Starting Up

Jane Pollak is one of the Northeast’s foremost coaches of entrepreneurial women and a living example of how to turn a passion into a thriving business.

A successful entrepreneur, public speaker, author, and business coach, Jane launched her professional career in an unlikely field – egg decoration. Her odyssey took her from remote craft fairs and customer rejections to the White House and appearances on NBC’s Today Show.

Having transformed her art into a thriving, profitable business, Jane now guides other remarkable women entrepreneurs in their own journey toward uncommon success.

Ever-current with today’s business challenges, she re-released her book Soul Proprietor: 101 Lessons from a Lifestyle Entrepreneur (originally published in 2001 by Crossing Press) in 2010, with updated strategies for pursuing your dreams during an economic downturn, leveraging new technology to authentically promote your business, and other timely topics.

Known as “Ms. Marketing” by her colleagues and clients, Alyssa Dver, is the founder and chief executive of the world-wide consulting company, Mint Green Marketing. She provides affordable, expert marketing help to multinational companies and small businesses around the world. She has been profiled by Business Week and American Express OPEN for her business success.

Endorsed by the American Marketing Association and others, Dver’s marketing books, No Time Marketing and Software Product Management Essentials, are considered industry standards. Dver writes for publications such as Entrepreneur, Business Week, Forbes, and Software Magazine. She has been interviewed by The Boston Globe, NPR and Newsday and is a media go-to person for marketing

An acclaimed keynote speaker, Dver has spoken to prestigious organizations including the World Diversity Summit at the United Nations, The Women's Congress, New England Business EXPO, and The Commonwealth Institute. Considered among the best corporate trainers, she teaches worldwide at public and private companies.

Dver is a graduate of the Wharton School and AIPMM certified product manager.

Jason founded Nonprofit Solutions Network in 1998 to help nonprofits boost productivity, lower costs, and improve their overall operation through the use of technology. Other IT firms that provide affordable services do this by providing a “one size fits all” approach. Nonprofit Solutions and its sister company that serves small businesses provide technology solutions customized to meet the unique needs and financials challenges of nonprofits and small business. 

Clovia Hamilton founded Lemongrass Consulting, Inc. with 20 years of experience in government.  Lemongrass provides professional strategic planning services related to organizational assessments, business process improvements, intellectual property strategy, community outreach, and government contracting strategy.  

Clovia has a multi-disciplinary background in law, engineering, planning, and management, which enables the firm to offer clients a broad range of services that optimize their return on investment and their end results.  

In addition to consulting, Clovia teaches government contracting at Georgia Tech’s Procurement Assistance Center and helps manage small business programs for local governments in Georgia.

Alan Siege, CEO/Owner of Small Business Management Consulting, which focuses on small firms. SBMC helps companies increase profits by improving the way they tell their business story. He has been featured in NY Newsday, CrainsNewYork, American Express OPEN, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, and Good Housekeeping. He is an instructor for the NYC Department of Small Business Services Entrepreneur Boot Camp, a Kaufman Foundation Certified Facilitator for its FastTrac programs offered by NYC, as well as an adjunct Professor at the Center for Continuing Education and Workforce Development at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, and the School of Continuing and Professional Studies at New York University.

As CEO of MyCorporation Business Services, Inc., Deborah Sweeney advocates to protect personal and business assets for all consumers. With her extensive experience in the field of corporate and intellectual property law, Deborah can provide insightful commentary on the benefits, barriers, and who should consider incorporation and trademark registration. She also has extensive experience in the start-up and entrepreneurial sector as she has been involved in the formation of hundreds of thousands of MyCorporation’s customers.

Deborah joined MyCorporation in 2003 after serving as outside general counsel for 5 years. She received her Juris Doctor and Masters in Business Administration degrees from Pepperdine University and is a member of the American Bar Association. She also serves on the Board of Regents at California Lutheran University.

Deborah has served as an adjunct professor at the University of West Los Angeles and San Fernando School of Law in the area of corporate and intellectual property law. Because of her extensive knowledge, Sweeney has long served as a speaker and panelist on legal issues affecting new-to-the-world and growing businesses.

Ms. Sweeney is also well-recognized for her written work online as a contributing writer with some of the top business and entrepreneurial blogging sites. Her account with Forbes has featured articles with upward to 25,000 views. She also regularly contributes to American Express, She Takes on the World, YFS Magazine, Empower Me! Magazine, and Business Insider, among others.

Beth Goldstein, president of Marketing Edge Consulting Group and adjunct professor, Boston University School of Management.

Author, consultant, trainer, and founder of Marketing Edge Consulting Group, Beth Goldstein has empowered hundreds of entrepreneurs to successfully grow their companies. She helps companies understand how their customers think, what they value, and what influences their purchasing decisions, and then uses this knowledge to create targeted business-development programs that drive revenue and fundamental growth while increasing profitability and customer loyalty.

Her first book, The Ultimate Small Business Marketing Toolkit (McGraw-Hill) is used in 30+ cities around the U.S. to teach business owners the critical skills they need to accelerate growth. In addition to running her consulting practice, Beth conducts small-business growth workshops around the U.S. and abroad, teaches entrepreneurial marketing at the Boston University School of Management where she is the faculty director for the school's Online Graduate Certificate in Entrepreneurship Program (recognized by Fortune Small Business Magazine/CNN Money as one of the top 5 e-learning entrepreneurship programs in the US).

International speaker Shel Horowitz's eighth book, Guerrilla Marketing Goes Green: Winning Strategies to Improve Your Profits and Your Planet (co-authored with Jay Conrad Levinson, published in 2010 by Wiley) was on Amazon's environmental bestseller list for 18 months. The book documents how businesses can be green, ethical AND profitable. Using examples from Fortune 100 companies to solo-preneurs, the book lays out how ethics and green principles are not just about doing the right thing but also about profitability. Surprising principles are demonstrated that show why most businesses shouldn't even worry about market share. The book shows business owners how to form powerful partnerships, even with competitors; how to get your green message out without green-washing; and how to become a much deeper shade of green. Shel also writes the internationally syndicated monthly column, Green And Profitable.

Diane is an internationally recognized business and leadership development coach, author, speaker, and workshop facilitator. As a certified professional coach and president of Seize This Day Coaching, Diane helps businesses and organizations operate more constructively and profitably. She evaluates, encourages, and guides her clients.

Diane is also a member of the Board of Directors for the Council of Smaller Enterprises in Cleveland, Ohio, as well as the Chairwoman of the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce.

In her book, Lemonade Stand Selling, Diane offers a straightforward, common sense and clear guide to the sales process. Through her internet radio show, Accelerate Your Business Growth, Diane brings valuable, actionable information to her listeners.

Diane is a contributing expert on a variety of business websites including Small Business Trends, American Express Open Forum, Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, COSE Mindspring, and Top Sales World.