The Jane Dough: HILLARY REINSBERG

As two women who work in the business world, we're no strangers to the uneven balance of female presence in our office environments. That said, our day jobs afford us the privilege of working among many talented women who transcend these odds to achieve new levels of success. And when we're not experiencing their efforts first-hand, we're reading about them on The Jane Dough, our go-to site for coverage and commentary on women in business. The Jane Dough "celebrates women who have found success, dissects how powerful women are treated in the media and applauds forward-thinking companies," and the site's personal voice and conviction offer a unique edge to the content that is covered, all thanks to the strong team behind it: Publisher and Founder Dan Abrams, Managing Editor Amy Tennery, and Associate Editor (and our Question(NY)aire feature!) Hillary Reinsberg. Hillary has been involved with The Jane Dough since the site's conception, bringing her expert writing skills and extensive background in journalism to the team - her previous experience includes positions at Crushable, Daily Candy, NY1, and New York Magazine.

Male or female, we encourage you to check out The Jane Dough for your daily dose of business intrigue.

Lerer Ventures: STEVE SCHLAFMAN

New York City’s Silicon Alley has claimed a place among the ranks of top tech-hubs across the country such as Boston, Dallas, Seattle, and of course, its namesake and the “mothership”, Silicon Valley. While each of these start-up communities boasts its own set of advantages, Silicon Alley benefits from New York’s buzz and density people, which, in the past few years, has played into the hands of the social media phenomenon. Yet in many ways, the most important feature of any tech boom-town is the availability of funds. Enter: the venture capital firm. Steve Schlafman is a principal investor at one of these firms, Lerer Ventures, which focuses on funding companies in the “seed-stage”. That is, Lerer trudges through the weeds of all start-up hopefuls to find entrepreneurs with “product vision, consumer insight, focused execution, and unwavering ambition.” Although he is now in the position of the lender, Steve is no stranger to the experience on the other side of the table. His work experience spans from startups such as Stickybits and Turntable.fm, to more traditional environments such as The Kraft Group and Microsoft.
 

And what’s in Lerer’s portfolio these days? Just so happens they were one of the VC’s that took a stake in GroupMe (prior Q-naire feature, recently aquired by Skype), as well as other awesome hits like: Dispatch, Hipster, Yoke, and Venmo. Previous investments that have already made it big include: the Huffington Post, Paperless Post, Thrillist, and Business Insider.

Joyride: LEV BRIE

The Joyride enterprise has hit the mark by combining the three things that almost every New Yorker regularly seeks: caffeine, convenience, and guilt-free sweets. Lev Brie, the founder of Joyride, first brought these essentials to the streets via foodtruck, offering highly delicious Stumptown Coffee, organic frozen yogurt,  and...drumroll, please... the world's first caffeinated fro-yo, "Buzzed" (genius, no?). The truck also offers other innovative menu options, such as the “Jeffrey Paul,”  a decadent coffee and espresso combo made with Stumptown's Hairbender roast and Mariebelle chocolate. Joyride has some of the friendliest staff of any food truck we’ve ever seen, and it is thoroughly “green” by diesel truck standards, using the “quietest, most efficient generator on the market,” as well as ice coffee cups that are bio-degradable and made of corn. Raised in Longmeadow, Massachusetts, Lev has moved around quite a bit, and is a man of academics and business--he studied undergrad at Stanford and Columbia, earned a Masters in France at 'École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales, and started a PhD at the University of Chicago. After dabbling in tutoring and web design, Lev is now an owner of Endeavor Tutoring and Test Preparation, in addition to Joyride Trucks and its successful spinoff venture, Joyride Coffee Distributors. Joyride Coffee Distributors is the official supplier of Stumptown Coffee and is the first company to provide “third wave” coffee delivery at almost any location in NYC.

So, if walking to the truck at its daily locations to get your Buzz on is too strenuous, call 917.670.3314 to get Stumptown delivered to your office or next event. And don’t forget to nominate the Joyride truck for the Vendy Awards on streetvendor.org!

