Passage to Profit Show - Road to Entrepreneurship

In this episode hear from Alex Furmansky, an investment banker turned start-up founder and was featured on Shark Tank with his company Budsies, where he turns kids’ drawings into custom-sewen stuffed animals created from any drawing or photo. Since Budsies launched in August 2013, over 125,000 Budsies have been created for happy customers across 63 countries around the world, including the U.S., France, India and Australia. Alex turned down the deal he was offered by the Sharks, and has successfully expanded Budsies into other brands (Selfies, Petsies, Stuffed Animal Pros) and now offers not only custom plushies but an array of custom gifts. Alex is very passionate about business, being successful and customer-driven innovation. He’s an expert in the ever-changing e-commerce world, has achieved market dominance, and continues to build his brands and extend his reach. Read more at: https://www.budsies.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for March 28th at their Websites:Sarah Brandow is the Co-Founder and Chief Nutritionist at Vitabowl, an on-demand premium delivery brand that serves locally sourced premium, nutritionist backed, plant-based, superfood meals and beverages to the convenience of your office or preferred location, at: https://www.vitabowl.com/Lisa Caprelli is the award winning author and director of Unicorn Jazz, a popular and best-selling children’s unicorn book series and educational kids show, The THING I Do Kids Show & Stories. Discover the entertaining children’s unicorn book series families adore that celebrates love, kindness, being unique, believing in others. Help kids discover their passions & talent with their Amazon TV family show, at: https://unicornjazz.com Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.

In this episode, hear from Sarah Shaw, a celebrity designer, CEO for Entreprenette (as a consultant for entrepreneurs) and is the host of the podcast, "Get a Street Smart MBA" about entrepreneurism. She’s an expert on successfully launching products through promotion to A-list celebrities in addition to traditional marketing and sales strategies. Her first business was creating thousands of costumes for blockbuster hits like Star Trek: First Contact, The Matrix, and Ocean’s 11, among others. In 1997, she launched Sarah Shaw Handbags, which became a 7-figure business, in part, because she figured out the secret to getting her handbags on the arms of more than 70 celebrities like Julia Roberts, Jennifer Aniston, and Courteney Cox, which lead to many appearances in magazines, on TV shows, and films. Her handbags were carried in more than 1,200 stores including Bergdorf Goodman, Barney’s, and Saks Fifth Avenue. Read more at: https://sarahshawconsulting.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for March 21st at their Websites:Bernard Law & Angie Tran are the inventors of Kind Laundry, the revolutionary eco-friendly laundry detergent sheet that is kind to you and the environment. An easier, greener, and more convenient way to do your laundry. No more plastic waste, no more spilling, no more harmful chemicals, at: https://www.kindlaundry.com/Sam Caucci returns to Passage to Profit with updates about 1Huddle. Sam is the founder and CEO of 1Huddle, a game platform for employee training, powering the people that power teams. 1Huddle is the fastest way to fire up your team, all your training in a game, on your phone, at: https://1huddle.co/Michele Joseph returns to Passage to Profit to discuss SGAP Leaders’ partnership with 1Huddle and more. Michele is the Founder and Executive Director of SGAP Leaders (Student Global Ambassador Program), a non-profit organization with a vision to cultivate the next generation of global leaders through programs for 7th – 12th grade students, focused on STEM, Sustainability and Social Justice, at: https://www.sgapleaders.org/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​...​ for the latest updates and episodes.

