Barb Downey, Director of Merchandising, SkyMall
- Feb-02-2012 08:00:00 PM
SkyMall is a multi-channel, direct marketer founded in 1990,
offering high-quality, innovative merchandise from top direct marketers and
manufacturers through its SkyMall catalog and web site, SkyMall.com. The
SkyMall catalog is seen by approximately 88% of all domestic air passengers
reaching more than 650 million air travelers annually. SkyMall also offers
turn-key merchandise and fulfillment solutions for loyalty marketing programs.
The SkyMall brand is almost universally known among affluent and well-educated
travelers who are receptive to innovative, unique products. SkyMall is owned by
NY-based private equity fund, Spire Capital Partners and The Greenspun
Corporation. Corporate offices are located in Phoenix, Arizona.
Barb Downey, Director of Merchandising, is an industry
veteran with 35 years of retail and catalog experience at the field, regional
and corporate levels. She has held
positions such as Buyer, Senior Buyer, Director of Merchandise Planning,
Director of Marketing, VP of Merchandising and Director of Merchandising at
Sears, The Bedroom Superstore and SkyMall. Barb joined SkyMall in 2004 and has
always held a strong interest in Inventors and showcasing their products in
front of 1.8 million potential passengers per day. In the past few years she
has initiated an Inventor’s Showcase, within the SkyMall catalog, which
highlights 5 inventors per page to launch and showcase new products at
substantially reduced rates.
Barb is a graduate from the University of Illinois and
currently resides in Phoenix with her husband, Jim and their 2 cats! J
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Norm Brodsky, Inc. Magazine
- Feb-09-2011 08:00:00 PM
"Street Smarts" columnist and senior contributing editor Norm Brodsky is a veteran entrepreneur who has founded and grown six businesses. In 2008 he sold CitiStorage, a document-archive business based in Brooklyn, New York, for $110 million. Along with Bo Burlingham, Norm has chronicled his entrepreneurial journey in his column in Inc. and in the book The Knack: How Street-Smart Entrepreneurs Learn to Handle Whatever Comes Up.
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AJ Khubani, TeleBrands DRTV
- Feb-16-2012 12:30:02 PM
AJ Khubani founded TeleBrands Corporation in 1983 on a “shoestring” with his life-savings of $20,000. Today, TeleBrands is a thriving multi-hundred million dollar marketing giant well known for such hit products as the PedEgg, One-Second Needle, Plaque Blast, Chef Basket, RoboStir, Aluma Wallet and Supreme 90 Day workout system. Using direct response television advertising to build brands, TeleBrands products are placed in every major retail chain including Wal-Mart, Target, Bed Bath & Beyond and Walgreens as well as Petco, AutoZone and 7-11. TeleBrands has created the “As Seen on TV” category in the United States and 120 countries around the globe. In the retailing industry, the Vendor of the Year Award is a highly respected and sought after honor for excellence bestowed on less than one percent of all consumer product companies. In 2009, TeleBrands received TWO such awards from both Target Stores and CVS Pharmacy, along side such legendary companies as Procter & Gamble and AstraZeneca. AJ has become a media regular with a multitude of appearances on CNN, CNBC, Fox News, “The Today Show” and “The View” as well as the hit TV show “Pitchmen” on the Discovery Channel. In his spare time, AJ raises money for Children’s Hope India, serves on the Business Advisory Board at Montclair State University and Chairs the Entrepreneurial Engineering program at Princeton University. www.TeleBrands.com Facebook.com/TeleBrandsProducts Twitter.com/TeleBrandsBuzz
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Debbie Lahti, SPREE Trade Show Director
- Feb-23-2012 08:00:00 PM
INVENTORS! The Cart and Kiosk industry is one of the fastest growing segments of retail. And it’s a great way to generate new channels of distribution, to increase brand awareness, to gain market feedbackor sell excess inventory. Learn about SPREE—the World’s Largest Event for the Cart & Kiosk Industry. Visit www.spreeshow.com Whether you are an inventor, a retailer, or prospective entrepreneur looking for locations, concepts or services to start or grow your specialty retail business or an exhibitor seeking new sales opportunities ,SPREE is designed with you in mind. --- Debbie began her career in the shopping center industry as
the Specialty Retail/Marketing Assistant for The Rouse Company at the South
Street Seaport in New York City. As the Specialty Retail Assistant, she acted as
tenant liaison and assisted in the review of prospects and leasing for the
large outdoor and indoor cart, kiosk and temporary inline program.
