As a young car salesman, Tolga Tarak found himself into a unique position to start his own car based business at a very young age with no small business experience. His ability to jump on the opportunity and work for over a decade as a professional luxury concierge to some of today’s wealthiest all over the globe, gave birth to Emilia Motors and Ocean Realty. Two organizations which currently, not only make significant revenue well into the 8 figures, but also have enabled him the luxury of living in several countries including the ultra high net wealth area in the south of France known as Monaco. Tolga not only shares his experiences growing up and the struggles he endured, but also tell us more about the ownership experience of a Bugatti and living in Monaco. Tolga is also one of the very few who has ordered #4 LaFerrari and will be sharing that experience with us once he gets it.
Secret Entourage Academy
Secret Academy Episode – Brett David
Unquestionably, one of the auto industry’s rising stars is 26 year old Brett David, who is the owner of Miami-based Prestige Imports, the top selling Audi dealership in the U.S. It’s been the top selling Audi dealership since 2007 when David suddenly found himself at age 19, as the store’s owner when his father Irv David died suddenly from a heart attack. Bucking conventional wisdom, advice from friends and plans established by his late father, Brett decided against selling the dealership. He made the right decision. That first year under his leadership, Prestige’s sales exploded nearly 400% from 651 vehicles sold in 2006 to over 2000 vehicles retailed in 2007. And in 2010, following the worst recession in automotive history, Prestige sold a whopping 1,610 new Audi’s and retained his title as number 1 Audi Dealer. Brett may have had the dealership handed to him, but as you’ll soon learn, his hard work, adaptability and leadership is what made him the superstar CEO he is today, but more importantly a respected leader amongst his peers.
Secret Academy Episode – Brian Garrett
In a cut throat industry that is the music and entertainment industry, Brian Garrett has made huge strives to establish himself as a recognized name and brand within top executives and musicians. As a tech entrepreneur, Brian got his start by making money online through email marketing as a young teen and eventually took that skill-set and found his niche where he specializes in digital marketing for musicians. It wasn’t all easy though as Brian had to literally hustle his way to get in the door of record label executives through unique and unheard of tactics. Today, he runs Future Star, a conglomerate of talent management, record label, digital marketing and development, and more.
Secret Academy Episode – Chad Mureta
As entrepreneurs, we tend to find ourselves consumed in our business a little too much at times. This was the case for Chad Mureta, who had a real estate company with several employees at the height and decline of the housing boom. The one night he took time off to check out an NBA game, he was involved in a severe car accident that left him nearly paralyzed and in severe debt. With seemingly lost hope, a friend told him to check out app development and that sparked the beginning of his journey into mobile apps. With a loan from his family, his first app became successful which lead him to create dozens more where he eventually sold his entire portfolio for millions. He now focuses on larger apps and also teaches students through his App Empire books and courses.
Secret Academy Episode – Brian Cohen
As Pinterest’s first angel investor, Brian Cohen knows when to identify a great opportunity, which is why he now serves as the Chairman of the New York Angels which has invested over $50 million in more than 70 early stage companies. With the belief that all new products, services and ideas should be easy to discover, find and share, Brian launched a free next generation self-publishing PR news platform called Launch.it in May 2012. It powers many attendee, media, news, and information guides for major events and conferences. His years of experience in business and passion for investing in others makes him an asset to the startup world.
Secret Academy Episode – Joshua Davidson
Joshua is the CEO and Founder of Chop Dawg, full service company lined up with leading designers and developers that take ideas from concept and turn them into reality. Chop Dawg helps create startups for inspiring entrepreneurs by providing them with a wide range of services including web and mobile development, branding and marketing strategies. Through a strong mix of services, Chop Dawg builds successful brands and helps entrepreneurs’ design, plan and implement their objectives.
Joshua is also the President and Founder of Subtle, the first online platform designed to help companies manage their presences online in an effortless and efficient way. Subtle provides a one-stop solution for organizations and individuals looking to take control of their digital presence and online operations while providing a suite of applications such as CMS, Social Media and Newsletters. For the first time, through a series of tools, Subtle’s platform allows everyday individuals to have full control of their online applications all under one roof and through any device.
Secret Academy Episode – Travis Ketchum
Travis Ketchum is a performance marketing expert and entrepreneur. Having worked with celebrities, best-selling authors, and starting several companies before (including drop-shipping, affiliate shopping portals & more), he’s focused on creating a performance marketing suite of software that anybody can use. He is the Founder & CEO of Contest Domination, a powerful contest platform. Travis has implemented his techniques and software to generate millions of dollars in sales for both his companies and his clients. This has been achieved through innovative software, case studies, close attention to market trends, and ability to predict where markets are going vs. where they currently are.