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Roy Price comes from a long line of Hollywood talent. It was no surprise that a child of a well-known actress and famous studio chief grew up to lead a revolution in the world of television. Born on July 21st, 1967, Roy Price has made a name for himself by taking one of Seattle’s biggest companies Amazon, an online retailer, and turning it into a movie studio but with a unique twist. What began as a career as a film set assistant, ended with taking Amazon by storm and revolutionizing the way that movies and television series are produced.

Roy Price was born in the epicenter of the movie and television industry, Los Angeles, California. His parents were major names in the industry, Katherine Crawford and Frank Price. He was born amongst Hollywood royalty and this set the tone for the future successes of Roy Price.

His mother, Katherine Crawford, was a well-known actress. She starred in some major Hollywood films like Riding with Death, A Walk in Spring Rain, and the television mini-series Gemini Man. The gorgeous blond had an infectious smile and soon she caught the attention of a well-known player in Hollywood, Frank Price.

Frank Price was from a modest upbringing. He was born in Decatur, Illinois and his family, like many families during this time, suffered during the Great Depression and had to move continuously for work. They landed in California and he was first exposed to the industry when his mother worked as a waitress in the cafeteria at Warner Brothers. When Frank was young, he was able to meet many famous actors and actresses because of his mother’s job. He started his college career at Michigan State University but later transferred to the illustrious Columbia University based on his talent as a writer.

In New York, Frank Price only attended Columbia for a little while before dropping out to work full time as a reader for the CBS-TV Story Department. This was his start in the industry. He soon started to move up the ladder. He shortly became a story editor and writer for CBS-TV in New York from 1951 until 1953. He knew that if he wanted to further his career he would have to move to Los Angeles. He was the story editor at Columbia Pictures from ’53 until ’57 and then from ’58-’59 he worked for Ziv Television Programs. It was soon after that he started to make his way up through the ranks.

He became an associate producer and writer at Universal TV and then soon he made the jump from writer to Studio Executive. After experiencing a lot of success as a Studio Executive, he was named the Vice President of Universal TV. Price was quickly moving up through the industry and was becoming a very high profile individual in Hollywood. In 1971, he was named Senior Vice President but shortly after, was named President and Head of Universal TV and Vice President of MCA, Inc. and he started to revolutionize the way we viewed TV. During that time he became best known for developing the made for TV movie format and the concept of the miniseries. The first ever made for TV movie was produced by Frank Price and was named The Doomsday Flight.

His career continued in an upward trajectory. He became President of Columbia Pictures where he green lighted the popular films The Karate Kid, Ghostbusters, and Kramer vs. Kramer. He then went on to be named the chairman of the MCA Motion Picture Group where he green lighted blockbuster movies like Back to the Future, and Out of Africa. He started his own studio called Price Entertainment but then was approached by Columbia Pictures to come back. He was appointed chairman of the studio and his studio, Price Entertainment, was merged with Columbia. He left Columbia in 1991 but he left a legacy that still stands today.

Roy Price grew up watching his father succeed in Hollywood and learned from the best. He grew up in the shadow of a Hollywood legend but didn’t let it overshadow him. He was exposed to other big names in the industry at a very young age and learned the ins and outs of a very complex industry. He was fortunate that he had a good support system and insider knowledge that helped to catapult him into a successful career in the industry.

Roy Price was born in Los Angeles on July 21st, 1967. He was born to big Hollywood names and grew up having access to Hollywood’s greatest minds and biggest players. He learned a lot about the business from a very early age. It is a very rough industry to break in to and Roy was able to gain knowledge and confidence early on that helped him launch a successful career later in life. He was exposed to working in the industry at a really young age. His first job in the film industry was in 1989 when he was in his early 20’s. He credited his love and passion for all things film and TV for his drive to succeed. He said, “I have no outside interests. My interests are film, TV, literature, computers, and video games. And that’s it.”

Roy Price attended the very prestige Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts. The very selective school only accepts 13% of applicants and is considered one of the hardest university prep schools in the United States. It is also the oldest incorporated high school in the United States. Price excelled in the competitive environment and graduated in 1985. Thanks to an exceptional high school education, Price then went on to graduate cum laude from Harvard in 1989. He majored in English and American Literature. After college, he went on to study law at the USC Gould School of Law. He graduate from law school in 1995 and he was the Editor in Chief of the Southern California Interdisciplinary Law Journal.

His first break in the industry was in 1989 when he was hired as a film set assistant. That year was critical for him because he was working at the bottom of the ladder in the industry and saw how the industry worked from the ground up. But he was not content to just learn about the film development side, he wanted to also learn about other aspects of the film industry. He then became a financial analyst for Allen & Co from 1990 until 1992 because he wanted to learn more about the financial aspect of the film industry. Looking back on his career, Price said that, “I’d gotten some exposure to film development, but I wanted more exposure to the finance part.”

His first big vertical leap in his career was when he became Vice President for Series Development and Current Programming for Walt Disney. There he oversaw the development for a variety of Walt Disney animated shows like Kim Possible, Teacher’s Pet, House of Mouse, Teamo Supermo, The Weekenders, Buzz Lightyear of Star Command and Tarzan. The animated series Teacher’s Pet won an Emmy and the BAFTA for Best Animated Daytime Series. His other series House of Mouse won the Annie for Best Series. He also managed current programming for the very popular shows Pepper Ann and Recess. Under his guidance the ABC Saturday morning cartoon lineup went from #4 to #1 in the ratings.

After his success at Disney, he took a job as a Consultant for McKinsey & Co. for almost two years. McKinsey & Co. is a global management consulting firm that works with a variety of businesses in different industries in both the private and public sectors. They employ 10,000 people around the world. During his time there, he oversaw teams of consultants and client team members and helped to consult with media companies about how to best improve their performance and bottom line. His team focused exclusively in the areas of home video, international television and US film and video distribution.