In this episode, hear from Terry Jones, a Keynote Speaker, Innovator, Author and the founder of two billion dollar startups - Kayak and Travelocity and has served on 17 corporate boards. His success has established him as a thought leader on innovation and disruption. Terry has presented in over 25 countries to 300+ companies, helping companies use the tools and techniques he’s developed to keep up with this rapidly changing world. His programs on innovation, leadership and customer relationships are always thought provoking, entertaining and customized. Attendees walk away with inspired ideas and concrete action items to implement in their companies. He is the author of “On Innovation”, about Turning ON Innovation in your culture, teams, and organization as well as the author of “Disruption Off” about The Technological Disruption Coming For Your Company And What To Do About It. Read more at: https://tbjones.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for March 14th at their Websites:Brian Fried is a serial inventor, radio show host, speaker and author. His latest invention is the Paper Towel Topper, a handy device that attaches to the top of your paper towel holder to keep your paper towels dry, clean and germ free. Simple and easy to use, just slide the Paper Towel Topper right into the inner tube of the paper towel roll, at: https://www.papertoweltopper.com/ and https://brianfried.com/Lauren Dennis is the founder of The Artbox Academy, offering customized curated Monthly Art Box Subscriptions, Jumbo Architecture Boxes, Fairy Boxes, Lesson Bundles and Pediatric Hospital Boxes - all to ensure your students and children are engaged, ignited and inspired! Each Art Box and Lesson Bundle is inspired by The Great Master Artists and Architects, at: https://www.theartboxacademy.com/Robert Ciampi has a psychotherapy practice in New Jersey and has been a mental health clinician since 1995, which included working in community mental health centers and hospitals, helping individuals with serious and persistent mental illnesses lead more meaningful lives. His book, When to Call a Therapist is available on Amazon and at all bookstores, at: https://www.rciampi.com/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.

In this episode, hear form Ash Kumra, a wellness entrepreneur, national radio host and top ranked performance and personal branding coach. He's the founder of Peak Mindful, a business mindfulness platform to help professionals increase productivity and alleviate burnout. His coaching agency has helped over 300 business leaders, founders and high growth professionals. His radio show, podcast and live media have been by Dr. Oz, Sony Television, Forbes, Huffington Post, Wall Street Journal, and Entrepreneur magazine. Earlier Ash helped launch the California chapter for Startup America and was listed by the White house as a top 100 impact entrepreneur. He is the author of “The Future of Mental Wellness (at work)”, “The Non-Obvious Guide for Linkedin” and “Mindfulness and Productivity”. He is also author of the course “How to Stand Out”, available on Linkedin. Read more at: https://www.ashkumra.com/On the Executive Spotlight is Kristina Henderson who holds the current title of Mrs. New Jersey American and is the founder of Henderson Promos, a promotional product supplier offering over 700,000 custom apparel and products such as mugs, pens, t-shirts, tote bags, awards. Kristina is also on the Girl Scouts of America's Phenomenal Women Under 40 Committee, where she inspires young girls to be leaders within the community. She works closely with the Tigger House Foundation, an organization raising awareness for opioid addiction through education, intervention, and prevention. Along with other community leaders, Kristina co-founded the Giving Back Forum, which is an event that brings together 65+ nonprofits within the community to one space, where they can learn from one another and gain awareness for their causes. Kristina also works with Fulfill of Monmouth & Ocean County, a food bank working hard to combat hunger in New Jersey. Read more at: https://www.hendersonpromos.com/Our Entrepreneur Presenter is Hirsch Chinn the inventor of Bond Sanitizer, the world’s only clip-on, wearable and refillable gel-sanitizer dispenser. Fill with your favorite sanitizer, clip to pocket, purse, belt, backpack and squeeze to dispense at: https://bondsanitizer.com/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.    

In this episode, hear from guest speaker Justin Goodbread, CFP® CEPA® CVGA®, the founder of CEO of Heritage Investors as well as an author, keynote speaker and podcast host for Financially Simple™. Financially Simple offers an array of online content and consulting services to help business owners understand the ins and outs of owning, growing, and eventually selling their most prized possession. Justin has founded, grown and sold three businesses for a profit and currently operates multiple businesses. Investopedia named Justin in the Top 100 Financial Advisors in 2018, 2019 and 2020! Read more at: https://heritageinvestor.com/ and https://financiallysimple.com/On the executive spotlight is Donald Ploetner, the founder of i-Deal Acquisitions, a personal purchasing concierge service that takes the hassle out of “the deal”, making purchasing luxury items a fun and stress-free experience for their clients. As experts in luxury purchasing, with over a decade of experience on both sides of the deal, they work to negotiate the best price for their clients’ next car, boat, plane or other high-end luxury item. i-Deal Acquisitions’ service ensures all customers have to do it just enjoy the results. Read more at: http://www.idealacq.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for February 28th at their Websites:Jessica Meyrowitz is the founder of It’s a Yummy, provider of hand knit products, knitting needles, crochet hooks, DIY knitting kits and our custom made, oversized, 100% merino wool Yummy Yarn as well as knitting workshops and events now gone virtual. She has been featured on The Washington Post, Parade Magazine, Country Living Magazine and more as well as on the Hallmark tv channel, at: https://itsayummy.com/Dave Mulford is returns to Passage to Profit to tell us about his new invention, Fur Baby Flashlights, a patented system designed for dog safety, and a great way for your pet to be seen at night. The wearable flashlight is extremely bright so that pets can easily be seen at night. The kit comes with a LED light and cord, a flashlight handle, a canister, and batteries. You can wear it, too, at: https://furbabyflashlights.com/   Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.    

