Bplans Contributors

Tim Berry is the founder and chairman of Palo Alto Software , a co-founder of Borland International, and a recognized expert in business planning. He has an MBA from Stanford and degrees with honors from the University of Oregon and the University of Notre Dame. Today, Tim dedicates most of his time to blogging, teaching and evangelizing for business planning.

Kody Wirth is a content writer and SEO specialist for Palo Alto Software—the creator's of Bplans and LivePlan. He has 3+ years experience covering small business topics and runs a part-time content writing service in his spare time.

Noah is the COO at Palo Alto Software, makers of the online business plan app LivePlan. He started his career at Yahoo! and then helped start the user review site Epinions.com. From there he started a software distribution business in the UK before coming to Palo Alto Software to run the marketing and product teams.

Bri Morgaine is a seasoned content marketing leader with a decade of experience in copy editing, social media operations, and content strategy— having honed her skills at industry giants like Palo Alto Software and Andreessen Horowitz.

Candice Landau is a marketing consultant with a background in web design and copywriting. She specializes in content strategy, copywriting, website design, and digital marketing for a wide-range of clients including digital marketing agencies and nonprofits.

Elon is a marketing specialist at Palo Alto Software, working with consultants, accountants, business instructors and others who use LivePlan at scale. He has a bachelor's degree in journalism and an MBA from the University of Oregon.

Lisa Furgison is a multimedia journalist with a passion for writing. She holds a graduate degree in mass communications and spent eight years as a television reporter before moving into the freelance world, where she focuses mainly on content creation and social media strategies. Furgison has crisscrossed the U.S. as a reporter, but now calls Key West, Florida home. When she's not conducting interviews or typing away on her laptop, she loves to travel.

Angelique is a skilled writer, editor, and social media specialist, as well as an actor and model with a demonstrated history of theater, film, commercial and print work.

Makenna Crocker is the Marketing Specialist at Richardson Sports. Her work focuses on market and social trends, crafting gripping and authentic content, and enhancing marketing strategy to foster stronger B2B and B2C relationships. With a master’s degree in Advertising and Brand Responsibility from the University of Oregon, she specializes in generating a strong and responsible brand presence through content that positively influences and inspires others.

Nolo's mission is to make the legal system work for everyone—not just lawyers. What we do: To help people handle their own everyday legal matters—or learn enough about them to make working with a lawyer a more satisfying experience—we publish reliable, plain-English books, software, forms and this website.

Anthony St. Clair is a business copywriter, author of the Rucksack Universe travel fantasy series, and a craft beer writer specializing in Oregon. Learn more at anthonystclair.com.

Scott Gerber is the founder of the Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC), an invite-only organization comprised of the world's most promising young entrepreneurs. In partnership with Citi, YEC recently launched BusinessCollective, a free virtual mentorship program that helps millions of entrepreneurs start and grow businesses.

An entrepreneur. A disruptor. An advocate. Caroline has been the CEO and co-founder of two tech startups—one failed and one she sold. She is passionate about helping other entrepreneurs realize their full potential and learn how to step outside of their comfort zones to catalyze their growth. Caroline is currently executive director of Oregon RAIN. She provides strategic leadership for the organization’s personnel, development, stakeholder relations, and community partnerships. In her dual role as the venture catalyst manager, Cummings oversees the execution of RAIN’s Rural Venture Catalyst programs. She provides outreach and support to small and rural communities; she coaches and mentors regional entrepreneurs, builds strategic local partnerships, and leads educational workshops.

Mikel Bruce is the CEO of TinyFrog Technologies, a San Diego web design agency specializing in WordPress web design & development and secured hosting & maintenance. Founded in 2003, TinyFrog Technologies offers a conversion-based approach to web design and has built over 1,100 websites.

Kelly Gurnett is the Managing Editor of Career Attraction and Editor-in-Chief of CareerMeh. She runs the blog Cordelia Calls It Quits, where she documents her attempts to rid her life of the things that don't matter and focus more on the things that do. Kelly climbed the corporate ladder from lowly office clerk to paralegal over her 12 years with a busy law firm—the last two and a half of which she spent working on her own side hustle. She now hustles full-time, blogging, editing and generally stirring up the Internet.

