OLDEST IRISH AMERICAN NEWSPAPER IN USA, ESTABLISHED IN 1928

2012, Irish Small Biz 50 Nominees, D-F

Name: Susan Ann Davis

Place of birth: Wausau, Wisconsin

Business: Susan Davis International

First established: 1975

Employees: 25-30 full time, 10-50 or more part-time or consultants depending on client needs.

Website: www.susandavis.com

Where you live: Washington, D.C.

First job: Lifeguard

What it taught me: Leadership, responsibility and situational awareness, all character building qualities invaluable in life.

Family: Mother, four siblings, nine nieces and nephews and a huge number of extended family that don’t recognize they are only “extended”

Best advice anyone ever gave you: Whether you are selling a service, a product, an idea, a candidate or yourself, listen 90 percent of the time, and talk the other 10 percent.

Best advice you could give someone starting out: Be sure of your own value proposition, what is unique and valuable about your product or service that will allow you to compete in a challenging marketplace?

The most important thing for a business success is: it’s critical to build a strong support network of family, friends, colleagues and advisors to be there for you no matter the circumstance.

Headquartered in Washington, D.C., Susan Davis International (SDI) is recognized as one of the nation’s premier full-service communications and public affairs firms. Recently named one of the “Top 5 Public Affairs Agencies” in the country; one of the top Small Business PR Agencies; and consistently awarded by industry peers for communications and public affairs campaigns,, SDI has 70 partner agencies in all major media markets throughout the world SDI provides strategic counsel, access, market information, public relations, crisis communications, government relations and targeted stakeholder outreach throughout the world to a diverse clientele including multinationals, trade associations, industry and business executives and NGOs. SDI’s government clients have included Germany, Egypt, Sweden, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Kuwait, Honduras, Cost Rica, Philippines, Turkish Cyprus, El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, and Namibia. SDI also has an award-winning special events division which has executed the production of internationally recognized events such as the recent dedication of the Martin Luther King Memorial, the dedication of the WWII Memorial, the Bicentennial of the Library of Congress, and major U.S. public relations events for Germany, Sweden and Northern Ireland to name a few.

 


Name: Kevin Denis

Business: Professors Diner

Location: Kings Park, NY

Everyone knows when Kevin Denis is around. He is gregarious, a bit of an extrovert and not someone who would be known as the shy retiring type. It was Kings Park’s good fortune that almost 35 years ago, Kevin became a resident of the town. He was born and raised in West Islip. And when he met and married Linda Scavone in 1976, it was Kings Park where they decided to start their family and life together. Linda is a 1974 Kings Park High School graduate. They have four children: Joseph, Desarae, Michael, and Kevin, Jr.

Kevin has worked in many professions over the years, but when he came to the diner in 1979, it was there that he knew he wanted to stay.  He started as a cook in the kitchen and proved himself a very hard worker to the owner.  Within 10 years and a lot of dedication and hard work, he became the owner. He had to rebuild the diner after a fire that destroyed it in 1993. He and Linda rebuilt the diner to what it is now – a display of memorabilia, photographs of the entire community (from their early years to the present). It’s a meeting place for friends and family to laugh, cry, and enjoy each other’s company and have good food. Professor’s Diner is a landmark.

Kevin is a “hands on” owner and very involved in the community. He is a supporter of not only the Kings Park Central School District’s organizations and functions, but many other schools on Long Island and charities in the community. He is the President of the Kings Park St. Patrick’s Day Parade, which had its first annual parade on March 5, 2011. He was honored as Businessman of the Year in 2011.  He is a supporter of Angels Without Faces; he supports the senior citizens by bringing them food and bringing to them to doctor appointments; purchases toys for needy families during the Christmas season; supports the homeless; supports local charities such as Long Island Harvest by raising food and money; he supports the Airmid Theater Company; he served on the committee for the St. Joseph’s Church Golf Outing; and countless fund raisers and donations.  He is a member of the Board of the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce. Kevin was a major factor in the success of the Chamber’s weekly car show that holds Thursday sessions throughout the summer and into the fall. It’s not only his selfless giving of his time and money, but it’s his love of the community and his neighbors that drives him.  He was given The Dr. Robert Cody Award.  In 2008 he was given the Humanitarian Award through the Kings Park Chamber of Commerce for all of his achievements. He loves his country and it shows through his patriotism. He recently received a certificate from the United States Forces – Afghanistan, verifying that a flag was flown in Afghanistan on July 4, 2010 for his support.

