Dinner with a Winner

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Dinner with a Winner

"Dinner with a Winner" was established in the Spring of 2008. It affords the Diamond in the Rough awardees and a few, select, highly motivated Entrepreneurial students the opportunity to interact with successful Entrepreneurs over a wonderful dinner. In this relaxed setting, the Honored Entrepreneur discusses his business successes and failures, and answers questions posed by students. The first two events in this series were resounding successes. This program shows great promise for the future of our overall Entrepreneurship program.

Daniel Abas - Dec.1, 2008

A true go-getter, Daniel Abas started his successful business while working on his MBA. His idea of a high-end concierge service took off quickly. The LA Times named his company one of the region's top 10 businesses. Abas recently changed the name to Red Butler , which is the envy of many copycat organizations. Red Butler can be the personal assistant everyone has always wanted... and at an affordable price!

Bert Lovitt - Nov.17, 2008

After creating hundreds of items you may already own ("floating" basketballs and shoes that show movies in the heel), Bert Lovitt decided he could improve inline skates. He decided a bigger wheel for a better center of gravity would revolutionize the industry and viola! LandRoller was born.

LandRoller's radical wheel configuration outperforms inline skates on most surfaces with a smoother and more stable ride. "Size does matter! The basic physics of bigger wheels has clear advantages. For years, skate companies have tried to capitalize on those advantages by putting larger wheels on skates to improve versatility and achieve a smoother glide. Those attempts have failed because the skates were either dangerously high off the ground, or had limited manoeuvre ability because of a long wheelbase." he said.

Bryan Freeman - July 25, 2008

This time we took the "Dinner with a Winner" event "on the road." We took a road trip to Stockton, Calif., to visit Bryan Freeman at his Mollicoolz plant there. We were allowed to tour the entire plant, but only after donning white coats, hair nets, and hard hats. While wearing this awesome attire, we followed the whole process of creating the delicious,ice cream end product, Mollicoolz. Bryan is now shipping 250,000 units per day to over 14,000 stores across the US. We then gathered in the Board Room of the plant where Bryan shared the journey he has been on with this company. Later that evening we met with Bryan again for dinner. During dinner the group had a great conversation about the ups and downs of being a "Serial Entrepreneur." Bryan is working on his third "start-up," and he is only in his mid-30's!

Don Nores - April 22,2008

Don and Joyce Nores met with students to discuss Digital Printing Systems that they have owned and nurtured over the past 37+ years. Don had worked in the ticket printing business as a salesperson for many years prior to starting his own firm. Don knew what the customer wanted and his attention to meeting and exceeding their expectations was the impetus to start Digital Printing Systems. He started small, with himself as salesperson and with a single pressman. The focus of the business was to provide the highest levels of customer service combined with innovative and quality products. Digital Printing Systems prints tickets that are used in parking garages, as well as tickets used for numerous commuter railway systems. He brought samples of the wide variety of tickets his company produces. None of us will ever look at a ticket in the same way after this educational evening!

Herb Zebrack - March 12, 2008

An eager group of Entrpreneurship students gathered for the inaugural "Dinner with a Winner" event. They met with Mr. Zebrack, and over the next 2 and a half hours he shared his entrepreneurial adventure. Mr. Zebrack literally began his printing career from the bottom up. He worked nights on a 41" cylinder letterpress while attending LA Trade Tech to learn the Lithographic process. After working his way up the "Print Ladder," Mr. Zebrack joined Lithographix As Plant Superintendent. Two years later, along with a partner, he was able to purchase Lithographix . Superior service, quality and tradition are trademarks of Lithographix. They strive to exceed the customer's expectations while simplifying the process. It is no wonder that they are recognized as thebest high-end commercial lithographer in the country. What a great evening this was for the students!