George Salem, ProxsysRx
Fixing a $4.3 trillion catastrophe. One problem at a time. Imagine creating a business that generates so much positive buzz you’re forced to sell it. That, for all practical purposes, was George Salem’s dilemma in 2009. He’d founded Respond Medical Staffing — which provided nurses for hospitals — in 2004, and in the company’s fifth […]
Jim Cavale, INFLCR
Self-Made Man? “Hardly.” (NOTE: This post was originally published in 2018) The single most important career and life decision Jim Cavale ever made was to transfer from Ithaca College to the University of Montevallo. He still remembers the moment. “It was after normal business hours in my baseball coach’s liquor store. Which he still owns, […]
VIDEO: Jim Cavale, INFLCR
Clip 1 (2:06) (NOTE: This post was originally published in 2018) Jim recalls his most important career & life decision ever — followed by a brief overview of creating a television network from scratch at the University of Montevallo. The first in a series of Jim’s profiles.
Mark Roberge, HubSpot
Can you believe he actually would do it differently? As HubSpot’s former SVP of Worldwide Sales — who helped take the company’s customer base from 1 to over 12,000, and revenues from near-zero to more than $100 million — it’s safe to say Mark Roberge can sell anything. Anything, that is, except vacuum cleaners. Yes, […]
Dave Gray, Biso Collective
“Figure out what business we need to be in, and make it make money.” With that piece of advice from company founder Tom Patterson, Dave Gray was given the reigns of Daxko — the company he led for over 15 years — in early 2003. Sure, the two had conducted several lengthy meeting-of-the-minds conversations before […]
Craig Parker, Guideway Care
“Every adventure has its own cycle.” (NOTE: This post was originally published in 2017) Cincinnati native Craig Parker and his wife Andrea moved to Birmingham in 1999 to be near her family. Neither felt comfortable raising their children in London — where he was working for a New York law firm. He almost moved here […]
G.T. LaBorde, IllumiCare
There’s An App For That. This profile was originally published 12.20.19 in the Birmingham Business Journal “Healthcare is the one place where technology has only made people’s lives miserable.” It goes without saying that, as a pitchman, G.T. LaBorde understands the value of a strong lead. So what’s IllumiCare doing to fix the problem? “Today, every clinician who […]
David Sher, ComebackTown.com
A Success Story In Four Acts David Sher has a long list of career accomplishments he can justifiably take pride in, but none in my book greater than his role as the producer of Mr. King’s “T-Buff” commercials. For you unfortunates currently drawing a blank, Mr. King was once a Birmingham furniture store offering easy […]
Guest Columnist Lionel Tehini, Quinovas
THE PIZZA WAR PROVES IT: Every company is a technology company. It’s no revelation that every aspect of business today is driven by technology. That said, one of the most significant areas where smart businesses are using technology to gain a competitive edge is customer engagement — which includes directly interfacing with end users. On […]
VIDEO SERIES: Zane Tarence, Founders Advisors
Building Enterprise Value Zane Tarence loves helping entrepreneurs build value. Which has been a very good thing for a lot of entrepreneurs. Zane founded his first company at the age of 32 — Virtual Learning Technologies, which sold for $15 Million in May, 2000 to Boston’s Houghton Mifflin. Since then, he’s led and completed 85 […]