Sonia Hounsell

Sonia Hounsell is the Co-Founder & CEO of FunkkOFF!® Inc., lifestyle brand company that is disrupting the personal and oral care category with innovation. In July 2021, FunkkOFF! launched their flagship patented product FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers® the 1st and only two-in-one toothbrush and toothpaste that’s reusable to keep your teeth white and fresh on-the-go. In February 2023, Sonia appeared on Shark Tank and received a deal from Robert Herjavec. FunkkOFF! has won a number of awards including the International Grand Prix Du Design Award for Consumer Products, a Gold Stevie® Award for Women in Business Start-up of the Year and a Silver Stevie® Award for International for Start-up of the Year. The brand has also been recognized for its unique innovation by leading press including NBC News, Travel & Leisure, Los Angeles Times, SHAPE, Real Simple and Essence, among others.

Sonia has 30 years of professional experience in Brand Marketing & Advertising; Entrepreneurship including leadership roles in Consumer Packaged Goods, Consumer Healthcare, McKinsey & Co., and Venture Capital. Sonia has also been recognized and awarded with a Gold Effie for Stride® Gum Launch Advertising Campaign, named Advertising Age “Marketing 50” and was a Media Post (OMMA) Online Media, Marketing & Advertising) Winner for Advertising Creativity. Sonia’s undergraduate degree is in Finance from Boston College Carroll School of Management and has a MBA from University of Virginia Darden School of Business. In addition, she has studied at Harvard Business School including Executive Education in Venture Capital and Private Equity. Sonia is currently on the Board of the Women’s Business Development Council (WBDC) which supports Women Entrepreneurs. She is also on the Alumni Board of UVA Darden Business School and an active volunteer at her high school alma mater, Holy Child. She supports her community on the Board of the Rye Arts Center in Rye, NY where she lives with her husband, 19-year old twins and 8-year old Black Lab.

Joelle Flynn

Joelle Flynn is the Founder & Inventor of FunkkOFF!® Inc. and the Inventor behind FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers®, where she filed for 8 U.S. Patents and 3 U.S. Trademarks on designs, brand names and logos. To date, Joelle is the sole Inventor listed on 11 Patents, 10 in the U.S. and 1 in China.

In July 2021, FunkkOFF!® launched their flagship multi-patented product FunkkOFF! TeethRefreshers® and is the 1st and only 2-in-1 toothbrush + toothpaste product that’s reusable (30x) to keep your teeth white and fresh On-THE-GO!. In February 2023, Joelle appeared on ABC Shark Tank® and received a $250,000 equity deal from Robert Herjavec. FunkkOFF!® has won several awards including the International Grand Prix Du Design Award for Consumer Products, a Gold Stevie® Award for Women in Business Start-up of the Year and a Silver Stevie® Award for International for Start-up of the Year. FunkkOFF!® has also been recognized by leading press including NBC News, Travel & Leisure, Los Angeles Times, SHAPE, Real Simple and Essence, among others.

A lifelong serial Entrepreneur, Joelle started working at the age of 14 1⁄2 and paid her way through the University of Delaware earning a degree in Consumer Economics. At the age of 22, she was the youngest stockbroker hired at Bank of America and managed over $350,000,000 in assets for high, net worth clients. Joelle has led many successful entrepreneurial ventures in various industries including selling her own FinTech company, real estate ventures, consulting with startups and more.

It is very important for Joelle to support fellow women along her entrepreneurial journey and is the Founder of and first Executive Director for the Orange County chapter of Girls on the Run, a nonprofit that empowers young women which FunkkOFF!® Inc. donates to yearly. In 2022, The University of Delaware inducted Joelle into the WE Hatch Honor Circle, which “Recognizes Innovative & Entrepreneurial Women Who Inspire Us”.

​

Morgan Uhl

Morgan Uhl is a native Floridian and a graduate of the University of South Florida. Morgan had a creative and entrepreneurial spirit from a very early age. After graduating from the College of Education at USF, she began her professional career as an Elementary Teacher in Tampa, Fl. Shortly after beginning her teaching career, Morgan had her first child and decided to put her professional career on hold to raise her children. Unsatisfied by the local school options for her children, Morgan began homeschooling her 2 children when they became school aged and soon became the Director of their local homeschooling co-op.

