Aristotle Loumis was on a completely different track before he founded Ellison Eyewear, he was actually going to school to be a dentist. But after a massive cultural and impact shock going to Greece for the first time, an observation was made by Aristotle, everyone around him was wearing sunglasses, and not just for the looks but for the functionality. Aristotle returned home to the U.S and decided to launch Ellison Eyewear, the first sunglass line to ever be hand-made in Greece, combining American Ingenuity with Mediterranean Style. The road to any design production is one of constant trial and error, along with sacrifices and successes, Aristotle has seen them all and is here to share his story with you.
Secret Entourage Academy
Secret Academy Episode – Mitch Thrower
Mitch Thrower began his entrepreneurial journey back when he was in college and has since built and exited numerous companies, acquiring a near $1 billion in exits. Through his journey as a serial entrepreneur, communications guru, financer, he knew that in order to truly succeed he had to find a way to put a value on his passion, in this case it was triathlons. After watching the sport grow for years and years, Thrower saw where the needs weren’t being met in the sport and decided to act upon it. Events.com was created to be a total fulfillment platform for all events, not just sports, but also festivals, charity galas, etc. Events.com helps to bring together all aspects of planning a large gather from management, marketing, sponsorship, app creation, and more. Through his passion focused business plan, Thrower has made Events.com the largest event planning service on the internet.
Secret Academy Episode – Brandon Steiner
Brandon Steiner grew up on the streets of Brooklyn, starting his entrepreneurial journey at just the age of 10 as a delivery boy for a local fruit market. Steiner leveraged his adversity and was able to use his struggles to motivate him to work harder and eventually founded Steiner Sports, one of the largest names in sports marketing and memorabilia. In this interview Steiner gives the listeners a personal look into his humble beginnings and how he realized that putting all his effort into the small tasks, like answering local athletes fan mail, turned into him becoming one of the most successful sports marketers of all time.
Secret Academy Episode – David Long
David Long is the CEO and founder of My Employees, a site that helps managers motivate employees through recognition tactics. But more than just that, through his years of working for others and reading nearly 400 books on leadership, Long has created a platform to turn average managers into favored leaders. Through this practice of employee engagement, Long has been able to create programs designed to give managers feedback on their performance straight from their employees mouth. With this type of recognition on both ends of the spectrum, Long’s My Employees has helped companies like Doubletree Hotels, Fed-Ex, Chick-F-La become positive and enjoyable workplace cultures.
Secret Academy Episode – Josh Verne
Josh Verne has proved the old saying true, third time IS the charm. After being a businessman and entrepreneur for the greater part of his life, Verne’s third business endeavor FlockU has become a house-hold… or should I say a dorm-room name in colleges across the United States. Verne has focused on building only mission driven businesses based on his passion for helping others and that has been a key reason he has found such success. Because when passion drives your business there is nothing that can stop you.
Secret Academy Episode – Nick Santonastasso
If you look up “Motivation” in the dictionary there is a picture Nick Santonastasso beside it. Born the 12th person in the world with a rare condition, Nick has lived his life with no legs and only one arm with one finger. He was given a 30% chance to live and rather than falter and dwell on the negative, Nick chose only to see the positive. Nick has become a CEO and renowned motivational speaker who inspires others to adapt and overcome any obstacles they may meet in the personal life or in business. With such an optimistic and success driven mindset leading the way there isn’t anything Nick Santonastasso can’t do.
Secret Academy Episode – Greg Reid
Greg Reid is the true definition of a success-motivated action taker. Throughout the years, Greg has taken on many roles. One being a best selling author with books such as “Stickability”, “Three Feet From Gold”, and “Everything Is Subject To Change” that have inspired thousands of readers and shown them that the most valuable lessons we learn are also the easiest to apply. His most recent project however, has thrown him in the glamour world of Hollywood. Greg has taken on the film industry and has flourished thanks to all his past successes and failures have taught him. Perhaps his best known role is being the CEO of Secret Knock – an exclusive, invite-only professional networking community with members who are some of the top artists, athletes, executives, and entrepreneurs in the country. Forbes magazine called it the “Can’t Miss Conference for Entrepreneurs”. With all of this experience under his belt, the advice Greg provides is nothing short of crucial to anyone who is looking to succeed.