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AAVRANI, Mission-Driven Ayurvedic Beauty Brand, Secures Series A Funding

AAVRANI

AAVRANI, a pioneer in Indian-inspired beauty and modern Ayurveda, raised $7 million Series A funding. The holistic beauty brand plans to further its mission, bringing Ayurveda to the forefront of the Global Beauty Industry through both education and product expansion. “When I started AAVRANI in 2018, the average US consumer hadn’t yet caught on to the concept of the Indian Beauty approach, and many investors didn’t see the value. Now, my mission around sharing Ayurvedic Beauty with the world is clear. I am honored and humbled to be a part of this shift in perspective, as AAVRANI continues to propel Indian Beauty to the global stage,” says Rooshy Roy, AAVRANI Co-Founder and CEO. This round of fundraising is the third and largest for AAVRANI, following a $2 million seed round in 2021. After a brand refresh in 2020, AAVRANI has experienced annual sales growth of 400-percent, with product demand regularly exceeding projections and selling out. “AAVRANI is a natural fit for us because we focus on backing exceptional South Asian founders and South Asian-focused brands. We believe in the AAVRANI mission and look forward to being part of this next phase.” says Joey Mullick of Skara Ventures. Challenging quick-fix beauty solutions, AAVRANI bridges the gap between beauty and wellness by uniting ancient Indian wellness rituals with modern science. The chemical-free products embody the duality of Roy’s personal lived experiences as a first-generation American: uniting scientifically-proven, ready-to-use formulas with generations of Indian beauty secrets. Each product is intentionally crafted, starting with ancient Ayurvedic ingredients and generational knowledge. AAVRANI’s team of R&D chemists then elevate each formula by harnessing modern science and clinical trials. The rigorous hands-on process delivers Ayurveda in a way that allows India’s time-honored traditions to be compatible with more modern lifestyles in an authentic way. “We are focused on brand growth and expansion, but my main goal is to shift the consumer mindset from quick fixes to daily rituals. That’s the real difference between Ayurvedic wisdom and the Beauty Industry that we’ve come to know. Ultimately, Beauty is embedded in the choices we make and rituals we practice every day—it’s the sum of those rituals over a lifetime. AAVRANI encourages us to practice these rituals, so we will never promise a miracle in a jar. We want to celebrate and empower our community to feel beautiful as they’re intended to be, without unrealistic pressures or expectations,” adds Roy. AAVRANI has evolved as both a leading clean skincare brand and a mission-based Ayurvedic beauty brand. Continuing this growth, the brand plans to increase both distribution and production while building their internal team. Breaking into new categories can be expected over the next year, with an expanding product pipeline. ### About AAVRANI: AAVRANI is the Ayurvedic beauty brand solving common skin concerns with chemical-free formulas that are scientifically proven to work. Developed by Rooshy Roy as a way to share ancient Indian beauty secrets with the world, AAVRANI is centered around centuries’ old beauty traditions (Ayurveda), generational knowledge, and modern science. The products, rooted in self-care, form a skincare ritual. Offering a holistic approach, each product has an optional 5-minute practice for optimal skin health, which evokes its inner glow. Safe for all skin types, including those with sensitivities and women who are pregnant or nursing, all products are made without mineral oil, parabens, sulfates, irritants, synthetic fragrances, or animal cruelty. Contact Details AAVRANI Roxanne Ierino Ricketts hello@aavrani.com Company Website https://aavrani.com

June 09, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Selma Blair and GUIDE BEAUTY Partner to Advance a Culture of Inclusion in Beauty

