because they know that our expertise, professionalism, and technical skills are commensurate with the largest national firms.

Our responsiveness, “hands-on” project management,and reasonable fee structure, are the ingredients for Bonadio’s ability to consistently exceed client expectations.

It’s no wonder that from restaurants to distributors and wholesalers, organizations are increasingly turning to Bonadio for help in addressing their accounting, cash flow, succession planning, bookkeeping issues, & More.

For the whole story & MORE, visit us at www.bonadio.com

If your SuPPlIER turns around

and becomes your

COMPETITOR

What’s the Goal of Your Plastics suPPlier?

Don’t Be FooleD...in this competitive market, many plastics suppliers also have machining capabilities – just like you. they may even be quoting the same clients and machining projects – gaining sales leads and, potentially, your customers.

At Plastics International, we specialize in suPPlyIng plastics…not MACHInIng plastics.

who

WINS?

7600 Anagram Drive Eden Prairie, MN 55344 Toll-free: 800.776.7769

Phone: 952.934.2303 Fax: 952.934.2314 www.plasticsintl.com

products & services 38 Challenge Machine & Manufacturing inc. 41 conference technologies inc.

44 intertech security llc 46 borghese 48 GRID CONNECT

Precision-Machined Pieces of the Pie Slicing up a profitable niche in the machining/micromachining industry

by Cristina Adams

A

fter working in the machining industry for more than 15 years, Jim Betland figured the time had come to set up his own shop.

In 1999, he did just that, founding and operating Challenge Machine & Manufacturing Inc. out of his garage in Ham Lake, Minnesota. “My intention was to make a modest living working from home,” Betland recalls.

That’s not quite how things turned out. Just a few months after opening for business, the machining company’s workload grew so much that it required another machine. So Betland took the plunge and rented workspace in Minneapolis. What followed was continued growth and additional rental space, until he finally opted to buy the entire building in 2002. Eight years later, Challenge Machine has 15 full-time employees and a virtual lock on its market. Moreover, except for a few off years, it has enjoyed average annual growth of 30–50 percent since its founding. Not bad for a guy who just planned on making a living.

So what exactly is machining, and what does Challenge Machine do? Technically, machining is when a combination of power-driven machine tools and sharp cutting tools remove excess or unnecessary material to fashion precise pieces or parts. In other words, it’s cutting away excess to create a part. These days, most machining is computerized and is done on cutting-edge computer numerical control (CNC) equipment, and Challenge Machine is no exception in that department. The company offers precision milling, vertical machining, micromachining, and turning on CNC equipment.

As for what Challenge Machine does, it is a contract machine shop that manufactures, or machines, parts to customers’ specifications, receiving part designs and orders, acquiring the necessary materials and tooling, programming the machine and manufacturing the parts, and lastly, inspecting the final products to en-

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Jim Betland, Founder Born and Raised in Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Betland started his career in machining at Lowell Inc. After moving around every five years or so, he settled at Johnstech International before setting up Challenge Machine & Manufacturing Inc. in his garage in Ham Lake, Minnesota. In his spare time, Betland spends time fishing, boating, and skiing with his family at their country cabin. He lives outside of Minneapolis with his wife and two children.

notable services Challenge Machine & Manufacturing is a contract machine shop that specializes in manufacturing high-quality precision-machined part components to customer specifications. Its customers fall into a wide array of industries, including semiconductor, pharmaceutical, medical, aviation, and defense. Among the many services the company offers are: • Precision Milling • Turning • Micromachining • Vertical Machining • CNC Machining • Machining Difficult-To-Machine Plastics • Tool Grinding

sure they meet the client’s needs. While machining has traditionally been an integral part of the manufacturing process for virtually all metal products, other materials, such as wood and plastic, can also be machined. That’s where Challenge Machine’s expertise comes in; its machinists work with a variety of metals—aluminum, copper, stainless steel, and brass, to name a few—and also specialize in handling hard-tomachine plastics, such as Vespel, Torlon, and Semitron, that contain glass or carbon. “I refer to our machinists as artists because they have to be very creative and think outside the box in order to complete their jobs,” Betland says, as many materials can be very unstable and unpredictable during the machining process.

Challenge Machine also offers micromachining services, which Betland says is any machining done with tools that have a diameter of 0.0007 inches or less. The semiconductor industry still composes the bulk of its business—70 percent, at last count—but the company has seen its biggest jump come from the micromachining market, which includes the aviation, medical, defense, and pharmaceutical industries. Because the company discovered its niche early on, there’s little competition in the region, which is where 70 percent of its business comes from.

The remaining 30 percent is national, with a handful of international customers.

Betland quickly points out that the road to success was not free of potholes. In 2009, Challenge Machine, like so many other businesses around the country, was forced to hand out pink slips. Still, 2010 promises to be a banner year; the company has already rehired its laid-off employees. As Betland notes, customer service, innovation, and quality products all play a role in Challenge Machine’s current and future success—and the people who work there. “Most important to our success are our employees,” Betland says. “We are fortunate to have extremely dedicated and diligent employees who constantly strive to improve themselves and their performance.” [P]

products & services

Above: Challenge Machine is a modern machine shop that offers a clean, climate-controlled environment in order to produce precision parts.

right: Challenge Machine utilizes high-speed spindles in its micro-

machining. The smaller the tool, the higher RPM required.

below: Challenge Machine offers a variety of machining services for precision-machined part components.

nov/dec 2010

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39

Quality, Performance, Value —

that’s the Lowell advantage for systems integration. An industry leader since 1947, Lowell combines innovative design, precision metal-forming and state-of-the-art production systems to ensure the products we build meet or exceed industry standards for systems integration.

Electronic Enclosures: • • • • • •

Floor Racks Credenza Racks Ganging Racks Vari-Rack™ (variable-depth) Seismic-certified Racks Pull & Turn Racks and accessories

AC Power Distribution: • • • •

Rackmount Power Panels Power Strips PowerStac™ Modular Power Advanced Surge Surpression – surpasses UL adjunct testing and Grade A Mode 1 Class 1 • Remote Power Controls • Sequencers ©2010 Lowell Manufacturing

Audio Distribution & Reinforcement: • • • • • •

TM

High-performance Packaged Speaker Systems Fire-protective Signaling General Signaling Paging Horns Sound-masking Individual Components – grilles, backboxes, speakers, transformers

800.325.9660

www.LowellMfg.com

products & services

Presentation Skills Enhancing corporate culture with custom communication and conferencing solutions drove down people’s desire to travel, yet the need for high-level, important meetings was still clearly there,” he says. “What companies found [with video conferencing] is that productivity goes up.

You can get four people together quickly, whereas travel can take two days. With video conferencing, they meet and then go back to work.”

by Laura Williams-Tracy

A

s a designer of high-tech conferencing facilities, Conference Technologies Inc. is used to helping others broadcast their good news; however, as of late, this Midwest company has its own good news to transmit. The company, which started 22 years ago in St. Louis, Missouri, has grown to $20 million in annual revenues with 100 employees throughout the Heartland. Conference Technologies helps Fortune 500 companies, churches, universities, and entertainment venues communicate more effectively by installing technology for training rooms. “If it’s video that needs to be seen, moved, stored, or displayed in a spectacular format, then we’re working with it,” says John Laughlin, owner, president, and CEO of the company.

Dennis and Jane Woodhouse founded Conference Technologies in 1988, and Jane remains the CFO. It consults, designs, engineers, installs, and services conference, presentation, and training facilities with turnkey service and integration of all components of a system. Markets include corporate, educational, government and military, houses of worship, healthcare, hospitality, and entertainment, as well as stadiums and arenas.

Fourteen years ago, when Laughlin joined as director of operations, the company was only working in St. Louis and had fewer than 10 employees. Today, Conference Technologies operates nine offices throughout the Midwest, in Omaha, Nebraska; Peoria and Decatur, Illinois; Overland Park and Wichita, Kansas; Memphis, Tennessee; Little Rock, Arkansas; and Brookings, South Dakota, with just under 100 employees. “I’ve never really looked at a territory and said I want to be there,” Laughlin says. “But I do look at a map and think I want to meet as many people as I can there, and those opportunities have come along. We’ve had the ability to recruit the right people, and that’s been more important than the location itself.”

Laughlin says that competition among clients and a proclivity toward video conferencing instead of business travel have encouraged growth over the past decade. “September 11th really

JOHN LAUGHLIN, PRESIDENT & CEO John Laughlin, a Kansas native, attended Washburn College and the University of Kansas studying math and computer science. While in school, he worked for a construction firm handling commercial and residential remodels. After school, Laughlin managed restaurants in Kansas and St. Louis before working at Conference Technologies with the goal to return to his love of construction and to use his skills in math and computer science. Fifteen years later, Conference Technologies’ founder has retired and Laughlin is the owner. Laughlin has two children: a 14-yearold son and a 12-year-old daughter. He sponsors, manages, and coaches his son’s baseball team, The Rockets, and started Stinger’s volleyball club where his daughter plays.

notable services • Consulting • System Design & Engineering • Acoustic Design & Analysis • Procurement & Admin Support • Installation & Integration • Programming • Training • Services & Support • Videoconferencing Services (Room Rentals, Bridging & Gateway Services, Webcasting) • Rental & Staging (Event Staging, Litigation Support, etc.)

Conference Technologies’ typical clients are Fortune 500 companies that need sophisticated setups. Whereas earlier technicians came from broadcast studios, today, employees are more likely to have an IT background to manage digital-data collection, storage, and distribution.

The employees’ specialized backgrounds leverage the company over the competition, and Laughlin says clients see the quality of the presentations; better audio, brighter projectors, and better microphones help outshine the competition. Some of Conference Technologies’ clients include Anheuser Busch, Boeing, Caterpillar, Hallmark, Wells Fargo, and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM).

The company also serves the education market and houses of worship, as both seek to engage an audience and disseminate their messages in a more professional manner. It recently completed a new theatre at Southeast Missouri State University and a student center for the University of Memphis.

Event planners depend on Conference Technologies for the company’s rental business, and rentals account for about 10 percent of business.

The company sets up audio and video at corporate events for new-product rollouts and other short-term events. “The same guys who do our permanent installations also set up events for our rental business,” Laughlin says. “There’s a different sense of urgency in rental work. It has to be perfect the first time.”

Laughlin says the best part is delivering a setup that can dramatically improve a client's communications. “It’s artistic because we design rooms and physical shapes of tables and colors to make people look good on camera, and then there’s the technical side to making it all work together,” Laughlin says. “The best part is when the customer says ‘Wow, I’m going to use this space every day.’” [P]

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products & services

above: A project at the American Association of Orthodontists created a boardroom with clean lighting and presentation style. left: Playing with alternative lighting and display for the

Hyatt Regency St. Louis at Arch's Red Kitchen|Bar below: Cool blue for the lobby at Energizer's headquarters

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nov/dec 2010

Integrated Security Solutions PROTECTING PEOPLE, PROPERTY & ASSETS Today, more than ever, security is not a stand-alone concern. It’s a vital part of your

Whether you need an IT-based integrated security system, or consulting, technical, and monitoring services, Intertech Security delivers solutions

organization’s success. Intertech Security designs

and services using best-of-class products and equipment and a highly

innovative systems that integrate security devices,

experienced team of technical and business professionals. Options include:

electronic technology, and IT systems with operational and enterprise systems – sharing information across disparate networks and components allowing you to operate your business more productively and efficiently.

As an independent systems integrator, we only work with best-of-class suppliers. Whether you need a comprehensive system, or simply consulting, technical, and monitoring services, we remain clearly focused on providing the right

markets • • • • • • •

products • • • • • •

solution for your unique challenges.

Headquartered in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, our highly experienced team works with you nationwide protecting corporate, educational, healthcare, government and residential facilities.

We also partner with networks of leading integrators to provide global support to our clients through an exchange of resources and expertise.

Corporate Education Financial Government Healthcare Managed Services Residential

• • • • • • • • • • • •

Video Surveillance Systems Access Control and Badging Burglary Alarms Intrusion and Perimeter Protection Fire Alarms Nurse Call, Patient Wandering and Infant Security Sound Systems Emergency Evacuation Systems Locks and Door Hardware Personal Alarms Positioning and Tracking Systems Emergency Intercoms Security Portals Drive Up Systems Consoles and Cabinetry Signaling and Time Systems Entry Gates Automatic Turnstiles and Bollards

monitoring services • • • • • • • • •

Fire Intrusion Detection Video Monitoring Services Hosted/Managed IP Access Control Services GPS Vehicle Tracking Cellular/GSM Backup Services Proactive Network Services Medical Two-Way Environmental

consulting services • • • • • • • •

System Evaluation Policy and Procedure Development Risk Assessment Threat Vulnerability/Risk Assessment Technical Security Countermeasures Design and Integration Grant Writing Law Enforcement Liaison

corporate headquarters 1501 Preble Avenue Pittsburgh, PA 15233 412.246.1200 412.894.2600 fax

For more information, please call us at 866.558.4487 or visit us online at www.intertechsecurity.com

products & services

Identity-Crisis Eliminators Internationl security-integration specialists offer all-in-one ID-system solutions play between these different systems, so you need a broad knowledge set.” Wetzel, a lifelong security professional who specializes in technology issues, serves as executive vice president, while Mike Divinny, who formerly ran disaster-recovery operations, heads up operations.

by David Hudnall

S

ecurity systems are rapidly evolving in the digital age. Traditionally, the concept of security was associated with standalone systems made by companies like ADT, where alerts are sent through phone lines to central stations where an operator picks up a phone. These are volume-driven businesses: companies install their systems for $99 and monitor them for $30 a month. But the future of the business likely resides in security integration, which takes this approach a few steps further. Security integration shares information across a variety of networks utilizing high-tech digital products. In doing so, it makes headway into other information markets.

