At IdeaMensch we made the decision to not serve ads. We want our entrepreneurs to be proud of their interviews and it felt like obtrusive ads would be rather annoying. Instead, we give our interviewees the option to become a premium supporter. This financial contribution is our primary source of revenue and allows us to hopefully run IdeaMensch until eternity and to keep making it better along the way.
Most interviewees don’t pay and that’s okay and awesome. After all, we run this operation for the benefit of our interviewees. But, the ones who do choose to become a premium supporter make a huge difference for us. Without that financial support, we wouldn’t be able to do this.
So, thank you to the following supporters. Ideamensch would not be possible without you. Cheers.
2017
Jeff Orgill – Founder of Film Budgeteers
Jeff Orgill is the founder of Film Budgeteers, an online film budgeting service launched in 2015 which provides filmmakers with a professional, customized, line item budget for their project within minutes.
Artem Martynyuk – CEO of SAFETY RESTORE INC.
Artem Martynyuk was born in 1993 in Korosten, Ukraine and immigrated to the U.S. in 1996 with his parents. He now owns a marketing agency online “Primar Marketing”, an automotive tech company “Safety Restore,” a luxury wedding cinematography company “Jenart Films” and is now leaning towards real estate.
Jeannie Hill – Founder of Hill Web Marketing
Jeannie Hill is the founder and digital marketing consultant at Hill Web Creations. After enjoying several freelance gigs, she founded her company back in January of 2011. Her approach to creating digital marketing strategies is consultative.
Duane Boise – President and CEO of EMED Jamaica
Duane Boise is the President and CEO of EMED Jamaica. He has witnessed firsthand the many ways that healthcare is lacking and has made it his mission to combine his desire for change and his experience in business development in order to create a solution.
Robert Heidersbach – President and Founder of Dr. Rust, Inc.
Robert Heidersbach is an engineer, forensic consultant, former professor and author who has amassed nearly five decades of experience in the fields of corrosion and metallurgy.
Michael Zaransky – Founder and Managing Partner of MZ Capital Partners
Michael Zaransky has dedicated his life to building harmonious communities. As the Founder and Managing Partner of MZ Capital Partners (and co-CEO of Prime Property Investors), Michael Zaransky is a seasoned real estate developer with an eye for building properties that serve the larger community.
Adam Kidan – Managing Director at Chartwell Business Advisors
Adam Kidan is an entrepreneur and philanthropist who has worked in both Washington DC and the New York City Metro areas. Over the course of his 30+ year career, Adam has been involved in various diverse business ventures.
Brian O’Malley – Founder of Screenplay Readers
Brian O’Malley is the founder of Screenplay Readers, a script coverage service founded in 1999 which provides screenwriters, producers, and agents with valuable, actionable feedback on their work before they send it out to studios and name actors.
Joel Landau – Co-founder of The Allure Group
Joel Landau is a community-minded entrepreneur with decades of experience helping companies and nonprofits which serve a human need. He is an innovator, investor, founder, incubator, and advisor.
Luke Schueler – Co-Founder, Owner and COO of Flying Squirrel Sports
Luke Schueler, Co-Founder, Owner and COO of Flying Squirrel Sports – Co-Founder, Owner and CEO of Shock Trampoline Park Systems, has been recognized for showing dedication, leadership and excellence in the sports recreation industry.
Jan Gleisner – Founder of Carmel Valley Insurance Agency
Jan Gleisner is long-time financial services professional with over 16 years of experience in his field. He currently serves as President of Carmel Valley Insurance Agency, Inc., an independent insurance agency that he founded.
Marko Dimitrijevic – Founder and Chairman of Volta Global
The Founder and Chairman of Volta Global, Marko Dimitrijevic is an international businessman with over three decades of entrepreneurial and investing experience. Volta Global is a private investment group with investment activities in venture capital, private equity, real estate, and public markets.
Jake Croman – Co-Founder of the Eddie Croman Foundation
Jake Croman is a young entrepreneur and the co-founder of the Eddie Croman Foundation, a non-profit specializing in research and support for dogs with cancer and other illnesses.
Josh Ungaro – Founder of Allied Solution Group
Josh Ungaro, the founder of Allied Solution Group, was born in Delta, Colorado in the snow-capped mountains near Crested Butte. The Mid-West Transfer and Allied Solution Group have assisted in over 20,000 transfers of ownership, helping clients enjoy time with their family and create memories that will last a lifetime.
Alex Gemici – CEO and Founding Partner of Greenstone Equity Partners
A longtime entrepreneur, banking executive, and business development expert, Alex Gemici has established and managed numerous firms both locally and internationally.