GUIDE Beauty

GUIDE Beauty, a collection of makeup tools and products that has reimagined the way we apply makeup, is thrilled to announce Selma Blair as their Chief Creative Officer. Internationally acclaimed actress, author, advocate, and style and beauty icon, Blair will join GUIDE as a partner and take a leadership role in product and brand development for the multi-award-winning company. Combining forces with GUIDE’s Founder Terri Bryant, Blair will help the brand to accelerate its mission to expand inclusivity in the world of beauty through thoughtful, universally-designed products for everyone. "We are proud to welcome Selma to the family," says Bryant, Founder of GUIDE Beauty. "Her devotion to creative expression and advocacy for all people fits perfectly with GUIDE Beauty’s mission and practice of Universal Design - when we design with all people in mind, we create the best products for everyone. From the novice to somebody who has challenges with movement or strength and even the professional makeup artist on set, GUIDE’s products enhance the lives of makeup users everywhere.” In the prime of her career as a makeup artist and beauty educator, Bryant started to notice stiffness in her shoulder and a loss of dexterity in her hands. Makeup artistry that had been second nature was becoming a real struggle due to the inaccessibility of products that suited her needs. She was eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Empowered by knowledge and a life-long love of makeup, she partnered with human factors designers and clean chemists to create a better and easier way and a new, more inclusive approach for the beauty industry with products designed for the broadest universe of makeup users. “As a professional makeup artist, I felt a natural ability that most of my friends, family, and clients did not share,” continues Bryant. “When that ability shifted due to the onset of Parkinson's Disease it became so clear that my needs, like so many, had not been considered in the design and development of the products I had always used, so I decided it was time to create them." “When I first held the GUIDE Wand, I immediately felt more confident than I ever had with a traditional pencil liner and found myself looking forward to doing my own makeup for the first time in a long time,” says Blair, who revealed her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in 2018. “Upon meeting Terri, we bonded instantly over our mutual love of makeup and its ability to transform a face and a day. I’m thrilled to join her and GUIDE to create and advocate for a more inclusive world of beauty.” GUIDE Beauty today also introduces its new makeup brush collection utilizing its patented GUIDE Ring to steady the hand and make application smooth and easy as well as its first eyeshadow palette that has been designed with Blair to showcase beautiful, easy-to-wear neutrals for everyday or a special red-carpet moment. In addition to the new launches, GUIDE’s debut collection, which launched in early 2020 and revolutionized ability-inclusivity in beauty, includes Lash Wrap Mascara and Brow Moment Brow Gel, both featuring the GUIDE Ring, and the award-winning GUIDE Eyeliner Duo. The Eyeliner Duo has become the hero SKU among customers, influencers, and media, receiving Allure ’ s Best of Beauty Breakthrough, ELLE ’ s Future of Beauty, O, The Oprah Magazine ’ s O-Ward, and Essence ’ s Best in Black Beauty, among other prestigious awards. The GUIDE Wand eyeliner applicator is celebrated for its unique, forward-thinking, ergonomically and universally-designed shape paired with the GUIDE Line pressed-cream eyeliner to make looks like tightlining, waterline application, and even winged liner a cinch. All GUIDE Beauty formulas are cruelty-free, 100% vegan, and formulated without known toxins or harsh ingredients. Blair, Bryant, and the GUIDE Beauty team are currently developing additional universally-designed makeup products to improve the lives of makeup users and are committed to advocating for inclusive and empowering beauty for all. For more information, please visit www.guidebeauty.com and @guidebeautycosmetics on social media platforms. About GUIDE BEAUTY GUIDE BEAUTY is a collection of makeup tools and products that has reimagined the way we apply makeup. Achieve a new level of skill and confidence with makeup that literally GUIDES your hand to better application. In the prime of her career as a makeup artist and beauty educator, GUIDE Beauty founder Terri Bryant started to notice stiffness in her shoulder and a loss of dexterity in her hands. Makeup artistry that had been second nature was becoming a real struggle due to the inaccessibility of products that suited her needs. She was eventually diagnosed with Parkinson’s. Empowered by knowledge and a life-long love of makeup, Terri partnered with human factors designers and clean chemists to create a better and easier way and a new, more inclusive approach for the industry. The result is an award-winning and patented collection of truly innovative and unique makeup tools and clean, vegan formulations that debuted in early 2020 and revolutionized ability-inclusivity in beauty. The addition of Selma Blair as Chief Creative Officer, who revealed her diagnosis with Multiple Sclerosis in 2018, will allow the company to accelerate its product development and mission to make beauty better and easier for all. GUIDE’s new makeup brush collection, which launched in the summer of 2022, features its patented GUIDE Ring to steady the hand and make application smooth and easy as well as its first eyeshadow palette that was designed with Blair. GUIDE Beauty offers a truly fresh approach to makeup that puts artistry into your hands and creates empowering beauty for all. Contact Details Elyse Koenig: Beauty & Wellness Consulting Brittany Marshak +1 516-906-9063 Brittany@elysekoenig.com Company Website https://www.guidebeauty.com

