America’s Most Promising Startups

by Michael Arndt
Friday, November 6, 2009

provided by

Welcome to America’s Most Promising Startups, an ongoing series profiling new companies from across the country that embody the creativity and resiliency common among today’s entrepreneurs. Based on suggestions from our readers and staffers, we’ll be adding more profiles on a regular basis, so check back often. Our goal is to showcase promising companies before they become household names.

Pancakes from a Spray Can

 

 

Batter Blaster

Founders:

Sean O’Connor and Nate Steck

Sean O’Connor opened his first restaurant in San Francisco shortly before the dot-com bust. As business tanked, O’Connor, who had grown up in a restaurant family and studied hospitality management, retooled his concept, turning the full-service establishment into a bar and laying off most of his staff. For fun, he spent a lot of time in the kitchen, playing around with various gizmos.

A failed experiment making beignets with a whipped-cream charger sparked an idea: Why not put pancake batter in spray cans and market them to consumers? In 2005, he teamed up with Nate Steck, a food manufacturing wizard, and raised $1.5 million to create the line and buy manufacturing equipment. Last year, San Francisco’s Batter Blaster and its 16 employees squeezed out $9 million in sales, retailing the cans for $5 a pop in over 10,000 stores across the country, including Costco and Whole Foods. O’Connor, 37, and Steck, 40, plan to reinvest the 30% of their gross revenue into marketing and hope to double sales in 2009.

Domes for Homes

 

 

InterShelter

Founder: Don Kubley

Don Kubley says he is “as mechanical as a stump.” But that hasn’t stopped the fourth-generation Alaskan from developing a business around a nifty piece of engineering: a portable building that looks like an igloo (with a door and windows) and can be assembled by hand. Kubley says pieces of his InterShelter dome fit together like fish scales and can be stacked in the back of a pickup truck, a noteworthy quality for customers looking to

transport units to hard-to-reach locations. The standard 314-sq.-ft. structure retails for $12,500 and is available from dealers in a dozen countries as well as online, at intershelter.com. Kubley, 56, credits architect Craig Chamberlain, a former student of geodesic dome inventor R. Buckminster Fuller, with dreaming up the design and says he bought the rights to commercialize it two years ago. After a protracted search, Kubley recently found a manufacturer in Idaho to build kits. So far, Kubley, a former consultant who says he ran a fleet of charter boats out of Juneau for 20 years, has raised $250,000 from friends and family. Though 2008, revenue was only around $140,000. Kubley says he is negotiating with the U.S. military and Afghan authorities and projects up to $5 million in sales in 2009.

An Online Guide to Parking Spots

 

 

ParkingCarma

Founder: Rick Warner

What’s an online service with real-time info on parking spots in California doing in Flint, Mich.? Showing the lengths a downbeaten region will go for startups—and the distance entrepreneurs may have to travel for their new businesses.

Rick Warner, 48, founder and chief executive of ParkingCarma, started sketching out a Web-based parking database in 2002 after driving around San Francisco for 45 minutes one day looking for a place to park. By early 2007, he had everything ready. The last step was moving 2,400 miles to claim up to $2 million in public and private backing in Flint. He says he had little choice: “Frankly, parking isn’t sexy to really get venture capital interested in it.” Visitors to parkingcarma.com can find location and rate information about public garages in 70 markets.

In addition, for $9.99 a year, registered users in San Francisco and San Diego can reserve spaces via a computer, PDA, or mobile phone. Warner hopes to add that service in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Detroit in 2009. The 11-employee company also gets revenue from ads and a percentage of what customers pay for parking.

Driving Car Sales Online

 

 

Mota Motors

Founder: Reza Bundy

On auction sites like eBay there are generally two parties: the buyer and the seller. Reza Bundy wants to make it a threesome. Last year, he raised $7.5 million from angel investors and venture capitalists and started a Web-based company, Mota Motors, that seeks to instill trust between online buyers and sellers and take advantage of the growing online used-car market.

The Venice (Calif.) startup runs basic background checks on both the seller and the car itself (via Carfax). Mota also asks sellers 20 questions about their vehicles, including such basics as to whether the car has a spare tire or key, which can affect value. Beyond collecting listing fees from firms like eBay Motors and payments from sellers, Mota also draws revenue from insurance companies who pay for customer leads that it provides from its list of buyers. CEO Bundy won’t give out revenue information, but says his 20-employee firm should turn profitable by yearend.

With Mota, Bundy, 37, is falling back on a business plan that has already worked well for him: In 1999, he founded IronPlanet, which grew into the largest online auctioneer of used construction equipment thanks in part to independent inspections that gave prospective buyers piece of mind.

Green Grows This Home-Supply Store

 

 

Greenmaker Supply

Founders: Ori Sivan and Joe Silver

Late in 2004, Ori Sivan popped into a building-supply store owned by the family of a childhood friend and hit upon a retail startup of his own: a “sustainable” building-supply store. It took Sivan, a graduate of Northwestern University’s environmental-engineering school, six months to persuade his friend, Joe Silver, to leave his family’s business and become Sivan’s partner instead.

The 31-year-olds opened Greenmaker Supply a year later, drawing on $500,000 of personal funds. The store, on Chicago’s Northwest Side, sells such items as recycled countertops, bamboo flooring, and nontoxic latex paint (pictured left). Verifying that the goods have only limited impact on the environment is tough and requires a lot of homework, the partners acknowledge. Still, sales have doubled, to $2 million in 2007, and could hit $5 million next year, Sivan says.

Homeowner Adam Secher, who is turning his Highland Park home “green,” is glad to have a one-stop shop. Says Secher: “No one has the extensive supplies or expertise of Greenmaker.”

Financing for Weddings

 

 

Wedding Payment Plan

Founder: Scott Almeida

A wedding is one of the most important days of your life. It can also be one of the most expensive, running $28,000 on average, according to some estimates. For those who don’t have that much, there’s a new company out of Norwell, Mass., that could help: Wedding Payment Plan will finance your wedding.

Scott Almeida, 35, says he got the idea from watching a family friend succeed at financing orthodontia and Lasik eye and cosmetic surgery. “My first thought wasn’t weddings; it was funerals,” he laughs. “But weddings are a lot more fun.” He wrote up a business plan as a nighttime MBA student at Babson College and began raising money from family and friends. He also tapped $100,000 from an account that he and nine former classmates had set up to back whoever came up with the best startup idea.

In 2007, he left his day job as a venture capitalist to work full-time on Wedding Payment Plan. The average loan runs about $10,000 with a fixed 9.9% interest rate paid back over five years. The company hasn’t yet financed 500 weddings, but in the last year applications have jumped 333%. Almeida is raising $500,000 to go national and says the lending venture could turn profitable as early as mid-2009.