Krishen Iyer – Partner at Quick Link Marketing online
As an online partner with Quick Link Marketing, now known as Managed Benefits, Krishen Iyer has relied on his extensive expertise in online marketing, technical development, and client relations while carrying out his day-to-day responsibilities with the company.
Pepper Rutland – Founder and CEO of MMR Group
Pepper Rutland is an entrepreneurial philanthropist first and an entrepreneurial businessman second. He founded his company, MMR Group, in 1991 and is currently serving as the company’s President/CEO.
Jon Belsher – Chief Medical Officer at MedSpring Urgent Care
Trained in Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Critical Care at the Mayo Clinic, Jon Belsher has over twenty years of experience and success in private, public sectors, for-profit and nonprofit organizations in healthcare.
Peter Jacoves – Founder and CEO of Nationwide Debt Direct
As the founder and CEO of Nationwide Debt Direct, Peter Jacoves remains fully dedicated to assisting consumers as they endeavor to overcome the burdensome difficulties brought about by debt.
Mike Baur – Co-Founder & Executive Chairman of Swiss Startup Factory
Early in 2015 Mike and two partners founded today’s No.1 privately financed and independent startup accelerator: Swiss Startup Factory in Zurich, Switzerland. He holds an MBA from University of Rochester New York as well as an Executive MBA from University of Berne.
Marquina Iliev-Piselli – Digital Marketing Director at RiffleBooks.com
Marquina Iliev-Piselli is the Digital Marketing Director at RiffleBooks.com and an independent author-marketing consultant at AuthorpreneurLaunch.com. She helps authors feel empowered, not overwhelmed, by marketing.
Dr. Jill Ombrello – Founder of Onsite Dentists of Texas
Dr. Jill Ombrello is a General Dentist at Central Dentist, a Founder of Onsite Dentists of Texas, a lecturer at Healthy Start, and so much more. Professionally, Jill Ombrello is a strong supporter for public health dentistry and she has provided care in underserved areas of Texas, rural villages of Alaska, and more.
Logan Stout – Founder & CEO of IDLife
Logan Stout is an accomplished business owner, philanthropist, entrepreneur, best-selling author, keynote speaker and leadership trainer. Logan’s credibility and track record of leadership, team building, and success principles not only continue to drive his current ventures, but also make him one of the most sought after keynote speakers in the world.
Doug MacFaddin – Director at Corcoran Group
Doug MacFaddin is a seasoned professional in the real estate industry with over 30 years of experience. His vast expertise in finance, real estate and business, dedication to his work and professionalism have allowed him to become one of the leading members in his industry.
Braden Power – Founder and Co-owner of Power Properties
Braden Power is an entrepreneur and real estate developer located in the Dallas area. The founder and co-owner of Power Properties with his brother, Braden has changed the game of real estate development.
Charles Lubbat – Digital Marketing Expert
A passionate and highly skilled digital marketing expert, Charles Lubbat Mr. Lubbat, a resident of Houston, Texas, is an experienced professional who has consistently demonstrated a unique creativity for web design.
Greg Secker – Founder of The Greg Secker Foundation
Greg (born 18 February 1975) is an entrepreneur, master trader, philanthropist and international speaker, but most importantly a father. Greg is passionate about Philanthropy and this is recognized through him being nominated position 151 by Richtopia 2017.
Jason Vander Griendt – Founder of Render 3D Quickly
A specialist in mechanical engineering and online business, Mr. Vander Griendt has made Render 3D Quickly an industry leader with a reputation for delivering high-quality work within a brief timeframe.
Levana Kirschenbaum – Founder Of Levana Meal Replacement
Instead of getting dejected, Levana seized her usual enthusiasm and “get it done” attitude and went to work. She summoned up her lifelong training as a food professional and pioneer in the food industry, and brought it to bear.
Rusty Tweed – President & Owner of Tweed Financial Services
As the president and owner of Tweed Financial Services, Rusty Tweed has utilized his extensive expertise in financial planning and investing to assist countless clients in developing a sound, individualized, and goal-oriented plan for securing their financial future.
Sonny Kalsi – Founder of GreenOak Real Estate
In this capacity, Sonny played a pivotal role in building the division into a leading, world-class investment arm with an extensive, diverse portfolio. By the end of his tenure, Sonny oversaw a large staff of over 1,000 professionals managing $100 billion in assets across 33 countries.
Jim Tananbaum – Founder & CEO of Foresite Capital
Jim architected Foresite in 2011 as a healthcare-dedicated private equity firm specializing in identifying emerging healthcare leaders, which it helps grow to profitability by supplying capital, networks, and information.
