LAUNCH! Magazine celebrates the creativity, dedication to responsible business practice and entrepreneurial spirit of students and alumni at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio School of Business and Management, principles fundamental to its mission and that the school and its faculty have embraced and actively advanced for more than 40 years.

1. Noelle Nguyen’s
AmericanLoveAffair
+S. Paul Do II
Dat
Dietzel
Varun Khanna
Srinivas Rao
David Rosendahl
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2. S atu rd ay, M arc h 31 , 2 0 1 2
BSCHOOL.PEPPERDINE.EDU/BPLAN
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3. LAUNCH! CO N TE NT S
LAUNCH! Magazine celebrates the creativity,
16
dedication to responsible business practice
and entrepreneurial spirit of students and
alumni at Pepperdine University’s Graziadio
School of Business and Management,
principles fundamental to its mission and
that the school and its faculty have
embraced and actively advanced for more
than 40 years.
PUBLISHED BY GRAZIADIO SCHOOL OF
BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT ARE YOU READY TO GO FROM EMPLOYEE TO FULL-TIME
© 2012 PEPPERDINE UNIVERSITY ENTREPRENEUR?
DEAN:
LINDA A. LIVINGSTONE, PH.D. ENTREPRENEURS
ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAM:
Larry Cox, Ph.D.
PUBLISHING EDITOR:
Dianne King
EDITOR:
F. Douglass Gore III
4 8 10
S. PAUL DIETZEL II VARUN KHANNA SRINIVAS RAO
EDITORIAL ASSISTANCE: Anedot Vedanic. BlogCastFM
Jaime Quigley
PROFILES:
Amy Biemiller
18
Lightstream THE SHORT
14
LIST
CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHY:
Leroy Hamilton 6 10
NOELLE NGUYEN
Shutterstock.com DAT DO DAVID ROSENDAHL
Derivatas, Inc. American Love Affair MindFire Inc.
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4. ENTREPRENEUR
S. PAUL DIETZEL II
Anedot
A
s most non-profit organizations know, the
number of people who give is directly
correlated with the ease of giving . Because
today’s consumers are used to managing bills and
making payments electronically, they expect that
same utility when they want to make regular
donations to a church or synagogue, support a
local charitable event, or give to a cause that
interests them.
But it’s not always easy for charitable
organizations to initiate and manage an electronic
system to streamline giving. And when it comes
to using electronic systems at temporary locations
—say, a park for a fun run or multiple city sites for
campaign events – the challenge only increases.
“I worked with many clients who were finding it
more and more difficult to effectively provide
donors with an easy way to give at public events.
I wanted to come up with an antidote for this
problem,” says Paul Dietzel (MBA ’11), who
developed Anedot in 2010.
By harnessing software as a service, Dietzel
devised a way for organizations to collect
donations, organize information and streamline
fundraising without having to install a server or
software.
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5. “Anedot is focused on the entire fundraising Key in that evolution have been a few important
process and equips organizations with a powerful, mentors.
S. PAUL DIETZEL II, MBA ‘11 easy-to- use and intuitive web-based application
“I found early in my experience working on my
that allows them to accept donations through any
Company Name: MBA at Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business
modern web browser or mobile smartphone,” he
Anedot and Management that the professors were a real
says.
Company URL: source for ideas and inspiration,” he says. In fact,
www.anedot.com “Business is going great. We’re signing new clients those lessons-learned still guide him in his business
Location: each day,” says Dietzel, fresh from a roadshow development strategy today.
Baton Rouge, LA demonstrating Anedot’s potential to help
“Professor Larry Bumgardner’s Business Law class
Mission: politicians running primary campaigns.
Optimize donations everywhere. has helped shape my business decisions from a
Business Idea: Dietzel, a long-time entrepreneur, is used to acting legal and ethical perspective. Professor Augus
Use Software as a Service to help political on inspiration. “I started my first business while in Harjoto commanded focus on the meaning of
campaigns, nonprofits, and other high school and have never worked for a company financial data instead of just making the numbers
organizations efficiently collect
donations. as an employee,” he says. line up. Professor Larry Cox revived my inner
Problem Set Out to Solve: imagination and reawakened the part of me that
The more difficult it is to do something, “I love the adventure and the challenge of
can stare into the world, see problems and then
the less likely people are to do it: we entrepreneurship, the ever-changing environment,
come up with business solutions,” he continues.
make it easy to give. the journey,” he says. “I enjoy helping people and
Target Customer: showing people how they can become more Another professor who has had distinctive
Political campaigns, non-profits, efficient by using technology.” influence on Dietzel has been Kyle Murphy, whose
faith-based organizations, causes, and Strategy class, with its emphasis on real-world best
individuals who want to raise funds on
either Facebook, a website or a mobile While Dietzel feels he was born for the challenge practices, was inspirational. “He has since become
phone. of entrepreneurship, he also sees it as something an advisory board member of Anedot and gives
Year Founded: that continues to shape him as a person. great insight into my decisions with the company,”
2011 he says.
