Industry
Spring 2008
April 24, 2008:
Dana Lampert and Lance Polivy are the founders of Wiggio.com, a free online toolkit that makes it easy for students to work in groups. Wiggio.com offers a suit of simple group-work applications, such as a shared calendar with text message reminders, a shared document folder, the ability to send mass text messages, instant polling capabilities, and free conference calling.
Lampert and Polivy began their entrepreneurial endeavor as students in NBA 300, a course in Entrepreneurship and Private Equities offered through the Johnson Graduate School of Management at Cornell. Through the course, students are required to develop a business concept, write a business plan, and present their business plan to the class. After teaming up, Lampert and Polivy focused their attention on creating a group collaboration Web site geared to the needs of college students. This concept stemmed from their personal frustrations with the lack of communication and coordination tools for the myriad student groups each participated in (e.g., class project groups, clubs, committees, sports teams, fraternities, etc.).
Focused on simplicity and providing users with exactly what they need --'nothing more, nothing less'-- Lampert and Polivy identified the features that are most useful for students, recreated them specifically for this market, and packaged the tools into one straightforward Web interface. Creating a simple, effective groupware platform with 'the right look and feel' for students is the primary goal of Wiggio.com.
To Learn More....
About Wiggio.com
April 17, 2008:
Patrick Meyers is a founder of Quiznos, the 2nd largest sandwich chain in the U.S. Since the company’s founding in the early 1980s, Meyers has held a variety of positions with the company including: the heads of Finance, IT, HR and Administration, as well as Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Member of the Board of Directors.
Launched in Denver during the early 1980s by Meyers and others, Quiznos grew from 18 units in 1990 to approximately 40 in 1993, when the company went public. The company’s founders took the company private in 2001 at 1,400 units, and it has grown to over 5,000 restaurants in the U.S., Canada, and other countries. The chain is all franchised, with the majority of the franchisees being single-unit, owner operators. The company has completed several significant financing transactions, including a novel restaurant whole company asset backed royalty securitization.
Celebrating its 27th anniversary, Quiznos is one of the nation’s fastest growing quick service restaurant chains. Quiznos has been recognized:
- for leading the QSR industry in wait time performance by the Mystery Shopping Providers Association’s (MSPA) 2007 Wait Time Study;
- by Zagat’s for being in top 5 for Top Food, Top Facilities, Top Service and Top Overall, ahead of its direct competitors;
- by Nation’s Restaurant News as the #1 restaurant chain in growth in number of units--five years in a row;
- by Entrepreneur magazine as the #2 Best Overall Franchise; and
- by QSR magazine in 2005 as the #3 restaurant chain for change in system-wide sales.
Prior to joining Quiznos, Mr. Meyer was a private practicing attorney. He graduated from the University of Colorado (BA) and the University of California at Hastings (JD).
To Learn More....
Conversations with Entrepreneurs - Patrick Meyers
About Quiznos
April 2, 2008:
Fernando Poma has been the Managing Director of Real Hotels and Resorts since 2000. During this time, Real Hotels and Resorts has grown from 4 to 22 hotels with brands such as InterContinental, Marriott, Quality and Comfort Inn.
Currently he is leading a growth plan focused on Costa Rica, Honduras, Panama and Colombia with a JW Marriott hotel, a JW Marriott Resort and five Courtyard by Marriott hotels. The company is also expanding its InterContinental hotel base.
Real Hotels and Resorts has implemented numerous innovations and strategies allowing it 15% revenue growth year-on-year over the last 7 years and leadership in most markets in which it competes.
Prior to joining Real, Fernando was Assistant to the Managing Director of Choice Hotels Europe and worked in asset management and hotel acquisitions for the Westmont Hospitality Group. Fernando graduated from the School of Hotel Administration at Cornell University and got a master in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
To Learn More....
Conversations with Entrepreneurs - Fernando Poma
About Real Hotels & Resorts
Fernando Poma Press Release
February 25, 2008:
Jay H. Shah currently serves as Hersha Hospitality Trust’s (AMEX:HT) Chief Executive Officer and as a member of its Board of Trustees. Mr. Shah is involved in all areas of the business with a particular emphasis on investor relations, capital transactions and acquisitions. Previously, Mr. Shah served the Company as President and Chief Operating Officer and prior to that he served as the Managing Director of the Hersha Group, a private affiliate of Hersha Hospitality Trust that provides hotel management, development and construction management services to hotel owners.
Prior to joining the Hersha organization, Mr. Shah was principal in the law firm of Shah & Byler, LLP, a real estate and construction specialty practice, which he founded. Mr. Shah was previously a consultant with Coopers & Lybrand LLP, a legislative assistant to the late Senator John Heinz and worked with the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office.
Mr. Shah received a Bachelor of Science degree for the Cornell University School of Hotel Administration, a Law degree from the Temple University School of Law and an M.B.A. from the Fox School of Business at Temple University.
He serves on the Board of Trustees of the Please Touch Museum, the Philadelphia children’s museum. Mr. Shah is a member of the Philadelphia and International Chapters of the Young Presidents Organization. He is involved in numerous industry roundtables and panels and regularly speaks at colleges and universities on the topics of real estate finance, entrepreneurship and family business.
To learn more....
Conversations with Entrepreneurs - Jay Shah
About Hersha Hospitality Trust
Jay Shah Press Release