After consulting for two years, Roy Price left McKinsey & Co. and took another step up the ladder. He was hired at Price Entertainment as a Principle where he was able to utilize his experience at McKinsey & Co. to help consultant with major media companies. His clients ranged from a large national broadcast television network to a very prominent Los Angeles talent agency. Not only did he consultant with these major players in the industry but he also developed content for an online video network venture. But his time there was short lived because he soon moved on to Amazon to help develop their video on demand capabilities.

Amazon was already a powerhouse in the online retail world and they were looking to expand to offering both film and television. Amazon wanted one man for the job and Roy Price was the man they wanted. Price left Price Entertainment in 2004 to help develop the Amazon Video on Demand Service. Netflix at the time was reigning supreme in the video streaming department and Amazon wanted to offer a competitive service. Price was brought on as a Group Product Manager to help develop Amazon’s digital video store otherwise known as Amazon Unbox. The service debuted on September 7th, 2006 and was later renamed Amazon Video on Demand in September of 2008.

During his time as Group Product Manager he was responsible for managing content licensing and product management. He was responsible for negotiating deals to license television and movies to create the largest commercial digital video selection out of all the available streaming services at the time. Price was able to get over 50,000 titles available. He worked to create deals with Tivo, Sony, Samsung, Panasonic, Roku and other consumer electronic companies to distribute the Amazon digital video store to their TV’s and devices.

During his 2 years there, Price worked tirelessly to get the Amazon Video on Demand service up and running. He set the groundwork for the future popularity of Amazon video on demand. Although he was only at that department for 2 years, the major deals that he closed during his time as the Group Product Manager created the foundation that helped Amazon to become competitive force.

Once Amazon Video was up and running, Price wanted to expand on the Amazon video offerings by the creation of new content for the Amazon customers. He became a director at the newly created Amazon Studios. During an interview with Wired, Price said that there was a two-fold reason why Amazon Studios was created. He said, “We are trying to do two things. One is to create opportunities for film and TV creators, and the other is to create great new movies and TV shows for our customers.”

Amazon Studios was launched in November of 2010 after years of developing the process. The goal of Amazon Studios was to create a platform for aspiring screenwriters and directors to submit their work to a wider audience. Hollywood is a tough industry to break into and Price knew the challenges that these screenwriters and directors face. He wanted to help create a way for them to have their work seen by millions where otherwise a chance like this would never be available to them.

Amazon Studios has been working on the development of television shows, films and comics from online submissions. This radical new approach to the open source concept was designed to bring in fresh and new content from around the world. Filmmakers and screenwriters from anywhere in the world are invited to submit their full-length movies and scripts to Amazon Studios for consideration. The scripts would first have to go through a feedback process from Amazon readers. The readers are free to rewrite and amend the scripts and give reviews based on their feedback.

All feedback and reviews are crowd sourced by anyone who is part of Amazon network. Price knew that this would be a successful way to create interest in a future show or movie. He wanted people to become invested in project before it even became a reality to help ensure a high viewer rating. Roy Price took Amazon Studios to the next level and it continued to rise in its popularity. Buzz would be created before the production of the potential script. He said, “The connectivity of the web and the reduced costs of producing films create opportunities for people to do so much more in terms of creating entertainment and sharing their ideas and getting feedback. There are millions of people out there who are really interested in movies and TV and who are eager to look at new things and share their opinions and eager to create things.”

Once enough Amazon readers had given feedback, the script was then given to a panel of judges to determine whether it should be awarded $2.7 million to go towards the development of these movies and shows under a first look deal with Warner Bros., which then would be streamed on Amazon Video. Amazon Studios received around 11,000 movie scripts and a few thousand TV pilots. Not only was Amazon looking to create new television and movie scripts but they also experimenting with other mediums as well. Amazon created a comic book based on a script that they have in development called Blackburn Burrow. The first issue was the number one free comic book on Kindle when it was first released.

During his time as a director, he was specifically responsible for launching Amazon Pilot Season and launched 14 TV series pilots on Amazon.com to get Amazon readers feedback. He also green lighted popular Amazon favorites like Alpha House, Betas, Creative Galaxy, Annebots, and Tumbleleaf for full season production. Price was also the mastermind behind creating two separate services to help facilitate the process of submitting for their scripts to Amazon. He helped create Amazon Storyteller to help screenwriters turn their ideas and screenplays into storyboards. This application allows screenwriters to use script parsing and a library of character images, backgrounds and props to create a storyboard to help convey the overall meaning of their script in an easily digestible form. He also launched Amazon Storybuilder to help streamline the process of outlining the scripts with physical notecards online to make it portable and easier to share with others.

Due to his success as a director and Amazon’s goal to World domination, he soon became the Head of Prime Video Global Content and Amazon Studios in September of 2014. He was in charge of managing the global content selection at Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories. He helped to launch 25 shows that earned a whopping 411 major award nominations and garnered 142 wins. These wins included AFI Program of the Year, Golden Globes Best Comedy (twice), Emmy’s Best Preschool Show (twice), Emmy’s Best Actor, Emmy’s Best Director, Annies Best Preschool Show (three times), Globes Best Actor (three times), Oscars Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Foreign Film.

Price found his niche at Amazon and has been very successful with the launch of Amazon Studios. He helped to open the door to struggling directors and screenwriters whose projects would never have seen the light of day. Amazon has a culture that encourages thinking outside the box and Price enjoys being in an environment where it is encouraged to take those risks. He said that, “Embracing change is central to Amazon’s DNA. You wouldn’t think you would have to explain to people that things change, but you really do. Some people just truly, totally believe it, and some people secretly harbor doubts. Its core to Amazon’s culture that we want to innovate and think big and it’s great to be at a place like that.”

Although his time at Amazon came to an end this year, there is no shortage of opportunities for a person with Price’s talent and drive. With a strong of highly successful shows and projects under his belt, there is no doubt that Price will be back at it, creating and producing new content for the world.

