Jim Beach

Jim started his first company when he was 26 years old. He was the Co-founder and CEO of American Computer Experience of Atlanta. He grew the company with no capital infusion to $12 million in annual revenue in 1999 and to over 60 permanent and 700 temporary employees, operating in 39 states and in three countries. The company became the world’s largest technology training company for children, and enjoyed corporate tie-ins with Microsoft, Intel, Lego, NASA, and many others. In 1999, Jim closed two rounds of venture funding, one for $2.4 million and another for $6.4 million. The Atlanta Business Chronicle recognized the company was one for the fastest growing companies in Georgia for both 1999 and 2000. In 2001, Jim was selected as one of the “Forty under Forty” most influential citizens by Georgia Trend magazine.

Jacob Dearolph

Jacob has had an passionate interest in entrepreneurship, business, and real estate since high-school as he sat through his first economics classes. Â As a young kid he used to lead other kids in the neighborhood in the creation of enhanced concrete (nothing more than Georgia red clay mixed with concrete) Â to sell to neighbors and contractors in the neighborhood. Thus, his entrepreneurial interests were born. Â Jacob obtained an Industrial Engineering degree at Georgia Tech. Â After spending a few years in supply chain & manufacturing, Jacob started working with entrepreneurial real estate developers in Atlanta. Â Currently, he is working in several different avenues in real estate while working with School for Startups.

Chris Hanks

Chris started his first business by necessity, hawking T-shirts during college and operating a delivery service for local florists. He funded his college with his entrepreneurial earnings. After a stint in the corporate world as a risk management consultant, he again returned to entrepreneurship by starting a CD store. He quickly followed that success by a rapid-fire series of ventures in e-commerce, exporting, and publishing, all of which he still owns today.

In 2008, Chris became director of the entrepreneurship program at the University of Georgia, immediately gaining recognition with several victories of his Business Plan Competition Team.

Erik Rostad

Erik comes from a musical background, starting violin lessons at age 3. Since then, he has played the violin in orchestras, with hip hop artists, and southern rock bands. His love of travel led to him to study international business at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It was during these studies that Erik came in contact with the teachings of Jim Beach. His career path took a drastic change of course as he began to believe for the first time in his life that he could work for himself. Since Jim’s class, Erik has started his own website development firm. Through his extensive travels, Erik brings a unique perspective to the blog by relating true stories of entrepreneurship from around the globe.

Josh Winkles

Josh has had a passion for small business since he was in high school helping business owners with small website projects. After going to The University of Georgia, Josh met Chris Hanks and later Jim Beach where he got involved with School for Startups. With a degree in management information systems and having spent time in China studying technologies impact on international business, Josh loves to help make businesses more efficient through a combination of technology and rethinking business processes. Josh currently works for a small web development and marketing firm in Atlanta as well as adivsing several small startups in Athens and Atlanta.