I started out as an Aerospace Engineer, thinking this would help as I joined the Air Force after college. I ended up doing Industrial Engineering in the Air Force (I guess the military thinks one engineer is as good as the other).
I immediately went after my MBA in my first assignment (Hickam AFB, HI), and started my first formal business. We created a "Good Humor Ice Cream Man" in Hawaii, and sold it before we changed assignments.
After 6 years of the Air Force, I took what I learned, and started an Industrial Engineering firm (Logistics Modeling Center), which I still run today. This main company has provided the seed for all business I start, which include: Locitos Body Jewelry, WeCertify.com, Synaptx Networking, SIMS system managment, Public WiFi Project, BlueMarquee, and Network Advertising Systems.
Not all of my ventures were a hit, but I have managed to stay in the black as a whole.
As my family gets older (kids), I find I have less time to devote to business, and would like to grow relationships so I can continue my creativity, and find others to manage the operations and sales.
I enjoy meeting new people, especially other entrepreneurs.
Company:
In the Public WiFi Project, we deploy public hot-spot systems where the hotspots can be managed from a single website, and advertisements are injected into the web pages delivered to the customers at the hotspots. This allows local merchants to sponsor a local hotspot, and pay for the costs. More information can be found at www.publicwifiproject.org.
The technology hardware/firmware is packaged under BlueMarquee, and we are working at selling it as a service to other companies. Our goal is to spread free internet through an advertising sponsored model, similar to Radio and Television – advertising in the broadcast, not just the content.
My main company, Logistics Modeling Center, creates computer simulations for war (discrete event simulations). Our primary customers include Lockheed Martin and Honeywell. We create computer simulations for the maintenance of weapon systems so they can be evaluated for cost and Logistics support. My company’s website is www.logmodctr.com. The Company's purpose is to use computer simulation for process re-engineering where it's cost prohibitive to do in real life.
Company Name:
BlueMarquee
Product Description:
By creating a system that makes it relatively easy to manage advertising over a hot-spot, we can now bring a service to a community that previously wasn't available.
Difference:
I’m making a difference in the way Internet is provided by encouraging the broadcast of Free Internet Access - we're using the same model that Broadcast Television and Radio use to spread their signals for free (integrated advertising).
Passion:
My passion is making technology usable for those that consider themselves technically challenged. I enjoy creating processes around the seemingly difficult tasks, which makes them more manageable events.
I enjoy speaking professionally. I've presented to organizations such as US Customs, Customs Trade Partnership against Terrorism, US Military, and social groups.
Inspiration:
Still looking for a good source of inspiration, although I've enjoyed the following books:
The World is Flat Harmonic Wealth How to Win Friends and Influence People The Power of now The EMyth
Motivation:
Family
Success:
My favorite success was the creation of a line of Body Jewelry. I was never into the body jewelry scene before I started the business, but saw a big gap in the market. There was no focus on the consumer purchase. I created an entire line, was in all Spencer Gifts, Hot Topics, Tower Records, and Gadzooks. We reached 1 Million in sales in 9 months. I saw the market turning (2000), and immediately put the business up for sale. We were able to get out before the economic downturn hit the accessory industry. I applied every lesson I learned in school to this business, from Market Analysis to financial assessments. It was a pleasure to create something from absolutely nothing, even to the point of selling its value at a good time.
I'm very happy with the Public WiFi Project, and BlueMarquee too - I hope to one day make this system widely used.
Challenge:
I’ve had a challenge with outsourced developers. It's very tempting to want to find one company to do all your development, but my lesson learned was that I was left high and dry 2 weeks before the project with a major customer was to close (developer company went out of business). I was able to rally a team together and get the project done.
I now have 5 different developers working on my projects at any given time (outsourced). This way, if any 3 of them abandon the project, I am still in a good position. That said, I still find this an extraordinary challenge, and it’s appearing the inefficiencies of having employees may be worth the higher degree of control over the project.
Advice:
My advice is to find other entrepreneurs to talk over problems with. Also, never try to sell to this group, because you'll lose the objectivity.
I haven't decided if being an entrepreneur is my calling, or if it's the process of solving problems that I'm drawn to. I tend to enjoy the creative process more then the long term execution.
Keywords:
WiFi Hot Spot Wireless Internet Advertising NSA National Speakers Association Supply Chain Consulting wi-fi 802.11 community
Business Model:
Our Public HotSpot system was built with the concept of making it painless to deploy a Public HotSpot. This includes network security that will protect the Coffee Shop’s business network, allowing them to use one router for two types of networks (public and private). This Hot-Spot system also has the unique feature if incorporating advertising into each page that's requested by users, allowing the Coffee Shop to advertise their own specials, or get local companies to sponsor the HotSpot with ad revenue. We started by deploying our own network, and selling ads. We have over 150 locations. It was difficult to expand geographically, so we are not selling our system as a service, so that other entrepreneurs, city organizations, or chains can use our system to generate their own advertising revenue. Our system works at locations as small as a Coffee Shop, or as large as a metropolitan area. We provide the system that integrates advertising into the network.
Pain:
The Pain we're solving is identifying who will pay for Public Internet Costs. We provide an alternative to cities that burden the total costs, or for even stores to bear the brunt. Now Advertisers can help cover the cost in exchange for exposure.
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