Entrepreneur of the Year

Page 1

GULF COAST

MAY 18 - MAY 24, 2012

Business Review

THREE DOLLARS

ENTREPRENEUR OFTHE YEAR

MANATEE: PAT NEAL PAGE 14

REGIONAL WINNERS Sarasota-Manatee ................ 14 Tampa Bay ............................ 16 Lee-Collier ............................ 18 RUNNER-UPS .......................... 6

Companies • Trends • Entrepreneurs • CEOs

STORY ON PAGE 23

Top Deals

Fort Myers’ 428-unit Ashlar Apartments sell for $45.7 million.

RUNNER-UP: MATT BROSIOUS PAGE 10

The Weekly Newspaper for Gulf Coast Business Leaders

COFFEE TALK GULF COAST BUSINESS BUZZ

+ Community bankers find stress relief

Some good news for local community bankers arrived May 14 from a somewhat surprising source: federal regulators. Indeed, a trio of regulatory agencies, in a joint statement, says banks with less than $10 billion in consolidated assets won’t be subject to stringent stress tests required under the Dodd-Frank Act. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the Federal Reserve and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency released the statement. The stress tests are designed to see how banks would hold up under what regulators call “baseline, adverse and severely adverse” financial scenarios. The idea was to avoid big bank collapses if there is another massive financial meltdown. But while the focus would be on banks with at least $10 billion in consolidated assets, many community bankers worry that eventually they would be part of the tests. “The agencies understand that these initiatives for larger organizations are raising some questions on the part of community bankers regarding supervisory expectations for stress testing by community banks,” the joint release states. Of course, the clarification isn’t a total free pass. The release also states that “the agencies continue to emphasize that all banking organizations, regardless of size, should have the capacity to analyze the potential impact of adverse outcomes on their financial condition.”

+ Happy in Naples

See COFFEE TALK on page 3

RHONDA SHEAR Entrepreneur of the Year PAGE 12 Community Bank is now 82749

Naples people are whistling a happy tune. Coastal Living magazine ranked Naples as the second happiest seaside town after Kiawah Island, S.C. The only other town in Florida to rank in the list was Jupiter at No. 9. The magazine ranked cities on criteria such as crime, commute

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WOMEN IN BUSINESS

GULF COAST

Meet our Southwest Florida Women Lawyers

Business Review A DIVISION OF THE OBSERVER GROUP INC.

www.review.net The Gulf Coast Business Review is Southwest Florida’s newspaper for business leaders. With offices in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, Manatee, Sarasota, Lee and Collier counties, the Review is the only weekly business newspaper that provides business leaders, entrepreneurs, CEOs and investors with a regional perspective. The Review’s mission is to deliver relevant news and information on Southwest Florida’s leading and growing companies, up-and-coming entrepreneurs and the important economic, industry and government trends affecting business. The Business Review is also the leading publisher of public notices on the Gulf Coast of Florida.

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Front Row: Amanda Barritt, Beth Vogelsang, Cora Molloy, Vicki Sproat, Tyra Read, Kelly Jablonski. Back Row: Sharon Zuccaro, Stefani Norrbin, Amanda Brock, Traci McKee, Shannon Puopolo, Suzanne Boy, Erin Houck-Toll, Amy Turner

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COFFEE TALK

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times and the number of sunny days. It also used data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, a daily survey of 1,000 U.S. adults. Coastal Living cited Naples for its temperate climate, outdoor sports such as fishing and rich cultural offerings. In particular, the magazine cited Naples’ theater and orchestra. The Inn on Fifth got a plug too, as the downtown Naples hotel was recommended as a place to stay.

LLP

The people who seek to lease commercial office space in one of the most prominent buildings in downtown Sarasota hope a recently completed renovation will be its trump card. The renovation, at the M&I Bank building on Pineapple Avenue, a few blocks south of Main Street, includes some unusual features, like showers for employees who ride their bikes to work. Plus, this particular building, 11 stories tall and 128,389 square feet, had another lurking issue: It was stuck in the 1980s when it came to aesthetics and style, according to officials with the firm that owns it, New York Citybased iStar Financial. “We saw this as a fantastic asset that had been neglected by previous owners,” says iStar Vice President Matt Ballinger, based in Atlanta. “We thought now was the time to reinvest in the building.” The firm, with a portfolio of more than 40 million square feet nationwide, took ownership of the building in September 2008. The previous owner defaulted on a $40 million loan on the property, built in 1986. The renovation project cost nearly $2 million. In addition to showers in the offices and an updated look, iStar added two chillers and completed several maintenance projects. Most of the bathrooms were redone, too, and are now made of marble and granite. “The building is stunning,” says Ian Black Real Estate agent Jag Grewal, who will lease space for iStar. Ian Black recently took over leasing from CBRE Group. The building is about 75% occupied, says Grewal. Law firm Kirk-Pinkerton, recently signed a lease for the entire sixth floor, 10,104 square feet.

Few places epitomized the foreclosure crisis like the Fort Myers area during the real estate bust. Jeff Tumbarello, the director of the Southwest Florida Real Estate Investor’s Association, reminded us recently how bad it was. At the end of April, there were 8,850 active foreclosures moving through the Lee County court system. That’s about 500 more than there were at the same time last year. But consider this: In April 2009, there were 24,335 active foreclosure cases in Lee County, Tumbarello says. This context is important because there is a second, smaller wave of foreclosures making its way through the system today. In April, lenders filed 656 foreclosure actions compared with 375 in April 2011. But Tumbarello says that’s because foreclosure actions slowed dramatically after regulators challenged the foreclosure process and so-called “robo-signing” documentation, so we’re now in catch-up mode. It’s not going to be near the size of the last wave, he says. The top three lenders filing foreclosures in April were Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Bank of New York.

+ Don Pablo’s owner laments what could have been The Loft Ristobar, a high-end restaurant and nightclub that opened in Sarasota in 2010, could never get away from its past — from 1998-2006, it was a Don Pablo’s Mexican restaurant. “Every time we would tell someone directions, we would tell them the old Don Pablo’s,” says Loft owner Steve Rinehart, also a local homebuilder. “People would instantly know where that was.” Rinehart adds that he would hear from people regularly how much they missed

See COFFEE TALK on page 5

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BUILDING INVESTMENT What the data show: Taxable sales in this category include building supplies, heating and air conditioning, insulation, well drilling, interior decorating, paint, wallpaper, lumber and roofing. The latest data is for February.

FEBRUARY BUILDING INVESTMENT

1

($ in millions)

Area Naples Sarasota-Bradenton Cape Coral-Fort Myers Tampa-St. Petersburg Punta Gorda

What it means: Every area of the Gulf Coast posted stronger taxable sales in building investment in February on an annual percentage-change basis. Naples, Sarasota and Fort Myers posted stronger growth than the state as a whole (up 8.7%). Naples and Sarasota were among the top areas of the state in the annualpercentage growth of this category of taxable sales. Forecast: If the economic recovery continues, expect to see growth continue at similar levels. However, take note that comparisons will be easy because the real estate downturn virtually shut down the construction industry. So any growth will be robust because we’re coming from

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Investment $30.4 $51.4 $51.8 $173.4 $14.4

Annual Change 17.9% 12% 9.2% 8.2% 0.5%

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Source: Florida Legislature Office of Economic & Demographic Research

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+ Foreclosure pipeline steady

83215

Renovated building hopes to draw new tenants

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

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GULF COAST WEEK REGIONAL BUSINESS NEWS AT A GLANCE

CHARLOTTE-LEE-COLLIER Radiation Therapy posts loss Hotel revenues rise

Hotels in Lee County posted a 5% increase in revenue per available room, the result of higher occupancies and room rates. Revenue per available room, an important gauge of the financial health of hotels, is a function of average occupancies and daily rates. In March, hotels in Lee County reported revenue per available room was $163.34, a 5% increase over the $155.56 in March 2011, according to the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau. Lee hotel occupancies rose 3.4% to 86% in March compared with the same month a year ago and average daily rates rose 1.6% to $189.92.

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DECISION Do you think the recent JPMorgan losses are proof that banks need stricter regulations?

Radiation Therapy Services Holdings, an operator of cancertreatment centers, reported a net loss of $8.4 million on revenues of $177.5 million in the first quarter ending March 31. The first-quarter net loss of $8.4 million compares with a net loss of $3.1 million in the same quarter of 2011. While revenues grew 13% in the first quarter compared with the same quarter one year ago, expenses rose 18% to $185.7 million. In a statement, Radiation Therapy executives said lower Medicare reimbursements and physician compensation and “investments in key personnel” impacted the company’s margins. Radiation Therapy operates 126 cancer-treatment centers, including 95 located in 15 U.S. states and clustered in 28 markets. The company also operates 30 centers in six Latin American countries and one in India.

Interop government alerts

Interop Technologies says it will provide Cellcom wirelessTo vote in this week’s poll, visit: phone subscribers in Wisconsin and Michigan with a governreview.net/decision ment-alert system. Results from last week’s poll: The government now requires Do you agree with proposed cell-phone operators to provide a federal legislation requiring system to disseminate alerts such companies to comply with as imminent threats or missing new cybersecurity measures? children. The Federal Emergency Management Administration 50% ensures compliance and certifies Yes such systems. 50% Based in Fort Myers, Interop No provides wireless-phone op-

erators with software to manage millions of subscriber messages.

TAMPA BAY MagneGas replaces CEO

MagneGas Corp. announced Ermanno Santilli will replace his father, Dr. Ruggero Santilli, as chief executive officer. Ermanno Santilli has led the company’s growth in Europe as executive vice president of international relations since 2010. Prior to that, he worked at Ingersoll Rand. Dr. Ruggero Santilli, the scientist who founded MagneGas and developed the technology for its product, will continue an active role as chief scientist and chairman of the board. The Tampa company produces a hydrogen-based fuel for metal working from liquid waste.

Developer zeros in on Tampa

Developer Altman Co. plans to target Tampa for new apartment complex projects. Joel Altman, chairman of the Boca Raton-based firm, says new projects are expected to start construction in Tampa in 2013. Altman said rents are recovering and occupancies are high on the firm’s existing rentals. The firm also recently announced it would begin construction on four new projects in 2012 on the east coast of Florida. Last year the company acquired construction financing for Altis at Grand Cypress, a 258unit development planned for New Tampa in Pasco County.

Market improves slightly Home prices on a year-overyear basis in the North PortBradenton-Sarasota market increased in March and February, according to a CoreLogic report. The report states that home prices in the region, including distressed sales, were up 3.5% in March over March 2011 and 3.1% in February over February 2011. Year-over-year prices excluding distressed sales are also on the upswing. In that category, prices were up 2.9% in March

over March 2011 and 0.5% in February over February 2011. Distressed sales include short sales and real estate owned ( R E O ) transactions. CoreLogic is a Santa Ana, Calif.based research and analysis firm.

UMG sells bulk terminal

ing to a Manatee Economic Development Corp. press release. The firm currently has 65 employees. Manatee County commissioners approved $12,000 in performance-based incentives, and the state, through Enterprise Florida, approved $48,000. Veethree also qualified for expedited permitting from Manatee County. The company expects to occupy its new facility by July.

Tampa’s United Maritime Group has entered an agreement to sell a dry bulk terminal on the Lower Mississippi River. An affiliate of Oiltanking Holding Americas Inc., owned by a German petroleum company, is purchasing the U.S. United Bulk Terminal in Davant, La., for an undisclosed amount. The terminal has more than 11 million tons of annual throughput capacity, the release says. The transaction is expected to close in the second quarter, barring regulatory approval. UMG, acquired from TECO Energy by an investment group in 2007, specializes in transporting coal and petroleum products.