Where Consumers Post Videos of Product Reviews

 

 

ExpoTV

Founders: William Hildebolt and Daphne Kwon

In 2004, William Hildebolt and his wife, Daphne Kwon, quit their high-powered, well-paying jobs as a principal at General Atlantic Partners and chief financial officer of Oxygen Media, respectively, to become “netrepreneurs.” “It was like falling off a cliff backward,” Hildebolt recalls. Their idea was to launch a Web site where consumers could submit videos of product reviews. The first review, of a portable DVD player, was uploaded on Sept. 9, 2005, on expotv.com.

By the end of that year, the site was up to 2,500 reviews. By yearend 2007, expotv.com boasted 150,000. Today there are more than 300,000 “Videopinions,” including videos by Hildebolt, 39, and Kwon, 40, who can be seen critiquing a toaster oven, a Quadrilla Twist & Rail Set, and a hike through Puerto Rico’s El Yunque rain forest.

Categories range from pets to clothing to books. Revenue is piling up, too, thanks to product-linked ads from Procter & Gamble and LG Electronics as well as “where to shop” ads from Google. So far, angel investors and venture capitalists have put more than $6 million into ExpoTV. The couple predict their New York venture, which now employs 17, will turn profitable in 2009.

A New Sport and a Startup

 

 

Freeline Skates

Founder: Ryan Farrelly

What do you get if you cross a skateboard with Rollerblades? If you’re Ryan Farrelly, it’s a new sport and a startup that could pull in $5.5 million in revenue this year. Farrelly, 29, invented Freeline Skates in 2002 while bumming around from one odd job to the next, surfing in the morning and skating at night.

The skates are like a polished metal skateboard that has been cut in two, with the wheels mounted sideways. Riders balance one foot on each half. He then spent three years living on friends’ couches as he and surfing buddy Jason Galoob tinkered with the design and raised money for a first batch of 500 skates. Based in Carlsbad, Calif., Freeline Sports sold 5,000 pairs in 2006, and 20,000 in 2007, thanks largely to buyers in South Korea and Japan. He predicts sales of 40,000 this year, at $134 a set, through freelineskates.com or 40 sports shops mostly in California. Farrelly says he has turned down Wal-Mart Stores as a retail outlet. Why? Bad for Freeline’s street cred.

Bake-It-Yourself Pizza

 

 

HomeMade Pizza

Founder: Eric Fosse

Eric Fosse knows that if you want pizza, your options are almost unlimited. So when he told friends that he had left his job as a loose-diamond salesman to open yet another pizza joint in Chicago and that his pies would be truly different, he was ready for snickers. Today, with 23 HomeMade Pizza locations in metro Chicago and Minneapolis/St. Paul, and plans to move into Washington, D.C., later this fall, it looks as if Fosse’s career leap wasn’t as reckless as it seemed.

HomeMade Pizza’s pies are made to order and can be picked up or delivered—same old, same old. But unlike pizzas from Domino’s or the prepared-food section of Safeway, its take-and-bake pies are uncooked and unboxed: Customers slide the fresh pizzas, which come on heatable parchment paper, into a 425-degree oven, and in 10 to 15 minutes they have dinner. They’re also premium-priced: Pizza Hut may offer three medium pizzas for $15. At HomeMade, a 14-inch pie with wild mushroom toppings and a whole wheat crust costs $19.90.

Fosse, 47, and his two initial partners—Audrey, his wife; and Matthew Weinstein, his brother-in-law— spent $500,000 of their own money and two years cooking up 270 batches of dough before opening their first site. The business turned profitable in Year Two. Fosse expects sales to hit $9 million in 2008, up 50% from last year. Its first pizza—Wisconsin mozzarella—remains the most popular.

source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/108094/americas-most-promising-startups?mod=career-salary_negotiation

Think Like Warren Buffett

by Glenn Curtis
Sunday, November 1, 2009

Back in 1999, Robert G. Hagstrom wrote a book about the legendary investor Warren Buffett, entitled “The Warren Buffett Portfolio”. What’s so great about the book, and what makes it different from the countless other books and articles written about the “Oracle of Omaha” is that it offers the reader valuable insight into how Buffett actually thinks about investments. In other words, the book delves into the psychological mindset that has made Buffett so fabulously wealthy. (For more on Warren Buffett and his current holdings, check out Coattail Investor.)

Although investors could benefit from reading the entire book, we’ve selected a bite-sized sampling of the tips and suggestions regarding the investor mindset and ways that an investor can improve their stock selection that will help you get inside Buffett’s head.

1. Think of Stocks as a Business

Many investors think of stocks and the stock market in general as nothing more than little pieces of paper being traded back and forth among investors, which might help prevent investors from becoming too emotional over a given position but it doesn’t necessarily allow them to make the best possible investment decisions.

That’s why Buffett has stated he believes stockholders should think of themselves as “part owners” of the business in which they are investing. By thinking that way, both Hagstrom and Buffett argue that investors will tend to avoid making off-the-cuff investment decisions, and become more focused on the longer term. Furthermore, longer-term “owners” also tend to analyze situations in greater detail and then put a great eal of thought into buy and sell decisions. Hagstrom says this increased thought and analysis tends to lead to improved investment returns.

2. Increase the Size of Your Investment

More from Yahoo! Finance: • Ways to Repair Your Portfolio • Best Places to Retire in U.S. • Best, Worst Company 401(k)’s Visit the Retirement Center

 

While it rarely – if ever – makes sense for investors to “put all of their eggs in one basket,” putting all your eggs in too many baskets may not be a good thing either. Buffett contends that over-diversification can hamper returns as much as a lack of diversification. That’s why he doesn’t invest in mutual funds. It’s also why he prefers to make significant investments in just a handful of companies.

Buffett is a firm believer that an investor must first do his or her homework before investing in any security. But after that due diligence process is completed, an investor should feel comfortable enough to dedicate a sizable portion of assets to that stock. They should also feel comfortable in winnowing down their overall investment portfolio to a handful of good companies with excellent growth prospects.

Buffett’s stance on taking time to properly allocate your funds is furthered with his comment that it’s not just about the best company, but how you feel about the company. If the best business you own presents the least financial risk and has the most favorable long-term prospects, why would you put money into your 20th favorite business rather than add money to the top choices?

3. Reduce Portfolio Turnover

Rapidly trading in and out of stocks can potentially make an individual a lot of money, but according to Buffett this trader is actually hampering his or her investment returns. That’s because portfolio turnover increases the amount of taxes that must be paid on capital gains and boosts the total amount of commission dollars that must be paid in a given year.

The “Oracle” contends that what makes sense in business also makes sense in stocks: An investor should ordinarily hold a small piece of an outstanding business with the same tenacity that an owner would exhibit if he owned all of that business.

Investors must think long term. By having that mindset, they can avoid paying huge commission fees and lofty short-term capital gains taxes. They’ll also be more apt to ride out any short-term fluctuations in the business, and to ultimately reap the rewards of increased earnings and/or dividends over time.