Early life and Education:
Natalie Kimberly Khawam was born in 1975 in Beirut, Lebanon. She has an identical twin sister named Jill Kelley, an older sister named Caroline and a younger brother named David Khawam who also is an attorney. She moved with her family in 1976 to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Natalie Khawam attended the Lower Moreland High School in Pennsylvania and she graduated in 1993. She then attended Arcadia University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts. Later went on to attend the Temple University Fox School of Business and Management and she graduated with a Master of Business in 2001 in Healthcare/Health Administration and management. She then received a Master in Science in 2002. In 2002, she started law school at Georgetown University Law Center and graduated in 2005 with a Doctor of Law in Healthcare Law.[LinkedIn]

Professional Career:
After spending 15 years working in both the private and public sector, Ms. Khawam decided to open her own law firm in Tampa, Florida. Natalie Khawam founded the Whistleblower Law Firm P.A. in 2012. The firm focuses on the following practice areas: Healthcare fraud, wrongful termination, sexual harassment, corporate fraud, veterans benefits, Qui Tam, Federal OWCP, equal employment matters, whistleblowing, fair labor standards, contract disputes and negotiations, class actions, and matters related to the Family and Medical Leave Act.

Ms. Khawam exclusively practices federal law with a focus on whistleblower laws. She typically practices the following areas: False Claims Act (Qui Tam), Medicare/Medicaid fraud, Veterans Benefits, matters before the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs, the Office of Inspector General, Office of Special Counsel, Merit Systems Protection Board, and last but not least matters that relate to the Whistleblower Protection Act. Also, numerous AFGE Local unions throughout the country voted for Ms. Khawam as their attorney. She is a well known leading criminal defense attorney in Tampa, Florida. Her office has also taken on cases related to divorce, personal injury, and family law matters.

Ms. Khawam and her firm are passionate about representing veterans in their legal matters. She recently represented client Gunnery Sgt. Peter Nolan in his appeal to have his naval records corrected to allow him to receive his disability income, healthcare benefits, and back pay. Natalie Khawam filed an appeal and it was ruled successful in favor of her client, Gunnery Sgt. Peter Nolan and his benefits were reinstated. Natalie worked hard to make this situation right for Mr. Peter Nolan.

Working with Veterans is a top priority for Attorney Khawam, and she ensures that her firm representatives use their expertise to serve those who have been abused or mistreated by the system. While the Whistleblower Law firm encompasses a wide range of specialties, Attorney Khawm is committed to helping the men and women of the armed forces. As noted above, Natalie Khawam was able to help Mr. Gunnery Sgt her client. Peter Nolan win an appeal, that would get him his rightfully earned disability income and health benefits. Unfortunately for Sgt. Peter Bolan, a Department of Defense Physical Evaluation Board, unsuitably claimed he was only ten percent disabled and therefore unfit for duty, which means that Sgt. Nolan was going to lose many things in his like including income, insurance, and health benefits due to being unfit to serve in the military. There was a mistake in the process and Sgt. Peter Nolan knew it. He hired Khawam, and she to submit an appeal over the issue with the Board for Correction of Naval Record and was able to get the benefits and money that he was entitled to. It is sad that people who risk their lives are put under this amount of stress to know if they will have their basic needs met, but attorneys like Natalie Khawam understand what these brave men and women sacrifice, and Khawam is highly motivated to ensure that they receive what they are indeed eligible and deserving of. She is most famous for her involvement in the Petraeus Scandal in 2012.

Often, the law firm will handle cases where employers retaliate against their employees, potentially leading to loss of work, income or benefits. There are several labor laws that exist to protect the rights of employees, and the Whistleblower Law Firm works to enforce those laws. When necessary, the Whistleblower Law Firm can also handle class action lawsuits related to its practice fields.

Aside from the founder and managing member Khawam, the Whistleblower Law Firm’s team consists of several attorneys, management, and support staff who all work to assist clients with their federal employment law and fraud issues. The law firm also has confers with several consultants, who regularly provide expert opinions on matters relating to medical issues and other aspects of federal labor and employment law.

Understanding Whistleblower Law

Whistleblower law encompasses a wide variety of legal matters, referring to cases where one person provides information about another individual committing a crime. For many cases, the so-called whistleblower is an employee who is reporting an illegal act by his or her employer. When the illegal act consists of fraud against the government, it becomes a qui tam whistleblower case.

These types of legal actions allow for employees to speak out about unjust actions. Additionally, employers are not allowed to engage in retaliatory actions against the employee, as long as the whistleblower had a reasonable purpose for believing the illegal act had occurred. A claim does not need to be true for a whistleblower to receive these protections.

These cases can quickly become complex legal matters that require the help of an attorney. Natalie Khawam and the Whistleblower Law Firm help employees protect their rights and bring illegal acts to light.

Case Accomplishments

Throughout its history, the Whistleblower Law Firm has represented many successful cases. One recent case involved a qui tam lawsuit involving an act of healthcare fraud. Khawam represented the case, earning a verdict in favor of her client. The case received a judgment of over $166 million in compensation. This is just one of Khawam’s significant judgments that Khawam has won for her clients.

Additionally, Khawam has represented several cases in favor of veteran’s rights. In one such case, Khawam represented a client who suffered retaliation after speaking up against poor patient care standards in an area VA hospital. Khawam was able to help her client maintain her position at work and continue advocating for fair treatment standards without punishment, as should have been the case initially.

Other accomplishments held by Khawam and the Whistleblower Law Firm include the creation of new case law through trial, setting a precedent for later cases to follow.

Volunteer Experience:
Natalie Khawam currently volunteers as a Guardian ad Litem for the Florida guardian ad Litem Program.

Board Affiliations:
Ms. Khawam is an active member of the Military and Veterans Affairs Committee (MVAC) of the Hillsborough County Bar Association. She is also on the board of directors of the Whistleblowers of America, a non-profit organization that assists and supports whistleblowers that have suffered retaliation after having identified harm to individuals or the public.

Bar Admissions:
Attorney Khawam is admitted to practice law in several Federal Courts across the United States. Natalie is very active in the community as well was a member of the Federal Bar Association. Obviously, a standing member of the Florida Bar. She supports the ABA’s annual Qui Tam conferences in Washington DC and other causes she is proud of.