SARASOTA-MANATEE Firm plans expansion

Manatee County-based Veethree Electronics & Marine LLC, a mechanical and electronic instrument supplier, intends to move into a new building and hire 20 people by 2015. The company will move into a 52,000-square-foot facility in south Manatee County, accord-

Agency changes name

The Sarasota Convention & Visitors Bureau changed its name to Visit Sarasota County. The name change will help non-locals recognize the agency serves entities in the entire county, officials say, and not just large businesses. Visit Sarasota County President Virginia Haley adds that the new name instantly identifies the organization’s industry and purpose and ranks high in searches for Florida attractions, events and tourism businesses. Visit Sarasota County is a sales and marketing organization that’s contracted by Sarasota County to promote tourism.

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COFFEE TALK

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Don Pablo’s, which left the region in 2006. “Don Pablo’s had a cult following that’s still kind of strong,� Rinehart tells Coffee Talk. So Rinehart will now embrace the restaurant’s Tex-Mex history: He closed the Loft late last year and will reopen May 23, this time as a Don Pablo’s. The second time around the restaurant will have an expanded menu, says Rinehart, including more freshly made entrees. The location, just west of the Fruitville Road exit of Interstate 75, is the first Don Pablo’s franchise operation for the eatery’s parent company, Madison, Ga.-based Rita Restaurant Corp. A subsidiary of Waltham, Mass.-based investment fund DDJ Capital Management, Rita Restaurant bought 37 Don Pablo’s in 15 states from bankruptcy in February 2008. Still, while Rinehart is excited and optimistic about Don Pablo’s the sequel, he’s also disappointed the Loft didn’t make it. After Don Pablo’s left in 2006, new owners turned it into a Cuban restaurant, Tropicana. That concept came and went, and Rinehart then launched the Loft. It included platform seats, a dance stage and state-of-the-art lighting and sound systems. But after about a year, Rinehart could see the Loft wasn’t going to make it. So he reached out to Rita Restaurant executives to talk franchises. Says Rinehart: “It’s very difficult in this town to operate a successful independent restaurant.�

+ Share the fare

Tourism promoters are jumping into the software applications business for Facebook to attract visitors. The latest effort: the Lee County Visitor and Convention Bureau recently launched a Facebook application called

Share the Sunshine, with the help of its Oregon-based social-media firm Sparkloft Media. Based on the popular FriendFareFinder application, the application finds the best airfares from the user’s 10 closest friends’ home airports to Fort Myers. It shares them with friends and includes a daily weather report to remind them of Fort Myers’ balmy weather. Tourism officials hope the app will help users overcome the time-consuming task of finding the best airfares, one of the biggest hurdles for travelers.

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When Richard Gitlin, an accomplished entrepreneur and professor in the College of Engineering at the University of South Florida, invented DSL he probably didn’t anticipate the changes it would bring. The technology, digital subscriber line, was a revolutionizing force in the telecommunications industry and one of the first ways to transmit the Internet. But the innovation also bred hackers and pranksters that use the Internet for less than scrupulous means — which Gitlin learned firsthand. Gitlin was photographed for a Business Review article in 2010, which was put online. (See Business Review, Jan. 8 2010.) The picture, which is innocuous, became a viral caption meme. Parodying the epithet of the hardnosed engineering professor, anonymous jokers posted millions of copies of the picture captioned he’d likely say on various websites. For example, one iteration of the meme has white block text that says “Fire drill during class� on the top of the picture and “teaches outside,� on the bottom.

However silly it is, Gitlin’s situation illustrates problems with Internet reputation that could affect any executive. In fact, pictures in any leadership biography section on any company websites are vulnerable — with little legal recourse. Julee Milham, a solo attorney specializing in intellectual property based in St. Pete Beach, says fighting this type of virtual copyright theft has been construed as a violation of freedom of speech. For example, a Los Angeles woman sued Universal Music Group in 2007 for lobbying YouTube to remove a clip she posted on the video-sharing website. The Universal-owned Prince song “Let’s Get Crazy,� plays in the video of her toddler dancing. The woman won the suit, setting a precedent that’s hard to overcome. Milham says it’s important to register copyrights for digitally shared photos, but they will always be vulnerable to duplication. “Just when a copyright owner thinks they’re one step ahead of the replicators, they find a new way to pirate intellectual property,� Milham explains.

*R IRU LW :HœYH JRW \RXU EDFN At Roetzel, our attorneys view the world the way our clients do – with an innovative and results-oriented mindset. Just ask Ashley Lupo.

40 UNDER 40: WHERE ARE YOU NOW?

For more than a decade, the Business Review has selected 40 people under the age of 40 whom it believes will be the region’s future business leaders. This year, we’re calling for a reunion. The Business Review will hold three networking receptions in October to honor the 2012 40 under 40 winners and reunite winners from previous years. To make the most of this opportunity, we are collecting information from past winners for an alumni directory, which will be available for attendees at the events. If you are one of our 40 under 40 winners, let us know what you’re up to by updating your contact information at: surveymonkey.com/s/40under. To connect online, you can also join our alumni group by searching for “40 Under 40 Awards� on LinkedIn. So don’t be shy ... and stay tuned for further opportunities to network.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

2012

Risky Business The top entrepreneurs on the Gulf Coast have more than successful companies. They have guts.

W

e at the Business Review love entrepreneurs. We love their ideas, their passion — their guts. It takes a certain kind of person to choose the unknown of his or her own venture over the stability (and perhaps tedium) of a regular job. And these kind of people often turn out to be confident, creative and charismatic, which makes them interesting personalities — and a good read. They also come with great tales of how they built their businesses as well as certain quirks that lend insight into how they run their companies and also perhaps why they’re so successful. Take homebuilder Pat Neal, whom we followed for a day to discover his quirks. One notable habit was instead of typing responses to his emails, Neal saves time by dictating his responses to his assistant using a dictophone. An unlikely

candidate as a homebuilder, Neal Communities more than doubled its business from 2009 to 2011, a feat that made it a clear winner for the Sarasota-Manatee area this year. Or consider John DeAngelis and David Diamond, of DeAngelis Diamond Construction, the winners of our Lee-Collier area. Rather than spend their spare time playing golf or fishing, they fly to Silicon Valley to research and invest in startups. Sometimes entrepreneurs’ stories of success come unexpectedly. This year’s overall winner, Rhonda Shear of St. Petersburg-based Shear Enterprises, shifted her career from acting and comedy to designing and selling women’s intimate apparel. Using her on-air TV skills and instincts of what women want, Shear’s sales have ballooned from $4.7 million in 2009 to $74.5 million in 2011 — the highest growth of any entrepreneurs we

considered this year. Selecting the best entrepreneurs from Tampa to Naples is never easy. We look at how well individuals embody the entrepreneurial spirit, but they also need to have good numbers. To qualify, entrepreneurs must have three consecutive years of growth, and the more, the better. The past few years have made this task harder, but we are pleased to report there were still many strong candidates, which bodes well for the Gulf Coast. In the following pages, you’ll see that whether it’s a $4 million jump in sales or $40 million, a business selling bras or houses, all of our Entrepreneur of the Year winners and runner-ups have one thing in common: the ability to take risks. In all of their stories, there’s a point where they took a chance, and in many cases, it either meant success or failure. For now, it appears they’ve succeeded. — Kat Hughes

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

RUNNER-UP

www.review.net

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by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

2012

Quick Turnaround Rob Smithson’s graphic design firm went from hemorrhaging cash to fast growth in two years. More growth could be forthcoming.

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ob Smithson took the business risk of a lifetime in 2010. That’s when he spent more than $1.5 million to buy and install two highend printing and cutting machines for File his company, Manatee County-based Trinity Graphics. The firm specializes in Rob Smithson has run Manatee County-based Trinity Graphics since 1987. Revenues doubled in 2011, from $3.5 million in 2010 to $7 designing and printing labels, signs, tags, million last year. tickets and cups — anything that needs a didn’t materialize, Smithson would be in was a lemon, says Smithson, and the man- Bill Ceperich, a semi-retired executive design or a graphic. ufacturer spent weeks diagnosing and with four decades of experience in graphic The equipment Smithson bought, a deep hole. The risk paid off. Trinity Graphics dou- fixing problems. That machine has since design, is the new CEO. Vutek Superwide digital inkjet printers, Smithson moved to the Sarasotacan cut on materials up to 10 feet wide bled sales last year, from $3.5 million in been replaced. 2010 to $7 million in 2011. “I nearly went bankrupt,” says Smith- Bradenton area from England in 1987, and two inches thick. The It also doubled its employ- son. “I was hemorrhaging money. I near- when he was 27 years old, to open an machines, controlled by laee count, to 40, and now ly gave up.” American branch of a British printing sers, are manufactured by a REVENUES runs at least one printing Instead, the British-born and graphics business his California company and are 2009: line 24 hours a day. Ven- Smithson now seeks other father founded. Smithson so rare and expensive that $3 million ice-based drinkware firm ways to continue the growth EMPLOYEES is now the sole owner. fewer than 10 are in opera2010: Tervis Tumbler is a major track. He recently hired a The company grew tion nationwide. 2009: 15 $3.5 million 16.7% client. CEO, for instance, so he slowly over that first deMoreover, the purchase 2010: 19 The spend-to-grow could take himself out of cade, but Smithson is now was a big gamble because 2011: strategy nonetheless had day-to-day operations and in fast-growth mode. He Trinity Graphics had about $7 million 100% 2011: 40 some hiccups. One of the focus more on long-term projects at least a 30% in$3 million in annual sales machines, for example, planning and new products. crease in sales in 2012. at the time. So if business

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

www.review.net

RUNNER-UP

by Jean Gruss | Lee-Collier Editor

work, and the same employees unpack the goods at their destination. “We ship stuff money can’t replace,” Henderson says. Henderson reasons that if he can reach the top 1% of the 10,000 baby boomers who retire every day, “that’s 100 people who are looking for people like me.” But reaching that 1% is pretty tough because they have an impenetrable wall of gatekeepers, Henderson says. What’s more, they shy from publicity so you’re not likely to find them at many Naples To save his moving and society events. “They’re too insulated,” he says. storage company from the But Henderson is a master at networkrecession, Jim Henderson ing and belongs to 22 organizations in focused on the ultra-highNaples, from Realtors to chambers of commerce and building managers. It’s net-worth people moving to through those groups that word spread Naples. They kept him rolling. about his deluxe moving services. Henderson calls it “networking up.” n 2008, in the depths of the financial His prospective customer may be two or crisis, Jim Henderson took a huge three people removed from the person risk: He bought eight brand-new he’s trying to reach, but relentless netmoving trucks that cost $88,000 each working spreads the word from one perand refocused his moving company to son to the next by word-of-mouth. target the wealthiest people Because very wealthy in Naples. REVENUES people have employees Today, William C. Huff who manage their person2009: Cos. is the “go-to” mover al affairs, Henderson says $1.1 million for ultra-high-net-worth it’s essential to reach those people. And don’t call it a 2010: influential people. To do moving and storage com$1.3 million 18% that better, Henderson pany; William C. Huff is a recently started a chapter 2011: boutique concierge logistics of the Domestic Estates $1.5 million 15% support provider for people Managers Association in whose disposable wealth Naples. It’s an invitationexceeds $50 million, Henonly group that carefully EMPLOYEES derson explains. vets its members to pro“Just last summer I starttect their privacy. “This is 2009: 12 ed feeling like the vision like the Dead Poet’s Sociwas paying off,” says Hen2010: 14 ety,” Henderson chuckles. derson, whose crews someAn improving economy 2011: 16 times spend as long as three coupled with Henderson’s weeks packing and unpackrelentless networking ing a single home for as means William C. Huff is much as $80,000. on track to exceed $2 million in revenues This is highly specialized work. Crews this year, more than 30% growth combuild wooden crates for precious art- pared with 2011, says Henderson.