Realizing that she did not want to continue teaching her children in middle school, Morgan and her husband decided to send their children to a local private school and Morgan went back to the workforce as a Preschool Director for a local private school. Morgan managed a staff of 17 women, oversaw enrollment of over 70 students, led monthly meetings with the Board, chose age-appropriate curriculum, updated policies and procedures, and managed all marketing and daily operations for the school. Unfortunately, Covid affected the school’s enrollment and operational budget for the following year and Morgan decided to return to the classroom at her children’s school where she taught third grade for the next 2 years.

It was at the beginning of Morgan’s second year of teaching at her children’s school when her children requested to return to homeschooling. Morgan left the classroom and has been homeschooling her children with the help of local homeschooling co-ops for the last 2 years. It was in her last year of teaching that the idea of Knobēz came about, and she has been working diligently for the past 2 and a half years to fully launch Knobēz to the market. After a successful launch in the summer of 2023 with the Red Peppermint Knobēz Collection, Morgan added a Pumpkin Knobēz and Peppermint Stick Handles Collection for the 2023 holiday season. Morgan launched her first licensed Knobēz with Peeps this spring and she is now launching her products in boutiques nationwide and is entertaining retail opportunities. Morgan spends her days creating new Knobēz and Handles Collections, fulfilling orders, attending conventions, speaking to college classes, connecting with fellow entrepreneurs, creating social media content, and looking for opportunities to encourage the next generation of entrepreneurs.

Tasha Terria

Tasha Terria is a seasoned Credit Specialist and Consultant with over 25 years of experience, catering to both celebrities and executives, assisting them with their personal and business credit needs. She’s renowned for her expertise, having hosted her own radio show, “Credit Champions,” in Lakeland, FL, and authored “The Ultimate Credit Tracker,” available at major retailers like Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Walmart, and Amazon. Tasha’s book offers invaluable techniques for increasing, tracking, and disputing credit scores.

Her prowess in the field has earned her the moniker “The Credit Ninja” from ABC’s TV Star Daymond John, thanks to her remarkable ability to swiftly remove negative accounts from her clients’ credit reports. Tasha’s achievements speak volumes, having successfully eliminated over $1 million dollars of bad debt from credit reports.

Driven by a passion for financial education, Tasha aims to empower as many individuals as possible. She envisions establishing a Financial Empowerment Center within her community, offering various training programs on financial literacy and entrepreneurship for the youth. For more information, visit Tashaterria.com.

Brian Wholehan

Brian Wholehan is the Owner and inventor of EZ Shade lighting fixture and diffuser. EZ Shade is a homegrown product that supports local and family-owned businesses in Toledo Ohio.

Nicole Marie Orlando

Nicole is a Sales executive turned Founder on a mission to shake things up in the home products category. Her background in sales, account management, merchandising and production, ultimately led her to launch a brand of her own called, The Laundry Lab. Nicole has developed a product called The Laundry Lab Bottle, which she says “helps city dwellers like herself tackle laundry day with ease”. Her brand isn’t just about products; it is about the commitment to solving a problem that resonates with a large community.

Her solo-founder journey showcases her creativity, determination and entrepreneurial spirit. She is able to relate to fellow inventors and offer any resources that are crucial to a growing brand. She has a passion for connection, networking and events; continually learning wherever she goes!

Nicole is a born-and-raised New Yorker and proud college graduate of The Fashion Institute of Technology. She is active in the Alumni community and is so happy to be present at the school that gave her a “world of opportunity”.

Nicole’s story serves as a reminder that with dedication, anything is possible which is why she continues to grow her own brand, while inspiring others to pursue their entrepreneurial dreams.

Robert Bruza

Robert Bruza is a business development and retail marketing professional with over 15 years of experience helping startups and D2Cs bring new and innovative products to retail.

Robert’s retail background includes retail buying for 27 stores at Neiman Marcus, retail store merchandise planning with the Taubman company, and e-commerce product marketing for clients like Disney, Unilever, Pottery Barn, and Adidas.