Elicia Putnam believes in brands. After running a boutique branding agency for 12 years, she's now turning her attention to Small Business, USA and how to bring them branding services in a way that's affordable and fun. She and a group of really smart co-founders have started Brand Genie, the world's first fully automated branding agency.

Jonathan Michael is a creative marketing professional with over 15-years experience in digital and product marketing roles. He stands by the notion that empathy and authenticity are strengths by which companies can effectively engage with individuals at every point throughout the customer journey.

Arlene Soto is the director of the Small Business Development Center at Tillamook Bay Community College. She is the former director the Southwestern Oregon Community College Small Business Development Center Director. She is responsible for outreach to Coos, Curry and Western Douglas Counties in Oregon to provide small business development services through free, confidential business advising and low-cost training programs. Arlene has been working with businesses in the accounting field since 1976 and in management since 1988. She is a Certified Management Accountant and a NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional with a Master’s degree in Management from Marylhurst University and a Bachelor’s degree in accounting from Portland State University.

Kanika Sharma is a patent research analyst at GreyB Services. GreyB is a technology research and consultancy firm that helps Fortune 500 companies and top law firms across the world with its technological insights.

Bruce is the U.S. and International Business Manager for Dynamis Ltd., the parent company of us.BusinessesforSale.com, one of the largest online global marketplaces for buying and selling small-to-medium-size businesses. He is focused on helping small businesses succeed and regularly writes about entrepreneurship and small business management.

Tiffany Delmore is the co-founder and CMO of SchoolSafe, a company helping to develop safer educational environments.

Karoki is a freelance content writer and blogger with experience writing about entrepreneurship, business, freelancing, and self-development. Apart from writing, he loves a little bit of adventure and creating beats/instrumentals on his digital audio workstation (DAW).

As the President of 5th Gear Consulting Helena Hauk assists small to mid-sized businesses with preserving and generating capital, project management, strategic planning, and business development.

Deborah Sweeney is the CEO of MyCorporation.com. MyCorporation is a leader in online legal filing services for entrepreneurs and businesses, providing start-up bundles that include corporation and LLC formation, registered agent, DBA, and trademark & copyright filing services. MyCorporation does all the work, making the business formation and maintenance quick and painless, so business owners can focus on what they do best.

Scott Huntington is an entrepreneur, writer, and blogger specializing in small business.

Steve Cook is an attorney at Cook & Cook in the Phoenix, AZ area. His law firm represents established and startup businesses in the capacity of outside/concierge general counsel. Prior to attending law school, Steve worked as a web designer/software developer and helped create web-based applications for some of the largest brands in the world. During his undergraduate studies, Steve co-founded a digital advertising company that received over $1 million of venture capital.

Tallat Mahmood is founder of The Smart Business Plan Academy, his flagship online course on building powerful business plans for small and medium-sized businesses to help them grow and raise capital. Tallat has worked for over 10 years as a small and medium-sized business advisor and investor, and in this period has helped dozens of businesses raise hundreds of millions of dollars for growth. He has also worked as an investor and sat on boards of companies.

Brendon Pack is Vice President at 1-800Accountant, the nation's leading tax and accounting firm for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Brendon has assisted thousands of clients over the years to ensure they fulfill all of their tax requirements while keeping more of their hard-earned money.

Sarah Hovet is a senior English and journalism major and creative writing graduate of the University of Oregon Clark Honors College. Her poetry has appeared in Z Publishing’s Oregon’s Best Emerging Poets, and The Rectangle, a publication through the Sigma Tau Delta International English Honor Society, of which she is a member.

Tony has returned to his early love of journalistic writing by freelancing long form articles and blog posts. He is currently turning his TV series pilot for The New Twenty into his first novel. Tony lives in Toronto where he continues to be tormented by his beloved Maple Leafs.

Sabrina has served as CEO of Palo Alto Software since 2007. She and her husband, Noah, founded a UK software distribution company in 2001 that later was purchased by and became a wholly owned subsidiary of Palo Alto Software. Sabrina is a successful Internet expert, having served as Director of Online Marketing at Commtouch, Senior Producer at Epinions.com, and founder of her own Web consulting company, Lighting Out. She is a graduate of Princeton University.