“We can coordinate access control, video surveillance, human resources, and energy efficiency all through the same system,” says Ron Petnuch, president of Intertech Security LLC, a securityintegration-systems specialist. “The same card an employee swipes to get into the office is fed into the HR system, which keeps his or her time.

It can also activate or deactivate the power and lights and air-conditioning in the part of the facility where he or she works, to save on energy costs.

It’s about unified communications.”

Petnuch, a former mutual-fund manager, became involved with Intertech in 2004. The company, which was founded in 2000 by Chris Wetzel, had suffered a flood at its headquarters and was in need of capital. Petnuch and Wetzel knew each other from high school, and Wetzel asked Petnuch to check out his company to see if he had any interest in supplying capital. Petnuch did, and he eventually came on as CEO. “I researched the industry, looked at what was happening in the world, and saw a great opportunity to grow the place,” Petnuch says. “We’ve tripled the size of the company, and I still see huge growth potential here.”

Intertech’s staff consists of systems engineers, IT specialists, and other individuals who have spent their professional lives in the security business and have watched it evolve. “The technology changes so rapidly that if you don’t have IT and engineering experts, you won’t be able to meet market needs,” Petnuch says. “And at the executive level, we’ve been able to bring in people who have management experience in other sectors. There’s a lot of inter-

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Ron petnuch, president Ron Petnuch, a former mutual-fund manager, started at Intertech in 2004. After an initial investment in the company, Petnuch eventually became CEO. Now, as president, he has overseen an expansion of business and products offered by the company. From 2005–2008, Petnuch increased Intertech's revenues by 123 percent, and he frequently shares his vision with his employees.

Besides his position at Intertech, Petnuch devotes his time to his wife and nine children; he also serves on the board of the Holy Family Institute, the board of two area-Catholic high schools, and The Holy Family Foundation.

notable products & services Products

Access Control and Badging, Burglary Alarms, Intrusion and Perimeter Protection, Sound Systems, Emergency Evacuation Systems, Positioning and Tracking Systems, Emergency Intercoms, Security Portals, Drive Up Systems, Consoles and Cabinetry, Entry Gates Monitoring Services

Fire, Intrusion Detection, Video Monitoring Services, Hosted/Managed IP Access Control Services, GPS Vehicle Tracking, Cellular/GSM Backup Services, Medical Two-Way, Consulting Services

System Evaluation, Policy and Procedure Development, Risk Assessment, Threat Vulnerability/ Risk Assessment, Technical-Security Countermeasures, Design and Integration, Grant Writing, Law-Enforcement Liaison

Intertech—which is based in Pittsburgh and has offices in Florida, Connecticut, New Orleans, and Tracy, California—has worked on projects in Singapore, the UK, and Canada, among other locales. It distributes, installs, maintains, and trains for its systems, but does not manufacturer products. Petnuch says that carrying best-in-class products (Honeywell and Galaxy, among others) is a constant priority, as is choosing the correct products for the type of system being used. Intertech staff members often sit on clients’ advisory committees and give input. “Depending upon the end client, one system may be better equipped than another,” Petnuch says. “We don’t want to [offer] the wrong thing just because it’s neat. You want the right product in the right situation.”

Intertech sells itself in part by communicating its ability to assist others in a less people-intensive way. One way it does this is through video analytics—software that is loaded onto a video that is then loaded onto a camera that can detect aberrations and odd occurrences in human activity in certain areas. This technology lowers manpower for a company (as it’s no longer necessary to pay someone to monitor those cameras 24/7) and makes the existing manpower more effective because time is used more productively. The technology is also appealing to retail stores; cameras can count whether customers are walking to the left or the right when they enter a store. “Marketing people want that information,” Petnuch says. “You know, ‘Is this ad better than that ad?’”

Intertech’s approach is also attractive to college campuses. Students can pay for lunch, do laundry, and gain access to buildings all through ID cards that are monitored through a command center Intertech installs on campus. In addition, oil and gas companies like Intertech’s’ ability to monitor their equipment, as well as the temperature and production of wellheads from remote locations.

Intertech has managed to grow through the recession because of its ability to help companies cut

products & services

back on manpower. “Managers are all ears when you’re talking about saving money,” Petnuch says.

“We were up 30 percent in the first half of this year over the same period last year.” The company gets new business through strategic alliances and standard sales approaches. “We’re doing work for a professional sports team in Pittsburgh—sporting venues are another growth area for us—and they’ve referred us to another sports team and said, ‘These guys have done a pretty nice job. If you’re having problems, you should talk to them,’” Petnuch says.

“That referral network has taken on a life of its own.”

Overall, Petnuch seems pleased about his move away from investment management towards a more service-oriented business. “This is a business that helps people,” he says. “I feel good about what I do when I go home at night. It’s a service you can be proud of.” [P] unified communications:

Automated-card, touch-pad, and camera systems are some of Intertech’s popular security technologies.

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products & services

What Women Want Beauty products that cater to your aesthetic and personal needs something that is long lasting and something they can really trust.”

by Tricia Despres

A

s a young child, Borghese president and CEO Georgette Mosbacher would hug her grandmother tightly before bedtime. To this day, she can still smell the unforgettable scent of her face powder.

“My grandmother worked the midnight shift as a switcher on the railroad,” Mosbacher explains.

“Even though no one was going to be there to notice if she had on makeup, she would never leave the house at night without powder and lipstick. It was never about looking good. It was about good grooming and pure self esteem.”

It was this self-esteem that propelled Mosbacher from “living on the edge of poverty” during her childhood to leading one of the most successful and well-known beauty companies in the world today. Mosbacher’s father passed away when she was just seven years old—she was the oldest of four children. After her father’s death, her family lived with her maternal grandmother and greatgrandmother. “I was raised by three extraordinary women,” Mosbacher explains. “They all loved being women even through some difficult circumstances. Throughout the years, they always served as my frame of reference. To this day, I never go without lipstick. Sure, sometimes I don’t wear eye makeup and just throw on the sunglasses, but lipstick is always a must.”

So it’s no surprise that Borghese’s innovative products combine time-honored botanicals with advanced technology to address the beauty concerns of women. In fact, Borghese’s expanding product line, from classic favorites like Fango Active Mud to its state-of-the-art Crema Straordinaria, continues to delight its loyal customer base, some of whom have been using the products since the very beginning.

“It’s always been about our integrity,” Mosbacher says. “We have always delivered to the customer what we promised and never overstated what we could do. There are companies out there right now who say they can erase wrinkles in six weeks. Come on, no one can erase wrinkles in six weeks. So much is fleeting these days, and trends literally last minutesue. There is a security for our customers to be able to stick with

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Georgette Mosbacher, CEO Mosbacher started her career as CEO and owner of LaPrairie from 1987 to 1995. She then went on to found Georgette Mosbacher Enterprises in 1995 and is still involved in that venture. In 2000, Mosbacher took on Borghese as CEO and leads the beauty-products company today.

notable products Some of Borghese’s bestselling products include: • Fango Active Mud for Face and Body: contains mineral-enriched Italian mud from Tuscany's volcanic hills • Fango Active Mud for Hair and Scalp: conditioning treatment that invigorates/revitalizes the scalp while adding body to hair • Superiore State of the Art Mascara: thickens lashes with built-in silk-powder foundation; smudge-proof, flake-proof, water-resistant • CuraForte Brillante: oil-free lotion that soothes and brightens skin and helps restore moisture balance • Insta-Firm Platinum: wrinkle-relaxer to smooth and soften unsightly lines Borghese's recommendations for men include: • Cura-C Vitamin C Eye Treatment: targeted care and nourishment with Vitamin C • Equilibrio Equalizing Restorative: restores moisture while controlling shine • Piedi Vitale Therapeutic Foot Creme: promotes smoother, softer skin

Neil Petrocelli, Borghese’s vice president of marketing, believes that the company-client relationship is based on that trust. “Their loyalty to our products and their willingness to experiment with our new products indicates that they have a genuine trust in what we produce,” he says. “We take this very seriously and allow for dialogue in various mediums to acknowledge their thoughts and concerns.”

Especially in these tough economic times, Mosbacher notes that consumers are demanding quality and value in every product they purchase. “Women want ease of use and to not have to go out and buy six different products for what one can do,” she says. “As a company, we are beginning to trend younger because of this—they want products that are multi-use and effective.”

Despite the recession, Borghese continues to see double-digit growth, working with virtually no debt and a stable management team that has been with the company for many years. Thanks to this success, Borghese’s line of products continues to expand, with recent additions including a line of specialized spa products.

“Women wear so many different hats these days,” Mosbacher says. “Baby boomers are at the point where they are not only taking care of their kids but also taking care of their parents. We all want to pamper ourselves, and the luxury of going to a spa is a much bigger challenge than ever before. Some women only have 5–15 minutes each day to spend on themselves. We wanted to come out with a line of products to allow them to pamper themselves in their own home.”

In recent years, social media has played a large part in continuing to nourish the relationship Borghese has established with its customers.

Online forums such as Twitter and Facebook have allowed a virtual conversation to take place, helping create a better map to the future of the company. “We are always listening to the good and the bad,” Mosbacher remarks. “It’s always been very important to stay close to our customers and to make sure we are giving them the products they need.” [P]

products & services

The eyes have it: Borghese offers high-quality products for eyes and lips including eyeshadows enriched with botanicals, liquid liners, and silk-powderinfused mascaras—all of which create unique looks.

P9575-BORG-ProfileMag:Borghese Line Test

5/7/10

2:57 PM

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THE ELEMENTS OF LIFE rejuvenation illumination restoration hydration relaxation

self indulgence: Borghese's new spa

line, for those on a budget or on the go, comprises Italian volcanic-clay masks, vitamin-C renewal kits for tired and lined skin, and hand balm for chapped and dry skin.

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products & services

Get Connected Networking technologies, manufactured in-house for today's users its own products. Today, many Grid Connect clients want the company to help design and manufacture computer chips or other network components.

by Shawn Drury

M

ike Justice knows it’s commonplace for high-tech companies to be bought and sold. As a veteran of the communications business, he knows that a larger company wants to appropriate the skills, research, or technology of a smaller company and buy it whole rather than in individual parts. It happens all the time, and it happened in 2001 to a company owned by Justice.

It’s not as likely, however, that a former owner gets laid off from a company he once owned—but that is precisely the situation Justice found himself in not long after the sale.

Instead of dwelling on his circumstances, Justice pulled together four of his former colleagues and created Grid Connect, a networking-technologies company in Naperville, Illinois. Seven years later, Grid Connect is the embodiment of the kind of adaptable, elastic small business that thrives in a recovering economy—probably because Justice has built Grid Connect to be successful in any environment. The company combines fast and efficient services with cutting-edge technology and a common-sense approach to employee, customer, and vendor relations.

In the early days of Grid Connect, the company did almost as much consulting as it did manufacturing, if not more, due to its small size. Justice says that initial consulting work is fairly typical.

“Connectivity is one of those areas where companies do not have a lot of expertise in house,” Justice says, “so they are always looking for assistance.”

Grid Connect kept designing and manufacturing its own products, however. Gradually, it added more and more to its product lines, which grew to such a degree that the company was eventually out of the consulting business. From there, the company built its business in one sector at a time: first industrial, then IT, then medical, and so forth.

Now, Grid Connect’s consulting business is fairly negligible, and only exists for enhancing

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mike justice, president & owner Mike Justice graduated from the University of Illinois in 1979 with a BSEE. After a stint with Intel as a field-application engineer and software specialist, he went to work with Wizdom Systems, where he was a partial owner. In 1990, Justice was part of a group that founded Synergetic, a company specializing in product development and networking communications. After Synergetic was sold in 2001, Justice formed Grid Connect, which he now runs as company president and owner. Grid Connect has a total of 15 employees and projected annual sales in excess of $8 million in 2010.

notable products & services Grid Connect is a manufacturer and distributor of networking-technology products. These technologies include: • Ethernet, Ethernet/IP • CAN • Bluetooth • 802.11b/g, 900 MHz • Serial RS232, RS422/485 It also specializes in industrial networking protocols and uses these technologies to sell: • Profibus • DeviceNet • Modbus • ProfiNet • EtherCat

As Grid Connect has grown, Justice’s approach to the business has become more defined. He is wary of becoming too dependent on one large customer. In the early stages of a company, because the need for new business is so great, one cannot be too choosy. However, Justice’s experience told him that focusing on one large client could be to the detriment of the others. In addition, he says, “[The big company] owns you, and I do not want to be owned by any one company.”

Justice’s determination has led Grid Connect to build a robust base of 400–600 monthly clients.

“We don’t hit a lot of homeruns,” he says. “We make it with a lot of singles and doubles.”

Grid Connect even features a blog on its website.