In this episode, hear from Ola Sars, a Stockholm based serial entrepreneur active in the music-tech space and the Founder and CEO of Soundtrack Your Brand, the world's fastest growing music-platform for B2B, which he co-founded together with Spotify back in 2014. Before founding Soundtrack, he was the co-founder and COO of Beats Music, acquired by Apple and transformed into Apple Music, a music curation service powered by leveraging the Beats by Dre brand. He is also the co-founder of Pacemaker, the world's first DJ driven music platform. Ola’s driving force behind his repeated efforts in transforming the music market comes from his conviction that music is undervalued as an art-form and that the music industry offers significant opportunity for value improvement and growth. Through his multiple start-ups in the music-space, he has focused on unlocking that intrinsic VALUE, both in B2C and now in B2B. Read more at: https://www.soundtrackyourbrand.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for February 21st at their Websites:Ricky Laviña is the founder of Taxfyle, an online market place where hundreds of Tax Pros are ready 24/7 to do taxes for individuals and businesses, at: https://taxfyle.com/Joanne Ruse is the founder of YOGI Fitness Mat, the on-the-go yoga mat that combines the yoga mat and a straps to roll it up and carry it all in one piece, at: https://yogi-fm.myshopify.com/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.

Sandy Wollman is the Co-Founder & Managing Director of Westchester Angels, a member based angel investment group focused on funding startup companies as well as the founder of The NY Area Angel Alliance. He is also on the Executive Committee for the Veridian Member’s Fund and member of the ARC Angels and has reviewed well over 1000 pitches in the past year. He knows what works and what doesn’t! Sandy is starring in ”Break Through the Crowd” a new TV show which features startups pitching to investors to get to the next round where the winner receives a large crowdfunding prize. The show combines elements of Shark Tank and The Apprentice and is being televised on Zee Tv in the USA, Canada and the Caribbean. Read more at: http://westchesterangels.com/.Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for February 14th at their Websites:Brianne Cohen is a LA based event and wedding producer, and now a certified sommelier. She offers wine education to help people up their wine game and DRINK BETTER! She offers virtual wine tasting for private, corporate and non-profit events, including small-format tasting sets sent to each attendee at, https://briannecohen.com/Kathryn Kelly is the founder of Taste Buzz Food Tours in Las Vegas, specializing in fun and exciting food tastings on the Las Vegas Strip and Downtown. Travel off-the-beaten-path as you taste the city’s hidden gems and the most raved-about dishes, at: https://tastebuzzvegas.com/Alysha Myronuk is the founder of That’s Myrony podcast and My Myrony Mentoring. What is myrony? New word (my+irony) for the ironic coincidences or flukes that make you think is the Universe/God responsible? She helps clients an action plan to move forward in various areas of their life and helps them start recognizing myronies and how to use their superpower of intuitive knowing, at: https://tastebuzzvegas.com/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.

Chris Rosica Chris Rosica is the President and CEO of Rosica Communications, a traditional and online PR and integrated marketing communications company in the New York City metropolitan area and in Vermont. Chris is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping businesses grow, adapt to change, outpace the competition, and improve internal and external communications. Chris is a popular keynote speaker and lecturer on social media, online reputation management and media relations. Chris authored The Authentic Brand, which details the process and effects of incorporating cause marketing into a company’s business and promotional agenda. His forthcoming book, The Business of Cause Marketing details the process and the results of successfully incorporating cause marketing into a company’s business strategy. Read more at: https://www.rosica.com/.On the Executive Spotlight is Michelle Ricketts. Michelle is a Business Consultant, and owner of Cohesion Services powered by Wardell International. Headquartered in Vancouver, Canada, Wardell is an international business advisory firm that over more than 20 years has worked with thousands of business owners in more than 15 countries. Michelle's mission is to transform client's businesses to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams and do a happy dance regularly. She empowers entrepreneurs by arming them with business knowledge to help them achieve sustainable growth and the lifestyles they’ve dreamed of and worked towards. Read more at: https://linkedin.com/in/michellemricketts/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for February 7th at their Websites:Tata Tickaradze is the founder of Barter & Be, a curated community of female entrepreneurs exchanging essential goods and services without utilizing capital, at https://barterandbe.com/Jordan Bolebruch is the inventor of The Aftermask, a skincare sheet mask designed and formulated for those who wear a face mask on the reg. Fight breakouts, sooth irritation, and dryness, at: https://theaftermask.com/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​​​ for the latest updates and episodes.