2012

The 1% Mover

I

RUNNER-UP

Nancy DeNike

Jim Henderson, owner of William C. Huff Cos., says moving one ultra-high-net-worth client is equal to moving 35 customers of average means.

by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

2012

Starry Dreams Revenues at Norm Worthington’s software and communications firm are up nearly 379% since 2009. He projects more fast growth.

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y name alone, Star2Star Communications connects businesses to other businesses and customers File via the Internet. Norm Worthington co-founded Star2Star Communications in 2006. The firm, which connects businesses to other businesses and customers But to co-founder and CEO Norm via the Internet, had $18.2 million in 2011 sales. Worthington, the firm is a software development company that Worthington’s vehicle has been profitable since vironment. The firm recently just happens to occupy the REVENUES EMPLOYEES to do that is Star2Star. the third quarter of that closed on a line of credit with communications industry. Worthington and fellow year, Worthington says. a Silicon Valley bank, for inIn fact, says Worthington, 2009: $3.8 million 2009: 43 technology entrepreneur The firm’s success stance, which Worthington 20% of Manatee County2010: 83 2010: Joe Rhem launched the stems from Blended says will allow it to do more based Star2Star’s payroll $10.8 million 184% 2011: 100 business in the latter’s ga- Architecture, its tradefinancing with customers is in development and rage in 2006. The idea marked, proprietary and improve margins. innovation. And that’s 2011: was to create a Voice over and patent-pending sysAnother recent advancejust where Worthington, $18.2 million 68.5% Internet Protocol (VoIP) tem. Blended Architecment is in human resources, founder of more than a phone system that could ture combines several elements of VoIP where the company hired its first ever dozen companies, wants it. provide businesses every- to provide clients a customized offering. person solely dedicated to recruiting “I think the whole busithing from hardware and The client list includes Dollar General, employees. The company also recently ness telecommunications inKentucky Fried Chicken and a Texas- started to improve its internal infradustry is about to go into a massive shift,” software to setup and support. The company has since grown fast. In based Pizza Hut franchisee. structure. “What we had worked well,” says Worthington. “It will catch a lot of Worthington’s big-picture goals re- says Worthington, “but we could see that the industry by surprise. We want to have 2011, for example, it had $18.2 million a big role in redefining business commu- in sales and 100 employees. Revenues volve around continuing to foster Star- we needed to rebuild it in order to keep are up 379% since 2009, and Star2Star 2Star’s fast, yet manageable, growth en- growing the way we want to.” nication.”

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

RUNNER-UP

www.review.net

9

by Rod Thomson | Editor-at-Large

starting two companies on the side, one of which — a trucking service firm — continues today, he had to scratch the entrepreneurial itch. With two others from Arthur Andersen, and a $300,000 check from Tampa entrepreneur Tom Wallace, they launched Tribridge — a name inspired by the three main bridges connecting Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. “We thought big from the beginning,” DiBenedetto, chairman and CEO, says of the firm that provides technology solutions to mid-market companies using Microsoft business platforms. The company had revenues of $2 milAn entrepreneurial itch led lion the first year, with $250,000 making Tony DiBenedetto to start his it to the bottom line. Since then, it has own venture, but his manage- grown through every downturn, never a decline in revenue or a layoff. It ment values are what keeps it seeing has offices in every major market in the Southeast and a presence in every major growing strong. U.S. market. The company is known for its service ony DiBenedetto was born to a heroin-addicted mother, lived culture with customers and with other with grandparents until they died employees. Many companies talk the and then lived in more than a dozen dif- customer-service talk, but with Tribferent homes in poor black neighbor- ridge, it is an obsession. “We make our mishoods and elsewhere. takes, but there’s some“It was not normal growingthing about how you up stuff,” he says. “As a result, REVENUES fix them,” DiBenedetto I’m pretty resilient.” 2009: says. Tribridge expects He culled from this unusual $60 million everyone to help evupbringing an unexpected 2010: eryone at the company, character trait: the value of $63 million 5% and even opens its fiserving others. It is a trait that nancial books to emhas served him and the com2011: ployees. pany he co-founded, Tribridge $100 million 74.6% Five years ago, when Inc., in growing an average of it was a $23 million 40% annually since its incepcompany, Tribridge tion in 1998 — after taking out EMPLOYEES set a goal of $100 milacquisitions. lion in revenues. That DiBenedetto was the first in 2009: 290 was at the beginning his family to go to college. He 2010: 300 of the recession. But it graduated from Florida State has achieved the goal. University and got a job with 2011: 400 The next five-year goal: Arthur Andersen. After 11 $250 million. years in the corporate world,

2012

Culture of Serving

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Tony DiBenedetto, co-founder and CEO of Tribridge, focuses his IT consulting company on serving customers and its employees. It’s a formula that has resulted in annual growth of 40% minus acquisitions the last 14 years.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

www.review.net

RUNNER-UP

by Rod Thomson | Editor-at-Large

ers from scratch in the late 1990s because he could not afford to buy them off the shelf. He soon discovered that the niche between regular mail and moving companies was big, unmet and ripe. Coming out of the second recession it has been through, Trinity-based FreightCenter Inc. has reinvented itself as a shipper for businesses more than consumers, flipping the model it grew up on from the back of the store. It is now growing at a fast pace, 50% annually the past two years, through continual innovation in an industry as old as the wheel. “We’ve taken, hands down, the most boring industry, and we made it into something pretty darn exciting,” he says from an office that has windows looking out to his The recession tested many customer service staff. “We became pioa business model, but the neers in automating the industry.” shift FreightCenter made to FreightCenter does not own shipping trucks, but is becoming a big player in weather the downturn opened the shipping industry with more than a new avenue of sales. 1 million registered customers, adding about 1,500 each day through its website. att Brosious was not sure what Through deeply discounted contracts with he wanted to do when he left the 20 national carriers and thousands of loU.S. Army as a special ops Rangcal ones, the company ships large, heavy er, so he started college in upstate New items, such as engines, car batteries, or York. even cars themselves. But when his dad, Jim, unexpectedly Brosious, 37, is married to Desiree, has needed help with one of three stores he three young children and, by his own owned in the consumer mailing and packreckoning, a serious case of ADD. But he aging business, Brosious dropped out of thinks it has helped him innovate in an college and moved to the New industry long resistant Port Richey area. to new technologies. He REVENUES When he realized people did is constantly looking for not know what size restric2009: new ways to aggregate tions were on shipping items, $12.3 million shipping — including he started a little side business now negotiating with 2010: in the back of one of the stores ports in the country. $19.2 million 56% to offer shipping on large items. FreightCenter has 2011: Within two years, revenues its own full-time staff $28.9 million 50% from his operation surpassed of software engineers the entire chain of stores, so his and sells customized dad decided to sell the stores shipping software. Aland let Brosious run the shipthough most of its revEMPLOYEES ping business. enue comes from online The business consisted of a 2009: 65 shipping sales, he says president, Brosious, and a sales “software programming 2010: 135 team, Brosious. He did everyis very lucrative.” Total 2011: 85 thing, even teaching himself sales are on track to hit how to build his own comput$40 million this year.

2012

Innovating Ancient Industry

M

RUNNER-UP

Mark Wemple

Matt Brosius dropped out of college and filled a niche in one of the oldest industries with innovative thinking and technology.

by Jean Gruss | Lee-Collier Editor

2012

Tracking Business Felix Lluberes and Hong Long built a successful software company that helps track global-positioning devices. But it’s how they help other entrepreneurs start businesses that’s the key to their success.

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rue story: One of Position Logic’s customers was kidnapped in Mexico near the U.S. border, stripped naked and shoved into a box. After his family paid a ransom, the kidnappers kicked the still-naked man into a ravine, firing guns into the air to make him run for his life. “He was one of the few who REVENUES can tell this story,” says Felix Lluberes, Position Logic’s 2009: CEO and co-founder. $842,000 After that ordeal, the 2010: lucky survivor started a se$1.6 million 90% curity firm tracking global2011: positioning devices in that $2.8 million 75% risky region of the world. If he’d had such a system, he reasons, his family and law enforcement could have EMPLOYEES tracked him and his captors. 2009: 11 Naples-based Position Logic helped the man start 2010: 20 the business, providing the 2011: 31 software that tracks any GPS device from any computer.

Felix Lluberes and Hong Long base their company’s success on helping entrepreneurs start their own businesses. “This type of motivated people make things happen,” says Lluberes. “That’s one of many, many stories.” Although they may have little business experience, this is the kind of customer that Position Logic is eager to sign up. “A lot of people who work with us have a greater cause,” says Lluberes. “You can see that energy; they can do anything.” Instead of providing GPS tracking to individuals directly, Position Logic helps entrepreneurs establish their own GPS-tracking business and the company collects a fee for every device that’s tracked. The set up costs between $5,000 and $7,000, well within the means of many entrepreneurs overseas, where most of Position Logic’s business originates. Position Logic doesn’t grant exclusive rights to any territory, preferring to let entrepreneurs compete with markups they choose.

Vanessa Rogers

However, Position Logic encourages entrepreneurs by foregoing the upfront costs of setting up the system by giving them the opportunity to make money first. “From our end, we structure it in such a way so they don’t have a big upfront outlay,” Lluberes says. Helping other entrepreneurs get into business is one reason why Lluberes and co-founder Hong Long, Position Logic’s chief technology officer, have been so successful. They say the company is on track to hit $4 million in revenues this year, another year of double-digit percentage growth. Lluberes and Long know what it’s like to grow a company. They formed Position Logic in 2007, starting in Lluberes’ house. Although angel investors disappeared after the financial-market collapse, the pair successfully expanded the company’s operations to 50 countries. Today, 85% of the company’s sales come from overseas.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

Former TV star and comedian Rhonda Shear has broken a lot of molds. But creating a global company growing at a torrid pace may be her most shocking.

by Rod Thomson | Editor-at-Large

Sex Apparel F

Mark Wemple

Rhonda Shear has used her unique blend of talents to fuel quadruple-digit growth for her ladies underwear business over the past two years.

ace it. Rhonda Shear is about as atypical an entrepreneur as you will find. Shear was a TV cult goddess of the 1980s, the sex kitten of “USA: Up All Night,” where she augmented B movies every Friday night with her ample talents. She had roles in dozens of movies and TV shows in the ’80s and ‘90s, and she appeared on magazine covers from ShowBiz to Outlaw Biker to Comedy. She even made the cover of National Enquirer with the blaring headline that she was going to have alien twins! When her past-peak body was not quite what Hollywood was demanding, she became a standup comic, working L.A. nightclubs and still adding in plenty of edgy, curvy glitz. That was then. This is now. It turns out Rhonda Shear was never the ditzy, bubbleheaded blonde as she was often cast. Shear is the founder and CEO of St. Petersburgbased Shear Enterprises, the third-fastest growing woman-owned company in the nation, with a global distribution and manufacturing network. Now 57, Shear is being written about in the Wall Street Journal, Tampa Tribune and other business and news publications. Her company is an intimate apparel firm aimed at women of all shapes, not just the young and thin. Her most successful item is the Ahh Bra, priced at $19.95 on her website, which she has sold 25 million of in the company’s history. And the company has about 2,400 products total in its stable — nearly all designed by Shear. But she is still who she was in many ways. The front of the rapidly crowding Shear Enterprises headquarters, in an office-industrial area just south of St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, is festooned with mannequins in ladies’ undergarments. The scrunched foyer has a dark pink and purple, frilly couch and a chair adorned with zebra-striped pillows. Framed magazine covers and stories line the walls while boisterous laughing bounces through the open office area as the female-dominated staff create new products and ways to market them. The employees will often test out the undies, prancing through the office to see what works and what doesn’t. They cut time lags by market testing while they create. When the product is right, Shear takes to the airwaves, appearing on the Home Shopping Network, the Shopping Channel, QVC in foreign countries and innovative infomercials. In myriad different ways, Shear Enterprises is not your normal business. “I’m having a blast. I’m a very happy senior,” Shear says from a cramped office undergoing change typical for a rapidly expanding company. “I’m loving it, loving it, loving it. Just a little sleep-deprived.” And yet, Shear faces many of the same challenges that every entrepreneur does in trying to build and expand a business. The two biggies for her: Finding the right people and keeping manufacturing quality high and deliveries on time. Along with her husband and business partner, Van Fagan, Shear is leading her company to explosive revenue growth — 1,485% in the past two years.