“I am still very much
Avg. Annual Revenue:
evolving as an Dietzel derives great satisfaction in encouraging
Confidential
individual. I learn so other would-be entrepreneurs by sharing his own
Number of Employees: experiences.
much every day.
7 employees
I have made hundreds “Never give up and never take no for an answer,”
of mistakes along the he says. “If someone tells you that something isn’t
way and will most likely possible, it’s only because they haven’t found the
continue to make possibility yet. As an entrepreneur, it’s our duty to
mistakes, but I try to create that possibility.” 
learn from each one
and improve,” he says.
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6. ENTREPRENEUR DAT DO, MBA ‘05
DAT DO
Derivatas, Inc.
Company Name:
Derivatas, Inc.
Company URL:
www.derivatas.com
Location:
Los Angeles, CA
D
at Do (MBA ‘05) was successfully
Mission:
applying his skill as a valuation specialist/financial
Provide our customers with
engineer at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in Los sophisticated, standardized valuation
Angeles, when two “a-ha” moments presented tools and market insights that help
themselves. First, he and some colleagues discussed the improve decision making for company
possibility of turning certain types of valuation management and investors.
methodologies into an efficient, affordable standardized Business Idea:
valuation process. Provide valuation software to solve
complex valuation issues for
“I suggested that the firm invest in developing software that privately-held companies that are
would perform these complex valuation calculations,” says backed by venture capital and private
Do. “While many people thought it was a great idea, it never equity.
materialized because software development wasn’t Problem Set Out to Solve:
considered a core business of a Big Four.” Startups need an effective and
cost-efficient way to perform
valuations.
Target Customer:
Venture capitalists, private equity firms,
valuation firms, audit firms, and
privately-held companies.
Year Founded:
2011
Avg. Annual Revenue:
Confidential
Number of Employees:
Three, plus a dozen software engineers
when engaged in product develop-
ment.
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7. Dat Do
Second, an important client had a misvaluation, Supported by a cadre of trusted software develop- Entrepreneurship agrees with Do, stimulating
whereby management unknowingly underpriced ers, Do marshaled the idea through the Beta creativity and relationships building.
the company’s new financing round. testing stage and then to release in December. “So far, it’s been a great experience,” he says. “My
“When the misvaluation happened, I thought this “I’ve been delighted by the market traction we’ve flexible schedule allows me to pick up my 5-year
was probably a more common problem than most gained,” says Do. “We have a good virtual pipeline old son from kindergarten every day. Then I get to
people realize . Appropriate valuation models help of clients and there’s enthusiasm in the market help him with his homework for about an hour or
to effectively determine the price of a future fi- place for our software platform.” so. It’s special to me because it’s a good bonding
nancing round,” he says. “What was needed was a time for us.”
While the software offering is meeting market
robust software platform at a reasonable cost that Also special to Do is the newfound freedom to
needs today, Do is already looking to the next
would meet the needs of an underserved market.” dream, which entrepreneurship has provided.
challenge.
As would be expected of a financial analyst “I get to dream freely and to dream big,” he says.
“We plan to raise another round of financing from
schooled in careful decision making, Do consulted “My software engineers keep reminding us that
private investors in 2012. Part of the proceeds will
with several PwC colleagues whom he trusted and there’s no limitation to what software can do. So
be used toward expanding our sales/marketing
respected before making the ultimate decision to as long as we can imagine it and conceptualize it,
team. We also want to invest further in product
leave the corporate world to pursue entrepreneur- it can be coded into software. How great would it
development by adding features and functions
ship. be if everyone could have a period of uninhibited
that will help our clients achieve even greater
“I loved working at PwC because of the caliber efficiency,” he says. dreaming at some point during their career? Just
of people I was surrounded with as well as the imagine how much innovation would result from
opportunity to work on interesting projects,” says that!” 