In this episode, hear from "The Inventress", Lisa Ascolese, the founder of Inventing A-Z, and has been taking ideas, hers and many others, from concept to fruition for over 35 years and counting. This New Jersey-based entrepreneur, consultant, and agent has successfully created, patented, marketed, and launched dozens of products in QVC, HSN, national retail stores and more. She also runs the networking group AOWIE and has conferences and events throughout the year. Read more at: https://www.inventingatoz.com/.Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for January 31st at their Websites:Bongai Mhloyi is the founder of American & African Youth Leadership Foundation, which empowers young girls and women of Zimbabwe through education to overcome poverty, domestic abuse and child marriage, at: https://endchildmarriages.org/Michael Bleau is the founder of EventHub a streamlined event vendor and sponsor management system for promotions, online booth and partnership applications, payments, documents, logistics, communications and more. at https://eventhub.net/Heather Marianna is the founder of Beauty Kitchen, offers hand-made 100% natural skincare and cosmetics without the use of chemical preservatives that are always Cruelty-Free, Paraben-Free, and Sulfate-Free, at: https://beautykitchen.net/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​​ for the latest updates and episodes.

In this episode, hear from Dr. Gilda Carle Ph.D., the media’s Go-To Relationship Strategist & Performance Coach, serving clients worldwide. As a celebrity media personality, she was the therapist on TV's Sally Jessy Raphael show, as well as other TV & news shows, from Howard Stern to Dateline. She also conducts Relationship Wellness for the Bottom Line keynotes for corporations & medical facilities, including Columbia University Medical Center. As President of non-profit Country Cures® (www.CountryCures.org), she uniquely applies Country Music to empower Homeless Female Veterans. She is a product spokesperson (Hallmark, Harlequin, Sprint, Cottonelle, Galderma Pharmaceuticals, Match.com), keynote speaker, Professor Emerita of Business, and author of 18 books, including “Don’t Bet on the Prince!” (test question on “Jeopardy”), “How to WIN When Your Mate Cheats” (literary award winner from London Book Festival), and “Don’t Lie on Your Back for a Guy Who Doesn’t Have Yours” (featured on National Enquirer’s Health Page). She wrote the weekly “30-Second Therapist” column for the Today Show, the “Ask Dr. Gilda” column for Match.com, and she was the therapist in HBO’s Emmy Award winner, “Telling Nicholas,” featured on Oprah. She hosted Fox’s “Dr. Gilda” TV show pilot, MTV’s “Love Doc,” and TV shows on Trinity Broadcasting Network. TV’s Dr. Gilda show is currently in development. Read more at: https://www.drgilda.com/.On the Executive Spotlight is Len Green,, a serial entrepreneur, author, philanthropist, consultant and founder of The Green Group, an accounting, tax, consulting and advisory firm. He has been recognized nationally as a tax expert and family business consultant. Some of the successful business he's started include: a pet food company, a thoroughbred horse breeding and racing operation, a professional sports team, a commercial real estate management corporation and many startups. Read more at: http://www.greenco.com/Visit the Entrepreneur Presenters for January 24th at their Websites:Marc Canter, is the founder of Instigate.ai, a Conversational Storytelling tool, playback system and ecosystem that allows people to create their own personal bot, at: https://www.instigate.ai/Arthur Lih, is the founder of LifeVac, a non-invasive, single patient portable airway clearance device to be used in a choking emergency, at https://lifevac.net/ Visit https://passagetoprofitshow.com/​ for the latest updates and episodes.