VEGAS INC Magazine - Latest Las Vegas business news, features and commentaries about gaming, tourism, real estate and more
Issue link: http://www.ifoldsflip.com/i/112509
ge: 33 40 UNDER 40 2013 Brad Howard Age: 33 President and Founder Trend Nation LLC S even days after graduating from Ohio State, Brad Howard created his first gig ��� an outdoor advertising company selling ads on the sides of local delivery trucks. He grew the company for five years, and then sold it to an investment firm based in Columbus, Ohio. Howard and his wife arrived in Las Vegas three and a half years ago, with their Internet retailer business in tow. They ran it out of their home, using the garage as a warehouse, while converting bedrooms into offices. According to Howard, they���ve increased their business by more than 800 percent since they moved here ��� a stroke of mastery that now requires 25 employees and an ongoing discussion about expanding their current 15,000 feet of office warehouse space. In the last few years, two companies under the Trend Nation umbrella have grown into multi-million-dollar outfits that will qualify in the top 1,000 of this year���s Inc. 500/5000 awards. It comes down to items as simple as men���s wallets. ���If you walk into Macy���s, you might have an opportunity to look at 25 men���s wallets,��� Howard explained. ���On any given day, you can see 1,500 wallets on our website. So the variety is deeper, and now the pricing level is aggressive, because we operate from a warehouse and not from a retail storefront.��� In the end, he said, his business is a data company, and an Internet distribution company that mines intelligence from every possible source to determine what niche items are hot. Among those items: keyboards and dog leashes, blinged out with crystallized stones. Home Shopping Network came calling a few years ago, requesting a line of blinged-out pens. ���We sold 8,000 pens in four minutes,��� recalled Howard. ���G.R.D. Adam Thurgood, CFA Age: 35 Managing Director, Partner HighTower Advisors D edication ��� to self improvement and self actualization, as well as to those with whom he regularly comes into contact ��� has been the hallmark of Adam Thurgood���s career. ���When I graduated college I went immediately and began studying for the CFA program,��� he recalls, ���which meant that on top of the 60 hours or more per week that I was working I was spending another 10 or 15 getting ready for that exam, which took three 20130304_VI01_I.indd 21 years. I sacrificed a lot of social life for my career.��� The sacrifices didn���t stop there, but they have always been made with a goal in mind. ���For me it���s always been about maximizing my worth, my potential,��� Thurgood explains. ���I���ve been pretty dedicated to making sure that what I���m doing is taking me down the path to being the best that I can be.��� The result? ���It has developed me into a workaholic, I guess you could say. I work hard. I do take time off and enjoy the work that I produce, but in the average work week is well north of 60 hours.��� Nor does Thurgood���s plan have an exit strategy. ���I think it���s a lifelong journey. You never stop learning, you never stop growing. But what I���ve enjoyed being able to do now is turning some of this success into helping others.��� He points, for example, to adjunct professor job. ���There is not a lot of financial benefit there,��� he notes. ���There is not a lot of knowledge gained, since I���ve already mastered the subject that I���m teaching. But I really enjoy being there and inspiring the kids that I can make a connection with. It���s been tremendous to watch some of these people develop over the last several years.��� ���H.R. congratulations to susan pitz, esq. on being honored as a 2013 40 under 40 recipient Celebrating 10 Years Serving Nevada���s Business Community 1070 W. HORIZON RIDGE, STE 210 ��� HENDERSON, NV 89012 ��� 702.307.4880 675 SIERRA ROSE DR, STE 101 ��� RENO, NV 89511 ��� 775.284.1020 @NutilePitzLaw WWW.NUTILEPITZ.COM 2/28/13 3:03:34 PM