Do. “But this is a special situation in which I felt
that the innovative business idea could be better
executed as a startup.”
Armed with guidance and support from his
colleagues, and a round of angel funding, Do
launched Derivatas and stepped up to his first
challenge: software development.
“I quickly came to the realization that I’ve taken
software for granted for so many years,” he says.
“Building software has to be one of the most
difficult things you can do. You literally have to
consider every possible scenario or permutation
of users’ requirements as you design a software
platform. So before you start coding, you have to
exhaustively map out all possible outcomes. Not a
task to be taken lightly!”
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8. ENTREPRENEUR
VARUN KHANNA
Vedanic.
W
hen you measure popular opinion
against personal experience, you
may just come up with a new
business.
That was exactly what happened when Varun
Khanna (MBA ’12) compared what he knew
about herbal skincare with what he was
witnessing in the marketplace.
“As a reseller of high-end herbal bath, body, and
beauty products from India for several years,
I compared my products to those from other
companies purporting to be ‘herbal’ and found
they were using parabens, sulphates, and more
8 LAUNCH! MAGAZINE| ISSUE NO. 5 SPRING 2012
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9. than 200 other chemicals that essentially are and done in an ECOCERT (one of the highest
banned in many parts of the world,” he says. “It standard of organic and natural certifications
was time to launch a responsible line of herbal in the world) laboratories under strict FDA-ap- VARUN KHANNA, MBA ‘12
skincare that used India’s ancient ayurvedic proved quality control.
formulations of organic, natural, and herbal Company Name:
The formula for Vedandic resonates with the Vedanic
ingredients.”
company’s target audience – those who pay
Company URL:
Khanna’s business instinct has been as sharp as careful attention to what they eat, wear, drink
www.vedanic.com
his product knowledge. Topical skin care is a and drive and who put a value on themselves
multi-billion dollar industry, with skin care the and the environment. Location:
Culver City, CA
most important category in the global beauty
“We are proud of our products. They stand up
market. Yet even with plenty of like-minded Mission:
to the test. In the end the customer decides Establish an organic skincare line in the ma-
entrepreneurs moving quickly into the category,
whether the product deserves their hard earned ture bath, body and beauty market.
Khanna researched for 18 months before he
money,” says Khanna.
launched Vedanic. Business Idea:
Vedanic products are available online, and Develop a high-end skincare line using India’s
“Typical manufacturers will spend all their ancient ayurvedic formulations of organic,
Khanna has his eye on expanding the brand
money rushing their product into the market- natural and herbal ingredients.
footprint. “The next challenge is marketing,” he
place, yet will not consider that the ingredients Problem Set Out to Solve:
says. “We need to establish our brand in the ma-
are actually harmful to the skin,” he says. Many common skincare formulations contain
ture bath, body and beauty market,” he says. To
chemical that are damaging to the skin.
Taking the time to develop the line correctly is that end, he has launched a niche target market
one of the distinctions of the brand. The other online ad campaign. Very shortly, Vedanic will Target Customer:
is operating with the courage of Khanna’s larger Adults who are serious about all-natural skin-
be advertised on Sony TV nationally, and a high-
care and value the environment.
convictions of responsibility and staying true end spa campaign will follow.
to the origin of the company name. ‘Veda’ is Year Founded:
As a consummate entrepreneur (he started his 2012
Sanskrit for ‘science’ and ‘nic’ is part of the word
first business at age 11), Khanna’s experience
‘organic. (Sanskrit for organic science) Avg. Annual Revenue:
has both informed his personality and delivered
Confidential
“It was important to me, not only to a feeling of success.
Number of Employees:
manufacture products that were produced with
“Entrepreneurship gives me deep satisfaction,” Two co-founders
premium, handpicked herbal ingredients, but
he says. “Being an entrepreneur gives me a
also to ensure the entire supply chain was held
sense of ownership, responsibility and account-
to higher standards,” he says. At Vedanic,
ability, all of which help me be a better father,
manufacturing and packaging is achieved using
son, brother and husband.” 
fair trade practice which prohibits child labor,
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10. ENTREPRENEUR
NOELLE NGUYEN
American Love Affair®
W
here is the crossroads of fashion,
business, and a sense of patriotism?