4. Develop Alternative Benchmarks

While stock prices may be the ultimate barometer of the success or failure of a given investment choice, Buffett does not focus on this metric. Instead, he analyzes and pores over the underlying economics of a given business or group of businesses. If a company is doing what it takes to grow itself on a profitable basis, then the share price will ultimately take care of itself.

Successful investors must look at the companies they own and study their true earnings potential. If the fundamentals are solid and the company is enhancing shareholder value by generating consistent bottom-line growth, the share price, in the long term, should reflect that.

5. Learn to Think in Probabilities

Bridge is a card game in which the most successful players are able to judge mathematical probabilities to beat their opponents. Perhaps not surprisingly, Buffett loves and actively plays the game, and he takes the strategies beyond the game into the investing world.

Buffett suggests that investors focus on the economics of the companies they own (in other words the underlying businesses), and then try to weigh the probability that certain events will or will not transpire, much like a Bridge player checking the probabilities of his opponents’ hands. He adds that by focusing on the economic aspect of the equation and not the stock price, an investor will be more accurate in his or her ability to judge probability.

Thinking in probabilities has its advantages. For example, an investor that ponders the probability that a company will report a certain rate of earnings growth over a period of five or 10 years is much more apt to ride out short-term fluctuations in the share price. By extension, this means that his investment returns are likely to be superior and that he will also realize fewer transaction and/or capital gains costs.

6. Recognize the Psychological Aspects of Investing

Very simply, this means that individuals must understand that there is a psychological mindset that the successful investor tends to have. More specifically, the successful investor will focus on probabilities and economic issues and let decisions be ruled by rational, as opposed to emotional, thinking.

More than anything, investors’ own emotions can be their worst enemy. Buffett contends that the key to overcoming emotions is being able to “retain your belief in the real fundamentals of the business and to not get too concerned about the stock market.”

Investors should realize that there is a certain psychological mindset that they should have if they want to be successful and try to implement that mindset.

7. Ignore Market Forecasts

There is an old saying that the Dow “climbs a wall of worry”. In other words, in spite of the negativity in the marketplace, and those who perpetually contend that a recession is “just around the corner”, the markets have fared quite well over time. Therefore, doomsayers should be ignored.

On the other side of the coin, there are just as many eternal optimists who argue that the stock market is headed perpetually higher. These should be ignored as well.

In all this confusion, Buffett suggests that investors should focus their efforts of isolating and investing in shares that are not currently being accurately valued by the market. The logic here is that as the stock market begins to realize the company’s intrinsic value(through higher prices and greater demand), the investor will stand to make a lot of money.

8. Wait for the Fat Pitch

Hagstrom’s book uses the model of legendary baseball player Ted Williams as an example of a wise investor. Williams would wait for a specific pitch (in an area of the plate where he knew he had a high probability of making contact with the ball) before swinging. It is said that this discipline enabled Williams to have a higher lifetime batting average than the average player.

Buffett, in the same way, suggests that all investors act as if they owned a lifetime decision card with only 20 investment choice punches in it. The logic is that this should prevent them from making mediocre investment choices and hopefully, by extension, enhance the overall returns of their respective portfolios.

Bottom Line

“The Warren Buffett Portfolio” is a timeless book that offers valuable insight into the psychological mindset of the legendary investor Warren Buffett. Of course, if learning how to invest like Warren Buffett were as easy as reading a book, everyone would be rich! But if you take that time and effort to implement some of Buffett’s proven strategies, you could be on your way to better stock selection and greater returns.

source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/retirement/article/108092/think-like-warren-buffett?mod=retire-planning

Data Doc: Windows 7 update

Powered by * Please note, the sender’s email address has not been verified. You have received the following link from eblcom@yahoo.com: Click the following to access the sent link: Data Doc: Windows 7 update* Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information. *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/tech/2009/10/28/dcl.data.doctor.windows7.cnn.html

Me 2.0: Branding yourself online – CNN.com

Powered by * Please note, the sender’s email address has not been verified. You have received the following link from eblcom@yahoo.com: Click the following to access the sent link: Me 2.0: Branding yourself online – CNN.com* Get your EMAIL THIS Browser Button and use it to email content from any Web site. Click here for more information. *This article can also be accessed if you copy and paste the entire address below into your web browser. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/10/29/personal.brand.internet/index.html

5 stress-fighting superfoods

• by Self Magazine, on Mon Oct 19, 2009 8:55am PDT

• 7 Comments
• Post a Comment
• Read More from This Author »
• Report Abuse

Done right, noshing when your nerves are jangling can keep you calm and healthy. Munch your way mellow!

SpinachThree cups of spinach supply 40 percent of your daily magnesium, a mineral that blunts stress’s effects on the body by stopping blood pressure from spiking, says Beth Reardon, R.D., director of integrative nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine in Durham, North Carolina.

Stress Rx: Stuff fresh spinach into omelets and sandwiches to nix tension while you’re on the party circuit.

Oranges

Healthy people who were exposed to cold viruses were more likely to get sick if they were under pressure, a study from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh finds. Even a brief bout of tension can influence your immune system, but vitamin C in citrus bolsters your body’s natural bug barricades, so you can stay well.

Stress Rx Having your whole family over for brunch? Pour OJ.

See our tips: 6 simple strategies for holiday eating!

Chocolate

This treat’s pacifying powers are all in your head. “Cocoa boosts your body’s levels of neurochemicals, which act on parts of the brain to help produce a sense of happiness and relaxation,” says Alan Hirsch, M.D., director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation in Chicago.

Stress Rx: Drop some dark-chocolate squares in everyone’s stocking, including your own!

Fish

Omega-3 fatty acids in fish such as salmon and tuna can help quell anxiety. Test takers who consumed more of the healthy fats for three weeks halted a surge in stress hormones when they were faced with a tough quiz, according to a study in Diabetes & Metabolism.

Stress Rx: Increase your omega-3 intake: Reach for smoked-salmon canapés from the appetizer tray.

Related: Holiday eating tricks from diet bloggers!

Oatmeal

Spoon up serenity! The B vitamins in oats stimulate production of serotonin, a key neurotransmitter that sends soothing signals to your brain. Elisa Zied, R.D., author of Nutrition at Your Fingertips (Alpha Books), adds that your body digests oatmeal slowly, so you absorb the serotonin steadily.

Stress Rx: Have a bowl of oatmeal as a preshopping meal.

Man From Earth Movie

new eye opener, nice, interesting revelation, something to ponder

rate: 4/5

America’s Young Entrepreneur 2009

by John Tozzi, Stacy Perman, and Nick Leiber
Monday, October 12, 2009provided by

For our fifth annual roundup, BusinessWeek readers nominated a record number of young entrepreneurs. Meet the 25 most impressive

Welcome to our fifth annual roundup of the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs. Before we get started examining the new batch, consider this question: Who is more likely to start a business: A college student or a worker with a few decades of experience? Yep, you guessed it: the experienced worker.

