Recruited to restructure and refinance a 3 year old start-up in the nutritional supplement industry. N53 develops, markets and distributes functional nutritional products that allow consumers to lead healthier and more productive lives. Company founded by 4 time SuperBowl Champion Bill Romanowski. Flagship products are the Lean1, Neuro1, and Vegan1 brands, along with another 10 brands in the product portfolio. Major challenges were to recapitalize the company, increase distribution and product visibility/awareness in the consumer marketplace. Key Accomplishments:- Raised over $5M in equity funding from angel investors and F1 institutional investment fund, including a marketing deal with NASCAR Sprint Cup Series at Daytona 500 for the Lean1 brand- Negotiated and signed a supply and distribution deal with Smoothie King with 700+ stores fronts- Increased annual revenues $25M- Increased shareholder value to $100M- Restructured accounting department - Established financial controls and monthly reporting process.- Established inventory controls- Established e-commerce - Cleaned up corporate records and prior years tax issues.

Recruited to start-up a venture whose core product was the Zvue portable media player (PMP), a revolutionary design architecture based on flash memory and Motorola Dragon Ball technology to meet a sub $100 price point at retail. My initial mission was to secure capital funding, identify and sign a manufacturing partner for the Zvue PMP, and acquire digital content for distribution to the PMP via a content distribution network (CDN). Secondarily, I was charged with creating a marketing strategy and finding distribution channels for the Zvue PMP and its content, recruit senior managers, and direct and motivate cross-functional teams in multiple locations in the US and overseas (Russia, UK, France, and China). Key Accomplishments:- Raised over $2M in initial funding from angel investors in post-internet bubble market, and subsequently, $5M+ from Carl Page, Google’s initial shareholder.- Successful completion of a public offering on NASDAQ, market cap of $125M.- Signed a 3 year manufacturing contract with Eastech, LLP (ET) in Taiwan and Shenzhen, China to produce the Zvue Player. The contract called for ET to finance the entire product sales cycle. Also negotiated with ET to become a major shareholder. - Launched the Zvue product in Wal-Mart Stores, realizing $10M in revenues the first year and contracts for $25M the following year, rapidly becoming the 3rd best selling PMP behind Apple’s iPod and Microsoft’s Zune. Also got product distribution through the Discovery Channel Stores, and Fry’s Electronics (among others).- Cultivated vital digital media relationships and alliances with ESPN, MTV, SonyBMG, Universal, Diet Coke, Mattel Barbie, Kabillion/Disney, and Showtime.- Spearheaded a joint MP3 player project with SonyBMG and Wal-Mart, where we developed a pre-loaded MP3 player with SonyBMG music and distributed through 3,500 Wal-Mart Stores. Product sold out (125,000 units) in four weeks.