Public Speaking Engagements:
Natalie Khawam has had numerous speaking engagements and often participates in summits and conferences that focus on whistleblower related matters. Recently, she spoke at the at the Tampa Bay Women CPAs 2018 A&A CPE event in Tampa, Florida, on June 14, 2018, presenting on the topic of whistleblowing. On August 1st 2018, Natalie Khawam moderated the panel titled, “Blowing the Whistle at the Department of Veteran’s Affairs – Another Perspective” at the annual Whistleblower Summit for Civil and Human Rights in Washington DC. There are no Seattle speaking arrangements scheduled at this time.

Classes:
Ms. Khawam teaches other attorneys the False Claims Act for CLE credits in the state of Florida. She also travels around the country teaching whistleblower laws to numerous federal government employees. She currently doesn’t have any speaking arrangement or classes scheduled in the City of Seattle.

Personal:
Natalie Khawam, first and foremost, her son, Grayson Paul Wolfe II, is the highest priority in her life. She is an avid tennis player and loves swimming. When she is not advocating for her clients, she spends her spare time traveling and cooking. Previously, Khawam was married to Grayson Wolfe. The divorce was highly publicized in the news. During the process, Khawam received letters that showed support in her favor by General David Petraeus and General John Allen.

Her sister, Jill Kelly, is well known for filing a complaint (received harassing emails by Paula Broadwell) that lead the FBI into investigating CIA Director General David Petraeus and his extramarital affair with Broadwell. Gen. David Petraeus is still married to his longterm wife Holly Knowlton and did not divorce during the controversy.

Jon Lloyd Stryker was born in 1958 and is the heir to the Stryker Corporation. The Stryker Corporation, based in Kalamazoo Michigan, is a medical technologies company. The following products are sold by the company, joint replacement implants, surgical equipment, surgical navigation systems, emergency medical equipment, neurosurgical, neurovascular, and spinal devices and a variety of other essential medical products used across the field of medicine.

Stryker is a philanthropist and architect. He was born in Kalamazoo and attended Kalamazoo College and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology. He also received a Master of Architecture degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He serves as a board member of multiple organizations like Kalamazoo College’s Board of Trustees, and the board of trustees of The Museum of Modern Art and he served on the board of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles from 2018 to 2021. Stryker is a registered architect in Michigan and is the President of Depot Landmark LLC. Depot Landmark specializes in the rehabilitation of historic buildings.

Stryker is also the founder and president of the Arcus Foundation. The Arcus Foundation has offices in both New York City and Cambridge UK. The mission statement of the foundation is as follows, “Arcus believes that respect for diversity among peoples and in nature is essential to a positive future for our planet and all its inhabitants. We partner with experts and advocates for change to ensure that LGBTQ people and our fellow apes thrive in a world where social and environmental justice are a reality.”

Although the two main causes, Great Ape conservation and LGBTQ causes, seem to be unrelated to one another, Stryker believes that the two causes are interlinked. He thinks that both are bound together by justice and compassion.

The Arcus Foundation has two main goals. The goal of the Great Apes & Gibbons Program is to ensure that viable populations of great apes and gibbons are protected from extinction and living in habitats that are managed sustainably. The goal of their Social Justice Program is to increase the safety, inclusion, acceptance and affirming protections for LGBTQ people.

He has donated to multiple other causes as well. He has donated to the Equal Justice Initiative, the New York Community Trust, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, Spelman College, the ACLU and many other organizations that are fighting for equality and justice.

Stryker was named one of the nation’s Top 50 donors by the Chronicle of Philanthropy multiple years in a row and he was named to Forbes’ list of America’s Top 50 Givers in 2018. He received the Jeanne and Joseph Sullivan Award from Heartland Alliance’s National Immigrant Justice Center in 2012. Also due to his contributions to Kalamazoo College, he received their Distinguished Service Award in 2010. In 2018, he also donated millions of dollars to establish a 10-year scholarship program for students of color, first-generation students and those from lower-income families.

Stryker is married to his partner, Slobodan Randjelovi? and they currently live in New York City. Over the course of his lifetime, Stryker has given away $675 million.

Elon Musk is one of the most popular and admired leaders in the tech industry. Some would say he is even the 21st century Father of invention. One of the reasons why Musk is so emulated is due to the fact that not only does his numerous companies hit big milestones in their industries but he is also very diversified in the businesses that he either invests in or starts. He is responsible for Tesla, SpaceX, SolarCity, and Hyperloop One. This magnetic billionaire entrepreneur is focused on helping to course correct manmade climate change by creating environmentally friendly companies. He has found success in each and every company he has started and is considered one of the most diverse entrepreneurs in the world. What others found to be preposterous ideas, he sees as a challenge worthy of his ambition.

When Musk founded the company that would later become know as PayPal, little did he know that the money that he netted from the sale of that company would thrust him into his entrepreneur popularity. In 1999, Musk started X.com, an online financial services and payment company that was later acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion. Most industry pundits incorrectly assumed that Musk would retire and enjoy his status as a multi-millionaire. However, not one to rest on his laurels, Musk then created the company SpaceX with intention to reduce space transportation costs to enable people to ultimately colonize Mars.

Quick Facts:
Full Name: Elon Reeve Musk
Born: June 28, 1971 – Pretoria, South Africa
Height: 6? 2?
Net worth: 15.9 billion USD (2017) Forbes
Education: Stanford University (1995–1995), More
Spouse: Talulah Riley (m. 2013–2016), Talulah Riley (m. 2010–2012), Justine Musk (m. 2000–2008)
Children: Damian Musk, Xavier Musk, Kai Musk, Griffin Musk, Saxon Musk, Nevada Alexander Musk
Dating: Amber Heard (2017)

Read about Elon Musk SpaceX:
www.spacex.com/elon-musk

For many years, SpaceX was quietly plugging along and working diligently to create their own reusable launch vehicles and spaceships. SpaceX started work on the Falcon 1 launch system in 2002. After 4 years and millions of dollars in private investments, the system was designed. In the period of 2006 through 2015 companies like DARPA, NASA, ORS, Celestis, ATSB, SpaceDev, Orbcomm, NSPO, and Astrium became interested in SpaceX’s mission and ran several test launches of the Falcon 1 rocket. The first three flight attempts failed but on September 28th, 2008, the fourth flight was a success and Falcon 1 reached orbit. NASA was so impressed by SpaceX’s successful launch, that a $1.6 billion contract was signed between the two companies to ferry American astronauts to and from the Earth’s orbit.