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

Cajun roots

ble comedy shows. Shear had never married in 26 years, but in 2001, she reconnected on classmates.com with the childhood sweetheart who had jilted her. Fifteen days later they eloped. And her life was about to change again.

Shear has been breaking molds for a long time. The youngest of four children growing up in New Orleans, Shear won the first Birth pangs of 40 beauty pageants when she was 16. Shear never had children, but she Titles include Miss Louisiana and com- birthed a company from a vague notion peting in the Miss USA pageant. while doing comedy. She loved designShe earned a communications degree ing women’s intimate apparel and asked from Loyola University and was accepted Fagan if he would build her a website to into Loyola Law School. But the law route sell some. He was a successful businesswas interrupted by perhaps the most im- man in his own right, having started and portant, but little known, beauty pageant sold oil-industry software businesses in title she held: Miss Floral Trails Society. Louisiana. While holding the crown, she did a Early in the process, she reached out to spread in Playboy, fully clothed in an an- St. Pete-based HSN, leveraging her name. te-bellum hoop skirt. But the president of “They were looking for celebrity types, the society did not appreciate the associa- and they were kind of in dire need and tion with Playboy and had her dethroned. our timing was right,� she says. “They purThat president was also the New Orleans chased 6,400 pieces from us and we went Register of Conveyances, an elected of- on air, self-financed.� fice. In a brash attempt at retribution That first gig on HSN was in 2003 suggested by her sister, Shear while the couple was livran against him to become EMPLOYEES ing in Beverly Hills. It the youngest woman to run was an instant if modest 2009: 5 for office in New Orleans at success as Shear pitched 21 years old. Shockingly, she the seamless bra that she 2010: 18 nearly won, losing by only 134 really liked because it was 2011: 25 votes. forgiving and worked on The controversy over losing larger women. “It was the beauty pageant title and new at the time,� she says. the close election gained her REVENUES Shear wanted to go national, if temporary, noback on HSN quickly, but 2009: toriety and she immediately Fagan knew they needed $4.7 million packed her bags and headed to ramp up production 2010: to Hollywood. — the regular tension the $20.5 million 336% “That forever changed my two have keeps the busilife,� she says of the lost elecness in balance. Three 2011: tion. months later, they were $74.5 million 263% Her Hollywood break came back on HSN and Shear in the form of comedic icon Enterprises began to Bob Hope, who saw her and grow with products unimmediately put her in one of his specials, der the Rhonda Shear Intimates label. which led to a role in TV’s “Happy Days.� The couple was commuting from BevFrom there, her career would include roles erly Hills to St. Pete when they teamed up in the movies “Galaxina,� “Basic Training,� with a Montreal equity firm to sell their “Spaceballs,� “Assault of the Party Nerds� best product, the Ahh Bra. A name deand “Prison-A-Go-Go’ and the TV pro- rived when Shear let out a long, “ahhhhh� grams “Happy Days,� “Dallas,� “Chips,� before “bra� while on air. “Hart to Hart,� “The A-Team,� “Three’s As the business grew, the commuting Company,� “Duke’s of Hazzard,� “Cheers,� was getting too much. So they moved to “Married With Children� and “Silk Stalkings.� But she is best known for her role in “USA: Up All Night,� a long-running Friday night marathon of mostly B movies she hosted, doing live skits with humor and a generous dose of sex appeal. Playboy named her “One of Television’s Sexiest Stars.� But while she traded on her female allures, her mind was what set her apart. St. Pete. “We immediately fell in love with For the second time, she was blazing a the area,� she says. They developed an ennew trail. The Los Angeles Times wrote at tire line for HSN but made the mistake the time, “She may not look the part, but of bowing to HSN executives’ advice for Rhonda Shear is a comedy pioneer.� tailoring it. The line tanked and they reSo when her physical attributes were turned to what they knew — Shear’s gutno longer enough to meet Hollywood’s level tastes on what women want. insatiable appetite for youthful perfecThey were growing exponentially the tion, she shifted into comedy, where her first few years, doubling and tripling revsharp mind took center stage. She opened enues each year. But like many, the busifor Smokey Robinson, Al Jarreau and The ness took a hit in 2007 as the recession Temptations, and appeared on several ca- began. Plus, they opened a retail boutique

in 2007 that only broke even after a few years. Realizing their bad timing, they closed it. Furniture from the boutique now garnishes their new, crammed offices. The real breakthrough for Shear Enterprises came when they took a risk and invested heavily with a Canadian partner in an infomercial. “We came up with a whole new model for infomercials,� she says. Most infomercials are set to get eyes so they can make real money when they retail their products. “We rolled it out at the price we did on HSN,� she says, and the infomercial itself made money. That success led to rapid expansion with other television outlets. Shear Enterprises now has its products on HSN regularly, the Shopping Channel, the infomercial and QVC networks in the United Kingdom, Italy, Japan and Germany. Plus, the Ahh Bra and other Rhonda Shear Intimates products are on shelves in 66 boutiques, plus Wal-Mart, Walgreens and Big W in Australia.

Rhonda Shears, CEO and founder, Shear Enterprises: ‘I’m surprised. I never expected to be doing this.’

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quality and paying more. So they have manufacturing contracts with companies in Taiwan, Toronto and the United States. But their primary knitting mill is in Israel because “they’re consistent with quality,� she says. Shear and Fagan have had to travel globally more often to create relationships and iron out contracts, and that eats into design and promotion time. So she is back to staying on the lookout for more key employees to whom she can entrust compo-

nents of the growing company. Key to their survival in the downturn was not having any debt. Without that overhead, they were able to keep operating until the infomercial success struck. They bought an 18,000-square-foot office and warehouse last year and completely renovated it — all with cash. Shear emphasizes they do not want debt and intend to grow organically with the exception of the one Canadian equity investor. But the warehouse is bursting with product and the offices are packed. The planned showroom has all but vanished and they are probably going to have to look for something bigger again. Shear’s life as an entrepreneur is a whirl of meetings, designing, marketing, hiring and firing, strategic planning and live TV shows — all but the last one common to all business owners. Shear says she has loved every stage of her life. The beauty pageants, sexy Hollywood starlet, comedian and entrepreneur. She is certainly a bubbly in person as she was on TV 25 years ago. It was not an act. It was her. She and her husband recently bought their first “big� house — a 10,000-squarefoot mansion on Snell Island that used to be owned by Steve Raymund, chairman and former CEO of Tech Data. “I’m surprised. I never expected to be doing this,� she says. But then, her entire life has been marked by the unexpected. Will Shear Enterprises be the last surprise? That would be unexpected.

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An ugly downside of the apparel industry is that there is almost no way to patent a popular product. It is too easy to change just enough to bypass a patent, which is therefore rarely attempted. And so the company has had to deal with about a dozen companies who essentially copy what Shear and others do and churn out knock-offs with just small changes in them. “Copycats started popping up like rabbits,� she says of the point when sales really took off. The owner of one particular company ran into Fagan at a trade show and bluntly told him that his company copies everything Shear Enterprises does. The only thing he said he didn’t have was Rhonda. Because of name infringement and other problems, Shear spends time and money to legally stop cheating competitors. As Shear says, “We’re ceasing and desisting all the time.� Understandably, this sort of imitation doesn’t thrill her. But she rolls with it, recognizing there is nothing to be done but keep innovating and pitching product. “It’s kind of frustrating, but it is what it is.� Part of that innovation is adding a swimsuit line, which is under development, and creating new TV projects.

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Shear says it has taken a long time to build the leadership in the company with the people she wants. Two of her top people came from the failed boutique retail store. They had proven their grit and resolve in the boutique and now have executive positions with the company. The former store manager is head of retail sales of Shear. “It takes time to get the right people. They need to have the passion for it,â€? she says. “We have this fun group here. We’re surrounded by a great team, and that has taken time.â€? Designing her products is one of the easiest and most fun parts of the business for Shear, but they are always pushing forward. “We stay ahead technologically with products and fabrics that cool you down, warm you up,â€? she says. “I don’t watch to see what my competitors are doing‌I just do my own thing.â€? Building the manufacturing network has been a challenge, and one that most Gulf Coast product companies can appreciate. Shear needed a combination of price and quality, but she tilts toward the

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2012

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

— Sarasota-Manatee Winner — by Mark Gordon | Deputy Managing Editor

Pat Neal: Observed Go Greek 4:30 a.m. Wake up call Neal either swims laps at the pool behind his home or goes for a run every morning.

Neal eats six meals a day, each with 300 calories. Breakfast on May 1 is plain Chobani Greek yogurt, followed by blueberries and bananas with saccharin. Other meals include a salad, a few bites from a buffet, another yogurt, and a grape-flavored sparkling water while driving on Interstate 75 around 4 p.m.

Book Worm The book shelves in Neal’s office include: Black’s Law Dictionary; Winning Elections, by Ronald Faucheux; The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Human Resource Management; and land development code books for four Gulf Coast counties.

Daily Grind Neal is at the office by 6 a.m., responding to emails by dictating notes to his executive assistant. At 7:30 a.m. he usually calls his wife, Charlene Neal, who runs the firm’s interior design unit. They speak for two minutes about a cocktail party that night and a trip to Washington, D.C.

Chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year during the boom in 2005, Pat Neal’s company, Neal Communities, nearly set record annual sales in 2011, despite the recession.

Pictures by Mark Wemple

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

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Home, Sweet Homes The Late Pat Neal On May 1 he arrived at the office at 6 a.m., and his workday ended at 8:30 p.m. He also frequently runs late. Says Neal: “I live much of my life behind schedule. I often call myself ‘the late Pat Neal.’”

Dictator Neal dictates email responses and memos into a Dictaphone several times a day. Neal’s executive assistant, Priscilla Heim, transcribes the messages and sends the emails.

Waste Not On the Road Neal drives a 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. The vehicle, new as it is, recently surpassed 44,000 miles.

Neal abhors downtime. Looking over an itinerary for a Washington, D.C., trip, Neal asks an assistant to make changes. “That’s not good,” Neal tells her. “It gives us four hours to do nothing.”

Neal owns a home in most of the communities where the firm builds. He stays in one of the homes occasionally, mostly on nights when his wife is out of town or he works late. He has suits in every home, and he keeps a shaving kit and a toiletries bag in his Jeep.