More fromBusinessWeek.com: • America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs 2009 • Entrepreneurs Who Started Young • Special Report: America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs

It turns out it’s boomers, not twentysomethings, who start the most businesses in the U.S. Over the past decade or so, the highest rate of entrepreneurial activity belongs to the 55-64 age group. The 20-34 age bracket, by contrast, had the lowest rate. That’s according to a recent report by Dane Stangler, a senior analyst with the Kauffman Foundation, based on data collected from 1996 to 2007. It echoes research by entrepreneur-turned-academic Vivek Wadhwa, who found that twice as many tech entrepreneurs create ventures in their 50s as do those in their early 20s.

So not only are these entrepreneurs navigating the toughest economy many of us have ever lived through, they’re also vastly outnumbered by older, more experienced competitors, who usually have more contacts and capital. That’s even more reason to continue to give young entrepreneurs the encouragement, respect, and awe that they’ve received since becoming cultural icons during the dot-com boom.

Stangler says he’s not suggesting young people aren’t entrepreneurial or won’t be. “The cachet of large, established companies has taken a hit. Job tenure has been falling for a long time. Employment is not going to recover in the very near future. People across all age groups are going to take the future into their own hands.”

More from Yahoo! Finance: • Best and Worst Commutes in the U.S. • 10 Best Places to Launch a Career • Highest and Lowest Paying States Visit the Career & Work Center

Dorm Room Beginnings

Brian Ruby, 25, is just one entrepreneur who is following through on Stangler’s prediction. He founded molecular imaging equipment maker Carbon Nanoprobes in 2003 in his Columbia University dorm room and has since raised about $4 million from institutional and private investors. After six years doing research, Carbon Nanoprobes is now transitioning to equipment sales, and Ruby expects about $1 million in revenue in 2010. The nine-person company based in Pike Malvern, Pa., sells its equipment to universities, semiconductor firms, and material sciences companies.

Husband-and-wife team Eric Koger, 25, and Susan Koger, 24, launched indie clothing e-tailer ModCloth in 2002, near the end of their freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University. They’ve managed to raise a little over $3 million from angels such as StubHub co-founder Jeff Fluhr and venture capital firms First Round Capital and Maples Investments. Eric says the 104-employee, Pittsburgh-based company is profitable, with around $1 million in monthly sales, and forecasts more than $15 million total in 2009.

Logan Green, 25, and John Zimmer, 25, started Zimride in 2007 to allow carpoolers to connect online. Its 35 clients are mostly colleges but include corporate customers such as Cigna (CI) and Wal-Mart (WMT). Universities pay about $10,000 per year to use the platform, although pricing varies. Zimmer says the Palo Alto (Calif.) firm, with six employees, expects revenue of $400,000 this year and is now profitable.

Record Numbers

These are just a few of our finalists defying the odds. To assemble the group, as in previous years, we asked BusinessWeek readers to nominate candidates aged 25 and under who were running their own companies that showed potential for growth. Given the severity of the recession, we were pleased to receive a record number of nominations this year — more than 600. After the call for nominations ended in mid-August, our staff sifted through the nominees looking for the most impressive.

Not surprisingly, the majority were Web-based businesses, where barriers to entry continue to fall. There were a smattering of more traditional companies, including an aircraft seller, a specialty mushroom grower, and a machinery lubricant vendor. Compared with last year, more women were nominated, more businesses were profitable, and more had secured equity capital.

You can flip through this slide show for profiles of each of the 25 finalists, then vote for the business you feel holds the most promise. We’ll announce the top vote-getters on Nov. 9. Then check out our slide show on where last year’s finalists are now. For more elements of the special report, including a feature on selling to universities and a video interview with a standout alum, visit the related items box at upper right side of this overview.

U.S. Entrepreneurs Ages 25 and Under

This summer, BusinessWeek set out on its fifth annual search to find the country’s most promising young entrepreneurs. As in previous years, we asked readers to nominate candidates ages 25 and under running their own companies. After the call for nominations ended in August, our staff whittled the batch down to 25 impressive businesses. To read profiles of the finalists and vote for the business you feel holds the most promise, click on. We’ll announce the top vote-getters on Nov. 9.

Note: Revenues and traffic numbers are self-reported. To be considered, founders had to be 25 or under when the nomination form was posted in late June.

1. Ascension Aircraft

What It Does: Aircraft sales and leasing
Founder: Jamail Larkins, 25
Web Site: www.ascensionaircraft.com
Based: Augusta, Ga.

Jamail Larkins has been hooked on flying ever since he took his first flying lesson at age 12. The Augusta (Ga.) native completed his first solo flight at 14, performed in an aerobatic air show four years later, and earned a bachelor’s degree in aviation business administration from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. But instead of following a traditional career path and going to work for Boeing (BA) or Lockheed Martin (LMT), Larkins decided to channel his passion into his own business. It came naturally. At 15, he had started Larkins Enterprises, selling flight training books and videos to local pilots, to pay for his flying lessons. “I promise you we started off selling a lot less than we do today,” he says. Though he continues to run Larkins to do marketing and consulting for clients that include his alma mater, the National Business Aviation Assn., and Michelin Aircraft Tires, he says 90% of his revenue comes from his aircraft sales and leasing company, Ascension Aircraft, which he started in 2006. Larkins says four-employee Ascension is profitable and had a little over $7 million in revenue in 2008, despite the downturn. He expects revenue to increase slightly this year. He continues to fly for fun every chance he gets and is planning to get back into aerobatics in 2010.

2. Box.net

What It Does: Online collaboration tool
Founders: Aaron Levie, 24, and Dylan Smith, 24
Web Site: box.net
Based: Palo Alto, Calif.

Aaron Levie and Dylan Smith started Box.net in 2005, when they were both college sophomores, as a tool to collaborate on projects with fellow students. The pair — childhood friends from Seattle — soon saw business potential in an online platform to let companies share information securely. Nine months after launching, they both left school (they were at University of Southern California and Duke, respectively) and moved to the Bay Area to work on the company full time, with an initial $350,000 investment from Mark Cuban. (His stake has since been bought out.) The service, targeted toward companies with fewer than 100 employees, has 3 million users representing 50,000 businesses. Individuals can try a limited version for free, but businesses pay $15 per user per month for the premium version. The company, now based in Palo Alto, has 50 employees and has raised $14.5 million in venture capital from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and U.S. Venture Partners. The firm is not yet profitable, though Levie says revenue is in the “mid-to-high single millions,” and he expects it to turn a profit soon.