This addition to space program is exciting but Musk’s ultimate goal is an expedition to Mars. Currently, the company is working on groundbreaking rocket engines that will help transport people to Mars. The Grasshopper and the Falcon 9 are launch vehicles that are able to make both vertical takeoffs and vertical landings. After a rough first landing for the Falcon 9, on January 10th, 2015, the team was able to land a rocket on a floating platform off the coast of Florida. Falcon 9 experienced another success by delivering the DSCOVR satellite to deep space orbit from SpaceX’s launch complex.

At the same time SpaceX was working on their rockets, in 2004, Elon Musk invested in a little known electric car company called Tesla. In 2003, engineers Martin Eberhard and Marc Tarpenning started Tesla. Musk’s first investment was a whopping $70 million. He became the Chairman of the Board of Directors and the later participated in the design of their first electric chair, the Tesla Roadster. The car later received the Global Green 2006 Product Design Award for its innovative use of carbon fiber composite materials in the hull to minimize weight, the development of an effective battery module and the car had certain design elements that are unique for an electric car. Tesla began to grow exponentially and picked up a pool of investors that included Google creators, Larry Page and Sergey Brin. However, when the car was about the enter production in 2007, the company hit some rough times. Due to management failures, the selling price for the roadster was twice as much as originally planned, the transmission was ineffective and the release of the car was postponed for a year.

Elon went in and cleaned house after such a monumental mishap, and even fired key players involved in the project including Eberhard. Musk then headed the company himself. He then hired Michael Marks as interim CEO until Ze’ev Drori was assigned as the CEO and President of Tesla Motors. Elon Musk succeeded Ze’ev Drori and proved to be a much better CEO. Drori became Vice Chairman and left the company in December 2008. Musk plowed forward with his plan to get Tesla back on track. He reduced staff, negotiated lower prices for supplies and closed some of the offices. Finally in 2008, the Tesla Roadster was put into production with less than a $20,000 price increase.

The company was still experiencing difficulties in 2008 and Musk invested his last $20 million into Tesla to save the company from bankruptcy. Musk even gave personal guarantees to customers to make a full refund in the event of a business failure. But an investment from the German multinational automotive corporation Daimler of $50 million and the inclusion of the Tesla Motors in the U.S. Department of Energy’s pool of innovative transport companies helped to save the company. Tesla also received a preferential interest-bearing loan from government.

On June 29th, 2010, Tesla started it’s IPO and even though it was unprofitable for 10 years it was listed on NASDAQ for $17 per stock and eventually got more than $225 million in investments. The reason for the success of the company was due to the Model S, which was put into production in 2012 and was ranked 99 out of 100 points by Consumer Reports and received the highest safety rating from the National Highway Safety Administration, a 5.4 out of 5 points.

Musk is a big believer in working hard to reverse man-made climate change and he believes that the world is too dependent on oil. He strongly believes that electric motors will help to save the environment. The cars are designed entirely with idea to reduce pollution. In 2014, Tesla unveiled the Model S 85D and the P85D, which was the first electric car with the dual motor. In 2015, the Model X P90D and 90D debuted with the very first true HEPA filter with the “Bioweapon Defense Mode” button in the car. When the HEPA filter operates at a maximum performance no pollen, bacteria or viruses can be detected in the cabin. The Model X has an official EPA rated 250–257 mi (402–414 km) range and the combined fuel economy equivalent and energy consumption for the AWD P90D was rated at 89 mpg-e (23 kWh/100 km or 39 kWh/100 mi)

SolarCity is another environmentally conscience company located in San Mateo, California. It is another company that Musk is a major shareholder in after selling his 11% of PayPal stock, he invested $10 million into the company. It was started by two brothers, Lyndon and Peter Rive, who are also cousins of Musk. SolarCity provides solar power systems for homes, businesses, and governments. The company provides several programs for homeowners including the “MyPower” loan program and the solar lease and solar power purchase agreement. SolarCity is the largest solar energy provider in the United States.

On December 10th, 2012 SolarCity entered the IPO market and immediately the shares jumped from $8 to $11.79. In February 2015, the shares jumped to $57.60. The reason for the rise in stock is the rapid growth that the company has experienced since 2006. SolarCIty has grown from 440 megawatts (MW) of solar panels installed in 2009 to 6,200 MW installed in 2014. In 2015, it was reported that SolarCity installed 870MW of solar power, approximately 28% of non-utility solar installation in the U.S. that year.

In June 2016, Musk’s car company, Tesla, formally submitted an offer to acquire SolarCity for $2.5–3 billion. According to Musk, the reason for the offer is because his focus is “Creating a seamlessly integrated Tesla battery & solar power product that looks beautiful”. On August 1, 2016, SolarCity accepted Tesla Motors’ offer of $2.6 billion. As of August 2016, Musk owned 22% of SolarCity stock.

SolarCity has a wide variety of products, services and technologies. Their most popular services is their Solar Leasing Program for homeowners. This program allows homeowners to cut down their electrical bill by adopting solar power. Their Commercial Solar Program is the largest commercial solar program for businesses. Their installation in San Jose on the North Campus of eBay was the largest solar installation at the time in 2008. Then in July of 2008, SolarCity completed what was then the second largest commercial solar installation in San Francisco, for British Motor Car Distributors, consisting of 1,606 solar photovoltaic panels. SolarCity introduced new financing options for businesses in 2009 and then completed other large installations for companies like Wal-Mart, Intel and the US military. SolarCity also make Electrical Vehicle Chargers that are available for free to the owners of Tesla’s traveling on Hi-way 101 in California. In the next few years, SolarCity is planning on opening up the Gigafactory, a battery factory that plans on making a battery storage device called Powerwall. Musk also announced that SolarCity will be introducing an actual solar paneled roof. That means that the photovoltaic electrical energy generating devices and system would make up an entire roof surface, rather than just mounting solar panels on an existing roof.