A

horrible sales season in summer 2007 at Neal EMPLOYEES Communities culminated in a tense meeting with top executives. 2009: 59 Neal Communities President Pat Neal, who co-founded 2010: 116 the firm in 1970 with his father, Paul Neal Jr., told his 2011: 92 team big changes would be necessary to survive the imminent downturn. The firm was close to completing its best year ever, with $128 million in sales, but Neal had seen enough recessions to know a big one loomed. REVENUES Nothing would be untouchable in a move to reshape 2009: the company. That included a new business plan, mar$62.52 million keting strategy and customer approach. Everything from new floor plans to new landscaping. 2010: Now, nearly five years later, that September 2007 meet$74.71 million 19.5% ing stands as a launching pad to a remarkable turnaround 2011: Neal orchestrated. $126.32 million 69.1% For starters, the company has returned to $125 million annual sales territory — after it dropped to a low of $62.52 million in 2009. Plus, the Lakewood Ranchbased firm, which builds homes in multiple Manatee County communities, has also led a resurgence in homebuilding on the Gulf Coast. Indeed, many other firms, both local and national builders, have begun to emerge from the malaise. That success, and Neal’s work ethic, enthusiasm and spirit that brought it, is why the Business Review named him Entrepreneur of the Year in 2012. Neal previously won the award in 2005. Back then, the firm’s sales grew 72% over three years, from $64 million in 2002 to $110 million in 2004. While that growth is impressive, it was accomplished in the heart of the boom. The latest three-year growth sales figures, up 102%, from $62.52 million in 2009 to $126.32 million last year, occurred during the crux of the recession. Moreover, Neal, 63, is buying land again, and he’s even hired a staff of three fulltime employees devoted to the task. The firm is also expanding geographically, going into Lee and Collier counties. “I mostly gauge my success against plan,” says Neal, “because we don’t have many local competitors.” That plan, says Neal, is like a hockey stick, and he projects the curve of sales will turn significantly upward in 2013. It’s a metaphor Neal preaches often to his staff. The growth, adds Neal, will come from seizing opportunities that arise from the recession. For instance, the company recently bought undeveloped land with 500 home lots in the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club in south Sarasota County. “Our stated vision for now is to buy broken communities, primarily from banks,” says Neal, a native of Des Moines, Iowa. “The fun part is seeing the satisfaction of a community created. I don’t have much aggravation anymore.”

Pep Up Monthly sales meetings at Neal Communities are part pep rally, part sales meeting. Neal opened the May 1 meeting by pointing to the company’s sales director, David Hunihan and saying, “How long have you been here, two years and three months?” Hunihan corrects Neal, saying his three-year anniversary is actually that day. Jokes Neal: “That was really a good decision for me (to hire you.) I don’t know if it was as good for you.”

Pile On Neal has at least four large piles of papers on his desk, and five neatly organized piles on the floor, one for each day of the week. Employees will stream into the office and reach down for the document they need. Says Neal: “Each pile means something.”

Back Again Well-known homebuilder Pat Neal, through Neal Communities, has posted a pair of notable threeyear growth periods twice in the past decade. The most recent one could be the most impressive.

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Over and Out Neal has two favorite sayings to end phone calls. The most common is “over and out.” Not far behind is “did you get what you need from this call?”

SNAPSHOT: PAT NEAL Born: Des Moines, Iowa Education: University of Pennsylvania, Wharton School of Finance Family: Wife, Charlene Neal, who runs the firm’s interior design division, Charlene Neal pureSTYLE. The Neals have two children, John Neal and Michael Neal. Political career: Served in the Florida House of Representatives from 19741978. Served in the state Senate from 1978-1986. Chaired several committees, including the Senate Appropriations Committee and the Committee on Natural Resources. Neal Communities: Co-founded business with his father, Paul Neal Jr., in 1970. The Lakewood Ranch-based firm has since built more than 8,000 homes.

GET HAPPY A coffee-stained sheet of paper with the heading “Happiness in 2012” is taped to the right-hand corner of Neal’s desk. The list includes: Happiness: • Involvement with people; • Expressing and understanding emotion; • More interaction with family and friends; Personal growth: • Strength of will, character; • Taking more time for fun, balance; Success for me: • Grow business to 450 homes, 600 in 2013; • Continue to grow 2013-2016; • Involve Stewart, Michael and John (Stewart is Neal’s nephew; John and Michael are his sons.) • Earn 20% ROAA (return on average assets) or more in 2013+

Follow Up Neal checks on sites and properties every week, trying to alter visits by region. He will sometimes climb on roofs, like he did at the Boca Royale Golf & Country Club. He will also change from a suit to jeans and back to a suit, if necessary.

Goal of the Day Neal sets a goal or word of the day almost every day. The goal on May 1 was to “speak aspirationally.” Neal suggested the following to an employee talking at an event: “I’d like you to be gracious and aspirational, and also be brief.”

Book smart Neal is in a book club with several other local executives and officials. Neal sometimes hands out the book “Getting More,” by Stuart Diamond, to friends.

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2012

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

— Tampa Bay Winner — by Rod Thomson | Editor-at-Large

Dan Rodriguez, CEO and co-founder of Veredus Corp., has led his company to growth topping 40% annually the past two years in a mature, tough industry.

Mark Wemple

Make the Customer Happy Dan Rodriguez’s Veredus Corp. is building a national organization with the right people, hard work and making the customer happy.

D

an Rodriguez and his over Interstate 275 from partners at Tampa- REVIEW SUMMARY his Westshore office. based Veredus Corp. So the infant company Name: Dan Rodriguez, could not have launched their decided it would give CEO, co-founder tech staffing firm at a worse people help with anyCompany: Veredus moment: January 2001. thing that might improve Corp. Within months, the 9/11 tertheir chances for getting Location: Tampa rorists attacks sent the econowork — enhancing their my into a tailspin. resume, providing inter“We were all wondering, view tips, pointing them gosh, was this really a good idea?” he says. to good contacts at companies. He and his partners had left executive po“We were doing a lot of things that were sitions at Kforce Professional Staffing to not generating revenue,” he says. feed their entrepreneurial spirits, but the But he says the company had no real very moment they began, the industry all choice, and it seemed like the right thing but disappeared. to do. It turned out to be good business. “Nobody was hiring. A lot of people When the economy picked up, many of were out of work,” he says, looking out those people gave back to Veredus.

“We had people who were very grateful that we had helped them out and now they wanted to help us out, because we were a new company,” he says. Those people introduced Veredus to hiring people at companies, managers and provided other contacts and references that helped. “That really was a pivotal moment, I think, for us,” he says. “Because it helped us really build our brand and helped make some really good connections out there.” A second defining moment came during this last recession, when Rodriguez and the other shareholders all decided they were not going to lay off anyone. That turned out to be tougher than expected when the recession ran deeper and longer

than predicted. “We made a management decision that we weren’t going to have layoffs,” Rodriguez says. “We were going to keep all our good people, all of our people who were putting in the effort, working hard and doing what we were asking them to do.” The reasoning may have been part humane, but it was largely strategic for the company. “We wanted to hold on and keep them here as long as we possibly could,” he says. “We felt like we had a really good team and we wanted to have that team in place when things got good again.” But the good times were further around the bend than expected. “It got pretty tough at the end,” he says. How did that affect the Veredus bottom

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

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Dan Rodriguez, CEO, co-founder, Veredus Corp.: ‘This business isn’t rocket science. You make the customer happy.’

line? “The revenue in 2009 did not support the amount of people we had here,” he says. “Quite frankly, as a privately held company, all the shareholders made a heckuva a lot less money than we had made in the past.” But as a strategy, it paid off. contractor in St. Louis. But he got into the “When the economy did come back, we employee staffing business with Romac, were able to get out of the gate fast,” he the forerunner to Tampa-based Kforce in says. “In 2010 when it started getting bet- 1991. After a short stint with Tech Data, ter, we were in a real good spot. Our com- he went back to Kforce until 2000. petitors were out trying to hire people and “Kforce was a great company. I never we were already up to speed.” have anything bad to say And it was excellent for emabout them,” he says. EMPLOYEES ployee morale. Most employees “I just always sort of knew the situation and they had an entrepreneurial 2009: 327 have a strong loyalty to Veredus. spirit.” 2010: 425 Rodriguez says the company He and his wife, Andoes not have nearly the churn 2011: 783 gie, talked about it and as others in the employee stafffelt like it was a good ing industry. time for him to start Veredus, as a company in the REVENUES his own company. He business of people, tries to be a was working a lot and 2009: people-oriented company with they had two babies at $30.8 million its employees. “We want to be a the time — they now people business. So the way we have three children 2010: interact with people is very im— and so he took the $43.1 million 39.9% portant,” he says. plunge. 2011: The results speak for themAlong with three $61.9 million 43.6% selves. Starting with just the other Kforce employhandful of founders 12 years ees — Vicki Adkins, ago, the company has survived Dave Hull and James two recessions to have nearly 800 Hawley — they launched Veredus. The employees in six states and about $62 mil- company’s name is Latin, loosely translion in revenues last year. The company is lated as “horse hunter.” opening offices in two markets per year “I was blessed to have a very good group and will end 2012 somewhere between that started the company with me,” he $85 million and $100 million in revenues. says. “They’re all entrepreneurs as well. They’re all very active in the company. Local boy makes good “Initially, we thought we were going to Dan Rodriguez, 48, is one of three chil- have this little lifestyle company based in dren born and raised in Tampa, graduat- Tampa,” he says. “We didn’t really start ing from Robinson High School just a few out having a vision for it being as big as miles south of the Westshore headquar- it is now.” ters of Veredus. And it didn’t look like it might go anyAfter graduating from the University where at first. of Florida with a degree in recreation, he “The six months after 9/11, in my busiwent to work for SRA Corp., a defense ness, was the worst I’d ever seen,” he says.

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While Veredus’ founders did not originally envision a nationwide company, that is exactly what they are building. In a sense, the decision was foisted on them by their own success at hiring the right people at the core of the company. “What really drove me to grow the company was that we had so many talented people,” Rodriguez says. “You can’t keep all these talented people with a three-office organization. These people want to be challenged, they want opportunities, they want to be able to grow.” The company has grown every year and is gaining momentum coming out of the recession. Again, as Rodriguez tells it, the company is doing it on the shoulders of employees who are excelling. Veredus has a national accounts team that has clients outside of Tampa and the company’s other offices. When that team has established a large client in city, then Veredus will expand to the city if it is one of the top 50 tech markets in the country. The account executive and a few other Veredus employees open up the office and build on the existing foundation. Two years ago, with offices in Tampa, Orlando, Atlanta and Raleigh, N.C., the company opened offices in Miami and Richmond, Va. Last year, it opened offices in Washington, D.C., and Chicago. This year, it opened an office in Dallas and is planning one in Minneapolis. And next year, it is examining Austin, Texas, Phoenix and New York-New Jersey. That’s as far out as Rodriguez is looking. “It’s an inverted pyramid with me at the bottom, and I have to create opportunities for all those people.” When growth became a part of Veredus, the company created a five-year plan to reach $100 million in revenues. It is in the fourth year of the plan and will either hit it this year or next year. “This business isn’t rocket science,” he says of the staffing industry. “You make the customer happy.”

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So they embarked on the strategy to help people in any way. And in those first months, they picked up some marquee Tampa companies as clients, whom Rodriguez declines to name. Veredus does some things differently in the industry. The staffing industry matches temporary and full-time workers to employers. So Veredus might have thousands of jobseeking candidates in the tech field who sign up and go through a vetting process to be represented. They pay nothing. On the other side, Veredus has longterm clients, which are the companies that regularly have openings they need filled and go through Veredus or other staffing firms. The clients pay a percentage of one year’s salary when they hire someone through Veredus. But filling full-time slots is only a small amount of Veredus’ work. About 90% of the company’s revenue come from contract consultants, which are tech people who meet short-term needs for companies, maybe six to eight months. That is often when a company is launching a product or expanding, and it need programs written, but not longterm employees. Those consultants are actually Veredus employees, and get the full-range of benefits and coverage from Veredus. But they will work for a company for as long as a project is under way. “Our sweet spot is really the worker bees,” he says. That includes programmers in primary software languages, and then many of the surrounding support skill sets, such project managers, quality assurance, analysts and so on. They do not do much at the C-suite level.