Currently, Robert is working with Retailbound, a retail consulting agency helping startups and D2Cs diversify and grow product sales by expanding into offline channels like stores, catalog companies, home shopping, and premium incentive.

Beyond retail, Robert has also been a successful entrepreneur. He has founded four startups, raised over $15 million in investment capital, and had 3 successful exits. Robert uses his startup experience to help product development-heavy startups assess market fit, define value propositions, and cultivate their marketing narrative.

Because Robert combines both retail and startup experience he is uniquely suited to help emerging consumer product companies better understand and prepare for the challenges of launch and initial market traction. As a result, Robert is actively engaged with accelerators and CPG startup communities, helping them define their business value proposition and successfully pitch investors.

Sarah Evans

Sarah Evans is the founder and CEO of Sevans PR, a leading strategic communications agency that specializes in driving brand consideration moments. The agency is renowned for its development of the “reputation+” methodology, a data-driven and AI-powered approach designed to elevate brand credibility, trust, awareness, and authority in a competitive marketplace.

Predominantly focused on the technology sector, Sevans PR  boasts expertise across a broad range of sub-verticals, including cybersecurity, commodities, wealth management, cloud computing, SaaS, travel technology, medtech, martech, edtech, and more. The agency’s comprehensive services encompass high-level strategic communications campaigns, full-scale media relations efforts, and the seamless integration of earned, shared, and owned digital tactics to achieve rapid growth.

Evans is widely recognized as an industry expert, often sought out for her insights into technology trends, especially in consumer tech. Her thought leadership has led to regular appearances on The Doctors TV show, CBS Las Vegas Now, and as an Adobe influencer. She is a respected contributor at Entrepreneur magazine, Hackernoon, Grit Daily, and more. These roles underscore her influence and authority in both the public relations and technology arenas.

Under Evans’ leadership, the team at Sevans PR consistently ranks among the most influential voices in the worlds of PR, social media, and marketing. Her vision for the agency is not just to power brand consideration moments, but to create lasting impacts that foster growth, innovation, and trust among target audiences and industry peers alike.

Joy Mangano

Joy’s amazing story came to life on the big screen in the movie “Joy”. The film was nominated for numerous awards and won the Best Actress Golden Globe for Jennifer Lawrence’s portrayal of Joy. 

In real life, as in the movie, Joy Mangano is an American inventor and entrepreneur best known for inventions such as the self-wringing Miracle Mop. Soon after Joy began appearing on QVC in 1992, she joined the Home Shopping Network. Joy is HSN’s most successful purveyor, with annual sales of more than $150 million and hourly sales regularly topping $1 million. 

A HSN executive wrote that Joy’s success is due to her ability to convey her passion, excitement, and pride with her viewers. Joy agrees, saying that while selling on television is an opportunity to reach millions of people, success requires genuine enthusiasm to reach people who can’t touch or try the product. 

Joy is now hosting the first-of-its-kind, live and shoppable competition series “America’s BIG Deal” featured on the USA Network, a must watch!

Jeff Shavitz

My business path has gone from corporate America to becoming an entrepreneur and independent business owner in the payment processing industry.

Following college, I worked as an Investment Banker at Lehman Brothers in the Corporate Finance/Mergers & Acquisitions Group and specialized in transactions ranging from $500 million – $1 billion.

Although working 80-100 hours, I didn’t feel vested in the deals and this wasn’t what I wanted in my professional life. I deferred business school and decided to leave my fast-paced, well-paying position to start up a 1-person business; friends would say “what are you thinking?” From my tiny New York apartment while still working on Wall Street, I created “Spectoculars”, a paper folding binocular; in 1991, I received a NFL license and sold 250,000 pairs that were distributed at Super Bowl XXX. Welcome to entrepreneurship!

Several years later, I co-founded Charge Card Systems Inc., a national credit card processing company that helped merchants with their processing requirements including the acceptance of Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover.

The company grew to over 500 sales agents with 3 regional offices. In 2012, our business was sold to Card Connect, their largest acquisition at that time; in 2017, the company was acquired by First Data for $750 MM.