One intersection is American Love
Affair®, a company recently
founded by Noelle Nguyen (Presidents and Key
Executives MBA ’12). While the company itself is
new, the genesis of the idea spans Nguyen’s
formative years outside the United States.
Born in Vietnam, Nguyen and her mother fled
the country after the fall of Saigon and spent a
harrowing two weeks at sea before landing in
Thailand. They lived in a refugee camp for two
years where Nguyen first came into contact with
Americans. “I looked forward to the days when
members of the American Red Cross and the
Salvation Army came to our camp and brought us
food and clothing,” she says.
That early experience was soon followed by other
American influences in her life, including church
members who sponsored her and her family when
they immigrated to Maryland. “I’ve developed
an unwavering appreciation for Americans, and
an allegiance to the country I’ve called home for
more than two decades,” she says.
Today, Nguyen focuses that appreciation into a
passion for designing, developing, manufactur-
ing, and marketing American-made apparel and
related products. The American Love Affair site
sells only American-made brands.
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11. NOELLE NGUYEN, PKE MBA ‘12 “We scoured the market and found a few She also counsels students to take advantage of
hundred companies that manufacture in the the experience and advice of Graziadio
Company Name: United States. We are highlighting about 50 of professors and advisors. “They inspired me every
American Love Affair, LLC them in our launch,” she explains. day with their knowledge and intellect.
Company URL: Understanding how they think allowed me to
Entrepreneurship has given Nguyen an even
www.AmericanLoveAffairOnline.com stretch my own thinking,” she says.
greater appreciation of the American business
Location: system. “You are free to take a risk and you have The driving motivation behind Nguyen’s business
Los Angeles, CA is seeing four simple words—MADE IN THE USA—
an opportunity to earn a return on your
Mission: investment,” she continues. “This is clearly not a show up on more clothing labels. While she says
One e-commerce destination freedom that many others around the world the mission of the company is to create stylish
from which to purchase expertly crafted and superbly constructed clothing, the company’s
experience. In America, with hard work and
American-made fashion and consumer
average intelligence you have a reasonable vision is to remind people to “fall in love again
products.
chance at success.” with all things that are uniquely American, be it
Business Idea: country, community, or, perhaps, fashion.”
Design and market American-made apparel; While Nguyen has embraced the freedom of
provide a commerce platform for other Nguyen’s experiences, particularly during her
working for herself, she says that structure is
American brands. escape from Vietnam, her time in the refugee
critically important for aspiring entrepreneurs.
Problem Set Out to Solve: camp, and her early years in the United State,
She advises current Pepperdine students who are
A nationwide loss of pride in have shaped this vision for her company. “From
interested in entrepreneurship “not to fly by the
American-made products. these experiences I have developed an
seat of your pants.” Instead, they should make a
Target Customer: appreciation that may be difficult for someone
plan. “
Those who support American who has never lived beyond the boundaries,
manufacturing and would like to You must force yourself to adopt some level of safety, and charity of this country to fathom,” she
promote the prominence of structure and planning while still says. “The greatest compliment I could be paid is
the “Made in the U.S.A.” label.
maintaining the flexibility and instincts to respond to be called a patriot—one who is pro-American
Year Founded: to a changing environment,” Nguyen advises. and defends its greatness.” 
2012 (e-commerce division)
Avg. Annual Revenue:
Confidential
Number of Employees:
12 (e-commerce division)
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12. ENTREPRENEUR
SRINIVAS RAO
BlogCastFM
W
hile the blogosphere may sometimes be called the next great
frontier, it is one that is already well populated. According
to internet search engine Technorati, in 2011 there were 164
million blogs. This is the audience that Srinivas Rao (MBA
‘09) successfully caters to.
“Bloggers come from all walks of life. The one thing they all have in
common is a desire to build something they can call their own,” he says.
To help them do that, Rao conducts one-on-one interviews with the best
minds in the blogosphere, best-selling authors, and successful
entrepreneurs, and podcasts them via his BlogCastFM brand. He has
interviewed A-list bloggers like Marcus Sheridan about creating
interesting content; Danny Brown about standing out in the blogosphere;
and Gini Dietrich about getting on the radar of mainstream media.
“I get to connect with amazing people who have interesting stories,” he
says.
But Rao is quite the interesting blogger himself. He started his blog, The
Skool of Life, in 2009 and has over 3,000 subscribers. Followers describe
his posts as unconventional, adventurous, intelligent and inspiring. Rao
will tell you that he is simply sharing his experiences, struggles, and
lessons learned in an effort to help others.