3. Click To Client

What It Does: Online marketing agency
Founder: Shama Kabani, 24
Web Site: www.clicktoclient.com
Based: Dallas

While completing her master’s degree in organizational communication at the University of Texas at Austin, Shama Kabani wrote her thesis on why people use Twitter and other social networking sites. She became convinced businesses could use the tools to market their products and services. But when Kabani made that pitch as she applied for jobs at big management consulting firms such as McKinsey and Bain & Co. in 2006, she was rejected. “At that point, nobody really cared for social media knowhow. They were just thinking, ‘This is a fad. Our clients don’t really need it.’ ” Undeterred, Kabani, whose parents are both entrepreneurs, founded her own full-service online marketing firm in March 2008, to build Web sites, handle SEO, and create and manage social media campaigns. The six-employee business now takes on about 25 one-off projects a month and also acts as an online marketing department for six regular clients on a retainer basis. Fees range from a few hundred dollars for a newsletter design to $2,500 for a Web site project; monthly retainer fees start around $2,500. Kabani says Click To Client had about $120,000 in revenue in 2008, expects $280,000 for 2009, and is shooting for $1 million in 2010. Her first book, The Zen of Social Media Marketing, is due out in April.

4. Emergent

What It Does: Renewable energy consulting
Founders: Jesse Gossett, 23 (left); Jayson Uppal, 23 (center); and Chris Jacobs, 21 (right)
Web Site: www.emergentgroup.com
Based: Boston

Two years ago, three Tufts University students and one Babson College student attended the Energy Security Initiative at Tufts (now the Tufts Energy Forum), a group whose mission is “to spread and enhance the discussion surrounding all aspects of the transforming, global energy industry.” It was there that Jesse Gossett, Jared Rodriguez, Jayson Uppal, and Chris Jacobs decided there was a need in the consulting sphere to help guide municipalities and private businesses toward using renewable energies and setting up sustainability practices. The quartet spent their final year in college researching and readying a business to do just that. Before they graduated, they landed their first consulting contract. Emergent now has about 30 clients, mostly municipalities, including the towns of Yates, Shelby, and Orleans County in western New York. The firm had $108,000 in revenue last year, and estimates it will reach $250,000 in 2009 and become profitable by 2011.

5. I Bec Creative

What It Does: Web development and graphic design
Founder: Becky Stockbridge, 25
Web Site: www.ibeccreative.com
Based: Portland, Me.

While a senior at the University of Southern Maine, Becky Stockbridge wrote a business plan to start a Web and graphic design business for medical professionals, a group she found was in need of logos, brochures, and informative Web sites — and who also had the money to pay for them. She got started in 2006 with a $4,200 grant from the Libra Future Funds, a Maine-based group that helps entrepreneurs under 25. The Maine Center for Enterprise Development awarded her free office space for one year. However, Stockbridge says she found it difficult to get through to the decision-makers in medical practices. While she struggled to make contact, Stockbridge began designing Web sites and logos for other small businesses. By 2007, she had more business clients than doctor clients and shifted her focus. Last year the five-person company had about $225,000 in revenue and Stockbridge expects $350,000 in 2009.

6. Intern Queen

What It Does: Internship placement consultancy
Founder: Lauren Berger, 25
Web Site: www.internqueen.com
Based: Los Angeles

While earning her degree at the University of Central Florida, Lauren Berger says she completed 15 internships in four years. After graduating in 2006 she began helping the children of her parents’ friends land internships. Soon, the idea to start a consulting business was born. But first Berger had to pay the bills, so she moved to Los Angeles and worked as an assistant at top talent agency Creative Artists Agency. While there, Berger met movie producer and director Marshall Herscovitz (Thirtysomething, The Last Samurai), who liked her concept and backed her financially for one year.

More fromBusinessWeek.com: • America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs 2009 • Entrepreneurs Who Started Young • Special Report: America’s Best Young Entrepreneurs

Last September, Berger launched her company — Herscovitz has a 12% stake — offering to vet potential applicants and match them with more than 500 companies from across the country that pay to list on her Web site. Berger says what sets her service apart is the personal attention — she and her small band of interns review every application and Berger calls each company to make an introduction. Potential interns can apply for one slot gratis to get a feel for the service. They pay $3 for every subsequent application; employers pay an annual fee of $50 for unlimited listings. In the four months the firm was running last year, Berger says she had about $100,000 in revenue and expects to double that to $200,000 next year. A regular on the college speaking circuit, she is also planning to expand into Canada and is exploring endorsement deals with Microsoft (MSFT) and Payless Shoes.

7. ModCloth

What It Does: Online marketplace for indie designer fashion and decor
Founders: Eric Koger, 25, and Susan Koger, 24
Web Site: www.modcloth.com
Based: Pittsburgh

You might not expect an indie clothing e-tailer to get the attention of equity investors. But Eric and Susan Koger, the husband-and-wife team that launched ModCloth in 2002, near the end of their freshman year at Carnegie Mellon University, have managed to raise a little over $3 million from angels like StubHub co-founder Jeff Fluhr and venture capital firms First Round Capital and Maples Investments. ModCloth’s inventory strategy helps explain its success. Eric says Susan and her buyers build rapport with independent designers, try to get payment terms of net 30, and normally sell 70% to 90% of the goods within the net-30 period. “We can turn our inventory faster than we have to pay for it. That’s enabled us to scale as fast as we have.” Being online only and located in Pittsburgh keeps operating costs low, too. ModCloth employs 104 people — mostly young women who, Eric says, “come at it from a perspective that’s truly aligned with the customer, because they are our customers” — up from 22 people a year ago. The company became profitable in 2007 but wasn’t in 2008, largely because it spent a lot of money to redesign its Web site — which now gets more than 1.25 million unique visitors a month. Eric says ModCloth has around $1 million a month in sales and forecasts more than $15 million total in 2009.

8. NoteHall

What It Does: Online marketplace for class notes
Founders: Sean Conway, 25 (right); Justin Miller, 21(far right); B.J. Stephan, 24 (left); Fadi Chalfoon, 23 (second from left)
Web Site: www.notehall.com
Based: Tucson, Ariz.

Launched in 2008, NoteHall is an online marketplace for college students who want to buy and sell class notes. Sean Conway, who has ADHD and finds it difficult to comprehend a lecture and take notes simultaneously, says the impetus to start the company came when he noticed fellow students shared his frustration. For initial funding, the founders used $70,000 they put together from Conway’s inheritance and Miller’s bar mitzvah money. To access documents, users purchase credits via the site’s virtual currency system ($3 buys 100 credits; notes from one lecture cost 25 credits; a study guide costs 100 credits). When a student purchases credits and redeems them, NoteHall receives a commission that varies based on the product. According to Conway, 20 colleges and universities are participating now, including Drexel University and the University of Arizona, and an additional 30 will be by December. Last year, NoteHall had $40,000 in revenue, will be profitable this year, and expects to reach $900,000 in revenue in 2010.

9. Trunk Club

What It Does: Online clothes shopping service for men
Founder: Joanna Van Vleck, 26
Web Site: www.trunkclub.com
Based: Bend, Ore.

