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