In his search to make his blog better and more informative, he asked
questions—lots of them—of those who were already making a success in
the blogosphere. It was this experience that led him to start BlogCastFM.
“I started a weekly series on my blog called Interviews With
Up-and-Coming Bloggers. After about 13 interviews, one of the guys I
interviewed suggested that I start a separate site focused solely on
interviews,” he explains.
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13. SRINIVAS RAO, MBA ‘09
Company Name:
BlogCastFM
Company URL:
blogcastfm.com
Location:
Los Angeles, CA
Mission:
Turn BlogCastFM into a full-blown media
empire
Business Idea:
Leverage experience blogging to help
other bloggers grow their business
Problem Set Out to Solve:
Share blogging success tips from A-list blog- Now with hundreds of interviews logged and an two hands because you actually see the impact
gers with millions of bloggers world-wide.
average of 30,000 downloads each month, of your work,” he says. “I didn’t always know
Target Customer: BlogCastFM is fast approaching Rao’s goal of where my next check was coming from or if it
Internet marketers, entrepreneurs, small media empire status. was coming at all, but I learned exactly how
business owners, and bloggers
valuable my time is.”
While the business has yet to provided Rao with
Year Founded:
a consistent income, it has provided him much Rao advises current MBA students to consider
2010
satisfaction in the things that make him happy. the extra opportunities graduate school provides
Avg. Annual Revenue:
to hone entrepreneurial skills.
Confidential “Even though it hasn’t necessarily been super
lucrative financially, it’s opened up a wide array “If all you do is go to class and do what’s re-
of interesting opportunities. I’ve been able to quired of you, then you’re missing out on the
speak at conferences, meet and interview MBA experience,” he says. “The great thing
best-selling authors, and even live abroad six about being a student is that you have tons of
months rent-free,” he says. time available and less of a need to make money
right away. Use that time wisely.”
That excursion aboard was to Costa Rico, where
he was able to pursue his other passion —surf- One of the best ways Rao made use of his time
ing—which served to fuel his creative fire. That was in network building.
adventure also provided the freedom he craved,
“When you’re in school anybody will talk to you
and the focus he needed to build BlogCastFM
because you’re a student. Do as many
into a brand.
informational interviews as you can and in this
“I think there’s something incredibly fulfill- way you’ll build your network before you need
ing about building something with your own it,” he advises. 
lla u n c h m a g ..c o
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14. ENTREPRENEUR
DAVID ROSENDAHL
MindFire Inc.
F
or David Rosendahl (BSM ’05), entrepre-
neurship has been a calling to work with
creative people in order to help others
solve business problems.
“I was involved in founding a startup around age
18, and from that time, I was bitten by the bug,”
he says. “I’m not sure I chose entrepreneurship —
sometimes I feel like it has chosen me.”
In the late 90s, he surrounded himself with
designers, engineers and marketing experts and
founded an Internet service provider that offered
Internet access, email service and web market-
ing. When that company was acquired, he leaped
into web-based software, developing products
for small businesses. Then in 1999, he took up
the challenge to help marketers synchronize their
direct mail campaigns with the Internet.
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15. “When my partner Moe Farsheed and I decided to Rosendahl’s entrepreneurial success has not been DAVID ROSENDAHL, BSM ‘05
start MindFire, we didn’t have a specific without challenges. “Learning to cope with my
technology idea. We just wanted to help Company Name:
own weaknesses and delegate to those who have
MindFire Inc.
marketers bring buyers and sellers together in complementary strength has been a learning
more meaningful ways,” he says. Company URL:
process,” he says. “Also, learning to take time
www.mindfireinc.com
Key to getting their idea off the ground was away from the business (like vacation) has been
hard. Only in the past few years have I been able Location:
carefully listening to what really was a problem
Irvine, CA
for marketers: managing and tracking the results to do this successfully. I think I’m a recovering
of cross-media campaigns. work-a-holic.” Mission:
Enable our clients to successfully leverage
“While meeting with a marketing agency and a Another challenge has been learning to manage multi-channel marketing, improve their ROI
large bank’s marketing team, I realized that conflict properly – an issue most business people and take the guess-work out of what works
marketers needed help, but were severely can relate to. Rather than shy away from conflict, through analytics.
hamstrung by technology, obstacles, and a Rosendahl approaches those situations expecting Business Idea:
dizzying array of options. They needed a simple to benefit from them. Personalized cross-media marketing
solution to help them make sense of their off-line solutions.
