Alex and Ani: Adorning the Body with Positive Energy

Alex and Ani is a retail company that sells its own collection of earrings, bangles, necklaces and other jewelries. It also offers licensed products with team logos of major league sports.

 

All of Alex and Ani’s Jewellery is made of recycled materials handcrafted by local manufacturers because it wants to provide its customers with environment-friendly, positive-energy products that do not only embellish the body but enlighten the mind and enrich the soul as well. Carolyn Rafaelian, head designer of the company, believes that each individual exudes a positive energy that should be shared with the rest of the world. This can be done by integrating powerful design and symbolism into every jewelry piece. This way, people will be provided with the opportunity to convey their individuality to the world in spiritual, organic way. The company believes that it is their work to support individuals and communities while inspiring every customer to cherish what is authentic and unique about themselves, revealing the true beauty that rests within.

Bridging the Communications Gap Between Professional and Trade Associations and their Members the Inalink Way

Busy professionals and trade workers can read only so many advertisements, emails, and publications before they opt for human contact instead. Inalink Corporation figured out 20 years ago how to close the gap between all the opportunities the associations have to offer and their members’ and potential members’ awareness of the benefits of joining and retaining membership. Utilizing warm and friendly one-on-one conversations (what a concept!), Inalink provides insight for potential and current members and growth and financial stability for associations.

Focusing on the typical association offerings, including continuing education, conventions, conferences, publications, and social events, Inalink provides assistance through unscripted, meaningful conversations with past, present, and future members. Other services include new- program and services announcements, subscription renewals and upgrades; member profiles; and advertising follow-up. The innovative firm also provides client-direct and project-specific fulfillment services, including toll-free inbound phone lines for special events. National clients of the premier service provider range from associations representing scientists and engineers to organizations for financial representatives and medical professionals.

An integral part of the Inalink proprietary methodology, the company’s detailed reporting offers insight into the desires and concerns of current and potential members as well as qualitative and quantitative information on membership and association services. The high-quality reports find use internally and as presentations to boards. Throughout its contract period, Inalink also updates member contact data systematically to purify mailing lists for email and direct-mail campaigns. Take busy work schedules and other business-related obligations, add in hectic family lives, and top them off with community involvement, and most professionals have precious little time to investigate their own industry associations. But most of us make time for the things we value, and we appreciate personal contact more than another email or direct-mail advertisement. Therein lies the brilliance of the Inalink model. The company’s representatives, highly skilled in communications, do not sell; they listen. As a result, associations win or win back members, and busy professionals find a valuable support system.

Nasty Gal Clothing Company: A New Fashion Industry Phenomenon

Fashion-forward, free-spirited girls can’t stop talking about Nasty Gal, a worldwide online destination that offers one of a kind new and vintage accessories clothing and shoes. Its wide collection boast of items that fashionistas and trendsetters won’t find anywhere else in the world – be it from a vibrant flea market or shelves of showrooms. The online shop is stocked on a weekly basis with both specially selected vintage pieces and handpicked selection of on-the-rise fashion designers, making it not just a shop that offers what those fashion doctors prescribed but truly rare items that cannot be unearthed elsewhere. 

The rapidly-rising e-commerce website was founded by 28 year-old Sophia Amoruso, a college dropout who didn’t have the slightest idea on how to start a business. She also had no background on fashion designing and admits to be a total “noob” when it comes to creating Power Point presentations. But with her unkempt hair, engine red lips and a bold sense of fashion style, Amoruso brought her business to the summits of the fashion industry with a projected annual sale of $100 million this year. Not bad for someone who used to check student Ids in an art school lobby for $13 an hour, eh?

Nasty Gal – named after the album of ultimate bad-ass woman, Betty Davis – is the reflection of its founder’s fashion whims. It sells a wide array of provocative and edgy clothing that has enticed a cult-like following of women who just can’t get enough of the company’s matchless collection. Needless to say, the Nasty Gal items aren’t for those of the prim-and-proper class. The clothes are offbeat, eclectic and sexy like skinny jeans with laced up sides, Hendrix Faux Fur Coat and Rock & Roll Me leggings. Most of the items are below $200 with profit margins of over 60% because of the company’s business model that seldom includes discounts. 

Yet even with this downbeat economy, customers don’t seem to mind – proof that Nasty Gal is a phenomenal company that’s out to conquer the fashion world.

Chasing Fireflies Celebrates Childhood

It was not so long ago that Amy Grealish, Dina Alhadeff and Lori Liddle launched their company, Chasing Fireflies, to create and sell children’s apparel and gifts. With a focus on celebrating milestones and noteworthy events in every kid’s life, the Kirkland-based firm works hard to create delightful party supplies, costumes, artworks and toys that every kid can enjoy, ranging from affordable space-themed items to lavish Marie Antoinette outfits

Cute and little their business plan may seem, it had them a $10-million revenue in just a matter of five years. Today, the company already has more than 100 employees that operate on a 20,000 square foot work area and a 75,000 square foot warehouse. The products that Chasing Fireflies manufacture and sell are a lot less expensive and appeal to everybody, kids and grownups alike, as they all try to capture the enchanting experience of a child’s growing up years.

bebe Stores: Forever Changing the Landscape of the Fashion World

There aren’t so many clothing companies that blaze the trail for a new fashion era. But bebe, an American clothing retailer, has definitely done more than just that – it has transformed the entire women’s retail fashion industry as well.