June 09, 2022 09:36 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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QUIDEL CORP.—DEVELOPER OF ONLY FDA-CLEARED FIA RAPID POINT-OF-CARE DIAGNOSTIC LYME DISEASE TEST—TO PARTNER WITH RENOWNED GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE TO DRAMATICALLY HEIGHTEN LYME DISEASE AWARENESS

Quidel Corporation

With Lyme disease season in full-swing across the United States and as the public continues spending increasing time outdoors during the COVID-19 pandemic, Quidel’s recently formed Lyme Task Force Team—the only one of its kind—today announced a multitiered collaboration with Global Lyme Alliance to dramatically heighten public awareness to a health condition afflicting nearly half a million Americans each year. Quidel is the nation’s leading developer of the only rapid point-of-care diagnostic Lyme disease test. In recent years the company launched the critically acclaimed and award-winning LymeDiseaseAnswers.com website and Lyme Quick Takes online video series. “The Global Lyme Alliance has been a passionate and important partner for Quidel in our fight against Lyme disease,” said Judi Tilghman, Ph.D., vice president of technology assessment at Quidel. “Over the years they have helped fund the most urgent and promising research in the field while expanding education and awareness programs for the public and physicians. We’re honored to have this collaborative partnership.” As part of its collaboration, Quidel will serve as sponsor for GLA’s Lyme awareness month as well as a series of educational PACE-accredited webinars. These events provide new information on various Lyme topics in an open discussion format, all designed to bring awareness around the Lyme disease epidemic, with rapid ways to diagnose and treat it. In addition, Quidel will be a sponsor for the GLA Global Gala 2022, the organization’s premier fundraising event to be held in October. About Quidel Corporation Quidel Corporation (Nasdaq: QDEL) is a leading manufacturer of diagnostic solutions at the point of care, delivering a continuum of rapid testing technologies that further improve the quality of health care throughout the globe. An innovator for over 40 years in the medical device industry, Quidel pioneered the first FDA-cleared point-of-care test for influenza in 1999 and was the first to market a rapid SARS-CoV-2 antigen test in the U.S. Under trusted brand names, Sofia®, Solana®, Lyra®, Triage® and QuickVue®, Quidel’ s comprehensive product portfolio includes tests for a wide range of infectious diseases, cardiac and autoimmune biomarkers, as well as a host of products to detect COVID-19. With products made in America, Quidel’ s mission is to provide patients with immediate and frequent access to highly accurate, affordable testing for the good of our families, our communities, and the world. For more information about Quidel, visit quidel.com. Contact Details Jim Yeager +1 818-264-6812 jim@breakwhitelight.com Company Website http://Quidel.com

June 09, 2022 06:00 AM Pacific Daylight Time

Get Ready for Camping Season!