It is because of Kevin’s spirit in giving that makes his community a better place. Kings Park is better because of him.


Name: Jason Devitt 

Age: 43

Place of birth: Dublin

Business: Mr. Number

First established: 2010

Employees: 10

Website: http://mrnumber.com

Where you live: San Francisco, CA

First job: Clerk in a video store

What it taught me: I got fired from my first job, which taught me that it’s much better to work for yourself.

Family: I have a brother and a big extended family still living in Dublin – my Dad was one of six. I am still taking my time.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: When you don’t know what you want to do with your life, take the highest paying job available. This led me to a career in investment banking, which allowed me to pay off all my student debts, work in London and New York, discover the opportunities available to entrepreneurs in the U.S., and save the stake money for my first company.

Best advice you could give someone starting out: This is the one time in your career when no one will judge you for knowing nothing, because everyone expects you to know nothing. So ask people for advice. Ask them how they got to where they are. Seek out mentors. It will pay off dramatically for the rest of your career.

The most important thing for a business success is: First-time entrepreneurs always make the same mistake: we all assume that building a product is

Mr. Number is an integrated messenger, dialer, and contact management app that helps users to manage their real social network- the people that they talk to every day. Millions of people use Mr. Number to organize their calls, texts, and contacts, to keep up to date with their friends, to identify unknown numbers, and to block people and companies that they don’t want to hear from again. Founded by Jason Devitt and Mike Wells, Mr. Number is backed by Menlo Ventures and based in Palo Alto, CA.

 


Name: Joe Devoy

Age: 42

Place of birth: Waterford

Business: Tellus360

First established: 2010

Employees: 20

Website: www.tellus360.com

Where you live: Lancaster, PA

First job: Tierney’s Pig farm

What it taught me: To get a different job, pigs are smelly

Family: Sons Eoin and Aidan, Father Joe and Mother Teresa, Brothers Sean and Dave and Sister Mary; all sounds very religious.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: Never give anyone advice – my father.

Best advice you could give someone starting out: Love life and nothing else matters and never give anyone advice.

The most important thing for a business success is: Passion and belief.

We are off the wall, out of the box and a little crazy. We make reclaimed wood furniture, musical instruments, lighting, and kitchens. We sell Irish antiques and solar panels. We sell eco friendly, recycled, upcycled, fair trade products and we sell products that we believe in for various different reasons. We believe that together we can find a better way to live and as a whole we can make the world a better place.

 


Name: Eddie Dowling

Business: The Padded Wagon

Eddie Dowling was born in Dublin in 1961. He went to Terenure College. After leaving college, he trained as a chartered accountant, and soon began to specialize in actuarial work.

In 1984, he married Aine Lennon from Wexford. They have four children, Conor, Erin, Kelly and Sinead.

In 1994, Eddie purchased The Padded Wagon Inc., expanding the company from a six-truck operation based on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, to a 100 plus fleet operating from cities all across the U.S.A and Ireland. In 1997, Dowling moved the Padded Wagon’s headquarters to the South Bronx, where he operates at present.

Eddie is committed to supporting the Irish community both in New York and in Ireland. He supports the Dublin Gaelic football team in NYC. He is also a major supporter and fundraiser for Maynooth College – the University in North Kildare that houses Ireland’s last remaining seminary – and The Ireland-US Council. He is a member of many various associations in New York City including The Knights of St. Patrick.

 


Name: Brian Farley 

Business Name: Hudson Elevator Group

Website: www.hudsonelevator.com

Established: 1993

Brian Farley is President and CEO of Hudson Elevator Group. Brian is married to his wife Susan for 19 years and they have four children, Sara, Michael, Sean and Lauren.

