The Art of Creating a Business That Matters: Commonwealth Club Appearance by Stuart Skorman

Business Wire, June 14, 2007

Monday, June 18(th), Reception at 5:30 PM, Program at 6:00 PM 595 Market Street, Second Floor

SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area start-up guru Stuart Skorman is a serial entrepreneur whose business is revolution. He is best known for founding Elephant Pharmacy, Reel.com, and Empire Video. His new book, CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL ENTREPRENEUR - Why I Can't Stop Starting Over (Jossey-Bass/Wiley), gives an insider's view of what it takes to start a socially-conscious business from the ground up. Here are two topics Skorman will discuss in his Commonwealth Club speech:

* In the age of Capitalism 2.0, Creating Businesses That Matter is becoming a necessity. Informed consumers of all generations want to shop in businesses that leave the world a better place. Generation Y members, for instance, prefer to shop in businesses that "Do no evil."

* Businesses That Matter need to be designed and created in a way that involves the community and customers--even before the company's launch. Skorman will reveal the reasons behind his successes and will also discuss the lessons from his experiments that failed.

Skorman is a business maverick whose experiences span many industries -- from bricks-and-mortar retailing to dotcom enterprises. He jumps into the vortex of an industry that is new to him, then he pioneers a business model that revolutionizes the way the industry does business. True to his radical nature, all his ventures are designed to contribute to the community and help to make the world a better place. Skorman's most recent start-up was Elephant Pharmacy, the Berkeley-based "big box" chain that revolutionized the pharmacy industry by its holistic approach that combines the medical traditions of the West and East in one shopping experience.

Skorman created Reel.com in three years and sold it for $100 million during the dotcom boom. Reel.com's revolutionary editorial interface, the world's biggest selection of films, and innovative viral marketing, made it a formidable competitor to even Amazon.com and the precursor to Netflix. Empire Video, Skorman's first start-up, achieved the highest volume (per store) in the entire video industry, by reaching out to the community and by catering to movie buffs.