YourUpdateTV

It’s officially camping season. For many camping enthusiasts now is the right time to learn more about their favorite outdoor activity and resources available to them. Recently, Chief Marketing Officer at Campspot, Erin Stender, conducted a satellite media tour to talk about new camping trends and the launch of the Campspot Outdoor Almanac. A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://youtu.be/WdJrAcnUDiQ While the outdoors industry tends to talk about camping as a trip, a travel choice, an adventure, our recent survey data found that 90% of campers believe that camping has given them the opportunity to create lasting memories for themselves and their families. Camping isn’t just a trip. Camping is a lifestyle — and a powerful one that people use as a lifeline to escape their busy and chaotic lives. · 96% of campers say camping improves their mental health · 83% of campers see camping as a lifestyle that allows them to explore different places throughout the year · 33% of campers have a goal of becoming a full-time camper · Relaxation is the number one most common reason for going camping Brought to you by Campspot + Pinterest, The Campspot Outdoor Almanac is the outdoor enthusiast’s guide to key information, dates, and trends about their favorite outdoor activities—camping included. From fishing to national parks to seasonal recipes the Campspot Outdoor Almanac has eight sections that feature key dates and events, trends, expert advice, and destination spotlights to inspire your adventures this summer and fall. The Campspot Outdoor Almanac is a free biannual digital and print publication. To sign up to have our next issue delivered straight to your door, visit: http://www.campspot.com/about/outdoor-almanac About Erin Stender: As Chief Marketing Officer at Campspot, Erin Stender leads the company’s marketplace programs as Campspot continues its mission to help more people get outdoors and make camping memories. She focuses on bridging the software and consumer platform marketing programs while further expanding its advertising reach, brand awareness, and growth efforts. Stender has nearly two decades of SaaS and e-commerce marketing experience, with a track record of building brands, growing high performance teams, and designing impactful go-to-market, integrated marketing programs. She most recently held the role of Vice President of Marketing at Neon One, a nonprofit software company, where she led marketing and corporate brand strategy and spearheaded a comprehensive visual rebrand and a product unification effort. Prior to Neon One, Erin held senior roles at industry-leading B2B and B2C organizations including Bodybuilding.com, Classy.org, Evernote and Active Network. Her experience across both start-up and mature corporate environments, including an IPO, has centered on scaling demand, building content-driven growth engines, and building customer-centric experiences. About Campspot: Campspot is a leading online marketplace for RV resorts, family campgrounds, cabins, glamping options and more, providing access to more than 140,000 campsites across the United States and Canada. Campspot’s real-time, cloud-based campground management solution enables a best-in-class reservation system (site inventory and ancillary add-ons) by giving its customers a POS system and the necessary management tools (utility billing, housekeeping tracking, etc.) to provide the best possible user experience. Campspot provides an intuitive easy-to-navigate guest booking experience that returns relevant and easy-to-modify searches, making planning a vacation seamless. For more information, please visit www.campspot.com. Follow Campspot on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Download the Campspot Mobile App on Apple IOS HERE and Android HERE. Contact Details YourUpdateTV +1 212-736-2727 yourupdatetv@gmail.com

June 08, 2022 01:30 PM Eastern Daylight Time

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DataWeave Launches Interactive Dashboard to Track U.S. Grocery Inflation