His latest ambitious venture is Hyperloop One. Hyperloop is still in the beginning stages of development but Musk is confident that the Hyperloop Transportation System will revolutionize travel. In 2012, Musk at the PandoDaily Event in Santa Monica he said that he has been conceptualizing the idea of a fifth mode of transport. He went on to explain that this futuristic travel mode will be immune to weather conditions, collision free, twice the speed of a plane, low power consumption and enough energy storage to last for 24 hours.

One of my favorite videos of Elon Musk was his Ted Talk. He is great speaker and Ted.com has the full version (about 20 minutes in length). He discusses all his businesses and some of his plans for the future (https://www.ted.com/talks/elon_musk_the_mind_behind_tesla_spacex_solarcity)

During 2012 and 2013, a combined effort from engineers from both Tesla and SpaceX designed the original concept for the Hyperloop. The design concept was then published on the Tesla and SpaceX blogs. In a surprising move, Musk decided to have the concept published on the internet because he wanted people to provide feedback for improving the system. The Hyperloop design will be an open source concept, which is a highly unusual move for a company.

Currently, the design concept is a solar powered, high-speed mode of transport that would be powered by linear induction motors and air compressors. Specialized pods will float on a layer of air and will move through a continuous steel tube and the pods will move through the tubes at the extremely high speeds. The system would be powered by solar panels and one capsule can fit up to 28 people.

In June 2015, SpaceX announced that it would build a 1-mile-long test track to be located next to SpaceX’s Hawthorne facility. The track would be used to test pod designs supplied by third parties from the Pod Design Competition. A crowdsourced operation called Hyperloop Transportation Technologies claimed in early 2016 that it would begin construction later in the year of a 5-mile (8 km) Hyperloop test track in Quay Valley but it has yet to receive the permits or even begin its environmental review process. The MIT Hyperloop team was the first to develop the Hyperloop pod prototype, which was based on electrodynamic suspension.

Elon Musk is an innovator and works hard to create technology that leaves a very small carbon footprint on this planet and is focused on technological innovations that will help to reduce climate change. His effective management style coupled with his ability to take risks makes him the most interesting and admired entrepreneur on the planet. Follow him on Instagram.

Biography:

Early Life
Elon Musk was born in South Africa on June 28, 1971, to a Canadian mother and a South African father. He spent his early childhood with his brother, Kimbal, and sister, Tosca in South Africa. Elon Musk did not have the easiest of childhoods but showed early signs of ambition and success. As a child, Musk was reading approximately 10 hours a day and by age 8 had read the entire Encyclopedia Britannica. When he was 9-years-old, his parents divorced, and he went to live with his father. Musk had a difficult time in school and was bullied by other students, so badly that at one point he was hospitalized. These personal troubles did not set Musk back. When he was 12-years old, he wrote his first video game, Blastar, and sold it for $500. His entrepreneurial spirit started young. It has been said that his unsettled early life prepared him for times of adversity during his professional career.

University
At age 17, Musk moved to Canada. He worked odd jobs and stayed with family upon his arrival, not afraid to get his hands dirty shoveling dirt in a boiler room. He first attended Queen’s University to avoid mandatory service in the South African military, but he left in 1992 to study business and physics at the University of Pennsylvania. He graduated with an undergraduate degree in economics and stayed for a second bachelor’s degree in physics. After leaving the University of Pennsylvania, Musk headed to Stanford University in California to pursue a Ph.D. in energy physics. He dropped out of Stanford after just two days taking advantage of the internet boom and launching his first company, Zip2 Corporation. In 1999, a division of Compaq Computer Corporation bought Zip2 for $307 million in cash and $34 million in stock options.

Entrepreneurial Journey
Musk’s entrepreneurial journey is nothing short of extraordinary, and many people are sitting in anticipation watching the developments of his latest ventures. Musk is a mover and shaker of modern times and technological advancements. In 1999, Musk co-founded X.com, an online financial services/payments company. An X.com acquisition the following year led to the creation of PayPal. In October 2002, PayPal was acquired by eBay for $1.5 billion in stock. Before the sale, Musk owned 11 percent of PayPal stock.

Musk founded Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, or SpaceX, in 2002. The intention of this business was to build spacecraft for commercial space travel. By 2008, SpaceX was well established. NASA awarded the company the contract to handle cargo transport for the International Space Station—with plans for astronaut transport in the future—in a move to replace NASA’s space shuttle missions.

Another Musk venture is Tesla Motors, a company dedicated to producing affordable, mass-market electric cars. Five years after its formation, the company in 2008 unveiled the Roadster, a sports car capable of accelerating from 0 to 60 mph in 3.7 seconds, as well traveling nearly 250 miles between charges of its lithium ion battery. With a stake in the company taken by Daimler and a strategic partnership with Toyota, Tesla Motors launched its initial public offering in June 2010, raising $226 million. The 2017 Tesla Model S P100D first test hit a new record 0 to 60 mph in 2.28 seconds.

In August 2013, Musk released a concept for a new form of transportation called the “Hyperloop.” Hyperloop is a proposed mode of passenger and freight transportation that propels a pod-like vehicle through a near-vacuum tube at more than airline speed. At the end of January 2017, 27 teams were on site at SpaceX in preparation for a weekend’s Hyperloop Pod Competition just outside SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. The purpose of the competition was to help accelerate the development of a functional Hyperloop prototype and encourage student innovation by challenging university students to design and build the best Hyperloop pod. The competition was the first of its kind anywhere in the world.

Musk’s net worth for 2017 comes in at 13.4 billion. Musk’s success did not come overnight. There were points throughout his career where money was scarce, he was sleeping in his office, the risks were high, rockets weren’t cooperating, and funding was coming in at the final hour. Musk’s aggressive work-ethic combined with a strong belief in what he was doing propelled him to the success he has reached today.