JT Ripton is a business consultant and a freelance writer out of Tampa. JT has written for companies like T-Mobile and others.

Eleanor Hecks is editor-in-chief at Designerly Magazine. She was the creative director at a prominent digital marketing agency prior to becoming a full-time freelance designer. Eleanor lives in Philadelphia with her husband and pup, Bear.

Lyle Solomon has considerable litigation experience as well as substantial hands-on knowledge and expertise in legal analysis and writing. Since 2003, he has been a member of the State Bar of California. In 1998, he graduated from the University of the Pacific’s McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California, and now serves as a principal attorney for the Oak View Law Group in Los Altos, California.

Ty has been writing about small business and the business finance topics that impact a business' bottom line for almost 20 years. With over 35 years in the trenches as a main street business evangelist, author, and marketing veteran he makes the maze of small business finance accessible by weaving personal experiences and other anecdotes into a regular discussion of some of the biggest challenges facing small business owners today.

Mike Lockwood is President of TEQlease Capital, a nationwide provider of equipment lease financing solutions. He is also Managing Partner and founder of TEQlease Capital Partners, a Los Angeles, California-based equipment lease finance investment firm.

Brandon Chu is a Senior Product Manager at FreshBooks, the Cloud Accounting solution helping 5 million users invoice their clients with ease. Use their free invoice template to easily send an online invoice now.

Mary Juetten is the founder and CEO of Traklight.com, the only self-guided software platform that creates your custom intellectual property (IP) strategy. Mary has dedicated 25+ years to helping businesses achieve and protect their success, specializing in leading companies in transition or startup phases and helping them create sustainable, operational, and financial growth. She also represents entrepreneurs on the board of AZTC, CFIRA, and the Emerging Enterprise Committee of the LES. You can find her on LinkedIn or Twitter.

Britt Klontz is a Digital Content Strategist at Distilled, an online marketing company.

Marc Prosser is the publisher and co-founder of Fit Small Business, a "how to" publication for small business owners. Prior to starting Fit Small Business, Marc Prosser served as the Chief Marketing Officer of FXCM (NYSE:FXCM). During his eleven year tenure as CMO, the company grew from under 10 people to over 500 employees located throughout the globe.

Meredith Wood is the Editor-in-Chief at Fundera, an online marketplace for small business loans that matches business owners with the best funding providers for their business. Prior to Fundera, Meredith was the CCO at Funding Gates. Meredith is a resident Finance Advisor on American Express OPEN Forum and an avid business writer. Her advice consistently appears on such sites as Yahoo!, Fox Business, Amex OPEN, AllBusiness, and many more.

Emma is a freelance writer and media specialist with a passion for crafting in-depth, human interest articles. She likes spending all of her money on travel, eating cheeseburgers and ice cream, and dancing with abandon.

Andrew Deen has been a consultant for startups in almost every industry from retail to medical devices and everything in between. He implements lean methodology and is currently writing a book about scaling up business.

Jodie Shaw is The Alternative Board (TAB)’s Chief Marketing Officer. She brings over 20 years of B2B marketing and 10 years in franchising to the role. Prior to to her work with TAB, Jodie served as the CEO and Global Chief Marketing Officer of an international business coaching franchise, serving more than 50 countries.

Rachel Blakely is a content writer at Patriot Software, LLC. She provides accounting, payroll, and small business tips in her writings. Patriot Software offers affordable payroll and accounting software for small businesses.

Kateri is a leader in innovative brand and content marketing. She’s committed to putting the best words in the right order to deliver high quality, discoverable, and useful tools and resources at scale. She enjoys exploring the intersection of tech, words, and the people to who drive small business culture.

Joy Corkery is Content Marketing Lead at Latana with over 7 years of marketing experience, helping brands grow by sharing tech and marketing insights. Aside from being a skilled writer, Joy is also a massive book lover.

Stella is a content writer for DesignCrowd and BrandCrowd. She writes about branding, tech, eCommerce, design, and everything in between.

Alessandro Lazzaro is an entrepreneur and business professional. After years of experience in Southeast Asia and Central Europe as a business advisor, Alessandro founded Globartis, a growing B2B marketplace where small and medium enterprises can find partners, trade real estate, and raise or invest capital.