After a move to the West Coast in 2003, Debbie continued to
hone her skills as the Director of Specialty Retail for Provenzano Resources,
Inc. in Los Angeles, CA. With PRI, Debbie worked with several national and
international shopping center developers on a number of centers and managed the
leasing, visual merchandising, and grand openings of several cart and kiosk
programs.
For the last three years, Debbie has acted as the Trade Show
Director for SPREE – the Specialty Retail Entrepreneur Expo & Conference.
SPREE is the World’s largest event for the cart, kiosk and temporary retail
industry and the #1 resource for entrepreneurs looking to educate themselves
and do business in the specialty retail industry.
www.SPREEshow.com |
April 3 - 5, 2012
Paris Las Vegas Hotel & Casino
Las Vegas, NV
Show Hours: April 3: 12-6PM--April 4: 12-6PM--April 5: 10AM-2PM |
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Ron Popeil-famed inventor, pitchman, television star, and the creator of the television “infomercial
- Mar-01-2012 08:00:00 PM
Ron Popeil
is a famed American inventor, pitchman, television star, and the creator of the
television “infomercial”.
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Ron
is the quintessential rags to riches tale. At sixteen, Ron began to sell the
very products his father’s factory produced in the flea markets on Maxwell
street in Chicago.
By age 17, Popeil had amassed enough of a savings to move out on his own and
setup a stand at the flagship Woolworth store in Chicago. He hawked his
gadgets six days a week, twelve hours each day. Popeil’s stand became an
attraction with hundreds of people spending their lunch hours every day
watching Ron’s pitch.
In
the early 1950’s after discovering the reach and power of the televised
airwaves and their ability to beam his pitch into America’s living rooms, Ron
created the first infomercial and commercials. Along with his partner at the
time, Mel Korey, he produced the first minute long, black and white
commercial for slightly over $500. The first television infomercial was for
the Ronco Chop-o-Matic. It quickly spread nationally and made millions
turning Popeil into a household name.
Some
of Ron’s products included: The Chop-O-Matic, Mr. Microphone (the first
Karaoke machine), the Popeil Pocket Fisherman, the Veg-o-Matic, the
Buttoneer, the Smokeless Ashtray, Popeil’s Electric Food Dehydrator, the
Inside-the-Egg Scrambler, GLH-9 (Great Looking Hair Formula #9) Hair in a Can
Spray, Rhinestone stud setter (Later called the Bedazzler), the Cap Snaffler,
the Popeil Automatic Pasta Maker, the Ronco Electric Food Dehydrator, the
Ronco 6 Star Plus Knives, and the Showtime Rotisserie and BBQ. His product
sales grossed in the billions and his media buys saturated American
television for the better part of a century.
Popeil has been on more television channels for more hours in more markets
for more years than virtually all other celebrities in American television
history. Popeil’s sales format, pitch style, and catch phrases were almost
immediately duplicated by dozens of other pitchmen. Most of the marketing
sales on television today, and the “countdown pricing methods” are direct
derivatives of Popeil’s works. The expression and branding “As Seen on TV”
was first coined to describe Ron’s legendary success.
Many of the phrases and pitches Ron has used in his infomercials have become
an inseparable part of America’s household and entertainment vernacular
including: “Set it and Forget it”, “But wait, there’s more”, “Now how much
would you pay?” and of course “Less Shipping and Handling”.