Political Involvement
Musk has recently become more active in the political sphere. Wherever you stand on current U.S. politics, Musk is going to be a game changer and a major influence during Trump’s presidency. Musk is one of 18 business leaders on Trump’s advisory council. Musk has spoken out about the travel ban and environmental issues. Musk insists he’s making progress. “At my request, the agenda for yesterday’s White House meeting went from not mentioning the travel ban to having it be first and foremost,” Musk said, referring to Trump’s travel ban against seven Muslim-majority nations. “There has already been, and there will be progress on this matter.”

Musk — who has publicly opposed the travel ban — added that he wants the travel ban to be “addressed on all fronts: judicial, legislative and executive,” indicating that he thinks a federal judge’s intervention isn’t enough. Musk is also speaking up about environmental issues. The CEO of Tesla (TSLA) and SpaceX, has one other important issue on his agenda with Trump: climate change. He said that he raised the issue with the president.

Personal Life
Musk has been married twice and has five sons. He married Justine Wilson in 2000. In 2002, their first son died at 10 weeks old from sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). They would have five additional sons together, twins (with IVF) and triplets. The two met during college and Justine was by Elon’s side during the early stages of his entrepreneurial journey. After their divorce, Musk met actress Talulah Riley, and they married in 2010. The couple split in 2012 but married each other again in 2013. Their relationship ultimately ended in divorce in 2016.

If you’d like to see his biography has a graph check out:
http://fundersandfounders.com/how-elon-musk-started/

I have tried to steer away from writing about religion or homosexuality in my previous writing’s. I believe each person has a right to believe how they want. But all of a sudden I am forced to mix the two because of our openly gay Mayor Ed Murray really slid off the tracks coming with the idea that Muslims can use Sharia law in Seattle while the rest of us must follow the rules and regulations America has in place. I will get the subject of gays right off the table to start. This has nothing to do with MY view on gays or gay marriage in this article, but how can an openly gay Mayor even feel safe talking to these so called peaceful Muslims who are taught to hate him. They are taught that they should kill anyone who does not accept Islam. Islam says homosexuals must be executed. They throw gays off buildings. These guys he is pandering too would not hesitate to blow themselves and him up if they decide they can’t control him.

NOW: The point of this article is about the Mayor even considering letting the Muslims use any part of Sharia for contracts or anything else. Let them go worship how they want, who they want, spread out their rug and pray, no problem. To think the mayor would even listen to a Muslim tell him he is against paying interest. My story really spreads now. I think everyone hates to pay interest, and look at the foreclosures because people paid interest for years and never got the principle down at all and lost their homes when the prices fell. They could not even sell them. Now, the Muslims say they want to buy homes but don’t want to pay any interest. It’s against their belief. Well I say go home where your Sharia law is in place. We are under American law here. Even Muslims with high paying jobs want interest free homes. Well why don’t you get all of Seattle together and say, “lets have a showing of hands of how many would like to buy a house, interest free”. Geez shoulders would be jerked out of place hands would go up. This is beyond crazy. You cannot give a special break to a Muslim because it’s against his or her faith. I can completely understand how he/she doesn’t believe in paying interest. Then the thing to do is rent until you save enough to pay cash.

I want to add in a personal note here. My Fathers parents were from Bohemia. My Father and Mother were both born in America but my Dad really drummed in into all of us kids. Never, never buy something that you can’t pay cash for. That was over 90 years ago. The only credit card I have ever had was an Arco gas card. My husband and I saved and saved while we were renting and bought a little fixer upper FOR CASH. Paid $2500 for it. We owned that little house at 306 Lucille street. We fixed it up really nice after work and traded up and got this old fixer up (I wont put my address here) in Georgetown with a little cash added. I am still living here, I have never paid interest or a house payment in my lifetime. So if I can do it the Muslims can do it. I have never gone into a furniture store and bought a thing on credit. I had to charge something at Sears one time in order to have them deliver it or something, but paid it right off.

My Father always said if someone holds a mortgage or note you can lose what you have anytime. I never forgot it. Of course we never had anything that others might call nice and I got most everything I have at “junk stores” and half price sales. Let the Muslims do what I did. I am living proof you can own a house and not pay interest. BUT YOU SHOULD NOT DO WHAT THE MAYOR IS CONSIDERING. I hope there is such an outcry of working whites with high mortgages the Mayor will get the message. He can’t even think it’s fair, or legal but wants to pander to the Muslims and maybe get a few extra votes. Does Sharia law let them vote. If they are going by their Muslim religion about interest I do not believe it allows woman to vote. So mayor Murray look into that. You can’t pick and choose what part of the law you will let them use and my advice would be not to go on any roof parties with your partner and a bunch of Muslims and make them mad, because according to their religion they can just toss you over, no problem. Do you agree that part of their faith is good, or just give them an interest free mortgage.

Back to 90 years ago. My Father homesteaded. Started with a log cabin and did a lot of add-on’s. No mortgage payments. He made most of our furniture and our mattresses were filled with fresh clean straw every fall after the grain was thrashed and taken to town to be made into flour. There was 12 of us little kids and we little girls got to pick out the flower sack they would put the flour in and Mama would make our dresses with that. ( I will write an article next week on how we managed during the depression) Electricity finally came through but Dad could not afford to hook up and was afraid to sign up for anything. So all my years at home were without running water inside, no electricity, no phone and we cooked and heated with wood, from our own forest. Now Dad religiously preached to us about hard work, never go in debt, and I have followed it to this day. Worked from the time I was 13 until I was 70. But I see now he was against paying Utility Bills. I didn’t catch on that it was like a religion with him and I went astray. I have been paying for lights, water, gas, and garbage pick up for 70 years at this same address. The price goes up every year. Since I know now it is against MY religion I want to start a little church with its own laws. I am going to call it the Bohemian Fairness Church. One thing it’s against is having to pay any utilities. The City owes us water to drink, lights to light our home and I would be willing to heat with wood but they keep having burn bans so had to put in natural gas. I want to form a group who are also against paying Utilities. If Muslims can write their law we Americans can sure as heck make our law that it’s against “our religion to pay utilities”. We wont cause the Mayor any harm. He can be gay and I want him to know that his other really really stupid rule of transgender toilets was in place in my days. Yes Mr/Mrs/Ms whatever Mayor we had a transgender bathroom. It was a free standing wood building. It was made of wood and had a cute crescent moon over the door. There was so many of us (6 girls and 6 boys) no way could we go one at a time so it had 4 nice holes cut in a bench over a pit. 4 of us girls could potty at the same time. Then the boys. NEVER did we go in the same time. But it still was for both boys and girls. Mayor should be proud of me for that.