Brian has been active for many years with the U.A.M.E. Soup Kitchen, Snug Harbor Cultural Center, S.I.E.D.C. and is the co-chair of the Staten Island Film Festival. Brian was a recipient of the Snug Harbor Neptune Award, the Martin Luther King Award for community service and the Louis R. Miller Award. Presently Brian sits on the Board of Directors for the Staten Island Zoo as well as Camp Good Grief. In his spare time, Brian coaches his sons’ baseball and basketball teams.

Hudson Elevator Group is a full service elevator company serving the New York/New Jersey metropolitan area. Since 1993, Hudson Elevator Group has successfully completed more than $100,000,000 in elevator projects for various public agencies including New York School Construction Authority, New York Transit Authority, and the Dormitory Authority of the State of New York. Our services include: 24 Hour Maintenance and Repair, Inspections and Violations, Modernization and New Installation. Originally founded in 1993 as Action Elevator, the Hudson team has grown over the years to become experts in custom elevator installations and service.

As an owner operated, locally based company, Hudson Elevator Group has the ability and experience to make decisions and respond quickly to our customer’s needs. One phone call will put you in contact with a manager capable of directing our field technicians to address each customer’s concerns. The company’s on-staff engineering team utilizes local manufacturers and any issue that arises can be resolved quickly and professionally on the jobsite within hours.

 


Name: Brendan P. Farrell, Jr.

Age: 48

Place of birth: New York

Business: XSP, global leader in automated end-to-end Corporate Actions solutions for the financial industry

First established: March 17, 1996

Employees: 78

Website: www.xsp.com

Where you live: Denville, NJ

First job: My first job was helping my father Brendan Sr. (R.I.P.) run the family business, O’Farrell’s Bar and Grocery, on Ballymahon Street in Longford Town at the ripe young age of four.

What it taught me: It gave me the entrepreneurial know-how to help pave the way in my future endeavors. It came to the fore once again when I joined forces with partners to develop a software solution that automates Corporate Actions – a process known to be amongst the most risky, complex and challenging within the financial services industry.

Family: I am thankful to have the support of my loving wife of 20 years, Christine, and my two teenage children – my 19-year old son Dylan who is an Engineering undergraduate at Drexel University in Philadelphia, and my 16-year old daughter, Brianna who is a junior at Morris Knolls High School in Rockaway, New Jersey.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: “Be very wary of making deals where you take all the risk upfront and only – if and when successful – reap the rewards on the backend. People can be greedy and have short memories thus you inevitably will lose out in these situations especially if you achieve everything you promised to achieve.” (Bob Sanders – my mentor and former boss)

Best advice you could give someone starting out: Ensure you have adequate funding to achieve your goals; pick your partners carefully as it is a long road to follow; and never, ever lose the faith. Surround yourself with excellence in your team.

The most important thing for a business success is: Motivation. So many things motivate me to succeed. I want my company, XSP, to be the absolute best Corporate Actions Automation Solution in the World. I want our staff to feel they are a part of something great that they can all believe in. I want them to enjoy coming to work every day. I want our clients to not only be satisfied customers of XSP, but also “Raving Fans.”

Brendan P. Farrell, Jr. is Chief Executive Officer of XSP, the global leader in end-to-end Corporate Actions automation. Brendan, a Founder of XSP, has almost 30 years of experience in financial services. He was Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Financial Information, Inc. and held various Officer-level management positions at The Bank of New York. His expertise includes retail management & sales; securities operations & market data management; development and implementation of complex systems; global enterprise technology solutions sales & marketing; executive management; Cloud Solutions, Social Network Collaboration and Mobile Applications and Serial Entrepreneur. Brendan founded IMMRAM, an informal network of Irish Diaspora encouraging social gatherings to help foster and build relationships. In 2011, IMMRAM and XSP hosted the “Fixin’ Alabama Shindig” that collected over $20,000 for The American Red Cross in support for victims of the devastating tornadoes in Alabama, where XSP’s corporate headquarters are based. On March 12, IMMRAM hosts The Wolfe Tones in New York City and in May 2012, IMMRAM and XSP will join local businesses to organize an event to benefit Self Help Africa. Brendan served as co-chair on a number of Dinner Committees including the American Irish Historical Society, American Ireland Fund and the Ninth Annual UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School Dinner. In 2011, Brendan was appointed as a Director to the Board of the American Friends of Athlone Institute of Technology, Inc. Foundation. Brendan’s numerous accolades include being named a Finalist for the Ernst & Young 2011 Entrepreneur Of The Year Award; Honoree in Irish America Magazine’s 2011 Business 100; and most recently a Nominee for the 2012 FTF News Technology Innovation Awards’ Person of the Year.