The blog gives readers tips on presents, insight on the latest technological trends, chances to win prizes through various contests, product reviews, and interviews with Grid Connect executives like Mike Justice. Visitors to the website can also sign up for a free subscription to the blog— an interactive approach that Justice employs across the board.

Justice’s outlook has inspired loyalty among his employees—only one employee has ever left the company. Justice attributes this, in part, to Grid Connect’s philosophy of ELF, which stands for Easy, Lucrative, and Fun—principles that anyone can understand. Seeing how this acronym motivated his staff, Justice expanded it to include vendors and clients. “We have ended relationships with people because they were not following one or more of ELF,” he says.

The environment Justice created was critical in helping Grid Connect not only weather the recession; it also allowed the company to thrive in it. For Justice’s part, he does not think he did anything unique besides sticking to the basics. “We just met every morning for about 10 or 15 minutes to talk about where we were at and what we could do more of, ” Justice says. Simple enough.

In fact, Justice is such a proponent of simplicity, that he is considering adding a letter to the end of ELF—an S of course. [P]

products & services

conversion points: This component converts existing RS485 serial ports to Ethernet.

bridging the gap: The wireless Ethernet Bridge connects building communication systems together.

staying connected: Embedded

technology inside an Ethernet Connector shows the kind of sophisticated products Grid Connect offers.

Grid Connect is a leader in the embedded and networking marketplace for more than 20 years.

We think that companies should provide network hardware (chips, controllers and packaged systems) at reasonable prices and provide high quality software and services to their customers.

Call Us in the U.S.

800.975.4743 www.gridconnect.com nov/dec 2010

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s e r c v e s p ir & o d u c t s

KING OF THE

FROZEN

ROAD

by Chris Allsop

Ice Road T ruckers sta rA Debogors k i reigns o lex ver the tr uck ing w or driv ing so ld, fearlessly me of the in most dan gerous rou dustr y's tes.

“I’m basi ca lly tr y in g to d

riv ing w orld,” say become the Britn ey s w it h the big laugh A lex Debogorsk i, Spea rs of the tr uc kfrom the the Ca na R oad Tru H istor y C d ia n nati ckers. ve ha n nel’s T V serie s, Ice Un li ke y our avera ge rea lity ment ma -show sta y a llude r—for w to sk imp encounte hom th is y outfits rs—Deb c om a nd a ga ogorsk i’s ternation mut of p Spea rs co a l ex po to apa razzi m m u r, pa rt of e late-occu rr ing fa m a ca mpa ig nt refers to h is in e. n to capit a lize on h is It ’s a lso ty pica l of th e k ind of h a s m a de co the 56 -ye a r-old De lorf u l, off-ha nd la ta r y-style ng uage th bogork si rea lity sh a h it on ow since 20 07. Fo the docu at the serie llow ing a me n s fi rst a ired de bogorsk i on June was work a l w it h the tr uck 17, in in g asked th g w it h at e c ompa the ti me, compa ny that De ny to pu th ma ke the e H istor y C t for w sho ha n nel duction te w more engag ing a rd “cha racters” that wou to the v ie a m was p ld w ointed in yea r-roun the d irec ing public. The pro d residen tion of D t of Yellow ritories, a ebogo k n if pa mayora l c rt-t ime Catholic la e in Ca nada’s Nort rsk i—a a nd idate y preache hwest Te . rr, a nd a o ne-t ime lo ca l

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Over and Out: Debogorski uses his trusty CB radio to communicate with other truckers and his home base about road conditions, weather, his location, or just for company on the tracks of ice.

“I’d gained character status for a variety of reasons,” Debogorski says, “some good, some bad.”

His resume alone reveals most of what you need to know: of Polish descent with aristocratic connections on the maternal side, Debogorski was born in 1953 in Berwyn, Alberta. He met his wife at 16, married her at 18, and had begun his preferred business strategy of diversification shortly after.

“I had about 16 different jobs earning around $2 an hour each,” he says. “Then, when I was working at a tire shop one day, someone offered me the job of driving trucks to a coal mine for $6 an hour. I jumped at the opportunity.”

At the time, the young Debogorski didn’t have a license, but as the job involved off-road hauling, a license wasn’t required. One thing led to another, and soon he was driving larger trucks with 30-ton payloads. After nearly sliding his vehicle over a drop of some 3,000 feet, he even-

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tually ended up in a wreck. “We used to kill a guy every six months—health and safety wasn’t as big a thing back then,” Debogorski explains.

Once he left the hospital, Debogorski changed tack and went looking for gold in the interior of British Columbia.

“I lost my pants,” he says of the prospecting experience, “and afterwards ended up in the Northwest Territories.” Arriving in Yellowknife—the frontier town that acts as the entryway to the ice roads and home to the Debogorski family since 1976—he already had two children. The demands of family led him to found Eagle North Contracting, the company through which Debogorski continues to funnel his various business interests.

By the time Debogorski reached Yellowknife, Robinson Trucking had already begun its pioneering forays into ice-road trucking. In the winter of the

Canadian arctic, the waterways around the town froze, creating ice highways. This phenomenon allowed cheaper access than the usual plane or boat to the more northerly communities and industrial outposts engaged in mining or exploration.

The relationship between Robinson Trucking and Debogorski formed quickly upon the latter’s arrival in town, as he literally pitched his tent in the company’s yard. Eventually, the company made him move his dogs and tent because it wanted to build a new auto shop on the plot of his current residence. “So, if you wouldn’t say that I was involved in being pioneering, you could say I was in the way of it,” he adds, laughing.

Soon after, he began working on the ice roads, hauling as many loads of vital supplies as possible to remote diamond mines and other far-flung destinations before the frozen water destabilized.

Due to the seasonality of the work (the show

The trucking industry is one of the biggest employers of men in the US, maybe worldwide. But if there is one accident on the roads, it tars everyone with the same brush. It’s a hard job, and I would like to see the general public realize the positive impact that these individuals and the industry have as a whole. —Alex Debogorski On Thin Ice: Driving a semitruck on a road composed entirely of ice is dangerous and requires an entirely different type of control and concentration.

Driving on permanently slick roads in ultra-bright light means more eyestrain, longer days, and less frequent stops—a dangerous job, but one that Debogorski loves.

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I had about 16 different jobs earning around $ 2 an hour each...someone offered me the job of driving trucks to a coal mine for $ 6 an hour. I jumped at the opportunity.

—Alex Debogorski

tracks about two months of the drivers' lives), Debogorski continued diversifying his opportunities in Yellowknife. This included buying and selling mobile homes (by age 26, he’d renovated and sold 16 mobile homes) and investing in a dump truck and small track machine for a move into the construction arena.

Flash forward: 34 years, 150 vehicle purchases, and 11 children later, Debogorski is one of six truckers who appeared on the Ice Road Truckers premiere. The broadcast reached an audience of 3.4 million—the highest number, at the time, for an original telecast in the History Channel’s 12 years of operation. Since then, Debogorski has appeared in four subsequent seasons of the series, with the program makers pushing their reality-show stars onto riskier, unfamiliar routes in an effort to recapture the buzz of the first season. Does the pay reflect the risk? “They pay me reasonably well, but I’m not happy with it,” Debogorski says. “The reality of the reality genre is that it is not the movie business. There

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are no unions. Money-wise I’m no different—I was broke then, and I’m still broke.”

The risk also extends beyond the dangers inherent in driving 16 wheelers over ice. In the second series, Debogorski had to leave the show early when he developed blood clots in his lungs. He’s since made a full recovery.

Thankfully, it hasn’t all been about money. Debogorksi explains that when he first became involved, he was also thinking about his legacy with his grandchildren. “My grandfather was shot by firing squad at Auschwitz, and 50 years later, there are no pictures of him; we don’t know what he looks like,” he says. “If this show was a hit, then my grandchildren would be able to watch grandpa on TV in reruns [and say,] ‘Hey, there’s grandpa; he used to scare the dickens out of us when we were little.’”

With the reruns assured, Debogorski now focuses on perpetuating, and hopefully increasing, the

income flow. He’s hired an LA-based PR agency, found an agent and publisher for his forthcoming book, King of the Road: True Tales from a Legendary Ice Road Trucker, and some of his lyrics have found their way onto an album entitled, Trucker Tracks 4. However, while he’s busy increasing his exposure on the truck-show circuit and beyond, he is, for the first time, putting all of his business eggs in one basket.

“I can honestly say I don’t know what I am doing, but I’m going to keep doing it anyway,” Debogorski says. “Previous to this, I was doing the same thing each year—running my business and being on the ice road for the company that hires me. Now, the show’s gone three years to different places, and I haven’t worked with my usual employer. If I went back, I don’t know if there would be a job waiting for me. Things have slowed down—if people can’t buy beer, they won’t buy diamonds.”

Besides the effects of the recent recession, Debogorski is also concerned about the negative

ANATOMY OF AN ICE-ROAD TRUCK

Ice-road trucks are specially equipped to handle the toughest road and weather conditions, with heavy inspection of everything from headlights to fog lights to tires and load-securement devices.

Cabin: Survival kits stored here include food, candles, snowsuits, sleeping bags good for -40° temperatures, a 100,000-pound-capacity tow strap, sets of tire chains, and an extra VHF radio.

Transmission: Debogorski favors 450+ horse power and an 18-speed transmission.

Sometimes truckers put canvas over the grill and a belly tarp under the engine from bumper to back of transmission for protection.

Cargo: Debogorski usually hauls mining supplies and oil-field supplies—precious cargo for clients— during his trucking trips.

Wheels: Sometimes truckes use oil instead of grease on the fifth-wheel plate as grease hardens in very cold weather on slippery surfaces, making it harder to steer the truck and trailer.

The Ultimate in Long Days: Currently, Ice Road Truckers films on the Dalton Highway in Alaska, an active highway with a desolate final destination. The 414-mile highway begins north of Fairbanks and ends at Deadhorse, a town situated on the Arctic Ocean and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields. Long days are standard for many truckers. perception of truck drivers, who he says are an easy target when the government goes looking for a scapegoat.

“The trucking industry is one of the biggest employers of men in the US, maybe worldwide,” he says. “But if there’s one accident on the roads, it tars everyone with the same brush. It’s a hard job, and I would like to see the general public realize the positive impact that these individuals and the industry have as a whole.”

Debogorski added that it’s part of why he does personal appearances—he’s been told he’s become the face of trucking in America (and, with syndication abroad, perhaps even further). “I have had to become a more sober and sweeter Britney Spears than what Britney has been in the past,” he says. “I’m a changed girl.” [P]

ICE ROAD TRUCKERS, Season 4 Airing this winter on Sundays at 9 p.m./8 p.m.

CST on The History Channel. Check local listings.

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charge

Let's face it— THIS SCREEN can be your WORST NIGHTMARE. In an age of constant connection and increasingly powerhungry devices, a quick charge on the go isn't optional. it's vital.

by Shawn Drury

Some ideas are so simple that it’s a miracle they didn’t occur to someone sooner. Some ideas are, as Plato suggests, the offspring of necessity. It is the rare idea that is both simple and necessary, but the concept of the goCharge kiosk is just that. It's an idea sprouted from the hectic and technologydependent lifestyles of today's consumers.

Created by Hercules Networks’ CEO Paul King, goCharge kiosks are public kiosks that allow smart phones, PDAs, MP3s, and other mobile devices to charge in a variety of public venues. And while the device-owners wait, LCD screens project advertising messages to watchful eyes. A genius combination that blends a consumer's needs with advertising power.

A Seed Planted The idea came to King in 2006, while studying at Carnegie Mellon. En route to the airport, he desperately needed to get in touch with his roommate because he had locked her out; except his phone died, and there was no way to charge it. He ended up driving back home and missing his flight. The drive was not a complete loss, since that is when the idea for the kiosk came to him. However, King didn’t jump on his idea right away. Instead, he graduated from Carnegie Mellon, decided to work for a realestate brokerage in South Florida, and founded his own real-estate firm of almost 40 agents.

Then, the real-estate bubble burst. While other entrepreneurs floundered, King still had the goCharge kiosks idea in his head. He learned that a similar product already existed in China, but he thought he could do it better. In March of 2008, he approached local real-estate mogul Michael Gold with an opportunity to invest in the proposition. Gold was sold in less than 30 minutes. “[Gold’s involvement] was due more to the power of the idea than my ability as a salesman,” King says.

By September of that year, the first goCharge station—as the kiosks came to be called—had been produced. A six-month turnaround from conception to production is nothing short of remarkable, even in this day and age, yet it wasn’t without its share of kinks.

searching For the One After King found investors, he traveled to China in search of a manufacturer. Considering the country had 100,000 public chargers of varying sophistication, it was not too difficult to locate manufacturers. Finding a manufacturer that offered the type of quality craftsmanship he was looking for was another matter. The early goCharge kiosks were made of steel and produced in China. While inexpensive to produce, one in four of the kiosks proved defective. King soon sought alternatives.

Given a preference, King would have brought as much manufacturing to the United States as possible. Although local manufacturing would create dramatic savings in shipping for Hercules, it was more than simply a matter of dollars and cents. Born in Moscow, Russia, King’s parents brought him to the United States shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union—when he was just four years old. Naturally, King developed a unique appreciation for the American dream, and he wanted to do what he could to continue that tradition.

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faced with a major decision, paul king followed his gut— and hasn't looked back since.

