AKT Enterprises

WINTER PARK, FL — Jared Mendelewicz, Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of AKT Enterprises, was invited to become a guest blogger for YoungEntrepreneur.com, one of the largest online forum communities for entrepreneurs worldwide. YoungEntrepreneur.com members are comprised of established and aspiring entrepreneurs who are passionate about economic development and promoting the success of innovative and growth-oriented companies. Mendelewicz will share his unique perspective on many of the trials and tribulations facing young entrepreneurs today. His first post, which highlights the advantages and disadvantages of hiring friends as employees, is featured on the home page: http://bit.ly/cb9DtU

Inc.Magazine Unveils Its Fourth Annual Exclusive List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies—the Inc. 5000

AKT Enterprises Ranks No. 511 on the 2010 Inc. 5000 with Three-Year Sales Growth of 592%

NEW YORK, August 24, 2010 – Inc. magazine today ranked AKT Enterprises No. 511 on its fourth annual Inc. 5000, an exclusive ranking of the nation’s fastest-growing private companies. The list represents the most comprehensive look at the most important segment of the economy—America’s independent-minded entrepreneurs. Music website Pandora, convenience store chain 7-Eleven, Brooklyn Brewery, and Radio Flyer, maker of the iconic children’s red wagon, are among the prominent brands featured on this year’s list.

“The leaders of the companies on this year’s Inc. 5000 have figured out how to grow their businesses during the longest recession since the Great Depression,” said Inc. president Bob LaPointe. “The 2010 Inc. 5000 showcases a particularly hardy group of entrepreneurs.”

AKT boasts a finely tuned network of design, merchandising and marketing companies optimized to solve the marketing needs of clients both large and small. Specializing in new business development, AKT Enterprises lives up to its reputation as a one-stop-shop for industry professionals.

With a diverse and ever-growing clientele, AKT caters directly to over 500,000 customers, vendors and consumers. AKT’s awareness of current trends and solid grasp of technology combined with their forward-thinking team work to create solutions, products and services that benefit organizations of all shapes and sizes.

Click here to view AKT Enterprises’s 2010 Inc. 500|5000 Profile

AKT Management’s Dan Brown is featured on the home page of FastCompany.com. Fast Company magazine reports on various topics including innovation, digital media, technology, design, leadership, and more. The article spotlights Dan’s groundbreaking Internet TV show, Dan 3.0.

Via FastCompany.com

Dan Brown’s life is out of control, and he’s nervous. He’s telling the Internet about it, over-enunciating his Ps and Ts while he describes his project, Dan 3.0, his Web TV show that will put his day-to-day life in the cyber hands of his fans. But this is all part of the plan, and it’s all very under control.

The notion behind Dan 3.0 is that “groups make better decisions,” he says. (About what? That’s up to the group.) Using an online “decision engine,” Dan is outsourcing his “decisions” by letting participants suggest and vote on daily tasks. Each day, he says, he’ll do the most popular task. So far this has taken him to the streets of Lincoln, Nebraska to high-five strangers. And it’s taken him on a walk to the nearest city, Walton.

But don’t worry, Dan says, the big tasks are coming; he and Internet-television network Revision3 just need more time to plan. Then they can focus, for instance, on one of Dan’s favorite topics: his girlfriend. She might get a birthday visit from Dan–if his viewers want it. And since “my viewers care about me,” Dan says, chances are they’ll give him the task he wants. Now who’s controlling whom?

There are still 361 days left to see. As of Friday afternoon, there are four episodes of the show, which debuted August 1. After the pre-show ad and the logos for Revision3 and sponsor SquareSpace, a bed-haired Dan, wearing what seems to be his only T-shirt, starts talking. He’s in his studio (decorated with art sent in by fans), and he’s chatting away with his practiced self-assured but self-conscious delivery.

This self-referentiality seems to be constant, even when the task of the day begins. Dan spends the task talking about doing it while doing it, talking about talking about doing it while doing it, and so on. But, as he notes, “It’s not about getting a whole lot of footage–it’s more about capturing the moment.” So, following his own advice, he captures the show’s meta-moment–existing as a show–as he reflects on the project.

Perhaps Dan has reason for his ego, however cloaked in young-adult angst it may be. He began building a strong Internet fan base in 2007, when he posted an instructional YouTube video on how to solve the Rubik’s cube. Three years later, the video has almost 16 million views. In the meantime, Dan has posted videos on everything from gay marriage (which he supports) to, in the following video, Crocs (which he says “might just be the most important issue I ever talk about”).

Dan is one lucky vlogger, and he knows it: “I make videos talking about what I want to talk about when I want to talk about it, and it provides for me.”

Dan gains from vlogging, and his viewers are supposed to gain from watching and suggesting tasks. But besides a chance to influence the quotidian, yet artificial, life of a 20-year-old, what else do they stand to gain? “I want everyone who participates to be happy about the whole experience,” he says. “I want to push the envelope as to what it means to have a new media relationship with an audience.”