DataWeave

DataWeave, a global leader in retail data, pricing and AI analytics, today launches its interactive eCommerce Grocery Price Tracker, providing a detailed, nuanced view of price changes and serving as an index of U.S. pricing trends. DataWeave examines pricing and availability by category and retailer in light of inflation and market-driven economic changes. Analyzing over 117,000 SKUs, the Tracker showcases how grocery brands and retailers are adjusting their pricing in an inflationary environment as they work to stay engaged with an increasingly price-sensitive consumer. DataWeave’s Grocery Price Tracker, which will be updated monthly, shows month-over-month price changes starting June 2021. It also indicates shifts in product availability. “The American consumer has clearly been feeling more than a pinch at the grocery store. This has been driven by a confluence of ongoing global supply chain constraints, regional conflicts and climate change. All this has added up to pricing pressures and availability issues,” said Karthik Bettadapura, CEO of DataWeave. “Our data reveals that the sharp price increases we saw in December 2021 across grocery retailers and delivery intermediaries, have continued to rise ever since. With our complimentary tracker, our aim is to enable retailers and analysts alike to spot inflection points for these trends as they evolve.” Each month, the Grocery Price Tracker will highlight the retailer that offers products with a maximum price decrease across a certain category, and one imposing the maximum price increase across a particular category. It also shows average month-over-month price changes across all products tracked within each category and retailer analyzed. “With inflation at a 40-year high and dynamic pricing changing the competitive landscape daily, we continue to hear that affordability is top-of-mind for consumers, while availability in certain categories, such as baby formula, has escalated to an urgent national issue,” said Krishnan Thyagarajan, President and COO of DataWeave. We hope our ongoing Grocery Price Tracker and inflation indices we are developing for other categories will provide the fastest visibility to the latest trends and greater insight for retailers and brands.” Report Methodology To come to its findings, DataWeave analyzed 117,381 SKUs, tracking price variations and stock availability across 16 grocery retailers and delivery intermediaries, dating from June 2021 to the present, interactively noting price variations and stock availability by retailer. # # # DataWeave is a leading provider of advanced sales optimization solutions for e-commerce businesses, consumer brands and marketplaces. The AI-driven proprietary technology and language-agnostic platform aggregates consumable and actionable Competitive Intelligence across 500+ billion data points globally, in 25+ languages, with insights to drive performance for more than 400,000 brands across 1,500+ websites tracked across 20+ verticals and ensure online performance is always optimized. Learn more about the power of big data and global level analytics in understanding the rapidly changing retail industry at DataWeave.com. Contact Details MKPR Meir Kahtan +1 917-864-0800 mkahtan@rcn.com Company Website https://dataweave.com

June 08, 2022 10:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Influencers 5X Revenue Scale Has You Covered

TCM DIGITAL

NinjaInfluence, an all-in-one Influencer Marketing AI SaaS platform, provides an affordable yet powerful use of influencer marketing and is stepping up its game. As sales growth shifted across the eCommerce sphere, NinjaInfluence has adapted and challenged itself, providing a plan that will help brands increase their sales—introducing Ninja 5X (Ninja Platinum). The 5X Revenue plan does not limit you by the hour or the number of influencers but focuses on reaching your goals: increasing your sales and increasing your ROI, all while building new and recurring revenue streams. In addition to having the talent of an Influencer Marketing Strategist, you will also work with an Influencer Marketing Manager. S/he will create a strategy for your campaign, do the influencer research and vetting process, and determine the perfect influencers who can showcase your product or service to a new audience. In addition to taking care of the execution, the experienced team will take care of the reporting and analysis of each campaign stage and propose new angles to make the reach most effective. With Ninja x5, your campaigns will take off seamlessly with the best possible impact. NinjaInfluence also offers its NinjaGold package for eCommerce sellers a full hands-on use of its entire features to reach, manage and monetize any influencer marketing campaign for maximum scalability About NinjaInfluence NinjaInfluence is an influencer marketing software that supports users in easily managing their strategies and communicating with influencers/creators. Following up on its predecessor, NinjaOutreach, provides access to over 120 million influencers across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, and Twitter. In addition to its established search engine, NinjaInfluence offers a multitude of features such as eCommerce integration, full analytics dashboards, a smart search manager, an internal payment platform, a related profile recommendation engine, and a consolidated CRM-like workspace. Scalable and effective through its use of powerful big data technology, NinjaInfluence searches through millions of creators to intelligently identify qualified influencer leads and enables the launch of influencer campaigns with traceable ROI. For more information or a free trial with NinjaInfluence, visit https://NinjaInfluence.com/ or book a demo with us here. Contact Details Gabi Bar +1 845-709-8324 gabi@tcmdigital.com Company Website https://ninjainfluence.com/

June 08, 2022 09:50 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Storm Smart Acquires Steadfast Inc.