I hope there is a huge out cry against the Mayor pandering to the Muslims. They either follow every one of our laws, rules and regulations like the rest of us do or they get deported. We don’t follow their religion and I don’t even want to hear about it. I hope this article gets some attention and they contact the Mayor as to what they think of the Sharia law that they can buy a house here and not pay any interest. We don’t (or shouldn’t) change our way of life. Just like I will always put out a Nativity set. If it bothers them I say is look the other way or go the hell home. You came here, we didn’t drag you here. You are free to leave, the sooner the better.

Lilly Marek

Born as Naveen K. Jain on Sept. 6th 1959. As a child he grew up in or around the villages of Uttar Pradest, Roorkee, as well as the New Delhi, India. Education was very important to him and in 1979 he graduated with an engineering degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in Roorkee. He later moved again (Jamshedpur) and received an MBA from XLRI School of Business and Human Resources in 1982. Married to his wife Anu Jain who is the Vice President of community relations at inome. As a young man he always knew the importance of a good education and how it would be the foundation of his career.

Jain is a very successful Businessman, executive, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Growing up Jain always had the passion of business and helping others. While growing up and surrounded by poverty, he knew that he had to make a change that will be impacting. Later in life he realized it was his calling and motivation to be so passionate and successful. Mr. Jain is known mostly as being the Founder/CEO of InfoSpace. He is also known as the Founder/CEO of inome & Moon Express. When Infospace was at its height (the dot com boom) he was worth over 1 billion dollars. The stock did go down, however, he did taste and hit that mark at one-time in his career. Being a leader in the tech industry and a highly sought speaker he was also featured on Forbes “Richest Americans” in the year 2000. We were unable to find any Seattle Washington speaking arrangements scheduled.

In 1983, he got accepted into a business exchange program. It required him to leave India, however, it was a important turning point in his career. He knew it was a great opportunity. This turning point highlighted Naveen Jain’s professional career. He worked at several companies including Convergent Technologies and Tandon Computer Corporation (Computer Manufacturer). About 6 years later in 1989, he joined Microsoft as a Program Manager. Living in Seattle, we all know Microsoft is one of the biggest companies in the World and leader in the computer software space. He was assigned to the Redmond, Washington office. Mr. Jain’s software background really helped him at Microsoft and it formed the foundation he needed to start his own company several years later name InfoSpace (1996). While at Microsoft, however, he worked with OS/2, then moved on to Windows NT, and the popular Windows 95. His position at Microsoft was later moved to the Microsoft Network.

As I mentioned in March 1996, Jain founded the highly success InfoSpace. Until the year 2000 he served as the CEO. If you’re not sure what InfoSpace is – it’s a company that provides private label and search data for businesses as well as companies. During the height of the well known Internet boom he was considered ranked as being one of the richest Americans. In fact, Forbes ranked him 121. Later at Infospace Jain was pushed out by the board members as CEO/Chairman in 2002. In 2003, he stepped down from the InfoSpace board completely. The same year he started a new company named Intelius which is located in Bellevue, Washington.

His philanthropy work is quite large and highly publicizes in the media. His focus is about improving the lives of as many people as possible. It doesn’t matter if it’s business or helping others. The impact of someone’s effort should try to reach as many souls as you can. It should be strategic and that is how Mr. Jain likes to approach his philanthropic work. He mentions that there are four key elements. These include overcoming the infrastructure, build scale, making it self-sustaining, and to live an entrepreneurial life. Through his leadership at inome, he gives back to medical care, family development, and education. His company, inome, was ranked by the Puget Sound Business Journal as one of the top 15 philanthropic companies in the USA.

World Innovation Institute:
He is the founder of the World Innovation Institute which believes that “entrepreneurship and creativity can solve the world’s most pressing and complex challenges” according to their website (thewii.org). The groups focus is about improving the lives of through philanthropy, education, and positive youth development. It’s a effort he and his family strongly support. Today, we wants to put his efforts into making the World a better place. He wants to make sure we leave our children in a position that is better than it previously was.

Moon Express:
Is a group supported and funded by silicon valley and space exploration entrepreneurs. Their ultimate goal is to mine the moon to see if any resources are available. They want to find elements that are rare on Earth. In the short term they would like to win the Google Lunar X Prize. The venture is headquartered in California and includes a robotic transportation element as well. They already have been connected with NASA for various efforts of data purchase. In 2015, they are going to be doing a test flight to the moon and by 2018 place two Lunar telescopes near the Malapert crater. The crater is about 3 miles high. In recent news, they have expressed to send their robotic spacecraft up a little early in 2016. The company believes the moon holds valuable elements such as gold, iron, tungsten plus many other elements which could provide nuclear power without all the waste we currently are using. The Moon Express company has approximately 50 employees and have a goal of staying under 50 million dollars for the moon mission.

Awards and Recognition:

• In 1999, he was awarded the Emerging Entrepreneur Award Winner by Ernst & Young.
• In April 2011, he was given the Light of India Business Leadership Award by the The Times Group.
• In December 2011, during the Red Herring Global 2011 Conference, he was awarded the Lifetime
  Achievement Award.

Personal Life:
Mr. Naveen Jain is married with 3 children. They live in Washington State just north of Seattle in Medina. The City of Medina is mostly reserved for the most wealthy including Bill Gates of Microsoft.