When he graduated from Carnegie Mellon in 2005, Paul King had a decision to make. He had been accepted into law school with a full scholarship—and Northwestern Law School at that. To many recent undergrads, this would not be much of a decision, but King wasn’t so sure. “I had this gut feeling. I met a few lawyers, and I wasn’t sure if that was the way I wanted to spend my life,” he says.

Against the advice of everyone he knew, King passed on both the scholarship and law school, instead taking a job in the real-estate business in Florida.

When the market floundered between 2007and 2008, it looked like King might regret his decision to forgo a law degree; however, by the end of 2008, Hercules Networks had gotten off the ground, and there was no looking back. “That was a great learning experience, where you need to trust yourself to go against what everyone you know and trust is saying.” King says. “I followed my heart, and it’s turned out great."

Eventually, he not only brought the manufacturing of the kiosks to the United States, but also attempted to make them environmentally friendly in the process. All kiosks are now constructed out of compressed paper instead of steel. “Our products are as ‘green’ as they possibly could be,” King proudly says.

The goCharge stations come in five different sizes, four of which are about six feet high, while the fifth is a tabletop version. All of them come with no less than 12 charging ports, with the largest having 36. Each of the five models is, like the company itself, named after a major character from Greek mythology: Achilles, Odysseus, Troy, Athena, and Adonis. Hercules is also building a distribution network that will enable individuals to own, operate, and place kiosks.

consumer engagement The form and function of the goCharge kiosks

are only half of the story—one of the factors that undoubtedly convinced Gold, now Hercules’ Chairman of the Board, and others to invest was King’s idea for expanding the revenue model of the Chinese kiosks. The initial source of revenue for the automated charging machines (ACMs) was to be the fee that users would pay for having their mobile devices charged. While this guarantees a certain return on investment, King saw it as just the beginning.

Much as he was able to draw investors into his initial idea, King has had no difficulty attracting advertisers. Companies such as AT&T and GM were quick to sign on. They, along with other major brands, were also quick to adapt to the nature of the medium. Since many of the kiosks are in retail space, the advertisers are able to tailor the message either to a specific product or place.

Some kiosks include touch-screen technology that further engages visitors.

Though it was possible that some goCharge users would take advantage of the option to lock their phone at one of the kiosks by entering a unique, five-digit code, King knew, as any child of the Communications Age would, that people are extremely reluctant to part with their electronic devices. The 10-minute charging time was simply too long. Since users would be staying put, why not allow them to make the most of their experience?

“Enhancing the experience of the user is what I think is the coolest thing about the kiosks,” King says. “The important thing is to keep people happy because no one likes the inconvenience of having to wait while their phone charges.”

King notes that this aspect of the kiosks will continue to evolve. For example, Hercules is in negotiations with a spirits company to place goCharge stations in their establishments. With

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“Enhancing the experience of the user is what I think is the coolest thing about the kiosks. [...] no one likes the inconvenience of having to wait while their phone charges.” PAUL KING, CEO goCharge kiosks already in such places as casinos, sporting venues, and airports, it is easy to imagine games and videos that are increasingly interactive.

FORECAST: HEAVY GROWTH The next step for Hercules is to link its kiosks to brands in the same way that Samsung has Power Poles in airports or that sports stadiums have come to be known after their sponsors. Still, there are many business sectors that Hercules has not sought for advertising. “It is one of those fortunate circumstances where there is already an existing market in place, and we have the opportunity to decide where to penetrate and in what order,” King says.

By the end of this year, King expects there to be nearly 2,000 kiosks in locations throughout the United States, Canada, and the Americas. Total revenue should double. By 2011, he predicts the number of kiosks to more than double and for revenues to increase five-fold. “By then, we will have really fine-tuned our manufacturing and distribution processes,” he says.

Ultimately, King would like to see the number of kiosks soar, saying, “There are 400,000 ATMs in the country right now. I don’t see any reason why we cannot reach a quarter of that.” And Hercules Networks’ growth will not be limited to its public kiosks, as King is extremely enthusiastic about a

crossover charger that can be used at home as well. The product would have 10 ports and could be used in a typical residential wall outlet so that everyone’s phones can charge in one convenient location. It is expected to be available in 2011, and will also have an LCD screen for digital-photo-album and video capabilities.

King is still in his 20s—a young CEO at the start of his career. Still, he admits he has learned a great deal from his more experienced colleagues. One of the best lessons he’s learned is that ideas are one thing, executing them is quite another. Although, that’s a lesson he seems to have known from the start. [P]

ALL charged up. how long will these six popular cell phones last you on the go?

HTC Droid Incredible Price: $199.99 on contract Carrier: Verizon Wireless Talk time: 5.5 hours Standby: 146 hours

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Palm Pre Plus Price: $49.99 on contract Carrier: Verizon Wireless Talk time: 5.5 hours Standby: 350 hours

nov/dec 2010

RIM BlackBerry Bold 9700 Price: $149.99 on contract Carrier: T-Mobile Talk time: 12.5 hours Standby: 324 hours

Apple iPhone 4 (32GB) Price: $299.00 Carrier: AT&T Talk time: 7 hours Standby: 300 hours

google nexus one Price: $529 unlocked Carrier: Unlocked Talk time: 7 hours Standby: 250 hours

RIM BlackBerry tour 9630 Price: $99 on contract Carrier: Verizon/Sprint Talk time: 12.5 hours Standby: 336 hours

breaking down the gocharge kiosk Hercules Networks' goCharge kiosks come in five sizes, four of which are about six feet high, while the fifth is a tabletop model. Each station features charging ports where users can power their mobile devices, as well as a display area for advertisements.

* the screen Featuring a wirelessly updated LCD monitor, each station plays a 10-minute loop of video (sometimes longer). Those 10 minutes are typically broken down into 5 minutes of entertaining content (provided

by CBS) and 5 minutes of commercials.

+ charging ports Similar to vending machines, goCharge kiosks can accept a fee, then charge the connected devices. Devices that can be charged at a kiosk include cell phones, PDAs, mp3 players, or other mobile devices.

The machines are compatible with more than 95% of cell phones today, from an iPhone to a PDA or Blackberry. Each station features anywhere from 12 to 36 charging ports, and some models even include private lockers for personal devices.

$ advertising ACMs generate two sources of revenue: charging and advertising. Commercials are sold as 15-, 30-, and 60-second spots. Advertising rates vary and depend on a number of variables, including the advertising market, the location, and the competition in the advertising marketplace.

For ads sold by the partner, the partner retains 75% of revenues while Hercules retains 25%. For ads sold by Hercules, the partner retains 25% of revenues while Hercules retains 75%.

s L A B OR D A Y W EE K E N D O N L Y 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 Y o u w o n ’ t f i nd any t h i n g l i k e i t

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( haha, looks who’s clever )

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Note: We know—it's a heart, not a brain. But when it comes to advertising, some say it's what you feel, not what you think, that counts!

t i t o r s LOOK ! i g h t H a l f P r i c e COME ON DOWN ronger ! Coming to a store ne ar you

nov/dec 2010

profile

62

In the age of 24/7 everything, advertisers are finding it harder to grab and hang on to the shopping public’s attention. Boston-based Innerscope Research aims to help companies better understand what consumers want by scientifically measuring their unconscious emotional responses to media / by cristina adams

*

COVER F e e l b e t t e r f a s t e r $ 1 . 9 9 C u r e A l l t

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sights!

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a t e w i t h t h e T r u s t m e , y o u w a n t t h i s R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER 3rd Night Half Price da ytuhpet o v edr y b e s t s it Don’t wait 0 0 1 0 111 0 tiesbbi u y it ( haha, look s who’s clever ) e s t d e a l t h i s y e a r A c h i e v e u l t i m a t e f r e s h n e ss THE B E S T N o w D o n ’ t w a i t P u t s e c u r i t y f i r s t . Q u a l i t y ! C e l e b r a t i n g 5 0 Y e a r s ye ns d ts a1l0e1 0 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 L e t t i n g y o u b e y o u 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 I t ’ s a l l a b o u t y o u ye t haer -be e fo t ’n s dt otohlea tbeo0t1 1t0o0 m 5 Fl u iln l es e0r1v0i c0e 1t0h e Sftrae r sh as nd s y Cr a ilg l h No Breeyio te s y toFu rt da a y eoaff tw oin our online newsletter Home sweet home c a n n e v e r h a v e t o o m u c h 0 1 0 1 0 1 U p, u p, a n d a w a y 0 1 0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 P o s i t i v e l y g o o d 0 1 0 C o m e o n o v e r a l i m i t e d t i m e o n ly 0 2 0 2 10 0 1 av o i d t h e l i n e s B E S T b u y t i c k e t s i n a d va n c e lo o k n o w !

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he B b tui y tri c t s !i $ n9 9 M o r e s a v i n g s s o o n e r oo noi’ fd t ttth r uestltoi n oe uns r MEMORIAL cE oSmTp e t oDAY s kLOOK SeALE See our h u tt ehw e et rtur th s t d r i v e o n e t o d ay 3 r d N i g h t H a l f P r i c e COME ON DOWN

eu0u f rs3eh n0 i0en ss B E nS d T lNh ogwnDBd o n ’ tnrw 3ss 0i h 0g3 3iaTHE 2n1g s0s p1hp d2 haan i na e tlti e pl pp n g, afiats t e r , s t r o n g e r ! C o m i n g t o a s t o r e n e a r y o u 3 3 0 2 12 5 5 4 0 110 0 5 10 0 T h i n k o u t s i d e t h e b o x P u t s e c u r i t y f i r s t. Q u a l i t y ! C e l e b r a t i n g 5 0 e e dCelaal ismysoh vo e nn’ o e ent vi e fa i eddy boyn d e m a n d DI S COVER F e e l b e t t e r f a s t e r $ 1 . 9 9 C u r e A l l u aw t tr ebge r t rRi e

any t h i n g l i k e i t

!1 Tdh ienak losn y o u r f e e t F i n a l S a l e F o r a l i m i t e d t i m e o n l y t e d 0 10 1 P u t s e c u r i t y f i r s t. Q u a l i t y ! C e l e b r at i n g ’e t ct rsocFoo 5f of$rr9e59e dMsoounrbs unm lelpres tei rt o v SirceseeLA B OR DAY WEEKEND ONLY ALE srr aru vis ipnttgioosuns Tfro ur s tn 5’ m u w o t ef,i nydo u a nwyat n h ti n tgh li si k R e ei at d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER 3 r d N i g h t H a l f P r i c e T r u s t m e , y o u w a n t t h i s t wr ao i tn g e r ! C o m i n g t o a s t o r e n e a r y o u PREsSt IDENT S DAY S ALE C a l l n o w f o r y o u r f r e e t r i a l e t h e b o x P u t s e ca un r iyt t y hf i n r sgt . l i k e i t C a ll n o w f o r y o u r f r e e t r i a l v i s i t w w w . . . o u w o n ’ t f i n d su ipt o w w w . . . 0 1 1 0 0 5 F u l l s e r v i c e NEW ! T h e t o a s t o f t h e t o w n MEMORIAL DAY S ALE $ 9 9 ice nline sr t eae n dt hei t aa sh y Caaopp lvla r N o W 10 0 10 10 110 0 0 0 1110 0 1110 ee w iw ppr l o va l t h e g i f t t h at k e e p s g i v i n g ie0v1Fge dtp tsm w haen/thteh DAY y is 0oi 0frm 1t a 0o Tt/ rd egh , ieva yiootnnugs ir s eTSah ll iYso u 0 1w0wo 0anin ty twchah ek m l otw h i fs oyre ya or u0r1 0f r0 e0 e T threi ayle av ri s- ietn w d ws w a l. .e. b e f o r e i t ’ s t o o l a t e t0h ese DOLLAR ’sttiftsi nDt dohn a i’ns i intrgT lhit eb eiatsstC adlela n lm iam ik tua d im lw y a lai t t yt! h Ce e lr e bursah t i n/ go p e n e a r l y me e e e w i t h a p p r o v a l t h e g i f t t h a t k e e p s g i v i n g ice t h t h u s , ey/ohue w y i so nc hdreims ta m n da sDI S COVER 3rd Night Half Price vw eim om / de a Tdr w h ta tmse h r ea anltl yt hwi s a nRtesa td h e mr aun d DIoSpCOVER aotanittd h e r l- y ENVY C a ll 1 332r5d N i g h t w 0s0h1! 0/- 8 101e10n0- 5e 5a 5 h i s y e a r A c h i e v e u l t i m a t e f r e s h n e ss THE B E S T N o w D o n ’ t w a i t P u t s e c u r i t y f i r s t . Q u a l i t y ! C e l e b r a t i n g 5 0 Y e a r s

noei a r you l ed t h e l i n e s B E S T b u y t i c k e t s i n a d v a n c e l o o k n o w ! ENVY C a l l ! - 8 0 0 - 5 5 5 - 1 3 2 5 vlea tmeo 0 m1/ 1d0a0d5 wFhualtl ssheer/vhi ec er et ahlel yf rwe as n h te ss ttFhai ss tc ah nr di s te m a sa ys C a l l N o w a o mtphee triutsohr s L A B OR D A Y W EE K E N D O N L Y 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 Y o u w o n ’ t f i nd ea tn n eewasrlley t Bt UY e r ONE H o m eGET s wONE e e t Fh REE ome p eD A Y S A L E Call now f o r y o u r f r e e t r i al

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Feel better f

NEW ! T h e t o a s t o f t h e t o ook younger in three weeks See our sights!