Rotunda Capital Partners LLC

Storm Smart, a Rotunda Capital Partners portfolio company and one of the largest storm-protection and lifestyle-enhancement companies in Florida, has acquired Steadfast Inc., the leading hurricane screen and shutter supplier in Palm Beach County. The transaction strengthens the combined businesses’ presence across Florida. Headquartered in Fort Myers, Florida, Storm Smart provides homeowners and businesses with innovative hurricane protection and lifestyle improvement solutions, professional installations, and exceptional customer service. Since their start in 1996, the company has helped more than 90,000 homeowners increase the value of their property by making their homes both safer from storms and more energy efficient. "This acquisition establishes a base from which to expand our service offerings throughout Southeast Florida and aligns with our commitment to protecting our communities through our products, people and services," said Scot Burris, CEO of Storm Smart. "Steadfast has built an excellent reputation and team that we are excited to have join the Storm Smart family and our One Team culture. We believe that engaged team members equate to engaged and delighted customers.” “Our team is excited to strengthen the existing relationship with Storm Smart and for the growth potential this combination unlocks”, said Rene Rayner, Steadfast Vice President. “This partnership will enhance our ability to provide our customers with the highest levels of customer service.” About Storm Smart Storm Smart's innovative and industry-leading solutions have led to the company becoming the largest manufacturer and installer of code-approved hurricane protection products in Florida, with over 90,000 customers in Florida, the Caribbean and Mexico since opening its doors in Fort Myers in 1996. The company has a long list of accomplishments, including being named 2021 Manufacturer of the Year by Lee County Economic Development, Horizon Council and the Horizon Foundation. Storm Smart is headquartered in Fort Myers and has three manufacturing facilities in Lee County. The company also has two showrooms in Southwest Florida, located at 2351 Crystal Drive, Ste 101 in Fort Myers, and in Naples at 2400 Vanderbilt Beach Road, Unit 102, and will be adding a new showroom in North Port late Summer 2022. For more information, visit https://stormsmart.com. About Rotunda Capital Partners Rotunda Capital Partners is an operationally oriented private equity firm focused on transforming family-founder owned companies into dynamic, data-driven platforms able to achieve and manage significant growth. Since its founding in 2009, Rotunda has partnered with management teams to build great businesses within three primary sectors: value-added distribution, asset-light logistics and industrial & business services. Rotunda strives to achieve replicable results by implementing its Rotunda Performance System to create strategic alignment, develop lean processes and create robust, data-driven infrastructures. For more information, visit www.rotundacapital.com. Contact Details Jill Lafferty +1 847-280-1295 jill@rotundacapital.com Company Website https://www.rotundacapital.com

June 08, 2022 09:15 AM Eastern Daylight Time

Telos Blockchain Sponsors Unbound Now Gala

Telos Foundation

The Telos Foundation is proud to announce that it will be the official sponsor for the 2022 Unbound Now Gala happening on June 7th in Waco, Texas. Telos is firmly in favor of all that Unbound Now stands for and has accomplished as a non-profit organization and is pleased to support them as they continue to provide aid for humanity’s most vulnerable. Tuesday’s gala celebrates 10 years of Unbound Now’s work to end human trafficking in local communities and around the world. Telos believes that global ESG concerns such as human trafficking, an illicit practice that has more than tripled in the last decade, must be eradicated at all costs. Unbound Now is leading the effort to help save the victims from this heartless act. Founded in the United States in 2012, Unbound Now has grown substantially, launching in several locations worldwide, including Cambodia, Mongolia, Indonesia, South Africa, and various countries in Europe. While their operations vary from one city to the next, Unbound offers three main lines of effort: Prevention and Awareness: Unbound Now works to educate and empower youth, spread awareness through citywide outreaches and provide human-trafficking presentations to groups and organizations. Professional Training: Unbound Now provides training to equip all professionals to use their skills to identify and serve victims of human trafficking. Survivor Advocacy: Unbound Now advocates for victims and survivors by meeting immediate needs, supporting survivors and their families, and connecting each survivor with resources for his or her unique restoration journey. The values and principles of the Telos team are closely aligned with those of Unbound Now and looks forward to making its contribution to put an end to human trafficking - once and for all. About Telos Live since 2018, Telos Blockchain (ticker: TLOS) is an ESG compliant Layer 1 smart contract platform that offers full-service compatibility with Solidity, Vyper and Native C++ smart contracts. The chain along with all of its departments operates at Net Zero status and offers the use of its fair smart contract powered governance system to any interested organization in modular fashion. The chain is capable of finalizing over a billion low-fixed-cost (w/ a feeless option) transactions per day. Since the launch of mainnet, Telos has operated with a flawless network uptime record. The validators of the network are globally decentralized, vetted (KYC) and are all equitable in size. Telos is one of the only Layer 1 Blockchain to be both credibly neutral in both its finances and its architecture. About The Foundation The Telos Foundation is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization established as a promotional and funding body to advance the Telos Blockchain Network and provide support to network applications. Contact Details The Team hello@telosfoundation.io Company Website https://www.telos.net/