“I’ve learned that success in life is directly
and on-line marketing,” he explains. correlated with the number of uncomfortable Problem Set Out to Solve:
It is very difficult for marketers to use the
Rosendahl and Farsheed started work on that conversations you’re willing to have. Whenever
variety of media available to them in a way
solution, which has become LookWho’sClicking, I’m in a situation that requires an uncomfortable that is orchestrated and intelligent.
the company’s flagship product. It automates the conversation, I think of this maxim, and how true
Target Customer:
creation and management of highly-effective it has been to date,” he says.
Print and marketing service providers.
direct marketing campaigns using landing pages, A key skill Rosendahl learned during his studies at Year Founded:
personalized URLs, QR codes, SMS text messaging, Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business 1999
email, microsites, response tracking and more. Management has also paid off in making his
Avg. Annual Revenue:
“Today we have over 500 clients in 24 countries, business a success. “As an entrepreneur, it Confidential
and we are the leading provider of personalized sometimes feels like you’re the only one with
Number of Employees:
URL and landing page technology to the world’s challenges. I learned the value of speaking to
40
graphic arts and marketing communities,” he says. as many people as possible about my goals and
aspirations in order to gain perspective,” he says.
Developing and retaining strong relationships
“I have found that more often than not, someone
with his business partners, vendors and clients is
else has been in a similar situation, and a good
key to his success, Rosendahl explains. “As I have
conversation can make a big difference.” 
gotten older I have realized how much business
is about relationships,” he says. “The relation-
ships we have developed with team members and
clients have been hugely rewarding.”
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SPRING 2012 ISSUE NO. 5 LAUNCH! MAGAZINE 15

16. Are You Re ady To G o Fro m
T
he very idea of leaving the cube
behind to become full-time
entrepreneur can be exciting. But
Em ploye e To Full-Time the grass is always greener on the
other side, and while entrepreneurship has
E ntrepre neur? its benefits, there many things fledgling
entrepreneurs should consider before
BY NATHALIE LUSSIER deciding to go it alone. If the lure of “firing
your boss” is calling you, here are 10 things
to ponder before you make the leap to
1
full-time entrepreneurship.
YOU’RE THE MAN, OR NOT.
If you want to become an
entrepreneur because you don’t
want to work for “the man”
anymore, consider that working for
yourself might mean working for a meaner
boss. Also, when you take on clients and
customers you end up working for more
2
than one person instead of just for yourself.
UNDERSTAND YOUR OPTIONS.
If you’re going to become a
solo-preneur and go it alone,
there are essentially three
different types of businesses you need to be
aware of, and any business can be a
combination of these. You can either
3
provide a done-for-you service, a consulting
service, or a product.
START WITH A SERVICE
BUSINESS.
Until you build up enough of a
customer base, you will likely be providing
high end services. This is a good place to be
because you are fine tuning your knowledge
16 | LAUNCH! MAGAZINE| ISSUE NO. 5 | SPRING 2012 launchmag.co

17. and skills to be able to package them up
into more scalable product offerings down
the line. You’ll want to jump into fulltime
entrepreneurship before you get to the
7 THE STATE OF THE ECONOMY IS
NOT A JUSTIFICATION FOR OR
AGAINST ENTREPRENEURSHIP.
If you want to start a business, there
you can’t take on more work than you can
manage. Other times you’ll know you need to
quit your job when your business becomes more
profitable and motivating. 
4
will never be a more perfect time than when
product phase.
you’re ready. Starting a business is the most
PLAN TO SAVE MONEY. powerful force for personal development I’ve
As you look at the best time to ever experienced, so get ready for the ride of a
8
leave your job, put together an lifetime and don’t make excuses if you put it off.
estimate of how much money you
BE A SPONGE.
need to bring in on a monthly basis to
Learn as much as you can before,
sustain your lifestyle. If it doesn’t seem
during, and after you start your
feasible, look for ways to scale back on your
business. It’s not necessary to go
spending. Start saving now so that you have
back to school or to spend years researching
a nest egg when you do leave your job. It
your idea and market. However, it is necessary to
always takes longer to become profitable
read books about business, you business
5
than you might think.
