Ted Baker

Reuben Canada

Prior to founding Canada Enterprises LLC, Reuben Canada was a patent attorney at Woodcock Washburn LLP, now BakerHostetler. Reuben found his entrepreneurial calling when he focused his energy into creating a uniquely powerful beverage named Jin+Ja made of fresh ginger, cayenne pepper, green tea, lemon, and mint. In 2013, Jin+Ja won the Sofi Award for Outstanding Cold Beverage, the most prestigious award in the specialty food world. That same year, Reuben was featured in USA Today’s 6-week small business video series. Within six months of launching Jin+Ja in the small bottle format, it was put into national distribution through Whole Foods and, shortly afterward, into conventional grocery store distribution by Kroger and Albertsons driving unprecedented growth.

Dr. Field Harrison

Dr. Field G. Harrison graduated from Baylor University Medical School with a vision to change the practice of dentistry. He realized dentists and dental colleges were far
behind in dental technology, surgical techniques and patient care. That’s why MINT dentistry is unlike any other dental practice you’ve experienced. Dr.
Harrison was one of the first dentists to embrace the concept of a dental spa: a place so refreshing and relaxing that patients would look forward to a trip to the dentist and where doctors of dental surgery would use only the newest technology and techniques to create a new smile.

Dr. Harrison’s vision was to bring this new kind of dental practice to the masses, to the people who wanted healthy beautiful teeth but were priced out of crowns, veneers and implants by the expensive dentists. He has guided Mint Dentistry’s stunning growth from one five person office to what will soon be 20 offices employing over 400 people.
And that’s just this year. Their growth trajectory means Mint Dentistry could grow to over 100 offices in the next five years.

Dr. Harrison is always looking for ways to improve patient experience, whether it’s accepting most insurance plants, or developing a new surgical technique to install
veneers with 80% less tissue removal to speed recovery time.

He is also a visionary entrepreneur. After pouring over the tax code and tax law, he started Chrysos Wealth Preservation, a complete disrupter for companies who prepare
taxes for their super wealthy clientele. He has also launched a construction company and real estate company aimed to help dentists launch new offices. And he is a sought
after speaker to business professionals and entrepreneurs.

Finally, Dr. Harrison’s devout faith is at the heart of everything he does, from his generous philanthropy, to providing liberal insurance benefits to his employees to his
role as a proud husband and father. Though still well under 40, his faith has led him to become a leading voice of innovation, inspiration, and influence in dentistry and
business.

Lonnie Johnson

Lonnie Johnson is president and founder of Johnson Research and Development Co., Inc., a technology development company, and its spin off companies, Excellatron Solid State, LLC; Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems, LLC; andJohnson Real Estate Investments, LLC.

Johnson holds a B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering, an M.S. degree in Nuclear Engineering, and an honorary Ph.D. in Science from Tuskegee University. Upon graduation, he worked as a research engineer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, and then joined the U. S. Air Force, serving as Acting Chief of the Space Nuclear Power Safety Section at the Air Force Weapons Laboratory in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1979, he left the Air Force to accept a position as Senior Systems Engineer at the NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where he worked on the Galileo mission to Jupiter. Returning to the Air Force in 1982, he served as an Advanced Space Systems Requirements Officer at Strategic Air Command (SAC) headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska, and as Chief of the Data Management Branch, SAC Test and Evaluation Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base in California. He was awarded the Air Force Achievement Medal and the Air Force Commendation Medal on two different occasions. In 1987, he returned to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where he worked on the Mars Observer project and was the fault protection engineer during the early stages of the Cassini (Saturn) project. He was responsible for ensuring that single point spacecraft failures would not result in loss of the mission. During his nine year career with JPL, he received multiple achievement awards from NASA for his work in spacecraft system design.

In 1989, Johnson formed his own engineering firm and licensed his most famous invention, the Super Soaker® water gun, to Larami Corporation. Two years later, the Super Soaker®, generated over $200 million in retail sales, and became the number one selling toy in America. Larami Corporation was eventually purchased by Hasbro Corporation, the second largest toy manufacturer in the world. Over the years, Super Soaker® sales have totaled close to one billion dollars. Currently, Lonnie Johnson holds over 80 patents, with over 20 more pending, and is the author of several publications on spacecraft power systems.

Two of Johnson’s companies, Excellatron Solid State and Johnson Electro-Mechanical Systems (JEMS), are developing revolutionary energy technology.

Excellatron is introducing a new generation of rechargeable battery technology which has the potential to revolutionize the battery industry. Providing a source of energy many times that which exists today in a substantially reduced size, this technology will solve many of the problems related to technology mobility in the future.

JEMS has developed a thermodynamic energy conversion technology that converts thermal energy to electrical energy with significant advantages over alternative systems. This technology has the potential to revolutionize the global energy market when fully commercialized.

Articles on Lonnie Johnson have appeared in numerous publications including Time Magazine, the New York Times, and Inventor’s Digest. Johnson serves on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Alliance for Children, an organization which serves as an informed and influential voice to protect the rights and interests of Georgia’s less fortunate children. He is a Board member of the Hank Aaron ”Chasing the Dream” Foundation, and has served on the Board of Directors of the Commonwealth National Ban

Melody McCloskey

Melody McCloskey is the co-founder and CEO of StyleSeat, the leading destination for booking beauty and wellness appointments. McCloskey co-founded StyleSeat in 2011 to simplify the process of booking beauty appointments. With StyleSeat, industry experts are provided a place to showcase their work, connect with clients, and build their business while clients can discover new services and providers and book appointments on the go. Prior to developing StyleSeat, McCloskey led digital distribution at Current TV, where she met developer Dan Levine. Today, the platform has powered over 50M appointments in over 16,000 US cities and has powered over $3 billion in appointments. High profile investors of StyleSeat include Ashton Kutcher, Sophia Bush, Guy Oseary, and Uber CEO Co-founder, Travis Kalanick. McCloskey has been recognized among industry leaders, receiving accolades such as Fast Company’s Most Creative People in Business, Inc. Magazine’s Top Women to Watch in Technology, Business Insiders’ Most Stylish People in Silicon Valley and Story Exchange’s Top 10 Young Women to Watch.