Name: Sean Kavenaugh Fay

Age: 42

Place of birth:

Hollywood, California

Business: Envision Response Inc.

First established: April 8, 2003

Employees: 7-15 depending on project load.

Website: www.envisiontv.com

Where you live: Seattle, Washington

First job: Video Store Clerk 15 Years old

What it taught me: To control your destiny you have to be the boss. I like working for Entrepreneurs. Customer Interactions are the most important thing of all.

Family: The Fay Family is from Greenville, Pennsylvania. My Great Grandfather Frank L. Fay owned the Greenville Steelcar company. We get together every two years at Pike Run Country Club. We’re proud of being Irish American. I am a single Father of three beautiful children Nicholas Kavenaugh Fay, 13, Aven Michael Fay, 11 and my daughter Shayne Kristine Fay 9. They live with me and they are wonderful kids and human beings.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: Be true to yourself.

Best advice you could give someone starting out: You have to believe it is possible. Most people give up before they get started. No matter who you are, where you came from, or your circumstances, you can achieve anything you want if you believe. The most successful people in the world are just like you, but they believed.

The most important thing for a business success is: Provide Value consistently and predictably. Pay attention to how you make money and how you spend money. Don’t abdicate and don’t micromanage. There is a difference between Leadership and Management. Try things quickly, and when you fail, fail fast and adapt.

Envision Response is a leading creative agency in the DRTV industry. Winner 2010 ERA Moxie Award ‘Best Infomercial of the year-Intellectual Property Category’ Envision. Create. Succeed. Founded in 2003, Envision Response Inc was started in a 300 square foot boathouse on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington by Sean K Fay, one of the most successful creative forces in the DRTV industry and producer of such platinum hits as George Foreman Grill (The most successful appliance ever introduced by infomercial), Oxiclean (sold to Church & Dwight in 2002) Foodsaver (current show is best performing in 10 years), and Space Bag (15 year DRTV & Retail Brand!). Today, the company occupies full service agency and production facilities on Lake Union including a vertically integrated Film & Video Production company, 3 HD Edit Bays and in house Graphics Production. Our passion is building world class brands using the power of Direct Response Marketing. We will help you develop the right strategy, creative approach and produce your winning short form or long form DRTV spot. Whether a product marketer looking to build a DRTV business or Fortune 100 company looking to soft launch your product or service before going mainstream, we can cost effectively help you with feasibility studies, strategy, operational set up including telemarketing, fulfillment, online marketing, DRTV Media. Our expert team of partners can help with Multi-channel e-retailing and e-commerce including Home Shopping, Catalog, Print, DR Radio and Retail Distribution. Our Creed We believe in accountable advertising. We believe that all advertising should have an ROI. We agree with David Ogilvy, that `it isn’t creative if it doesn’t sell’. We honor our commitments to our clients and each other. We tirelessly pursue excellence in everything we do. We are advocates of people, ideas and solutions inside and out of our business. We enjoy life and celebrate our individual and business victories. We believe that our success should follow the success of our clients. Mission: To provide accountable DRTV marketing services that generate ROI and dramatically reduce the cost of attracting, retaining and engaging customers.


Name: Kevin P. Flood

Age: 48

Place of birth: Chicago, Il.

Business: The Astor Company

Website:WWW.ASTORCOMPANY.COM

Where you live: Chicago

First job: The Habitat Company

What it taught me: The training I received at the Habitat Co. shape me professionally as well as personally.

Family: I am one of nine children and have three children of my own, Caroline, Charlie and Patrick.

Best advice anyone ever gave you: Believe in yourself, invest in yourself, work hard and you will succeed.

Best advice you could give someone starting out: Believe in yourself, invest in yourself, work hard and you will succeed.

The most important thing for a business success is: Perseverance

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