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Tom Scarda hosts The Franchise Academy Podcast and is the author of three books: the #1 bestseller Franchise Savvy: 6 Strategies Pros Use to Pick a Top Performing Franchise, The Road to Franchise Freedom and The Magic of Choosing Uncertainty. A self-made small business expert and Certified Franchise Expert, Tom has owned and operated five businesses both franchised and non-franchised. Tom was the #1 franchisee of the year in one franchise concept and failed miserably in another concept. The lessons he learned from failure is what makes him such an expert. Named one of the top 50 business leaders on Long Island, Tom has helped over 1500 people figure out if franchising is for them since 2005. He’s been featured in dozens of magazines and newspapers and is a sought-after radio, Podcast and TV guest.
Olenka Cullinan is a CEO and Founder of iStartFirst. She empowers women to up-Level their business and mindset via on-line Bootcamp, iStartFirst Women's Summit, and delivering keynotes and workshops for companies nationwide & globally. Olenka has developed a “Backbone of Success”™ method that helps female leaders to take action, get paid their worth and show up like a BOSS-Babe. Olenka’s work globally, combined with humor and personal experiences led to her recent appearances at TEDx (twice) and made her into one of the nation’s premier consultants.
Christa was a two-sport division scholarship athlete in Women’s Fast-pitch Softball and Women’s Volleyball at George Mason University. After graduating she played with the Connecticut Brakettes, a Women Majors fast-pitch team. In August 2002 Christa made the Greek National Softball Team which won GOLD at the 2003 European Championships B-Pool. In 2004 she was selected to be an alternate and assistant coach for the team at the OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES in Athens, Greece. In 2005 she helped the team win an A Pool Silver at the European Championships. In the gym, Christa is known for her sarcasm and her ability to ‘Christa’ people. To be Christa’d is to suddenly find yourself doing something you had no intention of doing. Not a bad trick for a trainer! Christa enjoys spending her time off with Jeff and their son Gordon and her twin girls Eleni & Zephera. She loves anything to do with being outdoors.
Lyndsay Springer is the Founder and President of the Chike Springer Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on improving treatment options and outcomes in Lymphoma and increasing diversity in cancer research. The foundation is in honor and memory of Chike Springer, Lyndsay's late husband, who passed away at 29 after a year-long battle with non-Hodkin's Lymphoma. The Foundation believes in disrupting the current way we think about clinical research and designing a patient-centered way forward. They focus on issues of health equity, striving to achieve more cures for more people. They believe that together we can do anything, together we overcome.
I grew up in a 1 stop light town in rural Pennsylvania. In 1999, fresh out of University (age 23), I moved to Costa Rica. Via a fateful "roommate wanted" ad, I met a fellow U.S. expat. With little money and less experience, we started an online travel agency. Today we're the largest in Central America, designing high-end, custom trips to Costa Rica, Panama, Nicaragua & beyond.
Samuel Adams is a content creator and podcast host with work on a variety of platforms online. Specifically focusing on the gaming and tech industry news and analysis pieces, Sam has reached over half a million people worldwide over the course of 6 years of work.
Brian Meert is the CEO of AdvertiseMint, a Hollywood based digital advertising agency that specializes in helping successful companies advertise on Facebook. Advertisemint has managed millions of dollars in digital ad spends in entertainment, fashion, finance, and software industries. Brian is also the author of the best selling, The Complete Guide to Facebook Advertising, and the innovative The Complete Guide to Digital Advertising Policies infographic. He is a 15-year digital advertising executive and a member of the Forbes Agency Council. Prior to founding Advertisemint, Brian built and sold Gofobo.com, an online ticketing system that revolutionized the entertainment industry and is now utilized by Warner Bros. and Disney.
Anna Lundberg is the founder of One Step Outside, where she helps experienced professionals around the world design a career, a business and a lifestyle that brings them more freedom, flexibility and fulfilment - outside of the conventional 9 to 5. Ex-Oxford, ex-P&G, today she combines her experience in global branding and digital marketing roles with her training in coaching and positive psychology techniques to help people reimagine the next phase of their career. She is the host of the Reimagining Success podcast and author of Leaving the Corporate 9 to 5: Stories from people who’ve done it (and how you can too!).
Sam Fulton is the Chief Executive Officer and member of the Board of Directors at Boats Group, which operates the world’s largest and most popular recreational boating online marketplaces – Boat Trader, YachtWorld, boats.com and CosasDeBarcos. As CEO at Boats Group, Sam leads the company towards its vision of creating a world-class shopping experience for boats. With his global perspective, the technology-minded Fulton has a passion for driving industry-leading value for consumers and industry partners each and every day.
Jack Pittas is the president & co-founder of PK Cyber Solutions Inc. He and his business partner initially founded the company to provide cybersecurity and other technology consulting services to small businesses. Later on, they began offering content writing services, specifically on more complex, technical topics, which is now their exclusive service offering. Prior to starting his business, Jack had worked as a commercial lines insurance producer at a locally owned insurance agency, where he developed many small business management skills that he utilizes today.