industry, and marketing. It’s your job as the
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH business owner to stay informed and to keep an
OTHER LIKE-MINDED BUSINESS open mind to new ideas and tools, because the
9
OWNERS. business landscape is constantly changing. Nathalie Lussier got her Bachelors in Software
It’s easy to stay in a job that isn’t Engineering then promptly turned down a “stable”
serving you if all of your friends are doing START ON THE SIDE.
job on Wall Street to start her own online business.
the same thing. Instead, find yourself a group of The best way to know if you can make
She’s an online business triple threat who teaches
accountability buddies who are in a similar it as a business owner and if your
people how to get techy with their business as a
situation to you, or a few steps ahead so they ideas are viable is to start your
digital consultant. Find Nathalie at nathalielussier.
can give you guidance as you navigate this new business on the side. Check with your boss and
com.
company policies before going ahead with the
6
path in your career.
side business, and then hang your shingle up. Courtesy of The Young Entrepreneur Council
BE WILLING TO PIVOT. Watch what happens, how you feel, and who About the YEC. The Young Entrepreneur Council
10
As human beings we think we’ve got responds to your offers. (YEC) is an invite-only nonprofit organization
all the answers figured out. When it comprised of the world’s most promising young
comes to business though, you need GET READY FOR GROWTH.
entrepreneurs. The YEC promotes entrepreneurship
to be flexible and listen to the market and Once things start to take off for
as a solution to unemployment and underemploy-
response. If you’re working your tail off trying you, you’ll need to make a choice
ment and provides entrepreneurs with access to
to sell a product or service and it’s not giving as to whether you want to keep
tools, mentorship, and resources that support each
you the returns you’re looking for, consider your business on the side or make
stage of their business’s development and growth.
what your audience and market is spending the leap to full time. Sometimes you need to
theyec.org
money on. It’s possible that what you’re offering leap before the income is there, simply because
just isn’t a good fit.
launchmag.co SPRING 2012 | ISSUE NO. 5 | LAUNCH! MAGAZINE | 17

18. THE SHORT LIST
American Love Affair Business Simply Put FCearth Layla Quantumsphere TrustyMax
AmericanLoveAffairOnline.com www.businesssimplyput. www.fcearth.com Singer/Songwriter/Fashionista; www.qsinano.com www.go2socket.com
Denim and fashion apparel com Eco-friendly, culturally a music phenomenon Nano catalysts and integrated Maker of go2socket – grips
Strategy and financial informative soccer gear and Darlene Kiloglu, MBA ‘11 catalytic solutions bolts other sockets cannot
Noelle Nguyen, PKE MBA ’12
management apparel Kevin Maloney, MBA ‘02 Tim Kim, MBA ‘10
Anedot Lori Williams, MBA ‘05 Jeff Rozic, MBA ‘06 LearnItByEar.com
anedot.com MP3 audio course-oriented SG Biofuels, Inc. Vedanic
Optimizing the way we give Capchure LLC Global4PL flashcards www.sgbiofuel.com www.vedanic.com
www.capchuresystems.com www.global-4pl.com Brett Fisher, MBA ‘11 and Jatropha as a low cost, Premium organic & natural
Paul Dietzel, MBA/MPP ’11
Advertising Network for Tech Stephen Yeoh, MBA ‘11 sustainably produced oil
Bloggers Supply chain solutions skincare
Artful Gentleman Aaron Moskowitz, MBA ‘07 Sergio Retamal, MS ‘04 Kirk Haney, MBA ‘95 Varun Khanna, MBA ’12
www.artfulgentleman.com Linked Orange County
Men’s fashion done better EndPlay Global Wave Networking and business con- Shadys Webventurous.com
endplay.com globalwavegroup.com nections www.shadys.com End-to-end web solutions
Jake Wall, MBA ‘08
Web content management Bryan Elliott, MBA ‘99 Custom branded canvas golf
Financial technology Dhaval Doshi, MBA ‘09
solutions cart coverings
Behind the Brand company
Christos M. Cotsakos, MBA ‘83 Locaxion Jaime E. Parker, MBA ’99
behindthebrand.tv Zubin P. Mehta, MBA ‘06
Expert insight to grow your www.airvuegolf.com
DeJant Group Corp. GPS-enabled smart phone apps Shark Bite Scuba
business identifiDesign
www.dejant.com www.sharkbitescuba.com
Bryan Elliott, MBA ‘99 identifidesign.com for golfers
Maker of award-winning The
Natural aphrodisiac drink Taking brand communica- Pratish Shah, EMBA ‘10
Tank Dolly®
Omid Semino, MBA tions to the next level
Beyond the Olive Kimberly Isaac, MBA ‘10
Nick Norris, MBA ‘09 Lolay, Inc.
