Jay Pearce, President
Reunion Ranch

Jay Pearce is a truly versatile entrepreneur.  He was born and raised in Austin, Texas and started his first company, J’s Roof and Gutter Cleaning Service, at the age of 20 (he still believes there is a huge market for gutter cleaning).  Three years later, Jay formed Precision Ground Care, maintaining lawns for small offices and apartment complexes.  He obtained his real estate license five years later in Georgetown, Texas, and was ranked #5 among 265 agents.

In 1986, Jay started the Reunion Ranch Event Facility, entertaining large corporate groups.  In August of 1991, he was cited as 1 of 3 outstanding entrepreneurs in the state of Texas by the Entrepreneur Magazine of California.  In 1998, he started Cowboy Cooked Briskets, offering pre-cooked briskets in grocery store chains.  He had never dealt with the retail industry before, let alone the grocery industry, and describes the experience as “tough,” learning some expensive and very valuable lessons.

Next, Jay returned to his passion of real estate and started accumulating property.   He was asked to teach real estate courses for a local real estate school in 2003.  For every 40 students taught, 3 to 4 wanted to work for him, so Jay started Jay Pearce Real Estate.  The company grew up to 58 agents in 23 months and in 2007 Jay was awarded the Realtor of the Year for all of Williamson County.

His family business of Reunion Ranch was still going strong, and when the president stepped down, Jay moved back to take over the position in 2006.   Today, Jay is very happy to be back in the saddle at Reunion Ranch and says, “life is good.”

“My initial idea was to join The Alternative Board of Austin (TAB) with CEO peers in order to increase my revenues.   However, I have now learned that the contacts are invaluable. The knowledge of the group and their business experience is very helpful in my own business and life.”

                                                                                                                                                     -Jay Pearce

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Dan Steinborn, Founder & President
PrintGlobe

In 1995, two years after graduating with an undergraduate in Public Relations from The University of Texas at Austin, Dan founded Corporate Communications of Austin, a regional graphic design and print brokering firm. Five years later, Corporate Communications of Austin embarked on an ambitious online business strategy and launched PrintGlobe.com.  Today, PrintGlobe.com operates the largest business printing superstore online and has earned business from more than 30% of the Fortune 500 companies and over 30,000 customers. 

Entering its eighth consecutive year of double-digit growth, PrintGlobe was named by the Austin Business Journal one of the “50 Fastest Growing Companies” in 2006 and 2007 and has also been awarded “Best 50 Places” to work in Central Texas.  PrintGlobe has also been recognized by the Inc. 5000 in 2007, 2008 and 2009. Recently, Dan was invited by Google to serve as a member of its national Google AdWords Advertiser Council, a select group of marketing executives who provide strategic advice and feedback to Google.  In his personal time, Dan enjoys live music and mountain biking and has served as a campaign advisor to political candidates.

Dan has been a member of TAB since 2004. Lessons learned from fellow board members have helped Dan and PrintGlobe grow the company from $3,000,000 in sales to more than $10,000,000 in 2010. Dan stated in a recent interview, “I made a great decision several years ago to join the Austin TAB organization and be part of a monthly board meeting with other business owners of growth companies. They’ve inspired and counseled me and helped me to push the limits of what I thought I could do.”

For more info about Dan and PrintGlobe, check out his recent profile in the Austin Business Journal.

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Jeff Turk, CEO
Formaspace

Jeff Turk’s Bio

Formaspace featured in Austin Business Journal, “Formaspace Finds a Bigger Home”

How did you get into your business?

I arrived in Austin in the fall of 2005.   I was just coming back from West Africa, so all I had was two backpacks and a laptop.  I bought two chairs and air mattress at Wal*Mart, got an apartment on East Riverside Drive, and founded Council Oak Investors.  We closed the fund in 42 days, and the apartment was condemned by the city the following week.  Formaspace was the first acquisition in the fund.

What is your company’s Driving Critical Success Factor?

I’m not sure I understand the question.  Unless you own something completely proprietary, don’t people always make the difference?

What do you love most about what you do?

I like solving problems creatively.  I like working with people I like and respect.  And I love being part of our client’s workspaces.  We’re in all kinds of spaces, from national labs doing top-secret research, to robotics and aerospace projects, to the set of Gray’s Anatomy.  How cool is that?

Elvis or Beatles?

Whoa – you might as well ask “Duke Ellington or King Oliver?”  I’m a child of the 80’s.  When Elvis broke out with ‘Love Me Tender’ my parents were tweens. The Beatles broke up before I was born.  I prefer for the music to fit the context of the environment.  If I’m down in South Texas I might tune in a little Tejano, if I’m in Chicago I might listen to my wife’s Southside music, if I’m clubbing in Austin it could be Bob Schneider, but right now I’m at our very loud, very amped-up factory and Nickelback is playing in my head.