 

iWould: JON BUDISH

Modern times have brought almost every imaginable type of human interaction to the digital world--with a host of social media devices available, communication has become nearly inextricable from the Internet. After working in customer support and account management at the site most responsible for this digital trend, Facebook, Jon Budish’s inside scoop planted an idea that given the amount of time people spend on the site “Facebook-stalking” the profiles of their romantic interests, users should be able to connect with their crushes. And so, Jon created iWould, bemoaning: “Over and over, we witnessed people not ask someone out because of the risk of embarrassment from possible rejection...So we decided to try to fix this problem. We sought out to create a safe, easy, and most importantly, private, place to help people get past the awkwardness that is finding out if someone they like, likes them back.” iWould isn’t a dating site--it’s a Facebook application, a “complement to your existing life on Facebook,” explains Jon. After all, if you are already checking out the Facebook profiles of people you like, why not find out if they are checking you out, too?
 

So if you’re itching to know if your crush likes you back, give the app a try! You might find yourself pleasantly surprised...

Rarities Fine Jewelry: CAROL BRODIE

Carol Brodie built her reputation as the Global Director of Communications at Harry Winston, developing her skills as a celebrity jewelry stylist with a trove of jewelry maintenance and style tips. In 2009, she launched her very own Rarities Fine Jewelry line on the Home Shopping Network (HSN), showcasing both the attractive package of her jewelry line as well as her ease in front of the camera. Rarities Fine Jewelry offers elegant pieces with the high-end look of Tiffany or Cartier at a price that won’t cost you your first born. With notable media attention and a handful of celebrity followers like Michelle Trachtenberg, Emmy Rossum, and Terri Hatcher, Rarities has grown significantly since its start and continues to draw fans--after all, its wide selection of pieces appeals to all ages.

Carol is truly a gem connoisseur and her background in style ensures that her jewelry will elevate any ensemble. Keep your eyes peeled for her on HSN on January 5th from 9-11pm.

Sir Kensington’s Ketchup: MARK RAMADAN

Heinz ketchup, meet your match—the days of only one ketchup option are over  thanks to Mark Ramadan and Scott Norton, founders of Sir Kensington’s Gourmet Scooping Ketchup, a high-quality, abundantly flavorful alternative to the pedestrian ketchup we’ve squeezed from the bottle our whole lives. Mark, a long-time lover of all things culinary, met Scott at Brown University, where he did “a lot of business-related stuff” while balancing not only a double major in Economics and International Relations, but also his personal food blog, Black Napkin. After graduating in 2008, Mark went on to work for the reputable consulting firm McKinsey & Company in New York until this past June, when he left to pursue Sir Kensington’s full-time. Sir Kensington’s ketchup comes in two flavors, Classic and Spiced, and for $9/jar you can enjoy this high-end condiment with any dish (Mark recommends trying it with omelettes).
 

And if you were wondering, “Who is Sir Kensington, and what hath he wrought?” refer to the website for his full biography and priceless “Kensingtonisms.” Monocled, mustached legends do exist!

 

Tracy Anderson Mind & Body: STEPHANIE STAHL

Stephanie Stahl’s latest endeavor in a series of impressive positions over the course of her career is CEO of Tracy Anderson Mind & Body, LLC. For years, Tracy Anderson has been refining her fitness method through training celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Courtney Cox, and Shakira. Tracy has put these women, who are known for their amazing physiques, into tip-top shape by strengthening smaller muscle groups to pull in the larger muscles, resulting in a lean figure that is strong but not bulky. In addition to her committed circle of A-list privately trained clientele, Tracy has two Method studios located in downtown Manhattan and Los Angeles, which unfortunately currently have waiting lists. However, the rest of us can benefit from the Method through her DVD’s—including Dance Cardio and the Perfect Design Series—and her 30-Day Method book with both fitness and nutritional advice. It is fitting that such a dynamite trainer and her business partner Gwyneth Paltrow have hired Stephanie to take the company to the next level. Stephanie graduated from Stanford in the Class of ‘87 and Harvard Business School in ‘92. She moved on to work in Boston Consulting Group’s New York office until 2003, where she was a Partner, and then as Chief Marketing Officer of Revlon until 2006. Although Stephanie’s credentials speak for themselves, we find her most inspiring because she has maintained remarkable balance in her life—married with three children, and continuing to achieve professionally.  

Keep an eye out for more from Tracy Anderson Mind & Body!