In the past 20 years, I have started several payments companies working with CEOs and CFOs. I work with them to explain the hidden fees of credit card processing, the 600+ various interchange rates, new regulatory fees, and share new technologies entering our marketplace.

Bob Circosta

 TV’s original home shopping host and helped create the mutli-billion-dollar TV home shopping industry – he sold the first product ever offered! 

Over the past 45 years, Bob has logged over 25,000 hours of LIVE selling on TV… made over 75,000 separate product presentations… and has, individually, sold over SIX BILLION DOLLARS in merchandise – earning him the title: “TV’s BILLION DOLLAR MAN.” 

Today, Bob is constantly sought after for his unique and proven marketing expertise. He teaches corporations, businesses and entrepreneurs how to create an impactful and profitable pitch to maximize their sales on various marketing platforms. 

In addition, Bob appears on TV shopping channels and social media platforms around the world. 

His popular book, “LIFE’S A PITCH” is a proven guide to successfully selling ANYTHING – ANYWHERE! 

Bob has been featured on ABC’s GOOD MORNING AMERICA, NBC’s TODAY SHOW, ABC’s 20/20 and in articles in USA TODAY and The WALL STREET JOURNAL. 

Bob received the first-ever “HSN LEGEND AWARD” for his contributions and lifetime achievements in the electronic retailing industry. 

Robert Jacobs

Author, speaker, actor, musician, sales and marketing professional since 1974 and founder of the Jazz Education Ensemble (https://jazzeducationensemble.org), is also Managing Partner of JLC Global Alliance (https://jlcglobal.net), a sales consulting firm with expertise in helping manufacturers, inventors and other consumer goods suppliers sell products to mass market retail chains in North and South America. Customer successes have included Walmart, Costco, Sam’s Club, Hobby Lobby, Lowe’s, Best Buy, Target and many more. One deal worth noting occurred in 2003 when he closed a $30 million deal with Costco for Kirkland Signature photo paper. Helping others set and accomplish positive goals is a key driver in Robert’s desire to help create a global society that benefits humanity’s long-term existence.

Robert earned his undergraduate degrees in music composition and marketing from San Francisco State University, and his MBA in business

ANDREW KAVOVIT,

Entrepreneur, Inventor, Actor, Producer
Andrew Kavovit is the CEO and Founder of Hatched Hub, a Product Agency and Retail-Tainment Specialist. With an early start as a creative entrepreneur, Kavovit found himself working as a professional actor at the age of 10 leading to a successful 35 year Commercial, Television and Film career which earned him an Emmy Award and Four Emmy Nominations. However, Andrew’s interest behind the camera led him to creating and producing content for companies such as Warner Brothers, MTV, The Hard Rock Resorts and Mattel. As creator and Executive Producer of the Television Series “Hatched” which aired on the CW, CBS and FOX Andrew blended his entertainment background with his passion for American Entrepreneurship and Invention. An inventor himself, Kavovit created and licensed one of the earliest lighting APP systems for easy control of holiday lighting as well as a smoke detection system for the cruise, car rental and hotel industries. Having the rare personal experience of successful appearances on SHARK TANK, MVP and HSN for his own products; Kavovit lends a unique perspective to emerging brands across the country.

Marc Portney

Marc Portney, is an American Entrepreneur, Investor and Business Advisor.

His street smart insights and deep knowledge of the retail landscape are invaluable when assessing the commercial viability of new products.

As President of Globlasource Infrastructure Partners, an international player in product development, manufacturing & sales, Portney works diligently to bring new products to market.

Marc is honored to be one of HSN’s All Star Entrepreneur for their American Dreams initiative.

As an investor, Portney heads a group of vc, who participate in high potential deals that he brings to the table.

Marc appears in the new Science Channel series ALL-AMERICAN MAKERS. The show features four amateur inventors each week, eager for an opportunity to take their product to market. Judged by two master makers, Brook Drumm and Brian Roe, and business magnate Portney, each inventor’s product is shown to consumers, broken down and examined to test their mettle and ultimate marketability. Portney and his team of savvy experts then decide if any of the inventions merit financial investment.

