Who is Brad Kleinman?

Brad is the Associate Director of  Key Entrepreneur Development Center, in Cleveland, Ohio. {KEDC}
As the Director, Brad gets to meet a lot of our future business leaders....

Brad, what is your background?

"I like to say that I’m an engineer turned entrepreneur.  I went to the University of Cincinnati to study engineering, but I was always more interested in starting my own business rather than working full time as an engineer.  Ever since 10^th grade when I tried to start my own eBay company, I caught ‘the bug’.  It’s stuck with me ever since.  I’ve probably tried more than 20 ventures in the last decade, and most have failed.  But as every entrepreneur knows, a failure is a learning opportunity in disguise.  Of all the experiences I’ve had in the wild world of entrepreneurship, the failures are some of the most important.'

Brad, tell me about your Web talents:

I soon realized how INCREDIBLY easy it is to start a sole-proprietorship in this fine country of ours.  It took me a few minutes…I filled out a trade name registration form with the Secretary of State and sent them $50.  On my birthday, May 17^th, 2004, my first ‘official’ business was formed; BSK Consulting.  I always targeted starting businesses which needed websites, hence my tagline ‘Helping Starting Businesses Start’.
 

Brad, so BSK Consulting is your current consulting business.Tell us how that helped you get into Cleveland Corporate College's KEDC?

" I continued to run BSK while obtaining my Masters of Engineering and Management at CASE.  While at CASE, I converted BSK Consulting into an LLC, and I also started a student-run management consulting firm, Lake Effect Innovation.  Mid way through my program, I was approached by an entrepreneur who was interested in having me help him start a high school ticketing business similar to TicketMaster.  We built the business plan, and I began working full time for eHighSchoolTickets LLC immediately after I graduated.  During my 13 month stint with eHighSchoolTickets, I managed over $120K in seed capital, helped built an advanced e-commerce website with barcode functionality, signed up three pilot clients, and three pilot advertisers.
It was also during this time that I learned about Cleveland Corporate College, and KEDC.
I became the Program Manager for ‘EOTC’, which was geared towards teaching non-traditional business students about entrepreneurship.  In June of 2006, I became Program Manager of KEDC as a full-time subcontractor.  This past January, I came on full time as the Associate Director of KEDC.   

Brad, what do you do, as Associate Director, and how can local residents benefit from the entrepreneurial programs offered?

"As the Associate Director, I am in charge of all of the operations of the center; administration, marketing, management, finances, etc.  We run classes, seminars, workshops and conferences throughout the year, all built by entrepreneurs, for entrepreneurs.  Entrepreneurs can take advantage of our COSE Business Space, an area of the college where small business owners can come to run their businesses (desks, tables, computers, phones…practically everything you need.)  The space is free for COSE members, and only $100 a year for non members.  What a deal!"

So Brad, what are you really about?

" Joel, I am about helping people make things happen. That is what it is all about for me."

Thanx Brad!

 

Comments

[Joel Libava]

You are welcome, brad!
Keep up the great work you are doing for our area!
Joel

[Brad Kleinman]

Hey Joel thanks for the blog add! It was a pleasure having you at Key Entrepreneurs Live and I'll let you know when the video's online. Cheers!