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2012

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

— Lee-Collier Winner — by Jean Gruss | Lee-Collier Editor

Angel Builders John DeAngelis and David Diamond are masters at commercial construction, but they’re just as skilled at helping startups build their own businesses.

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aples is about as far from Palo Alto, Calif., as you can get, but David Diamond knows his way around Silicon Valley’s technology capital. Diamond and business partner John DeAngelis are better known for their successful Naples-based firm DeAngelis Diamond Construction, the fourth-largest commercial construction company on the Gulf Coast from Tampa to Naples. But here’s what you may not know about the two men: They love to invest in startup companies and help promising entrepreneurs. “It’s actually my hobby,” says Diamond. “I don’t golf, I don’t fish.” Through their venture firm, StartupAngel.net, they invest $50,000 to $250,000 of their personal wealth in promising technology ventures, many of them only available to Silicon Valley insiders. StartupAngel recently scored a big win when Google acquired a startup they funded called Just Spotted, which let fans track celebrities via the Internet. “Returns are way better than the stock market,” says DeAngelis. Recently, the pair launched a project called Venture X in Naples, a place where budding entrepreneurs and freelance workers can gather and collaborate. Located in the chic Mercato shopping center, members pay a monthly fee like a gym and can come and go as they please in open office space that promotes interaction. When it opens later this year, the 8,000-square-foot space will have organic coffee, super-fast Wi-Fi, desks, conference rooms, lounges, a café-style kitchen and personal storage. You can tell that helping others achieve entrepreneurial success is their passion because they’re as excited about Venture X as they are the latest multimilliondollar construction project. “It’s what we love doing,” Diamond says. Diamond, 49, and DeAngelis, 43, are in a unique position to understand the challenges and opportunities of entrepreneurship. When they started their construction firm 16 years ago, there was no turning back: The partners quit their jobs and mortgaged their homes for $90,000. This year, they project the firm’s revenues to grow to $123 million, 38% higher than 2011. With their construction firm’s revenues growing at double-digit percentage rates in the last three consecutive years, Diamond and DeAngelis sidestepped the recession that felled competitors and smartly focused on areas they excelled at: health care facilities and renovations.

Vanessa Rogers

David Diamond and John DeAngelis are partners in their construction firm, Naples-based DeAngelis Diamond Construction. They’re also passionate about helping startup entrepreneurs.

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

DeAngelis explains success this way: “Everything boils down to people.�

No debt, no outsiders

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before being considered for partnership. When they become partners, they buy into the company and share in the profits. Those who work with Diamond and DeAngelis say that entrepreneurial culture permeates through the entire organization. “Everybody within the company is their own entrepreneur over the projects they manage,� says Reggie Morgan, CEO of DeAngelis Diamond Healthcare Group. “That’s their management philosophy.�

From the time they launched their construction company in 1996, DeAngelis and Diamond decided to grow their company without debt or outside investors. Both men had been project managers with Boran Craig Barber Engel, one of the leading commercial builders in Naples during the boom. Devout men, DeAngelis and Diamond founded their company on Christian principles, something they tout in their Health care and renovations marketing. “We’re very open about our During the real estate boom, DeAnfaith,� says DeAngelis, who plays lead gelis Diamond built its share of condos guitar at Summit Church near Florida and shopping centers. “When the marGulf Coast University. ket tanked, we started really focusing on Throughout the company’s growth, health care,� says Diamond. DeAngelis and Diamond built the comTurns out, Morgan had an extensive pany’s bond-insurance capacbackground in healthity so they could handle ever- EMPLOYEES care construction bigger projects. Currently, their even though he was bonding capacity is $100 milbuilding condos dur2009: 53 lion, a reflection of their solid ing the boom. “The 2010: 60 financial footing. thing about health 2011: 73 The firm hitched its success care is it’s really speon other successful ventures in cialized,� DeAngethe area. For example, the firm lis says. “We learned has done work for Arthrex, the REVENUES quickly that we didn’t fast-growing medical manureally want to dabble 2009: facturer in Naples that posted in it.� $47 million more than $1 billion in revenues Operators of hospilast year. “The team they’ve put tals and other health 2010: together is one of the best out care facilities demand $60 million 28% there,� says David Bumpous, dicontractors who work 2011: rector of operations at Arthrex. exclusively for that $89 million 48% “When you work with them, you industry because the don’t feel like you’re working rules governing pawith contractors.� tient safety are so rigTo develop and retain the best people, orous. For example, doing renovations DeAngelis and Diamond have granted while doctors are operating and patients eight people minority partner status are recovering takes special skill. while maintaining majority control of So DeAngelis and Diamond created a the company. “It’s key for retention,� says separate health care entity to focus excluDeAngelis. “We want them to be like- sively on this sector and appointed Morminded to us.� gan to head it. The health care company Key employees must demonstrate loy- now accounts for just more than half of alty to the company for at least five years the entire firm’s revenues. “You have to

live, breath health care,� DeAngelis says. “They really want a contractor that does it only.� “It’s like changing a wheel on a locomotive,� says Allen Weiss, president and CEO of NCH Healthcare System, which helped DeAngelis Diamond break into the industry. “We can’t stop.� DeAngelis Diamond recently built a 76-bed psychiatric hospital in Fort Myers called Park Royal Hospital in just less than a year. “You don’t build these kinds of facilities in 11 months if it’s not military timed,� says Mike Metcalf, the president and CEO of Park Royal. “These guys really run a heck of a show.� Metcalf says some less scrupulous builders bid projects on thin margins and make their profits on change orders during the construction process. “We actually came in under budget and without a single change order,� says Metcalf. “These guys were very open book.� Meanwhile, DeAngelis Diamond over time had gained a reputation for building high-profile buildings from the ground up. They started out doing renovations when the company was young, but over time fewer customers called for those smaller jobs. However, renovation work became more important during the downturn because there were fewer new construction projects on the drawing boards. So DeAngelis Diamond started a company in 2006 called Build that focused on renovations and tenant improvements. With the recovery under way, Build delivered $8 million in revenues in 2011 it projects $25 million in 2012.

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DeAngelis and Diamond are as conservative with their own personal finances as they are with their company. Instead of spending their money on expensive hobbies, they save their money and invest it in other entrepreneurial ventures. At first, the two men invested in traditional stocks and bonds, but they found

19

that investing in startups was rewarding for more reasons that money. “We found better ways to invest,� Diamond says. Through a business called StartupAngel.net, DeAngelis and Diamond invest in promising startups, mostly in Silicon Valley. Diamond travels there regularly to network with other angels and check out new ventures. In Silicon Valley, Diamond attends an event called “Demo Day,� an exclusive confab that brings venture capitalists and promising startups together. It’s not open to just any investor; “You have to earn it,� he says. Through their investments, DeAngelis and Diamond operate on the assumption that not every startup will be a home run. The rule of thumb, they say, is out of 10 startups two will be big winners, two will fail and six will fare about average. DeAngelis says they’ve found that the successful entrepreneurs are the ones who have put everything on the line for their venture, including their own time and savings. Now, they’re hoping that Venture X in Naples will breed a new crop of startup entrepreneurs closer to home. “We wanted to bring that here,� says Diamond, whose son Brett Diamond will be leading the effort. “The goal is to have hundreds of members,� says Diamond. The idea of a collaborative workspace with gym-like memberships is that it brings together solo entrepreneurs together for networking. “Work for yourself, not by yourself,� Diamond says. What’s more, Venture X will take an entire floor of the Mercato shopping center, a fashionable plaza with hip restaurants, movies and shops. “It’s a great place to meet your clients,� Diamond says. If Venture X is successful in Naples, Diamond says he might consider building others on the Gulf Coast, in places such as Tampa. “We’ve never been more excited about the future of this area,� he says.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

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MARKET WATCH

by George Rauch | Contributing Columnist

The givers and the takers People can be divided into two ket will prosper further without a radical groups: givers and takers. By nature, the change in the behavior, and philosophy, of takers are more interested in control and, the major political parties. hence, power, than the givers. The takers continue to take more from the givers Can’t government help right some wrongs by complaining that the givers don’t give and fix a few things? enough. That’s where we are today. All government does is prop one thing up Our country is run by takers, not giv- at the expense of another and, hence, make ers. Whatever we may think of the Republi- all of us dependent upon government. The cans or the Democrats, we ought to be able government kills, or controls, the competito agree that they both stand for tion. Competition creates a balance large government. Because they of power in industries, in markets agree upon large government, then and among governments. they have not agreed, by definition, The desire and aim of socialistic upon limited government. They governments is to control competisell all of the same programs diftion through rules and regulations, ferently, but all programs remain which inhibit production and ef“managed by government.â€? ficiency. Entire industries become Nothing gets terminated, and dependent upon politicians to enno large program receives a fundsure a continuation of the rules, or GEORGE ing cut except the military. The a change of them, to favor a certain RAUCH military budget is in third place — position. billions of dollars less than Social Industry lobbies for regulations Security, and hundreds of billions of dollars that support them. Politicians control busibehind Medicare/Medicaid. ness through rules and regulations. They Ask yourself if you believe: control the votes of those people who do not • The Constitution is the best document want to work by promising them anything under which man can live? they want for free, without sacrifice, work • Government should get out of most of or effort, which makes that 50% of our taxthe programs in which it is involved? payers who pay no taxes dependent upon • In a separation of powers and a limited big government. government? • Government should borrow money Evidence of private sector problems only in the event of national peril? The standard of living of the average If you answered all four of those ques- American continues to fall. Adjusted for intions with “yes,â€? then you are to the right flation, household income is equal to what it of most congressmen and senators. That is was 15 years ago. During that time, governthe state of our representation, and it is why ment debt has ballooned. Debt by governthis country currently has problems. We ment used to finance non-productive assets can expect our problems to become worse undermines prosperity today and, more imin the future, unless these two political par- portantly, tomorrow. ties, with identical philosophies, can reverse Income gains come from productivity what they’ve done the last 50 years. More increases that raise the standard of living importantly, it is not likely the stock mar- for everybody. Productivity increases come

from the private sector, not from the government sector (the private sector gives, and the government takes). Productivity increases are what’s made this economy great. And productivity increases can’t be realized without private investment. Private investment is down because our economy’s cash is going to pay interest on the public debt instead of being reinvested in the economy. It costs government about $400 billion a year just to pay interest on the debt. Imagine our economy if that money went into business investment annually. Like Japan, over the last 15 years, U.S. public debt has soared; continued increases in government debt plague the future. The Japanese savings rate has gone from a high of 26% in 1989 to 0% now because of tax demands to service the debt accumulated by its government. This is exactly the direction in which we’re headed. And the Japanese stock market is less than 1/3 of its value more than 20 years ago. Since 2009, each household’s share of the public debt has almost doubled to $201,000. Every five minutes of our lives, the federal government increases national debt by $7.5 million. What? Yes: See USDebtClock.org. The deficit has averaged almost $1.5 trillion a year the last five years, and the national debt has increased almost $7.5 trillion, accounting for about half of our current national debt of $15.7 trillion. Five banks hold 56% of the deposits in our economy. The president promised to break up the “too big to fail policy.� The banks have, instead, consolidated their power and increased their deposit base. This is further evidence of how the consolidation of power among large institutions undermines the private sector. The reason the government won’t use the anti-trust laws to break up the banks is that those banks are the primary source of campaign money. Moreover, those

banks own a considerable amount of stock in the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, which is the bank that sets the interest rates. About 10% of our population remains unemployed, and the real-estate market cannot be substantially improved with high unemployment. Money going to pay interest on the deficit goes to bankers in interest payments instead of to industry to create more jobs.

What to do with investment funds?

