WELCOME & BEST OF LUCK
TO ALL THE MACCABI ATHLETES
At Audette Cadillac we're looking forward
To the games and salute you all! Have Fun!!
Business I entrepreneurships
Fill-Up from page A37
p . ,/,6 FINANCING AVAILABLE
ON CADILLAC ESCALADE
AUDETTE
LIBERTY. AND T; PURSUIT
248.851.7200
7100 Orchard Lake Rd.
West Bloomfield
Mon. & Thurs. 9
Tues.. Wed., Fri. 111 6
www.audeftecadillac.com
OPEN SATURDAY
For Additional Saving
on Stock tiquidatio
Ends Scto-- 6:7,y, August 23r
50% to 85% OFF
EVERYTHING MUST GO
All Sales Final. Alterations Additional
ARL ST
HABERDASH
7
42 N OLD WOODWARD
248 645 6675
N 1 ajor Credit Cards Accepte
-
1412850
A38
August 14 2008
depending on where the video network
is — such as in health clubs or gas sta-
tions."
The programming for GSTV draws
upon several sources, including ESPN,
ABC, CBS as well as news, weather
and traffic updates provided by local
sources. Leider said the content could be
specifically tailored to suit the needs of
specific providers.
"A benefit of having GSTV at a sta-
tion is the opportunity for them to run
promotions to drive consumers from
the pump to the store," he said. "They
participate on which products and ser-
vices they want to market and we are
conscious of the messaging based on
the audience."
With a stable of advertisers that
includes General Motors, Best Buy,
Kellogg, Wal-Mart, General Electric and
several other Fortune 500 companies,
Leider said the sell to media buyers was
actually easy.
18 months of operations the company
experienced positive cash flow, and sev-
eral other benchmarks were exceeded in
its first two years.
Gas station owners seem receptive to
the concept. In addition to entertaining
his customers, Mike Ceritano, owner of
Alexander's Auto Wash in Lake Orion,
said there has been a clear financial
benefit derived after the screens were
installed.
"We immediately noticed an improve-
ment in sales of some of the products
we sell;' Ceritano said. "I have seen an
increase in express detailing service
as well as people buying washes at the
pump."
The youngest of four boys, Leider,
who is divorced and has no children,
lives in Royal Oak and said that Oak
Park was an ideal place to headquarter
GSTV. With its central location, relatively
low cost of rent and his familiarity with
the area, the inner-ring suburb made
sense from an economic
standpoint.
"We are essentially
"We spend a significant amount
a TV network and we
of money on research."
wanted to find some
place
that had pro-
- David Leider, Gas Station TV
duction and editing
facilities to help us get
started," he said. "We
He explained that because the com-
were lucky that the building we are in
pany spends so much time creating a
has other businesses in those areas."
diverse programming experience, and
Growing up in Oak Park, Leider is
research demonstrated that people like
a graduate of Oak Park High School,
getting news, weather and entertain-
attended day camp at the Jewish
ment while at the pump, companies
Community Center on 10 Mile Road,
were keen to exploit the four-to-five
was a member of B'nai Brith Youth
minutes that consumers were forced to
Organization and attended synagogue at
spend waiting for the tank to fill up.
Congregation Beth Shalom on Lincoln
While he declined to share annual
Road, where his parents, Eileen and the
revenues, citing that GSTV was a pri-
late Irven, were founding members.
vately held company, Leider did say
Citing his parents as his heroes,
the company is operating profitably
Leider credits them for imbuing him
and it expects to more than double the
with an entrepreneurial spirit. "My par-
amount of screens it has to 12,000 by
ents both taught me a lot about ethics
the end of 2008.
and hard work',' he said. "My father was
One of GSTV's capital investors, IZI
in the building business and I learned a
Media of Los Angeles, whose principal
lot about why details and design matter;
Mark Alhermizi is GSTV's chairman,
and my mother started a wholesale and
said that the network is outperforming
retail clothing business which I worked
what the investors had initially antici-
at starting from age 9 through college."
pated, which makes it attractive for
He added, "You learn a lot when your
either an initial public offering or sale to mother is your boss."
a larger media company.
"David and his team have surpassed
GSTV By The Numbers
all their forecasted models and the com-
Founder: David Leider
pany is doing much better than we have
No. of Employees: 37
hoped, not only from a roll-out perspec-
Years In Business: 2
tive but also from a performance per-
Annual Revenue: Not Disclosed
spective," Alhermizi said."I get countless
Screens Nationwide: 5,600
solicitation calls from private equity
No. of Media Markets Served: 19
firms looking to acquire GSTV:'
Size of HQ Facility: 6,000 sq. ft.
ALhermizi added that within the first