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Trust me, you wa

s tay u p t o d at e w i t h t h e T NEW e tdoaat se t woi ft ht ht eh et oTw n sMEMORIAL o yr eb se aAMAZED v i n g s s oTHI o n Se rWEEKEND

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e best The before n s pj ior ien!

ow do you really feel about advertising?

During a stint as a visiting lecturer at Massachu-

cousetts Institute of Technology’s Media Lab, Marci 50 met Brian Levine, a consumer-research-studies oH th i n g urry a n d s a v e T r u s t m e , y o u w a n t expert t h i s and R e aformer d y ocreative n d e m a n d who, DI S COVER attthe y o u w odirector n’t regre i tr R uesatd y et ter, time, was working on a multiplatform sensingo n ’ t r e g r e t i t R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER Buu ywylooonu-’ t r e g r e t i t R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI SwCOVER technology project at the lab. It was a meeting of

v i s i t www the the minds and thetbeginning h e t r u of t hantenterprise. e s t d r iIn F r e e w i t h a pvperoonveal 2006, Hd uornr’ ty a nbacked d s abyv venture e 0 1 0capital 0 1 0 0andTangel r u smoney, t me, you e tr th ue t h t e s t d r i v e o n e t o d ay t r u t h t e s t d r i v e o n e t o d ay Hp ol u m se Do you mute the volume and leave the pair cofounded Innerscope with the goal of oftay u p t o droom at e w h t has e Tthe r u sads t mstart e , y o fering u w amedia n t tand h i consumer-goods s R e a d y1 0o 0ncompanies m a1n1an d1 0DI S1COVER the asi tsoon 1 d0 e1to 1 figure 00 invaluable service: applying biometrics Tdhei sa li ss i t D o n ’ t w a i t 0 0 10 1110 blaring, or does what you do depend out what consumers want by measuring their unThe best deal this ye The on the kind of ad you see? Say, for conscious emotional reactions to various media. l o o k n o w ! E N V Y Call before example, it’s a pitch for women’s lacy Tapping into the Unconscious join

lingerie, and you’re a red-blooded, twenty-something bachelor. Does the ad make your heart beat just a little faster? Do your palms get a little damp? Maybe it’s an ad for tomato soup. Do your eyes mist up at the childhood memory of sipping o u w o n ’ t r e g r e t i t R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER hot soup on a cold day and making snow angels with your mother? Do you lean toward the television to get closer to that nostalgic “soupy” feeling? Maybe the reactions?

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v i s i t w w w . . . 0 11 0 0 5 F u l l s e

It wasn’t long before Innerscope’s first client came knocking. Broadcast giant NBC Universal hired the company to find out what kind of ef- t h e g i fect, if any, commercials were having on viewers who skipped through them using a digital video E recorder (DVR). The surprise, Marci says, was in the data; even though people who watched through a DVR were fast-forwarding to get to the next staff psychiatrist at Massachusetts General HosChances are, you probably don’t.

As it turns out, ll o f p F e e l b e t t e r f a s t e r $ 1 . 9 9 C u r e A l l T h e s e C l a i m s h a v e n o t b e e n segment v e r i f iofe their d F b show, y t hthey e Frecalled DA theuads. people experience a variety of emotional respons- pital in Boston. “There’s nothing more complex It turned out that their visual attention was higher because staring socialSinteraction,” ever it. thanDAY NEW ! Tes, h positive e t o aand s t negative, o f t hwithout e tow n knowing MEMORIAL ALE $ 9 9heMsays. o r e s a v i n g s s than o o nexpected er S e e they o u rwere sig h t s at ! the screen waiting for the show to start again.

Just ask Dr. Carl Marci. As CEO and cofounder 3 3 w 2 6 7 9 1 11 0 0 0 3 3 0 2 1 2 5 5 4 of Innerscope Research, he knows a thing or two Given his expertise in neuroscience, it was not about measuring and analyzing consumers’ un- much of a stretch for Marci to take that knowl- “They were having many emotional responses be conscious emotional responses to media. In fact, edge and experience to the business world in the cause they didn’t want to miss the show,” Marci c o u p he o nhas s spent a c cmuch e p t eofdhis0 1career 0 1 Pworking u t s ein c the u r i tform y f iof r sneuromarketing— t. Q u a l i t y !

5 0 field Y e aofr s 0 1 1 0 0 5 fstudying r e e s human u bs cinteracrriptio s Full s rvice then application ofeneuroscineuroscience, Hurry a nd save Trust me, you wa nt this Re ady on tion and using biometrics—that is, biologically ence to market research.

Be t ter , faster, stronger ! Coming to a store ne ar wasu excited based measurements—to model the connection B u y l o c a“What l s i gI n p o n labout ine between empathy and the fr e srapport. h e s t If F ait ssounds t a ncomd e a swas y Cmeasuring a l l N oemotions W 1 0 0 1on 0 a big scale,” he recalls. “If I plicated, it is.

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“We help our clients break through the clutter by optimizing communication to the consumer so that it’s relevant and emotionally resonant,” Mar-

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New Technologies, Old Idea If the whole notion of tapping into the unconscious sounds newfangled or New Age-y, it’s really not. Researchers have been experimenting with biometric tools in marketing since at least the 1970s. What’s new is the vast array of technologies available, the advancements in neuroscience, and the equipment used to take biomeasures. As Marci is quick to point out, computers

Does that mean that neuromarketing isn’t just another fad? That it’s here to stay and become a permanent part of the advertising landscape?

Marci thinks so. Want some evidence? Look at the Advertising Research Conference. In 2009, there was some discussion of neuroscience and neuromarketing and a handful of related vendors; at this year’s conference, it was a major theme and the hot topic of conversation everywhere.

“There’s a buzz about neuromarketing,” Marci says. “It’s real, it’s science, and it’s definitely not going away.” [P]

“ T h e r e ’ s a b u z z a b o u t n e u r o m a r k e t i n g . It ’ s r e a l , i t ’ s s c i e n c e , a n d i t ’ s d e f i n i t e ly n o t g o i n g a w ay. ” — D r . C a r l M a r c i , C E O & co f o u n de r

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The sensor platform—or the ability to read biometric signals and eye tracking—has also become more sophisticated. Innerscope, for instance, has pioneered the use of a biometric belt, a compact item worn against the skin under a T-shirt. The belt records changes in heart rate and breathing, as well as body temperature, skin sweat, and motion, all of which are measures of the nervous system—and that taps into the brain’s emotional responses. Testing is done in a focus-group facility; instead of sitting down and using a product, participants come in, put on a belt, and proceed with the usual focus-group experience—sort of.

“The innovation is that we’re not recording individual channels; we’re taking the pulse of an audience,” Marci says. “Each channel is a little noisy.

But when you combine multiple channels across an audience, you can get a lot of signal patterns.

Then you can build insight.”

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o u ’ v e g o t Fi te, e f la $ 1 d e a l s F y o u w o n ’ t r e g r eu tll oi tf p Rr oemai s de 0y1 0 o n d e m a n d DII Sf yCOVER l u bn tei tt 0t1 1e0r0 1 1 f0 0a0 s1 0tDeorn ’ t $l e1a.v9e 9h o 1 0 1 Ha p p i n e s s i s . . . I t ’ s t h e p la c e t o b e 0 1 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 T h e f i r s t p la c e y

A Permanent Fixture If you’re a company like Innerscope, you can build one of the largest biometric databases around. That’s exactly what Marci, Levine, and their colleagues are doing: collecting a comprehensive wealth of data on how Americans experience media. Continuing to expand that database is just one of the many items on Innerscope’s todo list. Also on the horizon are new technologies, including a new eye-tracking technology that promises to be more natural and less intrusive, as well as plans to apply its tools to the health and education sectors.

F e e l b e t t e r f a s t e r $ 1 . 9 9 C u r e A l l T h e s e C l a i m s h a v e n o t b e e n v e r i f i e d b y t h e F DA

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don’t trust our compe tito 3 r d N i g h t H a l f P r i c e COME plus shipping and handling Be t ter, faster, stronger ! Coming to a store

ci says. “We do it across multiple platforms—the Internet, point of purchase, mobile phones, television—in a coordinated way that ends up having the appropriate and desired impact.”

b e a t t h e r u s h o p e n e a r ly B U Y O N E GET O N E FREEa v o i d t 0 0 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 1 0 0 1 b u y t i c k e t s i n ad v an c e I N N O PURCH A SE RE Q UIRE D l o o k n o w ! E N V Y Call E v o l u t i o n t h r o u g E v e r yw

According to Marci, humans experience emotion first—before rational thought or action—and the experience is nearly always an unconscious one; in fact, 75 percent of brain processing is unconscious. That makes it hard for traditional advertising research to accurately measure the response.

Marci explains that most of the research to date has been conducted on the conscious level— think focus groups, surveys, and polls. While these tools are useful, they’re limited to logging our conscious preferences and reactions. But biometrics, eye tracking, and sensor technology are changing all that by enabling researchers to tap into what’s going on at the unconscious level.

t h e t r u t h t e s t d r i v e o n e to d ay

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T r u s t m e , yt h o eu gwi af tn tt ht ahti sk eT eh piYsso0gu1i v0w i ’tt D fo inn’ DAY td waSaniYty e ion bneg i shai ynll ega lrn 0i t0 C 0 aoTlr hl enyyooewaurfro - erfn r d oesuearltfe r i0n o gi sn DOLLAR o Tu ’st tl fd ii n i k0o e1w y thhw kedae la inttyhtC f rbei eeaf t F r e e w i t h a p p r o v a l t h e g i f t tH Free to hm a/ dpp f ltl yt w h3aa g i vw e im a d rwohv aa t l s hte h / hee g r ei a s t a y u p t o d a t e w i t h t h e T r u s t m e , y o u w a n t t h i s R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER rndtt g i v e m o m / d a d w h a t s h e / h e r e a ll y wbaena tt s t ht eh r This is it Don’t wait 0 0 10 1110 b e a t t h e r u s T h e b e s t d e a l t h i s y e a r A c h i e v e u l t i m a t e f r e s h n e ss THE T i nN eosw BD EoSnT’ tb uwya ti ti cPkuett ss ei nc uardivtayn fcier sl o t .o Qk unaolw i t! yENVY ! C e lh e avo i d tBhEeS l C T g i v e m o m / d a d w h a t s h e / h e r e a l l y w a n t b e f o r e i t ’ s t o o l at e 0 110 0 5 F u l l s e r v i c e t h e f r e s h e s t F a s t a n ENVY C a ll ! r u s t o u r c o m p e t i t o r s L A B OR D A Y W EE K E N D O N L Y 0 1 0 1 0 1 1j 0o1i n0 1o0u rY o fli lend ou nlw i noo ep en nne’ tw r H e as r yt tBeUY PRESI D E N TS D A Y S A L E Call n o w f o r ayv o o t ne ! a 0 d2 va

v i s i t www . . . 0 1 1 0 0 5 F u ll s e r v i c e N E W ! T n o t h i n g l i khe ei tt Ion a s psi tr eo! f0 1bt0uh 0ye1t 1itco Ck hewn a sn giMEMORI 0n 2 cTAeh E e RE F r e e w i t h a p p r o v al t h e g i f t t h a t k e e p s g i v i n g D O L L A R D A Y S Y o u w o n ’ t f i nd any t h i n g l i k e i t Call n o w f oNO r PURCHA y o u r fS r e Qt r i C Free with a y o u w o n ’ t r e g r e t i t R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER 0 1p1p0 r 1 oc vo al me t oh n ed ogwi f n t1 1t h 3 radt Nki e g he tp sH

1 0 0 1 0 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 0 1 g i v e m o m / dad w h a t s h e / h e r e ally wan t s t h i s c h r i s t m a s b e a t t h e r u s a v o i d t h e l i n e s B EST b u y t i c k e l o o k n o w ! E N V Y Call ! - 8 0 0 - 5 5 5 - 1 3 2 5 g i v e m o m / dad w h a t s h e / h e r e ally wan t s t E v e r yw

H u r r y a n d s a v e T r u s t m e , y o u w a n t t h i s R e a d y o n d e m a n d DI S COVER

t h e t r u t h t e s t d r i v e o n e t o d ay

NEW o df yt ho en tdoewmna nMEMORIAL DAY yo u w! o T n ’ t r e ghree tt oi ta sRte a d DI S COVER

F e e l b e t t e r f a s t e r $ 1 . 9 9 C u r e A l l T h e s e C l a i m s h a v e n o t b e e n v e r i f i e d b y t h e F DA

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s t a y u p t o d a t e w i tHhu r th y1 o0u0 1 w0a0n tT t ea ou n w d eam r ey Tarnuds ts amvee, 0 rhuiss tRm ed , yy o n at ntdh DI i s STCOVER h i s 0 1 0 0 i s i t D o n ’ t w a i t T h e b e s t d e a l t h i s y e a r 0 1 0 0 0 T h e y e a r - e n d s a l e b3erfdo This is it Don’t wait 0 0 1 0 111 0 H T h e b e s t d e a l t h i s y e a r A c h i e v e u l t i m a t e f r e s h n e ss THE B E S T N o w D o n ’ t w a i t P u t s e c u r i t y f i r s t . Q u a l i t y ! C e l e 3rdT b e f o r e i t ’ s t o o l at e 0 11 0 0 5 F u l l s e r v i c e t h e f r e s h e s t F a s t a T h e b e s t d e a l t h i s y e a r A c h i e v e u l t i m a t e f r e s h n e ss THE B E S T N o w D o n ’ t w a i t P u t s e c u irni toyu r f io rn s lt i. nQe unaelw i tsyl!e C eb jo t te el r

.DI ..S COVER t h e s e c r e t t o . . .