The stock market is likely to continue to go nowhere. The fundamentals of this recession suggest the market ought to be much lower than 13,000 points. Whenever the market sells off, however, we have another quantitative easing (printing money), which props up the stock market. To stay even with inflation, and to compound your money, is a difficult undertaking. Real assets, like gold, silver and real estate, are likely to do best in a highly indebted, highly regulated economy. Gold and silver act as a hedge against currency purchasing power deterioration from debt build-up, but they pay no dividends. Real estate, particularly income producing, can be an investment that will increase in value with inflation, and perhaps advance ahead of inflation. High-grade companies with a record of increasing dividends annually, when priced right, can be a good investment in an economy like ours. The following highgrade stocks are currently priced right, with yields of 3% or more: Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Johnson & Johnson, 3M, Chevron, Emerson Electric, Philip Morris and Sysco. The rest of the market has so much risk attached to it that for the conservative investor, non-dividend paying stocks are best avoided. Caveat Emptor. George Rauch, Longboat Key, is chief executive officer of Bradenton-based General Propeller and a former Wall Street investment banker.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

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Term limit ruling means revolving chairs

The Florida Supreme Court’s ruling allowing voters to impose term limits on county commissioners could have a cascading affect along the Gulf Coast, and will mean considerably more turnover among those counties that have passed such limits. On the Gulf Coast, Hillsborough and Sarasota counties have term limits and long-serving commissioners. In Sarasota County, commissioner Jon Thaxton’s bid for a fourth term ended with the court ruling. But he is considering running for the Legislature, or perhaps another local office. That will happen much more frequently in coming years, as veteran county commissioners in at least 10 Florida counties — Broward, Brevard, Clay, Duval, Hillsborough, Orange, Palm Beach, Polk, Sarasota and Volusia — are forced out of office. After ruling in 2002 that term limits were unconstitutional for county constitutional officers, the Florida Supreme Court ruled last week that voters in charter counties could impose term limits via referendum.

Scott re-election fund raised $1 million in April

The Political Action Committee supporting Gov. Rick Scott’s re-election plans raised nearly $2 million this year, and more than $1 million in April — pointing to another well-financed gubernatorial bid. Scott has not officially announced he is running for reelection in 2014, and he has not opened up a personal campaign account yet. But he has said he

tee also received $50,000 from Donald Trump and Jacksonville developer David Hutson. The committee has spent almost none of its money so far. Senate Minority Leader Nan Rich, D-Weston, opened a campaign account last month but has not been required to file a report yet.

Power customers’ increases to be small

plans to run for the office. “This is the best job you can imagine,� he said. The Let’s Get To Work Committee brought in $1.06 million in April, which was nearly as much as the Florida Democratic Party raised in the first three months of the year. The committee was a major backer of Scott in his 2010 campaign. These types of committees can raise huge amounts of money because they are not bound by controversial campaign finance laws that limit what individual donors can give to a candidate. They cannot specifically endorse candidates, but they can promote them and, often more likely, conduct ad campaigns against opponents. Let’s Get To Work reported contributions of more than $100,000 from The Geo Group (which operates private prisons) Progress Energy and a political committee for the Florida Optometric Association. The commit-

Businesses and residents will probably not see a significant increase in their power bills in 2013 because of low natural gas prices that fuel many of Florida Power & Light’s power plants. FPL announced that a modest rate increase will mean about a 1.5% increase for users, according to a filing with the Florida Public Service Commission. However, the company is also asking the PSC to pass on $150.7 million in nuclear power plant costs to customers next year. Most of that, about $130 million, will go for upgrades and the rest toward getting a license to build a nuclear plant the Turkey Point facility in Miami.

Legislator Trudi Williams returns to private sector

Florida State Rep. Trudi Williams, R-Fort Myers, forced to leave the House because of term limits, has dropped out of the race for a new Fort Myers-area Senate seat. The move scratches the potential for a tough primary fight against state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers. Williams, who owns and operates an engineering firm, told the Fort Myers News-Press that she wants to focus on family and her company.

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UPCOMING

CALENDAR OF EVENTS MAY 23

FED SPEAK: Michael Bryan, vice president and senior economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, is the guest speaker at the Association for Corporate Growth meeting and will discuss the state of the economy and capital markets. The event will run from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the RitzCarlton, Sarasota, 1111 Ritz Carlton Drive, Sarasota. For more information contact Sherry Smith at acgtampabay@acg.org or 813-205-0776.

JUNE 4

ECONOMIC SUMMIT: Anirban Basu, chief economist of the Associated Builders and Contractors, will be the keynote speaker at a CREW Tampa Bay, NAIOP Tampa Bay and the Appraisal Institute joint event. The meeting will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Grand Hyatt Tampa Bay, 2900 Basu Bayport Drive, Tampa. For more information, call or email the CREW Tampa Bay Executive Director Sue Fern at 727-943-8280 or director@ crewtampabay.org.

JUNE 7-8

FLORIDA SUMMIT: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will be the keynote speaker at the Urban Land Institute’s two-day Florida

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JUNE 12

LEE GOVERNMENT ISSUES: John Manning, chairman of Lee County Board of Commissioners, will discuss the challenges and priorities for Lee County government at a Real Estate Investment Society meeting from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pelican Preserve Clubhouse, Treeline Avenue at Colonial Boulevard, Fort Myers. For more information visit reis-swfl.org.

JUNE 22

COOLTECH: Ken Ford, founder and CEO of the Institute for Human & Machine Cognition, will be the keynote speaker at the Tampa Bay Technology Forum’s coolTech, a showcase of emerging technology. For more information visit tbtf.org.

JULY 10

GROWTH AND LAND MANAGEMENT: Land-use attorney Ron Weaver will address the current state of growth management, environmental regulation and property rights in Florida at a Real Estate Investment Society meeting. The event will run from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Pelican Preserve Clubhouse, Treeline Avenue at Colonial Boulevard, Fort Myers. For more information visit reis-swfl.org.

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE TAMPA BAY by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Mental Health Care redeveloping Bayshore’s Merasol Connie Duglin Specialty Linen buys, moving to Linebaugh building

BUYER: NSP III Inc. (principals: Elizabeth

Barron, Dave Hunter and Douglas Arthur), Tampa SELLER: Tiger Investment Group Inc. PROPERTY: 6515 Bayshore Blvd., Tampa PRICE: $1.05 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.81 million, January 2005 TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Title Acquisitions I LLC, Tampa

Mental Health Care Inc. purchased the 25-unit Merasol on Bayshore for $1.05 million. The price equated to $41,960 per unit or $72.34 per square foot. Located near the entrance to MacDill Air Force Base, the apartment features 14,500 rentable square feet. It was originally built in 1968 and was 85% occupied

BUYER: CJL Linebaugh Co. LLC, Tampa SELLER: Belleair Leasing LLC PROPERTY: 6402 W. Linebaugh Ave., Tampa PRICE: $1.85 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $2 million, December 2010 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Hill Ward & Henderson PA,

Tampa

PLANS, DESCRIPTION:

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Lindell Capital Increases Lending Portfolio With loans on Rental Homes and Brandon Medical Center Carl Lindell Jr., founder of LINDELL CAPITAL, LLC, has announced the expansion of its loan portfolio to include a local entrepreneur with 51 rental homes and another with a fully leased medical center in Brandon. Lindell said “The demand for a lender with over 40 years of local business experience continues to increase and presents us with unique lending opportunities.” “With our longtime presence in the Tampa Bay area, Lindell Capital has become a natural addition to the Lindell Family group of companies, which include Lindell Investments and Lindell Properties.” Dennis Slater, Executive Vice President and CFO for Lindell, said “We expect continued economic growth in the Southwest Florida area. There is increasing opportunity to restart local area projects, creating an affordable end use, in both the commercial and residential markets.” “These two new loan requests were presented to us by local business entrepreneurs, with a sound business plan and a history of success, but were unable to secure traditional credit facilities. We approved and funded the loans within thirty days.” Slater added, “Our ability to close loans is attracting many local business owners, their CPAs and Advisors, with solid acquisition and business plans for review.” Lindell ended his announcement with the simple statement, “If the request makes good business sense, we’ll consider the loan.”

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Tampa-based Casual Elegance Enterprises, which operates as Connie Duglin Specialty Linen & Chair Cover Rental, purchased a 76,785-square-foot flex building at the corner of Henderson Road and Linebaugh Avenue for $1.85 million. The price equated to $24 per square foot. Casual Elegance Enterprises will be extensively renovating the building and installing new machines over the next six to nine months with the goal of relocating the company to it by July 2013. The company has been leasing a 25,864-square-foot building at 425 Roberts Road, Oldsmar for the past eight years. “Our growth has really been stunted by the facility, which is really why we bought this building,” says Evan Duglin, vice president of finance for Casual Elegance Enterprises. “This will be doubling or tripling our space. Our business has just really been growing. We have about 100 employees now and we expect to be at 300 in the next two years.” The centralized location of the Linebaugh building was a large part of the company’s interest in it, Duglin says. The firm runs delivery trucks throughout Florida. Casual Elegance Enterprises manufacturers and rents party linens, including tablecloths, overlays, runners, chair covers, chair ties, napkins, and table skirts. PLANS, DESCRIPTION:

at the time of the sale. The bank-owned property was purchased with neighborhood stabilization funds. Kevin Kelleher, Darron Kattan and Bob Goldfinger of Franklin Street handled the transaction. “The location was probably a B+ or A, and the asset was probably a C,” Kelleher says. “It was actually above average for an REO.” Mental Health Care is partnering with DDA Development LLC in the redevelopment of the complex. DDA Development is responsible for the permitting, gutting and complete rehabilitation of the apartment, a project that has been estimated at $3 million. “We will be taking it down to the walls,” says Bowen Arnold, president of DDA Development. “It hasn’t been renovated since it was built 40 years ago. There weren’t any electrical outlets in the bathrooms. It just isn’t up to code. The roof needs to be done and some of the plumbing. The property also floods.” The resulting development will be rent restricted. This will be the third neighborhood stabilization funded apartment redevelopment Mental Health Care has undertaken in two years. The nonprofit group previously redeveloped the 55-unit Elizabeth Arms apartment complex and the 38-unit Holiday Oaks. The purchase entity NSP III Inc. mortgaged the property to the city of Tampa for $3.01 million.

Etc… • Easy Living with Technology LLC leased 4,827 square feet in Roosevelt Park at 15201 Roosevelt Blvd., Clearwater from Roosevelt Park Limited. Chris Howell of Klein & Heuchan Inc. represented the landlord.

Duke Realty buys land for new VA primary care facility BUYER: Duke Realty LP (Duke Realty

Corp.), Indianapolis SELLER: Crescent Resources LLC PROPERTY: 8875 Hidden River Parkway

and additional land including a portion on Laurel Haven and sections of Lake Terrace Lane, Tampa PRICE: $7.55 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $9.2 million, May 1997 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Pohl & Short PA, Winter Park

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Duke Realty purchased 17.19 acres in Hidden River Corporate Park near Interstate 75 for $7.55 million. The price equated to $439,209 per acre. The Indianapolis-based real estate firm has been hired by the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a primary care clinic on the site to lease to the VA. Duke Realty plans to spend the next 18 months designing and building the 106,000-squarefoot facility with the goal of having it completed by late 2013 or early 2014. The two-story facility will offer women’s wellness, radiology, mental health services and a pharmacy. The architect for the project is Minneapolis-based HGA (Hammel, Green and Abrahamson). This is the second facility Duke Realty has created for the VA. It developed a 213,029-square-foot satellite outpatient VA clinic in Fort Worth, Texas, which opened in fall 2010. Duke Realty owns and operates 136 million rentable square feet of industrial and office space in 18 cities.

COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE SARASOTA-MANATEE by Sean Roth | Real Estate Editor

Dutchman Hospitality closes on Troyer property

BUYER: Dutchman Hospitality Group Inc.,

Costar

Walnut Creek, Ohio SELLER: Troyer Corp. PROPERTY: 222, 1038, 1050 and 1030 Herndon

Place, 3739 Gardenia St., 3737 and 3713 and 3667 Bahia Vista and 1038, 1035 and 1010 Love Ave., Sarasota PRICE: $5.19 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $1.93 million, January 1998; $490,000, March 1991 and $115,000, March 2009 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Icard, Merrill Cullis Timm Furen & Ginsburg PA, Sarasota

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Walnut Creek, Ohio-based Dutchman Hospitality Group closed on its purchase of the Troyer’s Dutch Heritage restaurant, a 19,392-square-foot retail strip center, a smaller retail building, three homes and additional land for $5.19 million. The 34,742-square-foot restaurant building was developed in 1999 as a Der Dutchman. It was renamed in 2001 after the family that owned it divided the Amish/ Mennonite-cooking restaurants

between Troyer Corp. and Dutchman Hospitality Group. Troyer Corp. received ownership of the Sarasota restaurant and a restaurant in Bellville, Ohio. The real estate and business sale is expected to have almost no impact on restaurant operations except for a name change back to Der Dutchman. Troyer’s Dutch Heritage employs 250 people. “It is beautiful facility originally built by our company,” Vicki VanNatta, marketing coordinator for Dutchman Hospitality Group told the Business Review in March. “While by law all of the employees’ jobs will end when the sale goes through for things like workers compensation, they will be given the opportunity to reapply. We are not one of those companies that goes in planning to clean house.” The new owner has no plans to develop a previously proposed inn on another portion of the property. Dutchman Hospitality Group also purchased the Bellville, Ohio, restaurant. Following the integration of the two restaurants, the Dutchman Hospitality Group will have more than 800 to about 1,200 employees and seven restaurants.

Bradenton investor group buys nearly vacant Shoppes at North Port

BUYER: Freedom Holdings Manatee LLC (princi-

pal: Eric Howell), Bradenton SELLER: Quality Properties Asset Management

Co. PROPERTY: 1080, 1073 and 1183 W. Price

Blvd., North Port PRICE: $1.45 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.8 million, December 2005 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Stoneburner Berry Glocker Purcell & Greenhut PA, Jacksonville

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Freedom Holdings Manatee LLC, a Bradentonbased investment group, purchased the 15,470-square-foot Shoppes at North Port and two vacant outparcel lots for $1.45 million. The price equated to $94 per square foot for the existing retail space. The 3-year-old center was just 10% occupied at the time it was sold. Its tenants include PostNet and Little Caesars Pizza. The center wraps around an existing Walgreens building and is adjacent to the Publix-anchored Shoppes at Price Crossing. Charles Parker of Hembree & Associates Inc. represented the buyer and Joe Hembree of Hembree & Associates Inc. represented the seller, an affiliate of Bank of America. “We bought it for investment purposes,” says Eric Howell, president of Sarasota’s Lancaster Realty Inc. and managing member of the investment group. “When it was bank-owned it hamstrings the ability to lease it up. We’ll just be giving it a little more of a local touch. It’s a well-built, well-located shopping center.”

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE CHARLOTTE-LEE-COLLIER by Sean Roth | Real Estate

Ashlar Apartments sells for $45.7 million FOR SALE

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PROPERTY: 14181 S. Tamiami Trail, Fort Myers PRICE: $2.3 million LAW FIRM ON DEED: Warchol, Merchant &

Rollings LLP, Cape Coral

balance of $46.9 million. The purchase entity Northland Ashlar LLC mortgaged the property to CBRE Capital Markets Inc. for $34.28 million. Founded in 1970, Northland Investment Corp. is a real estate investment firm specializing in commercial, retail, industrial, multifamily, mixed-use and hospitality real estate. It holds a $2 bilPLANS, DESCRIPTION: A joint venture of lion portfolio with 18.5 million square Northland Investment Corp.“A”and A 428-Unit, Institutional GradeRedMultifamily Community Located in Fort Myers, Florida feet of space. wood Investments LLCOffer purchased the Deadline: Friday, January 27th, by 4pm EST The2012nine-person Redwood Invest428-unit Ashlar Apartment Homes for ments LLC manages U.S. equity invest$45.7 million. ment portfolios. The price equated to $106,776 per unit. The community features 104 one-bedroom, 244 two-bedroom and 80 threebedroom units. The Ashlar Apartment Homes’ amenities include a swimming pool, lakefront beach area, children’s playground, health club, clubhouse and a business lounge. The property also offers attached and detached garages, tennis courts and a basketball court. The 497,190-square-foot gated development was built in 2000 and was 95% occupied when it was being marketed. Calls to Northwood Investment for Fort Myers investors comment were not returned prior to buy vacant U.S. 41 building BUYER: JSMM41 Center LLC (principals: deadline. An affiliate of Rockville, Md.-based Martin Meyer III and James Stewart), Fort CAPREIT, Ashlar Estancia Apart- Myers ments LLC, acquired the property in SELLER: HSBC Bank USA National Association as May of 2007 for a remaining mortgage trustee for Morgan Stanley Capital 1 Inc. et al.

BUYER: Northland Ashlar LLC (Northland/ Redwood JV LLC), Newtown, Mass. SELLER: Ashlar Estancia Apartments LLC PROPERTY: 13001-1350 Corbel Circle, Fort Myers PRICE: $45.7 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $66 million, October 2005 TITLE FIRM ON DEED: Warranty Title Solutions LLC, Fort Myers

Rare Hospitality Management buys land for University Plaza LongHorn

BUYER: Rare Hospitality Management Inc. (principals: William White III, Joseph Kern and Colleen Hunter), Orlando SELLER: Lee County Real Estate Holdings LLC PROPERTY: 10030 University Plaza Drive, Fort Myers PRICE: $1.2 million PREVIOUS PRICE: $6.25 million, January 2009 (includes additional parcels) LAW FIRM ON DEED: Douglas R. Krause Esq., Cleveland

Sarasota contractor, partners buy vacant Siesta Village lot

Binder & Binder partners buy Sarasota Business Center II building

BUYER: RSL Siesta Key Development LLC

(principals: Raymond and Stephen Delaney and Lauren Kohl), Osprey SELLER: Laguna Vista LLC PROPERTY: the southeast corner of Ocean Boulevard and Treasure Boat Way, Siesta Key PRICE: $727,500 PREVIOUS PRICE: $3.5 million, October 2005 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Adams and Reese LLP, Sarasota

BUYER: Bin Bin Realty LLC (principals: Harry and Charles Binder), Tampa SELLER: Porter ABD LLC PROPERTY: 6331 Porter Road, units 1-8, building C, Sarasota PRICE: $900,000 PREVIOUS PRICE: $849,900, August 2009 LAW FIRM ON DEED: Holly Eakin Moody Esq., Fort Lauderdale

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Harry and Charles Binder, the partners behind the national social security disability law firm Binder & Binder, purchased a 24,000-squarefoot flex building for $900,000. The price equated to $37.50 per square foot. The eight-unit office-warehouse condominium building was the last of five buildings constructed in the Sarasota Business Center II in 2008. It was never occupied, and its interior was never completed. The main portion of the building is 18,000 square feet and it features a 6,000-square-foot balcony. Harry Binder says he is relocating a 20-person die striking and casting manufacturing company to the building from Long Island, N.Y. “The attraction to Florida was the tremendous tax savings (income, sales tax, real estate tax, etc.), the savings on costs of doing business (electric, other utilities, insurance, building costs), a substantial decrease in the cost of living for employees, and the lack of snow and other weather-related business interruptions,” Binder wrote in a statement

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Fort Myers real estate investors Martin Meyer III and James Stewart purchased a 56,955-square-foot former Norris Furniture and Interiors building for $2.3 million. The price equated to $40 per square foot. The building, which occupies a 4.82acre site, has been vacant for the past several years during the recession. It required a number of repairs, including the replacement of several air-conditioning units. Chuck Smith of Lee & Associates Naples-Fort Myers represented the seller and Steve Wood of Colonial Square Realty represented the buyers. “They really liked the location and wanted to do a redevelopment,” Wood says. “The market is starting to get a little bit better here. It was bought as an investment. They’re thinking of redeveloping it into smaller retail units. If we can find a 30,000-square-foot retail tenant we could split up the second half with smaller tenants in the front.” Wood says the property will likely be subdivided and built as a vanilla shell. He expects planning and approvals to take six to eight months. The space is being marketed for $6 to $14 a square foot.

Costar

to the Business Review. Binder says the Economic Development Corp. of Sarasota County helped persuade him to locate the firm in Sarasota, but that the company did not receive any incentives. Loyd and Kevin Robbins of Harry E Robbins Assoc. Inc. represented the seller and Gary Roberts of Horizon Realty International represented the buyer. At roughly the same time, AGI Group, an import and export company, agreed to lease 10,600 square feet in another building in Sarasota Business Center II from DMH LLC. Loyd and Kevin Robbins also handled the lease transaction. AGI Group is expected to take occupancy in August. Both transactions should push the occupancy in the park up from 70% to 95%. “Filling a building that’s sat totally vacant for the past four years,” Kevin Robbins says, “ I would say that’s a very positive sign for that corridor and the market.”

PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Sarasota contractor Raymond Delaney, his brother Stephen Delaney and friend Sarasota attorney Lauren Kohl purchased 1.91 acres of vacant land on Ocean Boulevard for $727,500. The price equated to $381,030 per

Etc…

• 4551 ARN LLC purchased 9,440 square feet of industrial flex space at 4551 Arnold Ave., Naples from Everbank for $430,000. William Gonnering of Investment Properties Corp. handled the transaction. • National homebuilder D.R. Horton’s Verdmont single-family home neighborhood in Sandoval has sold out according to Taylor Morrison, developer of the master-planned community in Cape Coral. D.R. Horton is also building in two additional neighborhoods of single-family homes in Sandoval, Ashbury and Blackburn, and one estate single-family home neighborhood, Stonyhill in Sandoval. • CRE Consultants has opened a new office in Stuart. The brokerage has two other branches, one each in Fort Myers and Naples. PLANS, DESCRIPTION: Rare Hospitality Management Inc., a Darden Restaurants Inc. subsidiary, purchased 1.76 acres in University Plaza for $1.2 million. The price equated to $678,977 per acre. The restaurant group plans to develop a new LongHorn Steakhouse on the parcel at the southwest corner of Alico Road and Ben Hill Griffin Parkway. Tom Strauss and Matt Yaniglos of LandQwest Commercial represented the seller and John Mounce of LandQwest Commercial represented the buyer. Rare Hospitality Management owns and operates all the LongHorn Steakhouse and The Capital Grille restaurants. Darden Restaurants, which purchased Rare Hospitality Management in 2007, also owns Red Lobster, Olive Garden, Bahama Breeze, Seasons 52 and Eddie V’s. Darden and its affiliate companies currently own and operate more than 1,900 restaurants that generate more than $7.5 billion in annual sales.

acre. The property, which was formerly owned by an affiliate of IberiaBank, is approved for a six-unit subdivision of homes. But Delaney says that the current real estate market wouldn’t support that dense a development on the site. “For the last 20 years I’ve kept my eye on it,” Delaney says. “It finally reached a price point were I felt it was good for us. I think we could divide it into four lots. I know that merchants would like to see a parking lot there, but I don’t think it would be that easy to get that zoning change. There’s very few times in your life when you find almost two acres in [Siesta Key] Village that’s never been developed.”

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GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

GULF COAST BUSINESS REVIEW MAY 18 – MAY 24, 2012

www.review.net

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