Brian Speier – Creator of Speier Design Consulting
Inspired by the Southern California visual artists whose work can be found just about anywhere — including from the walls of a fine art gallery to the walls of an alleyway or overpass — Brian Speier’s eclectic artistic sensibilities are immediately evident in his work as a freelance design consultant.
Grace Lever – Founder of GraceLever.com & The Doing Academy
Grace Lever is the founder of GraceLever.com & The Doing Academy, where she is devoted to empowering female entrepreneurs through a personal and professional philosophy centering on the simple concept of “doing.”
Ryan Hemphill – Founder of Madison Park Capital Advisors
Ryan Hemphill is the founder of Madison Park Capital Advisors, a boutique advisory firm which is located in New York City. Every day Ryan gets the opportunity to manage client portfolios from various industries that range from real estate to energy.
Rocco Basile – Founder of Rocco Basile DIY
Rocco Basile can be considered a jack-of-all-trades artist. He specializes in the creation of many do-it-yourself projects from indoor to outdoor.
Nick Yates – Founder and Chairman of Generation NEXT Franchise Brands
Nick Yates is the Founder and Chairman of Generation NEXT Franchise Brands, a San Diego based company hosting over 350 different franchisees around the world.
Nathan Sproul – Founder and MD of Lincoln Strategy Group
Nathan’s company Lincoln Strategy Group (LSG), founded 14 years ago, boasts over 1,000 clients spanning 49 states, three continents, and counting.
Shaliza Somani – Founder of One Star Media
Shaliza Somani has a passion for strategizing, planning, and executing solutions that help to influence success to businesses of all sizes from around the globe.
Clay B. Siegall – Co-Founder of Seattle Genetics
Clay B. Siegall, Ph.D., co-founded Seattle Genetics in 1998 and is the company’s President, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board.
David Taran – Founder and CEO of Sunstar Capital
David Taran is a real estate investor based out of San Francisco, CA. He is the founder and CEO of Sunstar Capital, where he brings over 26 years of professional experience.
Dr. Scott Rocklage – Managing Partner at 5AM Ventures
Scott M. Rocklage, PhD joined 5AM Ventures in 2003 as a Venture Partner and became a Managing Partner in 2004. Dr. Rocklage has over three decades of healthcare management experience.
Lingke Wang – Co-founder of Ovid Life
Lingke Wang is the co-founder of Ovid Life, a life settlements technology startup. Ovid helps seniors sell a life insurance policy that they no longer can afford to institutional investors.
Juan Castellanos – Co-Founder of Alana Athletica
Juan Castellanos is one of three co-founders at Alana Athletica, a new start-up that designs and produces yoga-inspired activewear made with love and in partnership with female abuse survivors through Emerge Global, a non-profit organization in Sri Lanka that supports and empowers these women.
Graham Zahoruiko – Director of Public Benefit Corporation
With over 25 years of experience, entrepreneur, Graham Zahoruiko has worked as a transformational growth leader aiming to better the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) and developmental leadership within companies.
Peter Bubel – Founder and Managing member of PANA Rentals
Peter Bubel is the founder and managing member of PANA Rentals, a family-owned and operated property management and real estate company serving Berks County, Pennsylvania.
Matt Reeser – Founder & CEO of Tri Source International, LLC
In his role, Matt establishes and executes the strategy of connecting TSI’s client partners with its’ dynamic workforce located in Central America.
Andrew Haller – Co-founder and Co-CEO of AirDev
Andrew Haller is the co-founder and co-CEO of AirDev, a San Francisco based startup disruptor that designs and develops custom software for websites and mobile apps.
Alison Perelman – Executive Director of Philadelphia 3.0
Alison Perelman is the Executive Director of Philadelphia 3.0, an organization that drives political reform in Philadelphia local politics.
Chris Grottenthaler – CEO of True Health Diagnostics
Chris Grottenthaler is the CEO of True Health – an innovative healthcare services organization dedicated to earlier detection and management of disease.
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Greg Cruikshank – CEO of LabRoots
With more than 20 years of sales and marketing experience in the life science & biotech industries, Greg Cruikshank has leveraged his professional and entrepreneurial skills to build LabRoots, a leading social networking service, centered around all things scientific, medical and academic.
Jonathan Teller – CEO of EOS Lip Balm
After a brief stint working as a flight instructor, Jonathan started his career in Sales & Trading at Credit Suisse. Eight years later, Jonathan left to pursue more entrepreneurial interests.
Tammy Mazzocco – Ohio Real Estate Agent
Tammy Mazzocco began her real estate career as a secretary with The Edwards Realty Company, a commercial real estate firm.