The success of that project put Innerscope on the map and led to more projects—with Fortune 100 companies; media networks, such as Fox and the National Geographic Channel; and consumer packaged-goods companies like the Campbell Soup Company, to name a few. Indeed, in the four years since its founding, Innerscope has grown at the breakneck pace of 200–300 percent annually.

On average, the company signs 1–2 new advertising clients every month, and it enjoys a client-retention rate of 80–90 percent.

s t a y u p t o d a t e w i t h t h e T r u s t m e , y o u w a n t t h i s R e a d y b e AMAZED THI S WEEKEND ONLY !

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GET R e a d y

Breaking through the Clutter So what explains the recent rush toward biometric measuring and neuromarketing? Reach and frequency used to suffice, but maybe it’s no longer enough to blast the airwaves with radio and TV ads. Now, consumers are empowered by the diversity of media outlets, and they are often overwhelmed by its relentless 24/7 reach. Advertisers, too, are struggling to figure things out. In this brave new world, the choices are many, and initiating a dialogue with the consumer is more challenging than ever. That’s where Innerscope comes in.

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F o r a l i m i t e d t i m e o n ly 0 2 0 2 1 0 0 1 a v o i d t h e l i n e s B E S T b u y t i c k e t s i n a d

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Final Sale

Final Sale

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0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 111 0 L o o k y o u n g e r i n t h r e e w e e k s

F e e l b e t t e r f a s t e r $ 1 . 9 9 C u r e A l l T h e s e C l a i m s h a v e n o t b e e n v e r i f i e d b y t h e F DA NEW ! T h e t o a s t o f t h e t o w n MEMORIAL DAY S ALE $ 9 9 M o r e s a v i n g s s o o n e r

0 0 1 0 0 1 1 0 111 0 L o o k y o u n g e r i n t h r e e w e e k s

says. “They were hyper alert and, as a result, were able to remember the ads.” have changed everything. They’re faster, cheaper, and stronger than ever, and the newest models can manage massive amounts of data, and then process and analyze it. That’s key for a company like Innerscope, whose studies typically generate between 10 million and 100 million datapoints.

THE BRAINS BEHIND INNERSCOPE RESEARCH Brian Levine / Cofounder A high-tech aficionado, Levine started building websites in the early 1990s as an intern at the Department of Defense.

From there, he became an expert in the design and implementation of consumer-research studies. Throughout his career, he has been a creative director, and directed research and design teams for such companies as The Gap, Banana Republic, IBM, Fidelity Investments, Electronic Arts, and 3M Post-it products. He has a BA from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from MIT’s Sloan School of Management. In his spare time, Levine likes to work with his hands, welding and blacksmithing.

CASE STUDY / Cambell's Soup Label Redesign When the powers that be at Campbell Soup Company noticed that the popularity of its canned, condensed soups was falling, they knew they had a problem; condensed soup is the company’s single biggest seller, accounting for over $1 billion annually. So Campbell contacted Innerscope Research to help determine what changes could be made to boost the image—and sales—of this iconic brand. The results were revealing: even though shoppers experienced all kinds of emotional reactions to soup on an unconscious level—it warms you up on a cold day, it has curative powers, it helps you take care of your family—by the time they got to the store and were faced with aisles and aisles of soup cans and overwhelming product displays, those warm, fuzzy feelings disappeared.

For two years, Campbell’s explored how to understand what kinds of emotionally resonant signals consumers were looking for, and what could be done to make its displays and its brand more inviting. In the end, the company y modernized the look of the soup label: it added steam, got rid of the spoon, moved the Campbell’s logo to the bottom of the can, and enlarged the bowl and made it all white for a sleeker, updated look. Seems like the company made the right moves. According to Innerscope CEO and cofounder Dr. Carl Marci, another one of its food-manufacturing clients recently reported increases in ROI on research of 80–100 percent using unconscious biometric-based research.

“Here’s the important thing,” Marci says. “If neuroscience is right—and we believe it is—and the unconscious matters, then you’re going to be missing a lot of what drives people’s behaviors if you don’t measure it.”

BEFORE

AFTER 1

Dr. Carl Marci / CEO & Cofounder A graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Medical School as well as a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, Marci is a leader in the field of social neuroscience and neuromarketing. He has served as director of social neuroscience at Massachusetts General Hospital, completed two National Institutes of Health fellowships, lectured at Harvard Medical School and the MIT, and been involved in two previous technology start-ups. When he’s not busy pioneering new research, he likes to golf, attend yoga classes, and travel. Marci and his wife live in Boston, where they like to indulge in great Italian food.

2

3 4

5

THE REDESIGN / Innerscope's Analysis 1. Color Coding: Labels help distinguish the varieties of soup.

2. Steam Added: People exhibited increased emotional engagement with the product when the soup appeared warm.

3. Spoon Removed: The spoon generated a low emotional response and was therefore deemed unnecessary.

4. Modern Bowl: Updated dishware appeals to contemporary tastes.

5. Lower Logo Placement: Eyetracking indicated that the logo at the top drew too much attention, while the red background made the different labels look too similar on shelves.

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68 the maynard group 70 cumbre, inc. 72 the upper room

The Maynard Group A high-school graduate forgoes college to build a telecommunications company, now with a 3,000+ person client base

by Cristina Adams

W

looking ahead...

The Five-Year Plan: Despite its meteoric success over the past 19 years, The Maynard Group is always looking ahead—to the next project, the next new technology, the next horizon. Plans for the next five years include offering a broader product line with a focus on mobility, mobile applications, and wireless. Also in the works: two new offices in California.

hat’s a high-school student to do when he sees an opportunity? Seize it, of course. In 1991, that’s exactly what Dean Maynard did when he started his own telecommunications business. It all began when an acquaintance offered to pay Maynard to set up 18 telephones in his home. It took Maynard two weeks, but at the end of it, he had the phones working; he’d also installed an intercom and a push button to open the driveway gate. It was to be his first success of many.

As business picked up and other individuals began calling for help, Maynard decided that he would devote himself full-time to his burgeoning business after graduation—and not go on to college. Not surprisingly, his parents were less than thrilled. “My family was not initially pleased with my decision to skip college and pursue this business,” he recalls, “but this only made me work harder to make it successful. As they saw the organization develop and grow, they changed their minds.”

And how it has grown. In the beginning, Maynard kept expenses low by living with his parents and hiring a friend on a part-time basis to help develop new business. His friend set up appointments with local businesses, and Maynard made sales calls in the afternoon. “I’d meet with people, find out what they needed, and offer to upgrade their phones, clean up wiring, and reduce the cost of their phone bill,” Maynard says.

Evenings were set aside for the hands-on job of installing equipment. As business mushroomed, he hired a technician, then a full-time salesperson.

Eighteen years later, The Maynard Group has 25 full-time employees and plans to expand beyond its Santa Cruz, California-based headquarters by opening two more offices across the state.

That’s not all. The Maynard Group has gone from setting up phone systems for local small businesses to casting a much wider net in the telecommunications field. From designing and deploying telephone systems, WANs, and voiceover IP for companies with multiple sites to installing cabling and infrastructure products, the company’s nownumerous areas of specialization feature all the latest technologies and innovative solutions. Chief among those is Unified Communications (UC).

Simply put, UC brings together various methods of communications, both real- and non-real time, present in a business—conferencing, fax, e-mail, voicemail, telephone, and collaboration—and creates a unified user interface and experience. In other words, if you have one number, your clients can reach you through various media and on virtually any device, including mobile and smart phones, laptops, PDAs, and more.

Impressive, right? The thing is, with technology evolving virtually on a weekly basis, there are very few, if any, out-of-the-box solutions to satisfy all communications needs. Since every client is different and each’s needs unique, The Maynard Group builds to suit. “Our very existence is based on custom-tailored solutions,” Maynard says. “We reEvolutionary Entrepreneur: Dean

Maynard caught on to technology early on and used his savvy to form The Maynard Group.

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“My family was not pleased initially with my decision to skip college and pursue this business, but this only made me work harder for it to be successful. As they saw the organization develop and grow, they changed their minds.”

Dean Maynard, Founder

ally have to know our clients’ business in order to design the right solution for how they work. Each of their business styles is unique, and if they don’t want to have to think about their telecom, it must blend into the way they work.”

Clearly, this approach to doing business has worked. From supporting one client in 1991 to more than 3,000 clients today, The Maynard Group has succeeded in an increasingly competitive industry. Specializing in small- to mediumsized businesses with fewer than 300 employees, the company has a particularly strong presence

in vertical markets, such as finance, hospitality, healthcare, and automotive, as well as high-touch areas that have Contact Centers. Maynard credits the company’s success not only to its technological expertise and ability to think beyond the usual, but also to the fact that its solutions are created with both cost and efficiency in mind.

“We help our clients reduce costs on their telecom expenses and deploy new technology to save money,” Maynard says. “If a customer senses that you have their best interests at heart, they will be a customer forever.” [P]

Communication FUSION:

The Maynard Group consolidates all methods of communication a company may use into an easily streamlined system.

strategy to share

silver stars There’s no incentive like praise for a job well done. So it’s no surprise that The Maynard Group’s employee-recognition program, Reach for the Stars, is such a hit.

Every time a customer contacts the company with accolades for a certain employee, that person is acknowledged at a company meeting and then awarded a gift certificate to a local restaurant.

That’s not all. Whatever praise the customer had to offer is posted on a silver star for everyone to see.

There are stars everywhere—in the lobby, hanging from the ceiling, tacked to the walls—and each one features a positive message from a client. What’s more, anyone at the company can earn a star.

Ready to move your business forward?

We can help. Meet the future of communications: VoIP - Voice over Internet Protocol from AT&T®.

Where voice and data converge onto one streamlined network.

future made simple Solution Provider

800.655.0007 TheMaynardGroup.com FLEXIBLE | SCALABLE | SECURE | COST EFFECTIVE DESIGNED FOR YOUR BUSINESS

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Cumbre, Inc.

Providing leading expertise on workers’ compensation insurance in California

by Laura Clark

W

hen Ray Medina cofounded Cumbre, Inc. in 1986, he wanted to change the way companies approached workers’ compensation insurance in California. Not only did the company want to prove that a single insurance agency could specialize in one area of expertise, it also wanted to show that it could understand all of the logistics while providing sterling customer service.

In a word, it wanted to be unique.

looking ahead...

“We’re always looking for opportunities and other agency acquisitions,” Michael Holzman says. “We also have the ability to be the lead broker on smaller transportation districts, school districts, and smaller public entities that don't get the attention or the personalized service of these mega-large firms. It's become a key growth area now.”

Fast forward more than 25 years later, and Cumbre, a Hispanicowned business, is still working hard to make workers’ compensation insurance accessible to more than 4,000 clients. In the hands of Medina’s son, Ruben, who is now president and CEO, and vice president and COO Michael Holzman, the company is moving forward in areas including the public sector. It is also securing insurance deals with worldwide insurance broker Aon for entities that include large defense contractors that are outside of Cumbre’s Ontario, California-based headquarters.

The business has also become one of the largest Hispanicowned insurance agencies in the country, with a team of about

35 employees and offices in Los Angeles, the Coachella Valley, and Ontario. “Cumbre is Spanish for ‘the peak’ or ‘the pinnacle,’” Holzman says, “and it represents our philosophy; we’re trying to be at the top of our game.”

That means going beyond brokering to also encompass claims, loss control, ownership changes, and anything that affects the rules and regulations of the insurance products. “Workers’ comp is one of the most volatile—from a pricing standpoint—insurance products that employers face,” Holzman explains, “and it can change drastically overnight because of their claims experience or changes in class codes or rates.”

“Most agencies don't take it to that extent,” Ruben Medina adds. “They don't take the time to fully understand the product, all the ins and outs and all of the details that Michael just touched on.”

Taking those extra steps has only increased the company’s value with clients, who also benefit from other insurance services that Cumbre offers, such as property, liability, and employee benefits.

That has allowed Cumbre to become a company with $38 million in premiums and $3.5 million in commission income.

In addition to providing clients with options, Cumbre also makes a point of focusing on three things that make its business attractive to employers: market access, communication, and responsiveness. “We've instituted a systematic approach to making sure things are responded to quickly, because this is the Chat Age, where everybody wants an answer right away, and we really have to be responsive to that,” Holzman says.

As Cumbre chairman Ray Medina has always said to son Ruben, “Business is easy when you simply do what you say you’re going to do.”

Even in a challenging economy that has affected all sectors of the workforce, Cumbre has taken the strategic stance of focusing on what it does best, starting with maximizing its existing clientele.

“Our focus is workers’ comp,” Ruben says , “and for a lot of those clients, we only wrote that line

faces of the company:

Ruben Medina and Michael Holzman take time to personally meet with clients.