Karen Waksman

Founder and CEO of RetailMBA.com, has been selling to retail chains for over 20 years! Karen is also the Founder of a Retail Consultancy, a Rep Agency, as Well as a Top Publishing House for Consumer Product Brands – with well over 50+ Educational Training Programs and Books on How to Generate Revenue with your Consumer Products! Karen Waksman is also the proud Owner of Inventions.org. A Trade Association Focused on Helping Inventors Scale Their Businesses, which was originally called the Inventors Assistance League (IAL) – the Oldest Trade Association for Inventors Starting Back in 1962!

Karen has personally taught well over 100,000+ product entrepreneurs and companies across the globe on the subject of scaling their business with retailers at conferences, Retail MBA events and online. Her goal is to empower and inspire companies to transform their businesses by providing them all of the necessary information they need in order to become successful entrepreneurs!

Most importantly, Karen’s clients have utilized Retail MBA’s  time-tested sales formula to get their products into retailers such as Wal-Mart, Best Buy, Home Depot, Lowes, Kroger Grocery Stores, Bed Bath and Beyond, BuyBuyBaby, Groupon and much, much more! Check Out RetailMBA.com to learn more.

Mike Watts

Mike Watts is an experienced entrepreneur who has 6 startup companies under his belt, including founding three consecutive multi-million dollar companies in the last 10 years. Mike has successful exits from three companies including one for over $6 million and he even struck a deal with Daymond John from Shark Tank. Mike currently serves as CEO of LoveHandle, a fast-growing American manufacturer of patented custom smartphone grips and accessories where he leads a team of 35 full-time employees proudly manufacturing exclusively in the USA.

Mike is a regular keynote speaker for entrepreneur and inventor groups as well a guest professor at Texas A&M University’s entrepreneur program in College Station. Mike is a 3-time winner of the Aggie 100 Award for fastest growing companies and has been listed on the Fortune 5000 multiple times.

Judy Edwards

Judy Edwards along with son Bobby and husband Bill are the designers and creators of Squatty Potty® toilet stools. 

Judy, invented the Squatty Potty at the “early age” of 60 after a lifetime of colon issues. Judy was seeking a natural and inexpensive solution that would help correct and heal the problems she was experiencing. That’s when she came up with the Squatty Potty. Squatty Potty is designed to work with any toilet. It’s comfortable, ergonomic, easy to use, attractive and affordable.

Sean Murphy

Sean is a graduate of the esteemed McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas, Austin. He is a true believer in capitalism and the American dream. For the past 34 years, Sean has thrived within the financial industry and has spoken coast to coast to well over 200,000 people. 

He has been voted a 5 Star Wealth Manager and is in the final stages of completing his book – Success Doesn’t Care How You Feel!

Sean served for 4 years as the CEO of the Inventors Center of Kansas City widely regarded as one of the nation’s most successful inventor organizations assisting inventors and entrepreneurs in bringing their products successfully to market.

Sean was one of the principals involved in creating and launching the invention-based TV program Make48, currently in its 5th season on PBS. Sean served as both a MC and a presentation coach for contestants on the show.

Sean is a mentor at the University of Missouri Kansas City Bloch School of Business E-Scholars program. Students in the program are challenged to create an actual business within 9 months that can scale to $5 Million in 5 years. As a mentor, Sean’s specialties include sales training, time management and communication.

David E. Consigli

David is a member of the Advisory Board and has recently been appointed the UIA’s treasurer. With over 34 years of experience, David’s skills and expertise are highly sought-after by a wide range of clients. David is a member of the AICPA Business Valuation Committee and a Massachusetts Collaborative Law Council Board Member.

He is credentialed with the Accreditation in Business Valuation (ABV) awarded by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and has been admitted as an expert in the United States Federal Court, Massachusetts Superior Court and Massachusetts Family and Probate Courts.

Jon Kestenbaum

Jon is a lawyer by education and entrepreneur by trade.  He is extremely passionate about pioneering initiatives that will change the way we live. He spent his career focusing on people, process, and technology — the ingredients that he truly believes are fundamental to building a successful business. 