When Joanna Van Vleck graduated from the University of Oregon in 2005 with degrees in psychology and business, she worked as a style consultant, taking men and women clothes shopping. No surprise here — most men disliked shopping but enjoyed the new duds. So Van Vleck decided the shopping process should be turned on its head. Instead of accompanying men to the shops, she would take the shopping to them. In January 2008, she opened a location she describes as a “swanky man hang-out spot,” where hesitant shoppers were sized up and regaled with advice and brand-name picks. Within a month of opening, an angel investor approached her and offered to commit $500,000 to expanding the concept to other locations. But after Bear Stearns failed that March, he changed his mind.

Convinced her idea had potential, Van Vleck searched for another source of funding. During a meeting via Webcam with a new would-be investor, Van Vleck decided to shift gears. Instead of opening physical locations, she would operate the business virtually, using Webcams to meet with clients, assess their needs, and then ship a box of clothing to them. Clients would only pay for items they liked. With zero retail experience, she launched the site in November 2008, buying marked brands wholesale from suppliers and selling them retail. Trunk Club now has six employees, 36 independent contractors who work as fashion consultants remotely, and around 2,000 members. Van Vleck says the company is close to breaking even and is on track for $2.3 million to $2.5 million in revenue in 2009. She expects to close her first venture capital round with a Bay Area firm within a month.

10. Tumblr

What It Does: Microblogging platform
Founder: David Karp, 23
Web Site: www.tumblr.com
Based: New York

In 2005, David Karp was running his software consulting business, developing new media for big media companies. He got the idea for Tumblr after becoming captivated by a new form of blogging known as “tumblelogging” that presented material of various formats (such as text, photo, and video) in a stream. While building a tumblelog for himself, the programmer realized other fans of the form would want to use a simple tool that would allow them to create their own. So during a two-week window between consulting jobs, Karp, who first started coding when he was 11, created the first iteration of such a tool designed with speed, ease of use, and customization in mind. Launched in 2007 for general consumption, the Tumblr platform now has 1.8 million users and has landed $5.5 million in venture capital from two rounds of funding with Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. Karp, 23, says the 10-person company is not making money yet but will be experimenting with revenue-generating features this quarter. “Goal No. 1 is growth. We’re aiming this thing for a mainstream audience.”

source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107946/americas-best-young-entrepreneurs-2009;_ylt=Aj9O3aK_bqvozbS72WjjQn_3BK1_;_ylu=X3oDMTBvNjFsYmZiBHBvcwMxMARzZWMDYXJ0aWNsZQRzbGsDMQ–?mod=career-leadership

Best Jobs in America 2009

by Donna Rosato with Beth Braverman and Alexis Jeffries, Money Magazine
Friday, October 9, 2009provided by

Money/Payscale.com’s list of great careers

AP Photo

In the midst of the worst job market in three decades, you might think the only thing people care about when it comes to their career is having a job and keeping it. But when Money and PayScale.com, a leading online provider of employee-compensation data, surveyed 35,000 people online about what makes a great job, they rated intellectual challenge, a passion for the work, and flexibility just as highly as security. Perhaps the financial crisis has made many of us realize that we’re going to be on the job a few extra years, so we might as well be doing work we can enjoy.

1. Systems Engineer

Median salary (experienced): $87,100
Top pay: $130,000 
Job growth (10-year forecast): 45%
Sector: Information Technology

What they do: They’re the “big think” managers on large, complex projects, from major transportation networks to military defense programs. They figure out the technical specifications required and coordinate the efforts of lower-level engineers working on specific aspects of the project.

Why it’s great: Demand is soaring for systems engineers, as what was once a niche job in the aerospace and defense industries becomes commonplace among a diverse and expanding universe of employers, from medical device makers to corporations like Xerox and BMW. Pay can easily hit six figures for top performers, and there’s ample opportunity for advancement. But many systems engineers say they most enjoy the creative aspects of the job and seeing projects come to life. “The transit system I work on really makes a tangible difference to people,” says Anne O’Neil, chief systems engineer for the New York City Transit Authority.

Drawbacks: Long hours are common; project deadlines can be fierce.

Pre-reqs: An undergrad engineering degree; some jobs might also require certification as a certified systems engineering professional (CSEP).

Veer

2. Physician Assistant

Median salary (experienced): $90,900
Top pay: $124,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 27%
Sector: Healthcare

What they do: Call it MD lite. Working under the supervision of a doctor, PAs do all tasks involved in routine medical care, such as diagnosing illnesses and assisting in surgery. In most states they can write prescriptions as well.

Why it’s great: You get the satisfaction of treating patients minus insurance hassles, since PAs have far less administrative responsibility than the typical MD. “I’m part of a team yet have a lot of autonomy,” says PA Robert Wooten. You don’t have to take on the time or expense of med school (see pre-reqs) and the field is virtually recession-proof, owing to an ongoing shortage of primary-care physicians. PAs are also far cheaper to employ than MDs, so demand is expected to steadily increase as medical facilities try to rein in costs, says Bill Leinweber, CEO of the American Academy of Physician Assistants. And since they don’t need as much specialized training as doctors, PAs can switch from, say, geriatrics to emergency care with relative ease.

Drawbacks: It’s a fairly new profession, so the number of annual job openings is still small.

Pre-reqs: A master’s degree; 100 hours of training every two years; recertification every six.

3. College Professor

Median salary (experienced): $70,400
Top pay: $115,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 23%
Sector: Education

What they do: Teach and grade papers, of course. But profs also spend about half their time doing research and writing articles and books about their field.

Why it’s great: For starters, major scheduling freedom. “Besides teaching and office hours, I get to decide where, when, and how I get my work done,” says Daniel Beckman, a biology professor at Missouri State University. And that doesn’t even take into account ample time off for holidays and a reduced workload in the summer. Competition for tenuretrack positions at four-year institutions is intense, but you’ll find lots of available positions at community colleges and professional programs, where you can enter the professoriate as an adjunct faculty member or non-tenuretrack instructor without a doctorate degree. That’s particularly true during economic downturns, when laid-off workers often head back to school for additional training. More valuable perks: reduced or free tuition for family members and free access to college gyms and libraries.

Drawbacks: Low starting pay and a big 50% salary gap between faculty at universities and community colleges. If the position is at a four-year university, you’ll probably have to relocate, and you’ll be under pressure to constantly publish new work to sustain career momentum.

How to get it: For a tenure track position, you’ll need a Ph.D. But all colleges want at least a master’s degree and prefer plenty of teaching experience.

Getty Images

4. Nurse Practitioner

Median salary (experienced): $85,200
Top pay: $113,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 23%
Sector: Healthcare

What they do: In addition to performing routine caretaking tasks, nurse practitioners have the advanced medical training to diagnose and treat a wide range of ailments. They can also prescribe medication without consulting an MD.