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“We've instituted a systematic approach to making sure things are responded to quickly, because this is the Chat Age, where everybody wants an answer right away, and we really have to be responsive to that.”

Michael Holzman, Vice President & COO strategy to share

of insurance. We emphasized the need to expand on that and write other lines for all those clients and thereby increase our revenue and maintain the same client base.”

While Cumbre sticks to its strengths, which has secured the company a profitable relationship as an approved vendor for the McDonald’s Corporation and the California restaurant industry, the business is also expanding into a larger arena. For the past 15 years, it has worked with Aon by subcontracting for public-sector entities such as the Los Angeles World Airport. In 2006, Cumbre received a brighter spotlight from Aon through its

Cornerstone diversity program. “Aon has identified us as a key partner in their strategy for bringing a diverse business relationship to their potential and existing clients,” Holzman says. That allows Cumbre to have the ability to act as the lead broker for smaller projects that may not get personal attention from larger firms.

“We recently won a large defense contract for workers’ comp placement related to international insurance for defense work done on behalf of the Pentagon,” Holzman says. “That trust in us, by selecting us for this placement, it's a great recognition of the work that we've done over the past 15 years.” [P]

CARVE OUT YOUR NICHE We're big on not trying to be everything to everybody. We promote the Hedgehog theory: A hedgehog does one great thing all the time and has one form of defense—it rolls up in a ball. We basically adopt the same philosophy. We know what we do best, and we simply focus on doing that on a consistent basis.

Protect your business with Golden Eagle Insurance™ and your independent agent.

Whether you are a retailer, a contractor, or a building owner, Golden Eagle Insurance has the right insurance policy for your business.

We’ll select a core product and add coverages that make it just right for your business.

Our product set provides coverage for more than 1,100 classes of business, so chances are, we have the policy perfect for you. To learn more about the industries we serve, please visit our website. Also, our Golden Target Markets program can provide preferred pricing for risks that meet special qualifications.

A message from Golden Eagle Insurance

From humble beginnings, Golden Eagle Insurance’s 22-year relationship with Cumbre, Inc. continues to flourish. CEO Ruben Medina is dedicated to innovation within the industry, as well as maintaining strong community bonds. We would like to congratulate Mr. Medina and his staff on their continued success, and we appreciate the partnership of his agency with Golden Eagle Insurance.

www.goldeneagle-ins.com

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The Upper Room

Interdenominational publication expands with more than 1 billion copies and a worldwide writer pool

by Christopher Cussat

D

looking ahead...

The Upper Room, Inc. has future plans that include an international center for spirituality, which will draw together people from around the world. It also recently launched a new book series for church leaders, aimed at helping pastors and other leaders become more effective spiritual guides for those in their care. “We are also continually beginning new Emmaus communities in various countries, in addition to new communities forming here in the United States,” Mary Lou Redding adds.

uring the Great Depression, many religious leaders felt that prayer and Bible study could help people face difficult times. The Upper Room magazine was actually created in response to a call from a Sunday-school class’s prayer group in Texas, which asked its church to provide a devotional resource to use for home worship each day.

Today, The Upper Room is an internationally read magazine that has millions of readers. Editorial director, Mary Lou Redding, helms The Upper Room today with a engaged production staff and growing audience worldwide.

The Upper Room is a Christian, daily devotional magazine that publishes with a one-page-per-day format—and its content comes from readers around the world. The Home Missions Board (HMB) of the Methodist Episcopal Church South began the magazine in 1935. This was the predecessor denomination of the United Methodist Church, which still owns the magazine. The Upper Room was jointly the dream of its first editor, Dr. Grover Emmons, and Mrs. Frances Craig, a volunteer director of the HMB. Craig’s pastor in Texas had begun daily “Bible-reading notes” in their church’s newsletter, and she dreamed of something like

that for the larger church. “These audacious people printed 100,000 copies of the first issue—and it immediately sold out!” Redding exclaims. By 1939, one million copies of the magazine had been printed in English in the United States, and the Spanish and Hindustani editions had begun. By the 1960s, more than three million copies of each issue were being printed. In late 2009, the one-billionth copy of the magazine rolled off the press.

Since its beginning, The Upper Room has been interdenominational. Redding explains, “We seek to build on what draws us together in Christian belief. The intent of the founders of the magazine was that it be non-sectarian and non-doctrinaire, and we work to include many perspectives in what we publish.”

This spiritual diversity is also present in the range of contributors, as writers of the daily meditations are both laity and clergy who come from around the world. “We do not have requirements regarding denominational affiliation for our writers,” Redding notes. “I am aware of Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, Roman-Catholic, Lutheran, Nazarene, Episcopalian, Assemblies of God, and non-denominational believers among our writers—but we do not know the denominational affiliation of the vast majority of those who write for us.”

The Upper Room staff members usually evaluate about 5,000 meditations each year in order to choose 365 for publication. Redding explains the selection process: “Our basic criterion in evaluating a meditation is this: ‘Will it be helpful to a reader in a similar situation?’ We want meditations that show real people struggling to live faithfully in real-life situations, with the Bible as the touchstone for and measure of faithful living.” keeping the faith:

Once every two months, editors from various departments of Upper Room Ministries meet to discuss the meditations being considered for publication. The editorial staff pictured here includes (clockwise from foreground): John Mogabgab, Upper Room Books editor; Jim Stafford, associate editor of The Upper Room magazine; Mary Lou Redding, editorial director; Jorge Berrios, associate editor of El Aposento Alto—the Spanish-language edition; Susan King, assistant editor; Joan Floyd, international publications coordinator; and Lynn Gilliam, editorial director of Pockets Magazine for Children.

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customer care

“The Upper Room has been inter-denominational since its founding—our creators were ahead of their time in that regard.”

strategy to share

KEEP IT RELEVANT

Mary Lou Redding, Editorial Director Redding attributes the magazine’s success to its unique content and contribution qualities. “The Upper Room has been inter-denominational since its founding—our creators were ahead of their time in that regard,” she says. “Simultaneous publication in multiple languages around the globe is unique among religious periodicals, too.”

She also notes that The Upper Room’s content was user-generated long before user-generated content became common. Redding continues, “The team of committed staff members who created our diverse customer base decades ago were geniuses in their inclusiveness—including the use of content sent in by readers. The relationships they built and the

legacy of trust we have with our readers are the basis of our continuing healthy business.”

Now, the magazine is translated into more than 40 languages, is published in 66 editions, and is circulated in over 100 countries. The Upper Room’s two newest editions are a Russian edition published in Moscow and an Internet French edition. Redding concludes, “We welcome the witness of believers from diverse perspectives, for our diversity is one of our riches within the family of God. Each of us has something to share with others about our experience of the grace of God. We seek to reflect the diversity of God’s people in our staff as well as writers for the magazine.” [P]

We believe and trust that we are part of something bigger than we are. As long as we can help to offer hope to people in their daily challenges, we will have a place.

Be practical and real in what you offer people, because it’s really all about what’s in it for the user.

For example, we always try to be personal in the content we publish and in the way we respond to customer needs. We are currently working to store all of our content in a database to be able to create completely customized products on specific subjects that our customers request.

Gateway Press 60 & Counting!

Gateway Press is proud to be celebrating 60 years as one of the largest commercial sheetfed and web printers in the Louisville, Kentucky market. Loyal partnerships like the one we share with Upper Room Ministries has enabled Gateway to continue on our path of success and growth. strategy to share

TELL IT LIKE IT IS

Established 1950old-fashioned princiCombining ples with cutting-edge technology, 4500 Robards Lane • Louisville, KY 40218 the company has established and 502-454-0431 built upon its reputation. It tells its customers what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.

global reach: Brazil used this montage of covers in 2008 during the 40th anniversary celebration of the Portuguese edition of The Upper Room.

Front row: Italian, Norwegian, Hindi, and Spanish editions. Back row: Arabic, Chinese, Russian, and Thai editions.

BV-COC-080733

Cert no. BV-SFICOC US 080000439

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community development 74 Rio Grande Mexican Restaurants 78 tilite 80 the crichton group

South of the Border Around The Corner Rio Grande Mexican Restaurants. A love of Mexican art and culture makes one Colorado franchise a neighborhood hotspot

by Jennifer Hogeland

A

longing for good old Mexican fare spurred three childhood friends to open their own restaurant. Patrick McGaughran and twins Stephen and Andre Mouton grew up in Texas and moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, in 1985. By maxing out a friend’s credit card, the men opened a very small business: Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant. They created dishes from cherished recipes and mixed up some incredible margaritas.

“We understand what has made us successful is the people within our communities.

We want to show them we really appreciate that.”

Christine Sullo, Marketing Director

The legend of the fresh Mexican food and potent margaritas spread. Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant opened its second restaurant in Boulder, Colorado, in 1989. The business continued to expand throughout the state; additional restaurants can now be found in Denver, Greeley, Steamboat Springs, and Lone Tree.

After nearly 25 years in business, Pat McGaughran still helms the company, overseeing the six restaurants. The other two founders have since retired and moved on. Locally owned and operated, the company has earned a reputation for being a magnificent place to work and a remarkable partner within its communities. “The whole premise of the company was to create a great place to work,” says Christine Sullo, marketing director. “This philosophy still holds true to this day.”

A giving philosophy has always been part of the business. Two of the original owners were musicians, so they had many local followers. “If they had a friend who wanted to host a party and wanted chips and salsa, the exchange was mutually beneficial. The idea of giving to others kind of grew from that,” Sullo explains.

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Today, Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant abides by five core values. First, people are the secret ingredient. “The employees, from the dishwasher and the busser to the front office and the back of the house, make Rio what it is,” Sullo says.

Second, enthusiastically satisfy customers. The company knows the reason people visit Rio Grande Mexican Restaurants: to be served seriously good Mexican food and legendary margaritas.

The third acknowledges that wholesome food equals a wholesome workplace. Everything in the kitchen is prepared fresh daily. The company shows care for the environment by recycling, composting, updating light bulbs to CFLs, and installing energyefficient equipment. The restaurants support wind power by offsetting 100 percent of their electricity.

The fourth states that profit leads to opportunity.

The company prefers to promote from within. Sullo says, “We feel if we are able to expand, then we will be able to allow our staff to grow with us.”

Lastly, love thy community. Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant gives back to the community by donat-

7: locations • 500+: employees • $22 million+: annual sales 12 ounces: size of signature Rio Margarita • 3: margarita limit per person

community development

love thy community One of the core philosophies of Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant is to give back to the communities in which it operates. Each location concentrates on a particular charity; however, the restaurants donate to countless other charitable organizations in Colorado, including: • Realities for Children in Fort Collins • Boulder Shelter for the Homeless • Rescue Mission in Denver • The United Way in Greeley • Triple Crown Sports in Steamboat Springs • Kids Mobility Network in Lone Tree

“The employees, from dishwasher and the busser to the front office and the back of the house, make Rio what it is.”

Christine Sullo, Marketing Director

Children’s groups, libraries, and art organizations top the list of charities Rio Grande supports. The restaurants distribute food samplings and participate in silent auctions where all proceeds go to benefit events.

“We consider our demographic—we serve everyone from young children to people who are 95, and we always like to give back to the arts and music because that is where two of the original owners started,” Sullo says.

Packed to capacity: The restaurant's menu and drinks always draw large crowds in every location, with up to 800 patrons on Friday nights.

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strategy to share

stick to what you know The strategy for Rio Grande Mexican Restaurants is simple—stick to what you know. The company establishes new restaurants in downtown areas or near college campuses where it expects people will have an active social life. The square footage of each restaurant isn’t outrageously large, but rather stays around 7,000 square feet—just right for packing in the nearly 800 diners that are served at each location on a Friday night.

As for drinks, Rio Grande Mexican Restaurants only serves beer, wine, and its renowned margaritas. “We could offer a full bar, but that it isn’t who we are,” Sullo says.

“The whole premise of the company was to create a great place to work. This philosophy still holds true to this day.”

Christine Sullo, Marketing Director ing gift cards, offering food donations, or hosting events at the restaurants. Sullo says, “We understand what has made us successful is the people within our communities. We want to show them we really appreciate that.”

Rio Grande Mexican Restaurant finds value in being part of local business associations. It is aware of what is happening in its community and finds it has a louder voice when partnering with fellow businesses. The recession has only slightly affected the Mexican restaurants as they realized a threepercent decline in business in 2009.

The company doesn’t attempt to lure people in by offering discounts; instead, the restaurant relies on

its value and nationally recognized Rio Margarita.

Rio Grande won the title for the nation’s best margarita—an impressive feat given the six restaurants are all located within the state of Colorado.

At just 12 ounces, the Rio Margarita has a strong local following that makes Rio Grande the largest server of Jose Cuervo Gold in the world. Guests are limited to three margaritas per person, adding to the mystic charm; customers can choose from on-the-rocks, frozen, or frozen-strawberry margaritas, and the varieties have expanded to include the Agave Martini and “Big Tex” margarita.

Sullo reveals that the company hopes to eventually have 10 Rio Grande Mexican Restaurants in Colorado and also intends to look outside the state for opportunities—and given the restaurant's success already, it seems likely. [P]

Piping hot: The Rio Grande Fajitas are the Lining Up: Patrons at the entrance to the popular Fort Collins, CO Rio Grande restaurant

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signature entrée.

community development

12 pneus testĂŠs.