Indeed, it’s quite the transitional period for visual entertainment, as television and Internet share and influence each other’s content more than ever. As Dan says, “There’s so many new tools being invented everyday that increase the capacity for interaction.” His decision engine–the simple yet incomplete structure for a year of his life–is supposed to be one of those tools.

Dan 3.0 is still nascent, so it’s hard to tell if viewers will continue to interact with it the way Dan wants. According to Revision3, the website’s traffic doubled on the day the show launched. And there are more than 5,700 tasks posted on the site.

Hype, of course, is at least one of the reasons driving the show’s initial popularity. But Dan’s simple vlogs have been doing well for years, and there’s somehow never a shortage of time to spend watching strangers on screens. Seventeen years ago, in his E Unibus Pluram: Television and U.S. Fiction, David Foster Wallace offered some prescient explanation:

If we want to know what American normality is–what Americans want to regard as normal–we can trust television. For television’s whole raison is reflecting what people want to see. It’s a mirror.

Or, as Dan says, “I think that a lot of the appeal of watching people’s day-to-day lives is just people are curious as to how other people live their day-to-day lives.”

But pretty soon we start to turn inward, Wallace warned: “We spend enough time watching, pretty soon we start watching ourselves watching.”

Alex Tchekmeian, President and Founder of AKT Enterprises, the world’s leading branding, merchandising, and marketing resource, has been recognized by Cambridge Who’s Who for excellence,  leadership, and dedication in entertainment merchandising and management.

With more than a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, Tchekmeian’s drive and ambition led to the foundation for what has since become a flourishing enterprise comprised of multiple companies. He oversees all company operations, manages over 60 employees, and maintains multiple client and consumer relationships. AKT Enterprises, which Tchekmeian established in 1999, has become a full-service provider of print and digital media services.

In 2005, Tchekmeian launched “Give Them Wings to Fly,” the foundation that provides young musicians and schools with instruments they could not otherwise afford.  In addition to this organization, Tchekmeian frequently speaks publically at schools and conventions on the hardships of entrepreneurship at a young age.

Cambridge Who’s Who is the premier business and professional resource for recognizing and empowering accomplished individuals throughout the world.

Central Florida’s premier business and lifestyle magazine, the Orlando Business Journal, has included Alex Tchekmeian, president of AKT Enterprises, in its annual “Forty Under 40” list, which spotlights 40 of the region’s top young business and civic leaders. The distinguished list, noted in the June 2010 issue of the Journal, includes some of the most influential, dynamic, and successful entrepreneurs under the age of 40.

The honorees have shown consistent, outstanding, professional achievement and a commitment to community service. Those selected represent a diverse group of people who, according to the Journal, have made a positive impact on Orange County.

Founded by Tchekmeian in 1999, AKT Enterprises has become a flourishing business comprised of multiple companies, all catering to the merchandising and design industries. AKT provides a wide range of web and print media services, including identity development, web-based applications, web hosting and maintenance, embroidery services, and online stores and fulfillment. Located in Winter Park, Florida, AKT is the world’s leading full-service provider of print and digital media services.

Tchekmeian also continually aims to give back to the music community and industry that has nurtured his company for many years by establishing “Give Them Wings to Fly” in 2005. The organization provides young musicians and schools with instruments they could not otherwise afford.  In addition to the foundation, Tchekmeian frequently speaks publically at schools and conventions on the challenges and satisfaction of entrepreneurship at a young age.

He recently announced the grand opening of Big Top by AKT, his company’s flagship retail store.  The opening of Big Top is the first of many planned retail initiatives for AKT within the coming year.

Dedication to excellent products and services, coupled with the latest cutting-edge technologies and processes, will continue to make AKT Enterprises one of the most innovative companies rising in today’s entertainment industry.

AKT Enterprises, the world’s premier branding, merchandising and marketing company, has announced the grand opening of Big Top by AKT, its new retail flagship store located at University Blvd and Goldenrod Rd in Winter Park, FL. Big Top, which opens its doors in August, will specialize in the development of specialty products and services, including screen-printed garments, promotional items, embroidery, design and web development.

In addition to screen printing and direct-to-garment services, Big Top provides a wide range of web and print media services, including identity development, web-based applications, web hosting and maintenance, and online stores and fulfillment. The company also operates a full-service embroidery shop, which can be used to customize hats, jackets, uniforms and other promotional items.

The Big Top storefront is a bold departure from the traditional retail store. The store features a vast selection of basic and colored t-shirts ranging from budget to premium quality. With on-site technology that includes the latest in graphics, fonts and design, digital art or text can be applied to any of the store’s shirts to create unique and custom products. Big Top requires no minimums on these orders and offers same-day turnaround time.

“With years of t-shirt printing experience for both local and global consumers, our representatives will work with you to ensure our creations are of the highest quality and properly represent your company, business or team,” said Alex Tchekmeian, President of AKT Enterprises. “We are dedicated to the growth of our team and the success of our clients’ promotional endeavors and are loyal to remaining innovative and ahead of the curve at all times.”

The opening of Big Top is the first of many planned retail initiatives for AKT within the coming year.