Jim Beach — Founder | Professor

• Former Professor at Georgia State University

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. In 2001, Jim was selected as one of the “Forty under Forty” most influential citizens by Georgia Trend magazine.

Chris Hanks

• Director of Entrepreneurship at The University of Georgia

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.