More at CNNMoney.com: See the Highest Paying Best Jobs in America

See the Best Jobs with the Highest Quality of Life Ratings See the Full List of Best Jobs

Not that stability and growth don’t matter, of course. We put the heaviest weight on those factors when we began crunching the numbers to come up with our list of the 50 best jobs. But to make the final cut, a job had to get high quality-of-life marks too. Whether you’re thinking of switching careers, are job hunting, or want to nudge a child in the right professional direction, this list should give you plenty of fodder for discussion.

Why it’s great: Thanks to the growth of retail health clinics and the shortage of primary-care doctors, opportunities abound for nurse practitioners in settings from hospitals and urgent-care centers to private practice. They can specialize in fields such as women’s health or oncology. Experienced nurse practitioners looking for a change of pace can shift to teaching or medical research. Nurse practitioners are also specifically trained in patient teaching; disease prevention is typically a large part of their practice. “Helping people see that small changes in their lifestyles can make a big difference to their health is very rewarding,” says New York City nurse practitioner Edwidge Thomas.

Drawbacks: Constant insurance headaches. Education requirements are ratcheting up.

Pre-reqs: Must first complete training to get license as a registered nurse; master’s degree, plus certification. A doctor of nursing practice degree is increasingly in demand, which requires about three additional years of study.

Getty Images

5. Information Technology Project Manager

Median salary (experienced): $98,700
Top pay: $140,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 16%
Sector: Information Technology

What they do: Keep big tech projects like software upgrades running on time–and on budget. “We bring order to chaos,” says April Ellison, an IT project manager in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Why it’s great: Lots of opportunity. “Just about all companies need techsavvy people who are great managers,” says Houston tech recruiter Linda Ranostaj. Figuring out how to implement cutting-edge technologies keeps the job challenging. Good upward mobility: IT project managers can rise to chief technology officer of a company, where the salaries can hit $300,000. Do you prefer to work for yourself? The field offers plenty of consulting work.

Drawbacks: Hours (and hours and hours) of meetings. Aggressive project timelines. Staff jobs can be outsourced to consultants.

Pre-reqs: Five to seven years of technology and computer-related experience. A project management professional certification, along with an MBA, will enhance career prospects.

6. Certified Public Accountant

Median salary (experienced): $74,200
Top pay: $138,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 18%
Sector: Financial

What they do: Crunch the numbers, whether it’s for financial analysis or tax preparation.

Why it’s great: Businesses began stocking the payroll with CPAs after major accounting scandals earlier this decade, and a host of new corporate accounting rules going into effect soon should ratchet up demand further. Government agencies are also hiring CPAs, to monitor how well companies are complying with the new regs. Add inevitable changes to personal income tax rules and you have a pretty recession-proof profession. “Unless Congress does away with taxes, we’ll always have work,” says CPA Lisa Featherngill of Winston- Salem, N.C. Some 33,000 independent CPAs also work for themselves, typically as tax preparers.

Drawbacks: Deadlines are nonnegotiable; if you’re in tax preparation, kiss your personal life goodbye between mid-February and April 15.

Pre-reqs: A certification exam and, typically, 150 hours of business and accounting classes and work experience.

Getty Images

7. Physical Therapist

Median salary (experienced): $74,300
Top pay: $98,100
Job growth (10-year forecast): 27%
Sector: Healthcare

What they do: Restore strength, flexibility, and range of motion to people who have been sidelined by injury, illness, or disease.

More at CNNMoney.com: See the Highest Paying Best Jobs in America

See the Best Jobs with the Highest Quality of Life Ratings See the Full List of Best Jobs

Not that stability and growth don’t matter, of course. We put the heaviest weight on those factors when we began crunching the numbers to come up with our list of the 50 best jobs. But to make the final cut, a job had to get high quality-of-life marks too. Whether you’re thinking of switching careers, are job hunting, or want to nudge a child in the right professional direction, this list should give you plenty of fodder for discussion.

Why it’s great: Unlike many health-care professionals, physical therapists generally see great progress in their patients. “I don’t just treat the symptoms– I give people the tools to get better,” says Jennifer Gamboa, an orthopedic physical therapist in Arlington, Va. Plus, there’s no overnight or shift work. Medical advances that allow a growing number of people with injuries and disabilities to survive are spurring demand, says Marc Goldstein, senior director of research at the American Physical Therapists Association. And hey, baby boomers’ knees aren’t getting any younger: An aging population means more chronic conditions that need physical therapy treatment.

Drawbacks: The impact of health reform on the profession is a wild card. Can be physically demanding.

Pre-reqs: A master’s degree, plus certification and state licensing. Many employers prefer a doctor of physical therapy degree.

8. Computer/Network Security Consultant

Median salary (experienced): $99,700
Top pay: $152,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 27%
Sector: Information Technology

What they do: Protect computer systems and networks against hackers, spyware, and viruses. “I consider myself a cybercrime fighter,” says Gregory Evans, an independent computer security consultant in Atlanta.

Why it’s great: No company or government agency can afford to have a serious breach in the security of its computer system. New technologies and an unending supply of creative hackers around the world keep the field challenging. Consultants can often work from home. And top-level pros command big paychecks.

Drawbacks: Talk about stress. If a system is infiltrated by a virus or hacker, it could mean lights out for the security consultant’s career. “This is a job you can’t afford to ever fail in,” says Evans.

Pre-reqs: Mostly major geekdom, since the skills can be self-taught. Still, a computer science degree comes in handy. An information systems security professional certification (CISSP) is increasingly favored. Experience is key for better-paying positions: Most companies won’t hire a consultant with less than five years of experience.

AP Photo/CIA

9. Intelligence Analyst

Median salary (experienced): $82,500
Top pay: $115,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 15%
Sector: Government

What they do: Gather and analyze data related to international policy and military strategy, most often for the government or defense contractors.

Why it’s great: Like adventure? Data might be collected from satellite images, wiretaps, Internet chatter, and military and spy reports. Given the country’s continued vigilance about national security, demand should remain high. “The best part is helping our country,” says Nate Copeland, an intelligence analyst in Herndon, Va.

Drawbacks: High stress; you often can’t talk about your job outside of work.

Pre-reqs: Security clearance, of course. Foreign languages and often military experience are a huge plus.

10. Sales Director

Median salary (experienced): $140,000
Top pay: $239,000
Job growth (10-year forecast): 10%
Sector: Sales and Marketing

What they do: Set and meet sales goals, generate new accounts, and mentor and train new recruits.

Why it’s great: A successful sales director–especially one who can weather an economic downturn– will always be sought after. “I feel secure since I’m bringing money into the company,” says Holly Anderson, a sales director in St. Helena, Calif. Sales directors often move into high-level management.

Drawbacks: Sales down? You’re vulnerable to getting the ax. Commission-based pay can fluctuate dramatically. Expect to be on the road about 50% of the time.