Money Makers: DAVID SNIDER

David Snider, 25, has successfully co-authored the book he wished was written when he was entering the workforce after graduating from Duke University in 2007: a guide to the most selective fields in business and finance from the experience of seasoned industry leaders themselves. David started his career after college in management consulting at Bain & Company, and is now working at Bain Capital, one of the largest private equity and alternative asset managers in the world. Money Makers has been enormously successful since its release this year, so much so that it was sold out of Barnes & Nobles in the entire Manhattan area when we first went to purchase it in the fall (the Columbia book store clerk even asked us if it was on some reading list because it was “flying off the shelves!”). Robert McDonald, the CEO of Procter & Gamble, agrees: "Money Makers does a super job of explaining how the elements of finance integrate to fuel our economy," especially given the altered economic landscape following the global financial crisis.  David and co-author, Dr. Chris Howard, have succinctly laid out the differences in career paths, lifestyles, and work environments of jobs in an investment bank, venture capital and entrepreneurship, private equity,  hedge funds, management consulting, and in Fortune 500 companies through interviews with success stories like Jamie Dimon, CEO of JP Morgan Chase, David Rubenstein, founder of the Carlyle Group, and Shona Brown, Vice President of Business Operations at Google.

David exemplifies many of the qualities which he himself has identified in business legends, so will we not be surprised if he ends up on the other side of a similar project in years to come.

Elite Marketing: BRAD HOROWITZ

Brad Horowitz developed his business savvy during his college years at NYU Stern and summer internships with Elite Marketing, one of the top Experiential Marketing companies in the nation—thanks to Brad.  Experiential Marketing incorporates emotions, logic, and general thought processes in order to connect with a consumer. Brad, only 28 and the CoChair of the Experiential Marketing Center of Excellence for the Promotions Marketing Association, explains, “People like to interact with brands, products and services. A creative and relevant brand experience will emit greater response and emotion from a consumer than a message delivered as a monologue; creating stronger drive to action.” After building his reputation at the company, Brad worked to take Elite to a new level by building an Experiential Marketing component onto the existing model of a Financial Marketing agency with strengths in Event Marketing. Elite now features an Experiential start-up, pioneered by Brad and his partners’ tireless commitment to the unique method of marketing. Brad believes that this dynamic has allowed Elite to expand at a faster pace than would have otherwise been expected, and we believe that there’s no one more capable than him to keep up in such an energetic environment.

Squash Champion: BASET CHAUDHRY

Baset Chaudhry, captain and top-ranked player of the reigning Trinity Bantam squash champions, posesses a modest attitude and determined work ethic that have kept him on top of his game throughout his college squash career. Peers, teammates, coaches, and teachers alike look up to Baset for his academic, professional, and athletic achievements, but also because he stands at an impressive 6'5". Native to Lahore, Pakistan, Baset came to the US on the path of a student-athlete, and has brought unique experience to the courts that has carried the Trinity Squash legacy of success. After graduation this spring from Trinity College in Hartford, CT, Baset will be hitting Wall Street to join the ever-growing romance between investment bankers and squash.

Baset is an example of an athlete who has internalized the pressures of high-level competition and, as far as we can see, he will most definitely apply them in the next phase of his life. Welcome to NYC.

Steve Madden: ED ROSENFELD

At 33 years old, Ed Rosenfeld is one of the youngest CEO's around. Jokingly, he remarks that he hopes to lead popular shoe and accessories brand Steve Madden, Ltd. to "world domination," and we don't doubt that he could. Ed insists that he is not wise beyond his years, but we don't buy it--part of his charm is that despite his obvious success, he remains self-effacing and friendly, learning each and every one of his employees' names and greeting them with a smile each time he visits a Steve Madden store. That, in our opinion, is the highest form of maturity. A Michigan native and Amherst College graduate, Ed gained early exposure to the retail industry through his family's department store, and later acquired technical expertise as a retailing investment banker at Peter J. Solomon Company. He worked with Mr. Madden as a client when the firm was advising a Steve Madden acquisition, and was invited to join the corporation because of his competent work and reliably good attitude. 

Ed has a winning combination of ability and confidence to let his career unfold successfully.  Plus, he knows good shoes.