Claudia Mirza

Claudia Mirza is the CEO and co-founder of Akorbi, the 3rd fastest-growing language service provider in the world. What started as a home-based translation business is today a global provider of multilingual business solutions, including interpretation, staffing, contact centers, learning services and localization. Claudia’s vision and leadership have led Akorbi to become the 8th fastest-growing woman-owned/led company in the world, according to the Women Presidents’ Organization and American Express, and the #501 fastest-growing company on the Inc. 5000 with 758% growth in the last three years.

Claudia is a published author in key industry publications, a sought-after speaker, an inventor with patents-pending, a mother of two, a mentor and a philanthropist. She recently met with President Trump on behalf of small and women-owned businesses. Claudia is currently enrolled in Harvard’s Owner/President Management (OPM) Program.

Kenya Parham

Donni Wiggins

Donni Wiggins is a speaker, author, entrepreneur and empowerment coach that is dedicated to helping people reach their breakthrough, unleash their inner power and unveil a life of prosperity. She is a serial entrepreneur that has been heavily immersed in both traditional business and the Multi-Level Marketing Industry for the past 5 years. As a result, Donni has been able to positively impact the lives of thousands of people all over the world. Donni is a highly decorated award recipient for her success in traditional business, network marketing, and building global organizations. She hosts several training events, seminars, and web conferences where she empowers and teaches success strategies to aspiring and tenured entrepreneurs and professional networkers.

Johnny Wimbrey

The man behind ”Say Increase!”, Johnny Wimbrey is a speaker, author, trainer, and motivator working with sales teams, high-profile athletes, politicians, and personalities around the world. After leaving behind a world of drugs and crime at 18, Johnny redirected his entire life and began a professional career in Insurance and Motivational Speaking. He has since launched three companies (Wimbrey Training Systems, Wimbrey Global, and Royal Success Club International) and heads a sales team of thousands in more than 30 countries, overseeing an active customer database of half a million families. Johnny continues to traverse the globe, sharing his powerful message through speaking engagements and products.

His incredible rags-to-riches story has resonated with audiences all over the world, from Africa to Australia, India to Italy, and Sweden to Spain. His unique high-energy style has made him an incredibly sought-after speaker, and he has shared the stage with legendary personal development gurus, such as Les Brown and the late greats Jim Rohn and Zig Ziglar, just to name a few. His blunt honesty motivates people to stop thinking and start doing. With his best-seller, From the Hood to Doing Good, on the shelves, and his Journey to Wealth training available to everyone, Johnny continually inspires and coaches people to greatness. He also has a wide media following and has appeared as a guest expert and panelist on day-time television segments and court shows, including the Steve Harvey Show, E! News, and Today.

Mikaila Ulmer

Mikaila is a twelve-year-old from Austin, TX. She is the founder and CEO of Me & the Bees Lemonade, an award-winning natural lemonade with flaxseed and sweetened with honey. Mikaila sold her award-winning lemonade from her lemonade stand for four years before being picked up by America’s healthiest grocery store – Whole Foods Market.

Mikaila has been featured as a panelist at several South by Southwest (SXSW) conferences like SXSW ECO, SXSW EDU, and SXSW Interactive. At age eight, Mikaila won ”Teenpreneur of the Year” Award by Austin’s Black Chamber of Commerce. She was also recently named, ”Most Likely to Succeed’ by Austin Monthly Magazine. She has been featured in national publications and blogs like The Food Network Magazine, Forbes, Essence, and Huffington Post. Mikaila is proud to have met the First Lady and President three times. Once during the Kid’s State Dinner and as a Celebrity Chef during the White House Easter Egg Roll. She has enjoyed being a guest on Good Morning America, CBS News This Morning and The Real TV. Even after receiving many awards and recognition, Mikaila has not been distracted from delivering on her company’s mission.

Mikaila is determined to quench the thirst of her customers and inspire healthy habits, while educating families about the importance of honeybees and how to save them. She passionately facilitates workshops about honeybees and entrepreneurship. But most importantly, Mikaila donates 10% of the profits from the sale of her lemonade to organizations on how to save the honeybee.

It all started when four-year-old Mikaila Ulmer signed up for a children’s entrepreneur event. While thinking about a product to create, two big events happened:

• She was stung by a bee, twice in one week.
• Mikaila’s great-granny Helen sent her a 1940’s cookbook, which included great-granny’s special recipe for flaxseed lemonade.

After the stings, Mikaila became afraid of bees, but her parents encouraged her to do a little research on them. Mikaila immediately became fascinated with honeybees and their importance to our ecosystem. She wanted to create a product that would combine her love for great-granny Helen’s flaxseed lemonade recipe and her compassion for the dying honeybee population.

Thus, Me & the Bees Lemonade was born.

In an effort to expand beyond Lemonade, Mikaila chose to change the name of the company from BeeSweet Lemonade to Me & the Bees Lemonade. She is excited about her upcoming expansion which includes a 501c3 and fun items like bee hives, aprons, lip balms and gardening tools.

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Other press links:
Austin Chronicle / Austin Monthly / Best of Austin / Edible Austin / Forbes