Pre-reqs: 10 years of sales experience and a year or two in management. A proven track record beats an advanced degree.

source:
http://finance.yahoo.com/career-work/article/107926/best-jobs-in-america.html;_ylt=Ak9T_yL1AVf_KjLlf2LPKCwz0tIF;_ylu=X3oDMTBubW90ZTUyBHBvcwM4BHNlYwNhcnRpY2xlBHNsawMx

Arnel Pineda International Filipino singer-songwriter (Journey)

Arnel Pineda (born September 5, 1967) is an international Filipino singer-songwriter and is currently the lead singer of the American rock band Journey.^[1] Pineda has enjoyed a successful musical career in Asia for the last 25 years.

Biography

Arnel Pineda was born in Sampaloc, Manila, in the Philippines. His mother instilled his love for singing at an early age, encouraging him to sing along to songs from her favorite singers like Karen Carpenter and Barbra Streisand. Growing up, his parents entered him in many singing contests.

His mother, who had been suffering from rheumatic heart disease, died when he was thirteen. Her illness had left their family deep in debt. Being a year behind on their rented apartment and unable to sufficiently provide for the family, his father decided to move out and ask relatives to take in Pineda’s siblings. To ease his father’s burden, Pineda quit school and volunteered to strike out on his own.

For about two years his life was spent out on the streets, sleeping wherever he could: in public parks, or on a narrow bench outside a friend’s crowded house. He earned meager money by collecting glass bottles, newspapers, and scrap metal and selling them to recyclers. He would also go to the pier with his friends and take on odd jobs like cleaning scrap metal and docked ships. He didn’t have much to eat, sometimes rationing a small package of biscuit as his meal for two days. Despite all these hardships he tried to remain optimistic about his future.

The Journey

Videos of The Zoo performing cover songs by Journey, Survivor, Aerosmith, Led Zeppelin, Air Supply, The Eagles, Kenny Loggins and other popular acts from the 70s, 80s and 90s, began appearing on YouTube.com in February 2007. On June 28, 2007,^[5] Neal Schon of Journey contacted Noel Gomez, a longtime fan and friend of Pineda who uploaded many of these videos, to ask for Pineda’s contact information. Schon sent an e-mail to Pineda inviting the latter to audition for Journey. Pineda initially dismissed the e-mail as a hoax, but after being persuaded by Gomez, he finally replied to Schon’s e-mail. Ten minutes later, Pineda received a phone call from Schon.^[6] On August 12,^[7] Pineda, along with his manager Bert de Leon, flew to Marin County, just north of San Francisco, for a two-day audition.^[8][9] The star-struck Pineda was welcomed warmly but he described the audition as “nerve-wracking, tense”.^[10] OnDecember 5, 2007, Pineda was announced as the lead singer of Journey. CNN Headline News ran the story as part of their “News to Me” segment.^[11]

Pineda debuted as the lead singer of Journey on February 21, 2008 at the Viña del Mar International Song Festival held at the Quinta Vergara Amphitheater in Viña del Mar, Chile. ^[12][13] Videos of the Vina del Mar performance are available at the Festival’s home page and on YouTube.

Chilean media acclaimed Pineda’s performance (translated to English): “The new vocalist fit very well with the band, his vocal aptitudes shining through, which are very similar to the legendary musician of the band, Steve Perry.”^[14] Journey keyboardist Jonathan Cain described Pineda’s performance in a radio interview: “We went to Chile just recently, where we had never played and they went crazy, they absolutely went nuts…Arnel’s first show — talk about a stressful thing — we had a televised concert for 25 million people…Is the guy a winner? Yeah, he’s a winner. He’s a clutch player.” ^[15]

Journey returned to the US for a private Remax Convention event at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on March 6, 2008, then performed at Las Vegas’ Planet Hollywood on March 8, 2008 (this concert was recorded and used, in part, for the Revelation DVD).

On February 1, 2009 he performed with Journey at the Super Bowl XLIII Pregame Show.

source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnel_Pineda

Tata Villaruel – Ilonggo’s Singing Nurse Pride

By Wein P. Gadian

One could have been content as a registered nurse which by far is the easiest way to leave the country. But not for 22-year old Christi Praise “Tata” Fernando Villaruel. She resigned from her job as a nurse and pursued her passion in singing. With her determination, everything she did paid off, landing her in the ‘Star in a Million Contest’ (SIAM). SIAM is a search of the country’s best young artists.

And compared to her contenders everything for Tata was a first. She is the first grand finalist from Iloilo and NAMCYA (National Music Competition for Young Artist) national finalist to join the contest. With her versatility in singing she has not only become the Illongos’ pride but also an inspiration to most.

The Dream
As a young lady, Tata’s love for her craft was influenced by her mom Verenice Fernando, who then was a professional singer. And with her mom as mentor, she joined various singing engagements where she garnered awards: (NAMCYA) National Music Competition for Young Artist (1999), Iloilo PRISAA Vocal Solo (Pop) Champion,   SLSA & Integrated Meet Classical Champion, Super Ferry Regional Champion and also a champion in Kampeon Sa Kantahan.

She’s also into classical voice training and has years of experience as a choir member. All these gave her enough guts to join SIAM “It was my dream to join the competition but I prioritized my studies. I decided to finish my course and pass the board. Then when they opened SIAM for 16-19, I was depressed. In the end, I applied for work. And when ABS-CBN started advertising SIAM’s season 2 for 18-24…I resigned and auditioned.”

Now as the consistent number one in the contests Tata reveals her edge compared with the others: “I’m blessed that I belong in a family of artists in different fields: My professional singer mom, my aunt, and uncles who are all visual artists. My uncles Rey and Joy Fernando are known portraitist. They have a gallery in SM City Iloilo.” Other than the talent, what’s interesting about her voice is her adaptability to any musical genres. She belts out R&B tunes and can easily shift to classic or pop.

Her discipline has taken her all the way up but for Tata, perseverance still matters knowing that her contenders are also great performers. Her focus is on uplifting the Ilonggo talents. She says, “Let us unite and show the world we are one. And support Ilonggo artists like me and make Iloilo bigger on the map!” And with this rare opportunity of seeing our fellow Ilonggo on the lead and giving her best. Let’s give our support thru text: Just type SIAM<space>TATA send to 2331 Globe/Touch Mobile/Sun, 231 Smart/TalknText/Addictmobile, 23661 for TFC subscribers in the US.

Tata is a resident of Block 29, Lot 10, Bakhaw, Mandurriao, Iloilo City. She is a graduate of Bachelor in Nursing from University of San Agustin. Her musical prowess is sustained by her loving parents: Verenice Fernandoand Louie Villaruel, brother and sisters; Hearly Lee V. Canonizado, Louie, Mary Love and Louise Villaruel and the inspiration of all Ilonggos.

source:
http://www.thenewstoday.info/2005/09/28/iloilofeatures.html

http://tatavillaruel.blogspot.com/