Popeil also helped build the brand QVC with exclusive packaging and airings,
Popeil’s appearances consistently established new benchmarks for success in
direct marketing on television. In 2000, Popeil broke worldwide sales records
by selling over $1 million worth of his Showtime Rotisseries during a
one-hour live airing on QVC television (selling approximately 150 units each
minute to viewers).
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Popeil’s
has self-authored a biography, “Salesman of the Century”, and has authored
pieces for nationally circulated publications including Time magazine. He was
the featured subject of Malcolm Gladwell’s best seller “What the Dog Saw” as
well as Gladwell’s profile in The New Yorker which won the National Magazine
Award in 1999.
Popeil sold his company Ronco in 2005 but his programs continue to air to
this day. He is currently in the final stages of developing yet another
housewares invention, and at this writing is in the midst of producing yet
another infomercial.
He currently lives with his wife Robin and his youngest two (of five)
daughters in Beverly Hills, California.
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Mario Schulzke,Founder of Idea Mensch Thought Leaders Social Website
- Mar-08-2012 10:12:00 AM
Mario Schulzke is the founder of IdeaMensch. IdeaMensch is a community of people with ideas, where he profiles entrepreneurs, authors, artists, thought leaders, and others on how they bring ideas to life.
Past interviews included folks like Seth Godin, Craig Newmark, Dan Pink and Nancy Brinker.
Mario is also is a senior director at independent advertising agency WDCW, where he is managing the digital strategy group remotely from his hometown in Germany.
Before that, he worked at America's largest independent DRTV agency - R2C Group, where he started and ran the new media division.
Mario is a first generation immigrant who came to America at the age of 16, much to the dismay of his family in Germany.
He sports funny socks, wears BluBlockers and collects colorful watches.
Mario lives between Los Angeles, Barcelona and his hometown of Plettenberg. When he isn’t trying to get his cat Otto to be cool with his girlfriend’s cat, Mario enjoys Ironman triathlons and pickup soccer.
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Sarah Shepard, Vice President, Business Wire
- Mar-15-2012 08:00:00 PM
Business Wire, a wholly owned subsidiary of Berkshire Hathaway, is the global market leader in commercial news distribution. Thousands of member companies and organizations depend on Business Wire to transmit their full-text news releases, regulatory filings, photos and other multimedia content to journalists, financial professionals, investor services, regulatory authorities and the general public worldwide.Business Wire is the leading source for press releases, photos, multimedia and regulatory filings from companies and groups throughout the world and has the most comprehensive news and disclosure network. We originate hundreds of thousands of news announcements each year, with a dramatic impact on capital and commercial markets around the globe and in virtually every industry sector. Business Wire offers services to satisfying regulatory obligations in the US and around the globe. Our in-house EDGAR team - an industry first - makes Business Wire the largest EDGAR filer in the newswire sector. Business Wire also offers Canadian SEDAR and UK Regulatory filings, along with disclosure fulfillment in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, Sweden and Switzerland.
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Sonia Makurdsik, Hampton Direct
- Mar-22-2012 08:00:00 PM
Hampton Direct's Sonia Makurdsik will be on Got Invention Radio March 22, 2012!Some of their direct response products they have brought to market are: Pajama Jeans, Total Pillow, Furniture Fix, Twin Draft Guard, Wonder Hanger, Dancing with the Start, InstaHang and many more! |
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Jeff Dalton, President, Patent-Strategies
- Mar-29-2012 08:00:00 PM
Jeff Dalton is an inventor with inventor with 70 patents and has been a senior executive in R&D and Intellectual Property roles, and a registered Patent Agent and runs his consulting business, Patent Strategies. |
Craig Stucko, Product Development Entrepreneur and owner of E Windward LLC.