Chris Krimitsos

Has cemented his place in emerging technologies, as evidenced by his success with a global podcasting event that set back-to-back world records and a first of its kind blockchain event. Time and again Chris has solidified his reputation as a thought leader, whether as a speaker, an event organizer, or in the media. Along the way, his name twice became etched in the Guinness World Records™ as he championed the largest attendance for a virtual podcasting conference in one week, first in 2020, and then breaking it with a new mark one year later. Always an early adopter, Chris became immersed in crypto before the mass population heard of it or understood it. Thus, known for bringing people together, he birthed the Florida Bitcoin and Blockchain Summit in 2021, the first event of its kind in the state. It’s common to find Chris at the leading edge of the next big technology wave. As a result, he has become a go-to for keynotes, interviews, and forecasts. Chris has successfully grown Podfest™ Multimedia Expo to an international conference with upwards of three thousand registrants from what started as a meetup at a local café in 2013. Content creators have benefited from his knack for community building as they build relationships AND their podcasts and YouTube channels through the platforms he has provided. These experiences, whether in-person or virtual, are built from the foundation of Chris having created more than 2,000 live events in his professional career. As a trend setter, Chris identified podcasting’s popularity and responded with a 2017 documentary about the evolving medium. The film has been placed on YouTube for global distribution, after Page 1 of 3 having initially been released on Amazon, where Chris also had a book (“Start Ugly”) hit #1 in Business Leadership and HR. Specializing in emerging technologies, from blockchain to NFTs to cryptocurrency, podcasting, and on-demand audio, Chris is a leading go-to innovator who continues to give a voice to the global creator community

Aaron Cordovez

CoFounder of Zulay Kitchen, has gotten to the top 100 ranked Amazon Sellers in the world.
With sales on Amazon well into the 9 figures, with full ownership of the companies between him and his wife, he’s gotten into the top 0.0001% of sellers and shares what he’s learned on his podcast: Ecomm Leaders.

Having invented several houseware products with the help of hired designers and engineers, Zulay Kitchen (www.zulaykitchen.com) is at the forefront of innovation in kitchen products.

Further, being a programmer by trade he learned the ins and outs of the technical aspects of Amazon in order to achieve the sweet spot of artistic marketing and technological aspects of advertising and ranking.

He also has founded Samurai Seller (www.samuraiseller.com) which manages tens of millions of dollars in ad spend on Amazon for sellers. The automated Amazon Ads software is cutting edge and helps sellers DRASTICALLY improve sales on Amazon at lower costs.

Having mastered Amazon and the advertising, his speciality expands out into many online marketplaces such as Target, Bed Bath and Beyond, Home Depot, Walmart and more utilizing backend custom solutions to help other sellers master these platforms, Aaron can be reached on LinkedIn.

Chris Landano

Helping people is in my blood. I was a professional rescuer in New York City for over 25 years. What led me to launch Inventor Rescue was hearing all the terrible stories of inventors being deceived for tens of thousands of dollars by fraudulent companies using the same tactics and schemes. I got tired of watching all the advertisements on TV and online that were completely false and deceiving information. Being an inventor with a professional first responder background from New York City, motivated me to try and make a difference to help new and naive independent inventors not get scammed by dishonest and misleading independent consultants and companies.

Chris Annoual

Chris is a serial entrepreneur from Miami, Florida who founded C1 Aerospace – a jet engine sales business that built and sold JT8D jet engines around the world. After realizing his passion wasn’t in aviation he started solving problems in the world with products.

He currently has founded three 7 figure businesses and is building another 2 in public.

Chris most recently founded Pump Pal® a silicone gas glove that protects peoples hands from coming into contact with filthy gas pump handles while offering an eco-friendly and sustainable solution. Pump Pal was designed to reduce the spread of bacteria prevalent on gas pump handles while being a safe alternative to disposable plastic gloves offered at gas stations. Within the first year Pump Pal has sold over 100,000 units around the world and has grown into a 7-figure brand.

Pump Pal was invited to an Emmys celebrity gifting event and was featured in Allure magazine with Viola Davis as her favorite holiday gift.

Pump Pal has become a brand trusted by hundreds of thousands of people and continues to create sustainable products.

Chris continues to solve real world problems by building products that people need. He also dedicates his time to helping and mentoring other entrepreneurs and inventors.