Hamish McLaren – Founder of McLaren & Associates Consulting
As the founder of a number of wildly successful enterprises, Mr. McLaren has demonstrated a unique aptitude for entrepreneurship
Darius Fisher – Co-founder & CEO of Status Labs
Darius Fisher is the CEO and co-founder of Status Labs, a premier online reputation management, digital marketing, and public relations firm with offices in Austin, New York, and Sao Paulo.
2016
Jay Arora – Independent Filmmaker and Social Media Influencer
In the past few years Jay has successfully established a mark in the entertainment industry with a wide variety of projects ranging from web shows to feature films.
Michael Morrow – President of Aspen Creek Wealth Strategies
Michael Morrow began his financial career in Texas where he was acknowledged as the “Best of the Best” financial planner by a number of local magazines.
Ross Sanner – President and Founder of ThinkGrowth
Over the course of his eventful career, Ross has worked with everyone from Fortune 100 companies to small nonprofits, and has developed a strong network wherever he goes.
Ed Sappin – Founder and CEO of Sappin Global Strategies
Ed Sappin is a leader in finance, business development and strategy, with a proven track record in the US and markets around the world.
Norman Pattiz – Founder of PodcastOne
In 2009, Pattiz was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame and received the Giants of Broadcasting Award from the Library of American Broadcasting.
Stephen Geri – Founder of Diversified Employee Benefit Services
Through DEBS, Stephen Geri also gets the opportunity to give back to his local San Antonio Community. He helps underpriveleged families apply for grants for life saving prescriptions that they would not otherwise be able to afford.
Le-Roy Staines at TimeDock.com
Le-roy Staines is the founder and CTO of TimeDock.com. He’s a highly creative software developer with a huge variety of interests including wood carving, hunting, hiking, animals, and, of course, tinkering with technology and inventing new things.
Elionora Dudayeva of Chance Realty
Elionora “Ella” Dudayeva was born in a village located in the small country called Ingushetia. After getting married and having 3 kids she eventually made her way to the land of opportunity, the United States of America, in her late 30’s.
François Patry of Fifome
Born in Montreal, Canada, François Patry is the proud father of two bright young girls and is now living in Sherbrooke, a small city in the Eastern Townships of Quebec.
Eve Buechner of refund.me
In 2012, Eve founded refund.me – a passenger rights travel technology company that makes passenger rights more transparent and easily enforceable on a worldwide scale.
Ryan Sullivan of ParkiFi
As the CEO and Co-Founder of Parkifi, Ryan’s core belief is that we should know where available parking spaces are, in real time, and not spend 15 minutes or more driving around aimlessly looking for a parking spot.
Kevin Meuret of Mantality
Kevin Meuret is the founder of Mantality, a St. Louis-based medical practice dedicated to the treatment of low testosterone in men. Meuret also helped found the Midwest Men’s Clinic in Omaha, Neb.
Sean Schroeder of Blue River and Mura Experience Platform
A former graphic designer and front-end developer, Sean is a self-confessed app junkie currently consumed with creating content-driven experiences that help businesses attract and create their ideal customer.
Laurence Marx of emphasisHR
Laurence is CEO and co-founder of emphasisHR and previously co-founded a prominent corporate benefit consulting firm, Global Group.
Meghdad Abbaszadegan of Coplex
Meghdad Abbaszadegan is an adviser with Coplex. He is passionate about entrepreneurship, tennis, travel, and fostering connections between people.
Jim Hunt – CEO and Financial Advisor of VTA Publications
Jim is well versed in making safe and intelligent trades in a bear or bull market. Mr. Hunt is also well known for his YouTube account, where he shares information about his most recent investments freely.
Yuri Vanetik of Dominion Partners
Outside of his business ventures, Yuri Vanetik prioritizes philanthropy. He is passionate about getting involved in causes related to the arts, children, political policy and the arts.
Laura Mecoy of Mecoy Communications
Laura Mecoy is the founder and president of Mecoy Communications, a team of expert storytellers with decades of experience in researching and creating compelling narratives about companies, products, people, causes and more.
Paul Nute of Triton Web Properties
Paul Nute graduated from Pepperdine University in Malibu, CA in 1997. After graduating and traveling a bit, Paul managed and grew an internet marketing firm with great success.
Lloyd Claycomb – Founder of United Builders Service
Lloyd Claycomb founded United Builders Service, Inc. (UBS) in 1978. Claycomb accepted a small loan from his father to start UBS and immediately hit the ground running.
Noble Newman – Co-founder of ComSu
Noble Newman is co-founder of ComSu, a Seattle-based company dedicated to helping others motivate themselves towards meeting their goals and improving their lives.