- Apr-05-2012 08:00:00 PM
Craig Stucko has over 30 years of experience in manufacturing but his true love is “Designing for Manufacturability”, “anyone can design a product” he says “the trick is to design it so that the manufacturing costs are in line with the consumer’s purchase price.” Craig draws from his extensive experience that started when he was just a boy in the basement of his Brooklyn home working on custom machinery that was designed by his dad. Early on Craig saw the benefits of using CAD (Computer Aided Design) and CAM (Computer Aided Machining) software to develop and manufacture products at low cost, he was so taken with computers that he moved on to supplying programming services to companies to run Automated Machinery. Craig then saw the world shifting from metal to plastic and moved on to plastic product design which he found to be a wonderful workplace that allows you to do things like build hardware directly into your product to minimize the need for “Off-the-Shelf” components. Craig’s last position was as the Director of Engineering of a large Multi-National injection molding company where he was very heavily involved in product and tooling design, this position also allowed him to travel to Europe and Asia to see how design and manufacture is done Globally. Eventually Craig’s entrepreneurial spirit pushed him forward to his current position as the owner of “E Windward LLC”, supplying Product Development services to Inventors ranging from Concept, Design, Prototyping, Packaging, etc., right on through to Production. Craig is an inventor and patent holder (Sur-Grip) with patents pending.
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Anthony Sullivan, Sullivan Productions
- Apr-12-2012 08:00:00 PM
"As Seen on TV" is a phrase that fits him well. Anthony Sullivan has hosted infomercials for Swivel Sweeper, One Sweep, Taplight, Foodsaver, Stick Up Bulb, Magikan, First Alert Instant Alarm and the Smart Chopper, and he's known for his witty one-liners, captivating demonstrations and passion for problem-solving products. Sully has sold hundreds of millions of dollars worth of products in over 60 countries in less than a decade.
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Louis Foreman, CEO of Edison Nation & Eventys
- Mar-09-2012 08:00:00 PM
Louis Foreman is founder and Chief Executive of Enventys, an integrated product design and engineering firm. He is also CEO of Edison Nation. Louis graduated from The University of Illinois with a Bachelors of Science degree in Economics. His interest in starting businesses and developing innovative products began while a sophomore with his first company founded in his fraternity room. Over the past 20 years Louis has created 9 successful start-ups and has been directly responsible for the creation of over 20 others. A prolific inventor, he is the inventor of 10 registered US Patents, and his firm is responsible for the development and filing of well over 500 more. The recipient of numerous awards for entrepreneurial achievement, his passion for small business extends beyond his own companies. Louis is an adjunct professor of Entrepreneurship and Innovation, teaching at Queens University and Belmont Abby College. He received the 2007 Instructor Achievement Award for his teaching at Central Piedmont Community College, and in 2009 was recognized by the National Museum of Education for his Distinguished Contributions to Education. In 2009, Louis was named Entrepreneur in Residence at The McColl School of Business at Queens University. He is a frequent lecturer and radio / TV guest on the topics of small business creation and innovation, and is frequently invited by the United States Patent and Trademark Office and national trade associations to be a featured speaker on the topic of innovation. In addition to being an inventor, Louis is also committed to inspiring others to be innovative. Louis is the creator of the Emmy® Award winning PBS TV show, Everyday Edisons, and serves as the Executive Producer and lead judge. The show is in its fourth season and appears nationally on PBS. In 2007, Louis became the publisher of Inventors Digest, a 25 year old publication devoted to the topic of American Innovation. In 2009, his first book, The Independent Inventor’s Handbook, was published by Workman Publishing. In 2010, he was elected to the boards of the Intellectual Property Owners Education Foundation (IPO) and The United Inventors Association (UIA). He is co-chairman of the NC Institute for Emerging Issues Business Committee on Creativity. He also serves as a Director of the James Dyson Foundation, and the Entrepreneurial Leadership Council at Queens University. In 2008, Louis was appointed by United States Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez to serve for a three year term on the nine-person Patent Public Advisory Committee of the United States Patent and Trademark Office. In 2011, he was appointed by Secretary Gary Locke to serve an additional three year term. The Committee was created by Congress in 1999 to advise the Under Secretary of Commerce for Intellectual Property and Director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office on matters relating to the policies, goals, performance, budget, and user fees of the patent operation.
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