www.beyondtheolive.com
Derivatas www.lolay.com
Premium retail olive oil SkoolofLife.com
www.derivatas.com Jobonomics.com Location-based mobile apps
products Personal Development
Business valuation software Empowering job seekers Bardia Dejban, MBA ‘10
Crystal and Chip Reibel, MBA Srinivas Rao, MBA 09
Dat Do, MBA ’11 and Geoffroy Sameer Gupta, MBA ‘09
‘09
Dubuisson, MBA ’11 LSR Lifestyle Smile Brands Inc.
Jungo LLC www.lsrlifestyle.com
Bizible www.smilebrands.com
DermaShoppe jungotoys.com Wholesale cigar company Support services to general and
bizible.com/Small-Business-
www.dermashoppe.com Flickerz - Flickable flying toy Jordan Rockwell, MBA ‘10 multi-specialty dental groups
Marketing-SEO
High-end, physician-dispensed discs Steve Bilt, PKE MBA ’01
SaaS marketing for local
skin care products Michael Cheshire, MBA ‘11 Markex Global
businesses
Jimmy Nguyen, MBA ‘09 and www.markexglobal.com Sohve
Aaron Bird, MBA
Patrick Leroy, MBA ‘09 Krav Maga Worldwide, Strategetic international trade www.solve.com
Inc. Kasra Ferasat, MBA ‘10
Blindbid Strategic consulting
DevDugal.com kravmag-kids.com
www.blindbid.com Nick Mitchell, EMBA ‘07
Youth self defense MindFire Inc.
Bid for leads instead of share Business strategy advisor; The
Matt Romond, MBA ‘12 www.mindfireinc.com
them Redwood Bar & Thirsty Pockets Superhero Enterprises
Michael O’Hare, MBA ‘09 founder Personalized cross-media www.superheroenterprises.com
Kensel & Co marketing solutions
Dev Dugal, MBA ‘04 Character-based publishing and
www.kenselandco.com David Rosendahl, BSM, ’05
BlogcastFM.com merchandising
Middle market investment
Proven social media advice Docstoc.com Davien L. Watkins, BSM ‘08
services
Srinivas Rao, MBA 09 Online document warehouse Personal Care Physicians
Brendon Kensel, MBA ‘00
Jason Nazar, M.B.A ’05, J.D. ‘06 www.mypersonalcarephysi- SwitchStream, LLC
can.com www.switchstream.com
Troy Medley, MBA ‘03 Management advisory services
and venture investing
Kyle C. Murphy, MBA ‘05
18 | LAUNCH! MAGAZINE| ISSUE NO. 5 | SPRING 2012 launchmag.co

19. launchmag.co
launchmag.co SPRING 2012 | ISSUE NO. 5 | LAUNCH! MAGAZINE | 19

20. ENTREPRENEUR’S JOURNEY
FAST PITCH COMPETITION
2012 FIRST PLACE WINNER
Diane Jenkins, MBA ‘12
“ I
was preoccupied shopping one
day. I had put my purse down for
what I thought was a second. But
when I reached for it, it was gone. I had no
warning that someone had just stolen my
purse.
I have come up with a solution that I call
the Charm Alarm. It is a fashionable
bracelet with a charm that activates a
smart card that looks just like a credit card.
Put the card in your wallet and you can
go shopping and travelling with ease. The
moment these two are ten feet apart, the
bracelet will let out a beeping warning
sound. And when they are 15 feet apart it
will let out a high pitched shriek, which is
the perfect deterrent for any pickpocket or
thief. This security device works with and
complements jewelry lines such as Pandora
and Brighton. A variety of marketing will
include a website, infomercials,
magazine ads and retailers.
So take it from me, Diane Jenkins,
“
with a Charm Alarm you are better
safe than sorry.
6100 Center Drvie | Suite 400 | Los Angeles, CA 90045 | bschool.pepperdine.edu
20 | LAUNCH! MAGAZINE| ISSUE NO. 5 | SPRING 2012
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