June 07, 2022 10:21 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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Minuteman Press Franchise Owner Ken Tays Receives Veteran Business Award from NJ State Veterans Chamber of Commerce and The American Legion

Minuteman Press International Inc

US Army Veteran Ken Tays, who owns the Minuteman Press franchise in Newark located at 20 Clinton St., was recognized with the award for Veteran Business under $3 Million by the NJ State Veterans Chamber of Commerce (NJSVCC) and The American Legion at the Disabled Veteran and Veteran Business Summit. The event was held on May 10 th, 2022 at Middlesex College in Edison. The Summit connected over 100 Veteran-owned businesses with private companies and state agencies to help facilitate partnerships on upcoming projects. Ken says, “It was a real honor to attend the Summit, connect with so many other Veterans and supporters of Veterans, and receive such a prestigious award from the New Jersey State Veterans Chamber and The American Legion. My business, Minuteman Press in Newark, is a small, Veteran-owned franchise, and an event like this is really helpful and inspiring to me.” Ken served in the US Army for 11 years and then earned his degree in financial services. Ken shares, “I worked as a Federal Bank Regulator for 12 years and then entered the private sector working for companies like PwC and Citibank. I decided to research franchise opportunities because I wanted to be my own boss.” In 2019, Ken bought Minuteman Press in Newark. He took over the successful business from Holly Kaplansky, who retired after owning and operating Minuteman Press in Newark for 15 years. Ken says, “At its core, Minuteman Press International is a family-owned business. I went out to Long Island and CEO Bob Titus talked to me for an hour and a half. I was looking for a printing franchise that had that family-like atmosphere and wasn’t so corporate. The other franchises I looked into just didn’t have that same feel to them where I felt comfortable like I did with Minuteman Press.” As for why Minuteman Press is the right fit for Veterans, Ken shares, “I feel like this is my business and yet Minuteman Press provides me with that security blanket of local support and guidance. I have no printing experience and the training and ongoing assistance from Jim Galasso and the local field staff here in Newark really helps me. I know I can contact anyone in the company and they will respond and be there without breathing down my neck all the time.” When asked about the rewards of owning his own business, Ken’s first inclination is to say, “Work life balance. That is something I feel like I have even though I am working hard and always on. I love the challenge of running my own business and being responsible for everything. I spent a lot of time in corporate America making money for other people and I wanted to do this. There are ups and downs but it’s on my time.” Ken’s advice for others who are looking into business ownership or franchising is, “I would say that I looked at a lot of businesses. Find something that is a good fit for you, and find a franchisor that has what you’re looking for. I spent several months doing my due diligence, and once you make that decision, you have to be committed.” For more information on Ken Tays’ Veteran-owned Minuteman Press business in Newark, NJ, visit https://www.mmpnewark.com. Learn more about #1 rated Minuteman Press franchise opportunities at https://minutemanpressfranchise.com. Contact Details Chris Biscuiti +1 631-249-1370 cbiscuiti@mpihq.com Company Website https://minutemanpressfranchise.com

June 07, 2022 10:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time

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