Founded in 1976 by Iranian immigrant Manny Mashouf, bebe – whose name translates to “Lady” in Persian and is truly, legally and officially written uncapitalized – designs and manufactures a unique, hip and affordable line of contemporary apparel and accessories for women. It markets its products under bebe, 2b bebe, BEBE SPORT, and bebe outlet brands.

The first bebe store opened in San Francisco during the time when there were only three categories that ruled the women’s fashion industry: juniors, bridges and misses. bebe realized that there was a certain demographic that does not fit under the category of junior or bridge, so the company decided to break the mold through offering this under-represented group of trendy women distinct and stirring fashion bearing that boasts of an unmistakable touch of sensuality. The fresh idea stuck and soon enough bebe reaped massive success, opening outlets here and there at a rate no other store can keep up with.

Thirty-six years later, bebe is now a gigantic clothing conglomerate that operates more than 300 stores in United States, U.S Virgin Islands, Canada, District of Colombia and Puerto Rico. It has also reached foreign grounds with outlets in several countries including Egypt, Indonesia, Israel, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey and UAE. bebe’s one of a kind approach to women’s fashion, trendy designs and incredibly affordable products skyrocketed itself to the summits of the industry. It has become one of the leading women’s clothing retailers with a deep desire to develop contemporary clothing and accessories for women of all walks of life.

Sagun Tuli’s Neurosurgical Experience at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and Boston Area Medical Centers

A neurosurgery specialist, Dr. Sagun Tuli earned her M.D. at the University of Toronto, also completing an M.Sc. in Epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health. She has taught at Harvard University for the past 10 years, including seven years as Assistant Professor. Since 2011, she has additionally practiced in a clinical setting at Center for Advanced Brain and Spine Surgery, maintaining surgical privileges with MetroWest Medical Center.

Sagun Tuli, M.D. maintained affiliation with Brigham and Women’s Hospital as neurosurgeon for a period of 11 years. From 2004 to 2008, she was notably the only physician at the facility qualified to provide complex spinal care services. Advanced treatments she offered included incomplete vertebrae fusing for adult patients. Consulting with as many as 50 patients a week, Dr. Tuli performed between 6 to 7 surgical procedures on a weekly basis. She additionally supervised and guided residents and medical students in diverse areas of clinical care and neurosurgery.

Brigham and Women’s Hospital maintains status as a teaching affiliate of Harvard University and is notable as the U.S. News and World Report’s second-highest ranked hospital in the Boston area. The general medical and surgical facility maintains nearly 800 beds and admits nearly 50,000 patients a year. The facility is particularly well known for inpatient services in cancer treatment, pediatric and adult heart surgery, burn care, and neonatal intensive care. The hospital also offers dedicated outpatient services through world-class arthritis and alzheimer centers, and through substance-abuse and stop-smoking programs.

In addition to serving as Associate Surgeon and Attending Physician with Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Dr. Tuli held similar responsibilities with the Harvard-affiliated Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Faulkner Hospital.

Find our more information about Dr. Tuli and her work in neurosurgery here

saguntuli.com

GE: Creating the World of Tomorrow

Headquartered in Fairfield, Connecticut, General Electric Company or GE, is a giant multinational company that operates on four premises: Energy, Capital Finance, Consumer and Industrial products, Infrastructure and Technology. GE ranked 6^th largest firm in Fortune 500 and 14^th most profitable last 2011, and was also listed in Forbes Global 2000 as the 3rd largest company in the entire world.

GE prides itself as a conglomerate that works only on things that matter, with the best people using the greatest technologies to take on the toughest challenges. It strives to find solutions in energy, home, health, finance and transportation with a desire to build, empower, move and cure the world in whatever way it can. GE does not predict the future, but instead creates it using a fusion of avant-garde tools, brilliant minds and little bit of inspiration. The works of GE offer a wide range of ingenuity and innovation that have helped transformed the lives of countless individuals, in one way or another.

Vans: Manufacturing Extreme Shoes for Extreme People

Vans is an American company that manufactures shoes that can be worn for almost every kind of extreme sports we have today. They create an assortment of comfortable, sturdy and trendy BMX shoes, sneakers, snowboarding boots and skateboarding footwear, and cater mostly to the vibrant, adrenaline-pumped youth market who crams those extreme sports arena every now and then. The company also sells a wide collection of trendy apparel such as caps, eyewear, hoodies, shirts, watches and other accessories, all of which fit into the tastes of most teenagers and the teenagers at heart.

Founded in 1966 by Paul Van Doren along with Gordy Lee and Serge D’Ella, Vans was a company that manufactured and sold shoes directly to the market sans the retailers. They built a small factory in California and operated a mere 400 square-foot shop. Here the three budding entrepreneurs created and sold only three different styles of shoes for a price range of $2.49 - $4.99. If a certain customer wanted a shoe that was different from what the store had to offer, the customer was asked to return a few hours later to pick up his order. Van Doren would then scramble to work on the shoes for them. Thus, the Van’s customized shoes were brought to existence.

