Entrepreneurs United

Jeff Rendell (Cultivate Advisors, Vice President) is best known for his energy and passion he brings to life every day! His entrepreneur flame was lit in 1996 when he first became a franchisee with College Pro at the age of 18. Years later, he became a Partner and helped lead the Operations Team for CertaPro Painters, the largest painting franchise in North America. Jeff is currently a Partner at Cultivate Advisors, which allows him to continue his passion of supporting the entrepreneurial community. Cultivate is now supporting over 450 business owners on a monthly basis to help propel their business beyond expectations.

Edgar Blazona (BenchMade Modern, Founder) started his first furniture company at the age of 17, earned his first $400 by selling a self-made table and is now the founder of an 8-figure company.  Edgar believes that the combination of passion and executing your products at the highest level is the key to elevating yourself and your business. Edgar’s love for design and willingness to solve people’s real problems was what allowed him to ​​deliver the impossible and succeed even in a particularly oversaturated industry. As a result, his company (BenchMade Modern) is reaching solid 100% growth rates year over year.

John Dame (Owner and Managing Partner, Dame Leadership) is focused on the role of purpose in the business environment, the new challenge of transitioning to a millennial-based workforce, and growing leadership teams within his client companies. Currently in the sixth year, the Evolution Leadership Conference series is designed to help leaders move from the old “command and control” leadership style to a more Purposeful leadership style. In 2021 over 500 leaders and executives attended the conference.

Chris Larsen (Founder & Managing Partner, Next-Level Income) helps people achieve financial independence through education and investment opportunities. With financial independence, Chris believes that people are able to live their best lives and make the world a better place.   You can download Chris’ book for free at www.nextlevelincome.com/book

Scott Drake (Founder and Executive Director, JumpCoach) is the Founder and Executive Director at JumpCoach, a social enterprise on a mission to make best-in-class leadership training available to everyone who needs it. Scott’s journey into leadership was long, painful, and he made every mistake in the book. It took him 10 years to thrive as a leader and not feel like an imposter.    When he became a leader of leaders, he saw next-generation leaders making the same mistakes and having the same struggles. Selfishly, he couldn’t spend 10 years watching new leaders wreck his teams while they figured out how to lead, so he began searching for a faster way to teach leadership. That search turned into a five-year research project and the innovations that are now JumpCoach.

Mike Kavanagh (MIKEKAV.COM, CEO), is a best-selling author, speaker, consultant, and coach specializing in human and organizational well-being and performance.    Mike has 17 years of experience as a C-level corporate executive and advisor to Fortune 500 companies. Kavanagh also has two decades of experience coaching individuals and teams in a variety of mental and physical training disciplines at the heart of outer and inner success.    He is the author of several books, including the #1 Amazon Bestseller Coach's Plan: The Personal Productivity System That Changed My Life, the internationally acclaimed bestseller The Successful Manager: A Guide to Building and Leading High-Performing Teams, and What Is Your Calling? The Journey to Find Work You Love.

Jeff Davis (Twelve Mavens, Founder) has built multiple national companies and has been featured in Fortune Magazine, CNN.Money, quoted by Inc Magazine and featured in countless other news stories.   Jeff paid a steep price working 80+ stressful hours per week until he eventually reached his pain threshold. It was a life changing moment that pushed him to figure out a way to escape the day to day weeds of his business and build something better.    He worked at it until he was eventually able to travel around the world for several years, he founded the national community of CEOs and entrepreneurs known as Twelve Mavens and is the founder of the popular annual strategic planning event for CEOs called Plan The Attack.

Merit Kahn (SELLect Sales Development, CEO), is in addition to the CEO of her firm, a Keynote Speaker, and Stand-up Comedian. Merit believes you should STOP selling and start getting SELLected. Her firm offers interactive virtual programs for entrepreneurs, sales professionals and business leaders.

Erik Dodier (PixelMEDIA, CEO) co-founded his company PixelMEDIA over 28 years ago.  The business has evolved from a two-person multimedia company that started in Erik's apartment, to a 400+ person firm after recent investment and combining with two other entrepreneurial, Salesforce-focused businesses, Docmation and GearsCRM. Today, the business focuses on helping organizations launch, manage and grow their eCommerce business on Salesforce.com. In this episode, we learn about the multiple Pivots that PixelMEDIA was forced to take to not only keep up with ever-changing technology over the past 30 years but also to simplify and focus his business on the area that could bring the most value to clients.

Dr. Toby Travis (Founder, TrustED) is an Executive Consultant with the Global School Consulting Group, an Adjunct Professor for the International Graduate Program of Educators for the State University of New York College at Buffalo, and an experienced teacher and school administrator, currently serving as the Superintendent of the Village Christian Academy in Fayetteville, NC. TrustED is a framework for business, organization, and school improvement focused on developing trusted leaders.  As a guest speaker, trainer, and consultant, his work has taken him throughout the United States and Europe, South Asia, Central, and South America. Dr. Travis is the author of the award-winning book “TrustED: The Bridge to School Improvement” - available at Amazon, featured in Forbes, and named “Book of The Month” (November), and nominated for “Book of The Year” (2021) by The Magic Pen. Learn more at www.trustedconsulting.org.