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Top: Rio Grande's Mahi Mahi Salad Bottom: During nice weather, the roof deck at Rio Grande's down-

town Boulder location is especially popular with patrons.

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community development

Wheeling and Healing TiLite. A titanium-wheelchair manufacturer with a charitable pocket provides mobility to clients worldwide

by Brigitte Yuille

T

here aren’t many companies that can say they change their clients’ lives—and make a profit while doing it. However, TiLite creates high-end, custom, adult, ultra-light wheelchairs, and, in providing life-changing mobility to those in need, has doubled its sales over the past five years—a feat executives attribute to the company’s inherent innovation.

“The people who work here, they’re not so much factory workers as they are craftsmen and artisans that are building the product.”

Josh Anderson, Vice President of Marketing

The company and its factory are based in Kennewick, Washington, but it sells its main product across the world in more than 30 countries.

TiLite is not only highly committed to being a leader in its industry, but it is also focused on being involved in its community. The company has not only donated wheelchairs to help in the Haitian Relief Efforts, it has also participated in “Wheels for Humanity” and donated more than 20 wheels.

In addition to its worldwide activism, the company supports local charitable events, such as the Red Cross’ Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot. TiLite also annually sponsors two families during the Christmas holiday. The families provide a list of needs, and the company’s employees buy the items. Around the same time, TiLite participates in the Special Olympics “Polar Swim” in January.

The company’s CEO is also a member of Tridec, a community-development organization, and Kadlec Medical Center, a nonprofit hospital.

TiLite has a long history of community charity and organized giving, and its founding reveals a unique path to its current company philosophy.

In 1997, CEO David Lippes acquired the titanium sports-products division of Sandvik Special Metals, a titanium fabricator. However, the TiLite business did not start until 1998. After completing the deal with Sandvik, Lippes met two

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men in wheelchairs who now work for TiLite. “At that time, TiSport was making a wheelchair for one of our competitors,” explains Josh Anderson, vice president of marketing. The men told Lippes several things could be done with titanium that couldn’t be done with other materials to improve the wheelchair product. Lippes was interested.

“David went to the company we were manufacturing the wheelchair for in an effort to sell the idea to them, but they weren’t interested,” Anderson says. “So, David decided to go it alone. He hired those two wheelchair users, and together they created a line of titanium wheelchairs that is now known by the TiLite brand name.”

President Rick Forman believes the company’s initial success revolved around its ability to break new ground. “Before we came along, the leaders in the industry were selling products that were innovative in their time, but that was back in the late ’80s. At this point, it was 10 years later, and they were resting on their laurels. We came along, and we introduced a more innovative product,“ he says.

“Titanium is very unique as far as a metal goes,” Anderson explains. “It has to be bent very precisely, and it has to be mitered and welded very precisely. So the people who work here, they’re not so much factory workers as they are crafts-

1998: founded • 120: employees • 50,000+: wheelchairs shipped between 1998 and 2009 • 36: countries in which TiLite wheelchairs are sold

community development

Charitable Endeavors

chelsea mcclammer:

Washington native and the youngest US Paralympic athlete in her TiLite wheelchair.

TiLite encourages its employees to actively participate in the community, through philanthropic efforts in Washington. The company supports, through event participation and monetary contributions, the following organizations and associations: Organizations • Adopt-A-Family • American Red Cross (Turkey Trot Race) • Boys & Girls Clubs of America • Columbia Industries • Junior Achievement • Kennewick HS Dance Team • Historic Downtown Kennewick Partnership • March of Dimes • Multiple Sclerosis Society • Rotary International • Special Olympics (Polar Bear Swim) • Spina Bifida Assoc. of Washington • Seattle Children's Hospital • Tri-Cities Cancer Center • Tridec, Board Member • Team St. Luke’s • Time of Remembrance • Tri-City Regional Chamber of Commerce • Tri-City Development Council • United Way

men and artisans that are building the product. So the level of skill that they have compared to the skills of our competitors is just very different.”

The company currently has plans to compete in the pediatricand sports-wheelchair marketplace. It’s already in the process of designing new products in both those markets. The executives believe the company will continue its success, and Anderson thinks it’s their workers love for what they do that is the key.

“We have a core knowledge with this adult, high-end, mobility product,” Anderson says. “We love the satisfaction we get from seeing someone’s mobility improve from something we’ve created.” [P]

strategy to share

COMPLEMENT YOUR OFFERINGS TiLite’s strategy is to maintain and build upon its core of custom manual wheelchairs and to expand into complementary products. Its goals are to continue being the market leader in innovation, quality, and style and to add to the scope and breadth of the products offered.

Industry Affiliations • American Board of Disability Analysts • American Physical Therapy Assoc.

Users First Alliance, Corporate Advocate Member • Nat'l Spinal Cord Injury Assoc.

• National Coalition for Assistive and Rehab Technology • Nat'l Registry of Rehabilitation Technology Suppliers, Corporate Friend • Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology Society of North America • Paralyzed Veterans of America • United Spinal Assoc.

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community development

Locally Known The Chrichton Group. An insurance brokerage keeps morale high by volunteering with Nashville's nonprofits and philanthropic organizations

by Chris Allsop

T “We are memebrs of a group called Hands On Nashville. They locate the social services or nonprofits that need help, then we're called in.”

Bob Jackson, President

he Crichton Group, an insurance agency based in Nashville, Tennessee, hasn’t always had such a succinct name. When the current joint owner and president, Bob Jackson, joined the company in 1986, it was then known as Crichton Perry. After a successful six years, Jackson, on good terms, resigned from Crichton Perry to go into business with his friend, Jimmy Ward. They acquired the customer list of insurance brokerage Granbery and Associates and enjoyed setting about the successful growth of their new joint venture. “We grew the business from $300,000 to $1.2 million in commission in three years,” Jackson says. “Then the phone rings and it’s Rob Crichton. He’d been thinking about his exit strategy and wanted to sell to someone familiar with the employees and the clients.”

Jackson and Ward structured a deal with company founder Crichton and his partners to take over the business and release the partners progressively. The group was renamed Crichton, Perry, Brandon, Jackson and Ward.

“The name became so long that nobody could remember it correctly,” Jackson says. Towards the end of 2009, the owners decided to shorten the name. When one of Jackson’s clients pointed out the legacy attached to the name Crichton, Jackson and Ward decided on The Crichton Group.

At the unveiling, Rob Crichton was moved to tears by the decision. “I wish I could say that we did that for him,” Jackson says, “that it was a thank you for his selling the business to us, but we really did it just to shorten the name! But we were happy that, in the end, we were able to recognize what he’d done for us.”

The Crichton Group today has 75 employees and brings in $100 million in premiums and $10.6 million in commission. It provides auto, home, health, personal, and business insurance. Distinguishing it from the competition is its risk-manBY THE NUMBERS

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agement division, which employs no less that three certified risk managers—an industry rarity. “We teach risk-management classes, including anything from hiring and screening training to awareness of sexual harassment,” Jackson explains. “Having our in-house division, being able to bring that kind of service to the table, really separates us from the competition.”

This separation is reflected in the company’s consistent growth: 10 percent for four of the last five years. “Last year, we just had to hunker down and sell more business, which we did do,” Jackson says. “We probably sold more new business than ever last year, but our revenues were flat.”

The Crichton Group is emerging bullishly from the shadow of the recession, keen to achieve and maintain 12-percent growth per year. The company is currently hiring new talent attracted by ownership possibilities—its latest partner is 33-year-old Cooper Jones.

Another side of the brokerage that might appeal to potential employees is its social conscience.

1979: founded • 75: employees • $100 million: annual premiums $10.6 million: annual commissions

community development

nashville's helpers

HELPING HANDS: Employees from

the Crichton Group volunteering at SeconddHarvest Food Bank in Nashville. Each November, employees help sort and box up food.

The Crichton Group helps numerous local charities and organizations in its hometown of Nashville.

Some of its endeavors include: Hands On Nashville Purpose: To locate local nonprofits and pair interested individuals with service opportunities American Heart Association Purpose: To build healthier lives,

free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke Goodwill Industries Purpose: To enhance the dignity and quality of life of individuals, families, and communities by eliminating barriers to opportunity and helping people in need reach their fullest potential through the power of work Boys and Girls Clubs of America Purpose: To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens “We are a member of a group called Hands On Nashville,” Jackson says. “They locate the social services or nonprofits that need help, then we’re called in.” In the past, employees of The Crichton Group have become involved with organizations such as the American Heart Association, Goodwill Industries, and the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. Past projects have included cleaning up a daycare center or serving food to the homeless in the Nashville Union Mission.

“We’re very involved and are the endorsed provider of the Middle Tennessee nonprofit association,” Jackson says. “Additionally, among our staff are people who have been and are on several charitable boards.”

While it’s written into the company’s mission statement to give back to the community, Jack-

son credits Ward with the organization of Crichton’s community service and for making it as extensive and effective as it is today.

The future for Crichton is in attracting the best new talent to achieve its growth targets, as well as dealing with the challenge of health-insurance reform.

“While its effects won’t be felt by us for a few years, health-insurance accounts for 15 percent of our revenues, so we are very concerned,” Jackson says. “We recognize that there needs to be some reform. What we’ve begun to do with our clients in this area is to substantiate the value that we bring to the table. That’s why we like to reveal exactly how much commission we make and then demonstrate exactly what we do to earn that money.” [P]

strategy to share

MASTER THE BUSINESS I like to share this little piece of advice with all my new employees: learn the rules of the game, and then play to win.

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Entrepreneurs and CEOs doing business around the world

Emma Sinclair, CEO of Target Parking

Diaa Elyaacoubi, President & CEO of Streamcore

What: Parking/facilities management; also owns ineedtopark.co.uk, the UK’s largest and most visited shared database of parking-permit spaces Where: London, United Kingdom Business Philosophy: Always treat people how you wish to be treated. Also, know that it takes a lifetime to build a reputation and a second to lose it.

Global Perspective: The perception in the UK is that things will continue to be tough for quite some time, and I have to agree. Doom and gloom may be the flavor of the month, and for many months to come, but that is not the only thing I see. A difficult economic climate requires ingenuity and the ability to look at things differently because the reality is that there are many opportunities out there.

What: Global provider of appliances for managing interactive applications and real-time communications (VoIP, video) delivery over WAN Where: Puteaux (a Parisian suburb), France Business Philosophy: To gather and analyze data to formulate small-business strategies. However, I am ultimately guided by my intuition when it comes to making complex business decisions involving calculated risks.

Global Perspective: The business climate in France is steadily improving, consistent with the worldwide economic recovery. Fortunately, Streamcore’s technology helps companies improve the efficiency of their corporate network. So, even in a down economy, customers recognized Streamcore's solutions to be a smart, valuable investment.

George Ajjan, Director of 4x4americain

Brandi Moore, Founder of IndiaThink

What: Automobile exports Where: Dakar, Senegal Business Philosophy: The greatest opportunities lie in the most unexpected places. Your products and services represent you, so make sure you can always take pride in them.

Global Perspective: Doing business in the United States versus doing business in Senegal is like night and day. In a highly competitive and extremely well-developed market like the United States, success requires doing something exceptional and constantly improving upon it, but in an undeveloped market, there is little competition and clients do not have such demanding tastes, so success merely requires meeting a respectable level of quality and consistency. Also, trust is paramount. In Senegal, there is little hope of litigating a deal run amok with an unscrupulous partner.

What: Finance and technology business in India through crosscultural consulting Where: India (operating out of New York City) Business Philosophy: Listening loudly is the foundation of my approach to identifying possibilities, from client and supplier relationships to framework development. To compete globally, hearing opportunities before the competition wins.

Global Perspective: India is the most exciting place on the planet to be doing business right now. India scored number one on the Nielson Global confidence rating, is expected to grow its retail sector by 163% by 2014, and is powered by a citizen with an average age of 24 who is looking for change. Its adaptability, combined with enormous needs in almost every sector, should not be ignored by any business that wants to see growth over the next 20 years.

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A global company focused on aerospace systems.

A global company focused on aerospace systems.

Specialty Fluid Controls Electro-Mechanical Controls Specialty Fluid Controls Actuation Systems Electro-Mechanical Controls Manifold Assemblies Landing Gear Systems Actuation Systems

Manifold Assemblies A350 XWB courtesy of Airbus Americas, Inc. Landing Gear Systems A350 XWB courtesy of Airbus Americas, Inc.

www.circoraerospace.com

www.circoraerospace.com

community development

Wine & Spirits Wholesaler & Distributor Republic National Distributing Company is the most proficient beverage alcohol distribution/brokerage network in the U.S. because we’re the very best at servicing the needs of our people, our suppliers, our customers and our community.

RNDC is the second largest distributor of premium wine & spirits in the U.S., with wholly-owned operations in Arizona, Alabama, Colorado, District of Columbia, Florida, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota, South Dakota, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia. RNDC is also partners in joint-ventures in Kentucky, Ohio, Oklahoma and South Carolina.

For more information, please visit us online at

www.rndc-usa.com

Colorado OfďŹ ce | 8000 Southpark Terrace | Littleton, CO 80120-5605 | (303) 734-2400 | www.rdnc-usa.com 84

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