Over the next years, Vans was an unstoppable force in the fashion industry, opening a new outlet almost every week and developing new ideas for shoes that fit the needs and styles of teenagers. However, it cannot be denied that the company was particularly interested in creating shoes for extreme sports enthusiasts, making them the choice footwear for those who are involved with heart-pounding, nerve-racking games and exhibitions such as skateboarding, BMX riding, snowboarding and surfing. Needless to say, Van’s shoes are definitely not only made for walking, but are also designed to endure the roughest of conditions in all kinds of terrains.

Peeled Snacks: Providing the World with Real Food Appeal

Peeled Snacks is a Brooklyn-based food company that offers a wide assortment of organic, naturally-dried fruit snack items through countless grocery stores and food locations all over United States. Their product line includes Apple-2-the-core, Apricot-a-lot, Banan-a-peel, Cherry-go-round, Much-ado-about-Mango, Pine-4-Pineapple, and Raisin’ Expectations.   The company makes sure that the sources of their products are taken just within the country whenever possible, and has even partnered with American Farmland Trust to help promote and preserve American Farms.

Peeled Snack’s food philosophy is simple, they want to make people feel great about snacking. They do this by bringing in only premium quality organic, natural and healthy snacks from sustainable sources. Their snacks, which consist of a whole serving of fruit, also provide people with a good dose of much needed vitamins and minerals without additional sugar, chemicals and preservatives. Peeled Snacks is one of the few companies that provide the market with a healthy alternative to enjoy luscious, wholesome snacks in the form of fruit packs that not only satisfy everybody’s gastronomic cravings but nourish their bodies and minds as well.

Tradavo: Making a Huge Impact on the Lives of Low-volume Buyers

Before, the gigantic world of the food and beverage industry does not offer as many clear channels that connect consumer product corporations to small, independent retailers as those that link to bigger establishments.  Often, special pricing, promotions and purchasing power are only available to large, nationwide chain stores, leaving the smaller companies at the darker side of the business arena.

But this is now a thing of the past, all thanks to the brilliant minds behind Tradavo, Inc.

 

With Tradavo, small retailers now have straightforward access to wholesale food products and electronics through an easy-to-use online ordering platform that provides buyers with unparalleled purchasing leverage and a wide range of items for low-volume purchasers. The result of this remarkable scheme is a good number of happy, independent retailers who now have instant, hassle-free access to supply systems that were once only available to larger stores in the country.

Founded in 2006 by accomplished entrepreneurs and industry virtuosos from Amazon, Medilab and StorePerform, Tradavo is the one solution independent retailers have been looking for to solve their long-standing problem. The company facilitates low-volume inventory ordering, invoice control as well as delivery tracking, all in one, single website, allowing them to purchase and sell a wider range of products to their customers. Indeed, the company’s online platform is a groundbreaking approach to wholesale distribution and supply chain system, providing a flawless connection between consumer product establishments and non-mainstream retailers.

As of the moment, Tradavo is ranking high in Inc.’s 500 List owing to its revenues of over $9.8 million and a whopping three-year growth of 1578.2%.  Without a doubt, Tradavo’s massive growth is a concrete proof that the unique services it is offering by way of their innovative online platform is truly making a big difference in the lives of small, local and independent retailers.

Suzzanne Uhland’s Work With Internationally Focused O'Melveny & Myers

A resident of O'Melveny & Myers’ Newport Beach and San Francisco offices, Suzzanne Uhland serves as Chair of the firm’s Restructuring Practice and is a member of the National Advisory Board. An international law firm with a 127-year history behind it, O'Melveny & Myers was established in Los Angeles. One of the 30 largest legal offices worldwide, the firm maintains more than 800 attorneys on staff, spanning 14 offices worldwide.

A particular O'Melveny & Myers’ focus is on serving the needs of corporate and institutional clients in Asia. One of the first U.S. law practices to establish Beijing and Tokyo offices, the practice currently maintains the largest presence of any U.S.-based practice in China. Augmenting Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, O'Melveny & Myers opened a Singapore office in 2008. Last year, O'Melveny & Myers forged an association with the Indonesian practice Tumbuan & Partners, expanding its reach in southeast Asia.

Suzzanne Uhland’s work focuses on restructuring and Chapter 11 bankruptcy matters, including Bankruptcy Code Section 363(b) distress assets sales and acquisitions. She has recently represented purchasers in deCODE genetics, Inc. and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cases, as well as debtor New Century Financial Corp. in asset sales transactions. In an out-of-court restructuring case, Ms. Uhland has also represented a major computer accessory firm in amending and restating its first-lien credit. She facilitated the complex exchange of senior subordinated notes and second-lien indebtedness for company equity.

A noted public speaker, Suzzanne Uhland most recently took part in the “Enlisting Men as Champions and Clients,” panel discussion at the March, 2012, Women in Law Empowerment Forum in Palo Alto, California.