What is your favorite business book and why?

I’m not sure if I can name just one, but if I did, it might be ‘Good to Great.’ Actually anything by Jim Collins.  And Gladwell, and the ‘Topgrading Guys’, and Jack Welch, especially ‘Winning.’  Who doesn’t like to win?  The best book I read in 2009 was ‘Who’ by Geoff Smart and Randy Street, which I think is actually better than Topgrading.  I also like the concept of lifestyle design outlined in ‘The Four Hour Workweek.’  I recommend reading anything Warren Buffet has written as well as transcripts of everything he has said.  I just recommend reading in general.

Do you consider yourself a good communicator?

No.  I’m a terrible listener, and listening is the key to communication. I’m one of those ADHD kids, so when talking to me, it’s best to get to the message quickly. Also, I have an aversion to simplicity  and repetition, so that’ something I’m working on. 

One thing that has helped me recently is a Livescribe pen.  It’s this pen that records conversations as you take notes.  Then you can tap your notes, and the conversation that occurred as you took the note plays back to you.  Very cool.

How do you define success?

I have a little piece of paper that I scribbled on years ago that says “Do good by doing well.”  My goal is that everyone who touches us – coworkers, partners, vendors, and customers – is better off for the experience.  If we can develop people in the direction they want to go in, improve people’s quality of life in the workspaces where they spend most of their working hours, and generate a profit that can be churned back into the community – that’s success.

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Rachel Clemens, President
Creative Suitcase

Rachel is a graphic designer with international experience. She’s worked on three continents and traveled to over 30 countries, learning the cross-cultural aspects of great design.  Rachel’s found influence in everything from Slovenian graffiti to Australian aboriginal art and believes that when you experience creativity it follows you everywhere.

After earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design, Rachel worked with Traffic Interactive in London, England and JSA Design in Brisbane, Australia along with Tocquigny Advertising and Jolly Design in Austin, Texas.  In 2005, Rachel started Creative Suitcase to better connect with clients and their businesses.

Creative Suitcase is a boutique graphic and web design studio whose award-winning work helps businesses tell their unique stories in a way that reaches their customers, creating a wide range of campaigns, including branding, brochures, websites and direct marketing.  They have been recognized with multiple local and national advertising awards including:

• Austin Business Journal, #8 Top Graphic Design Firms - 2009
• Published in two books – Branding Identity: The Importance of a Good Corporate Identity and The Best of Business Card Design 8
• Two Graphic Design USA Annual Design Review Awards
• Several Austin Advertising Federation Awards
• One of six local design firms to take part in the national HOW Magazine Design Conference
• Recently gave a presentation on social media to a TAB Board. The presentation outlined the tools and practices they recommend for business, the benefits of each and how best to use them. TAB members can download the presentation at http://www.creativesuitcase.com/TAB.

“I joined The Alternative Board (TAB) when my business was just two years old. It’s one of the best business decisions I’ve ever made.   TAB saved me thousands of dollars in rookie mistakes.  Through my TAB board, I’ve gained confidence in my business skills as well as my creative skills.  Whether you’re building a company and need to do it right or taking a growing company to the next level, you should engage with TAB.”

-Rachel Clemens

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Bridgett Wallace
PT, DPT/President
360Balance

360Balance featured in Austin Business Journal, “Top Clinics - 2009″

Bridgett Wallace, PT, DPT, has a doctorate of physical therapy and holds a competency-based certification in vestibular rehabilitation.  She has been treating patients with dizziness and balance disorders for more than 13 years and is the founder and President of Balance Therapy of Texas (DBA 360°Balance) – a specialty clinic for the evaluation and treatment of dizziness and balance disorders that includes both audiology and physical therapy services.

Dr. Wallace has been instrumental in the development of hardware and software designed to integrate diagnostic findings for vestibular patients.  She has co-authored two patents on diagnosis and treatment of vestibular disorders, as well as authored the chapter on balance for the textbook, Therapeutic Exercise, and is currently co-authoring chapters for an upcoming neurology textbook for therapy students.

Dr. Wallace also lectures nationwide to other providers regarding the medical management of dizziness and balance disorders as well as provides consulting services for establishing comprehensive balance centers. Bridgett is involved locally and nationally in her professional association and has served on a number of boards. She is currently a member of The Alternative Board (TAB) and is a member of the Women’s Chamber of Commerce of Texas.

“As a small business owner, TAB has provided me the tools to create a business model that is not only sustainable but ripe for growth and reproducibility. In less than 1 year with TAB, we have increased our collections by more than 30% and implemented metrics that gives employees a sense of ownership versus being micro-managed. TAB is a resource with endless possibilities.”

-Bridgett Wallace

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