We're About Making Your Dream a Reality

Ellisa Brenneman
Owner and President

Having immigrated to Canada from Brunei as a child, Ms. Brenneman understands and appreciates the value of hard work and perseverance. Working various jobs throughout her teenage years to help support her family, Ms. Brenneman learned two things: first, that every dime matters and that working for other people will never earn the rewards that being a business owner can achieve. Her background and own personal insight led Ms. Brenneman to pursue higher education at all costs. She worked her way through school eventually earning a Bachelor's degree from the University of British Columbia.

Ms. Brenneman's constant pursuit of a better quality of life brought more questions than answers – a common struggle for entrepreneurs. Always seeking a higher standard of living, Ellisa leveraged her management and analytical background in science to invest in early stage alternate energy/clean technology companies.  Her timing (and luck) couldn't have been better. The big returns sparked her altruistic desire to fuel entrepreneurism at all levels from the micro start-up to the IPO exit strategy, ultimately resulting in the creation of Ethos 360.

As a published author and proponent of entrepreneurialism, she brings more than a decade of management, research, investment, and communication experience to her current role as President of Ethos 360.  She brings her experience in birthing green businesses and managing public, media, and investor relations for small-cap public companies to every project she spearheads and every client she coaches in business development. In addition, Ms. Brenneman manages a cleantech emerging market equities portfolio.

Ellisa believes that capital must be reinvested in hiring the best business planning professionals for delivering greater value and superior results, and so in order to ensure that clients receive the most sterling business plans and projects, she does not receive a salary.

Mike Peterson, MBA
Co-Owner and Director of Financial Modeling

In his role at Ethos 360, Mike upholds the philosophy that working one-on-one with the client is the key to constructing a precisely written and accurate business plan. He is responsible for developing and refining the business plan process. Trends within the business world are constantly changing; he therefore makes it a primary objective to ensure that every business plan entails the most up-to-date information on industry trends and figures.

As an expert in financial modeling, Mike ensures that each plan accurately reflects the client's full concept both verbally and financially through a highly comprehensive financial model. Mike is very passionate about entrepreneurialism and personally understands the trials and tribulations of commencing a business and capital raising. Mike is a business planning award winner and has successfully faced the fires of venture and angel investors, he is a valued member of the Ethos 360 team.

His passion was ignited the first time he helped a client secure $75,000 in equity financing. "I knew after the client secured funding that I really enjoyed helping entrepreneurs." This experience moved him to join Ethos 360 and is the guiding principle behind his leadership at Ethos 360. As a graduate from Oregon State University Mike Peterson holds a bachelor's degree and Master of Business Administration specializing in entrepreneurship.

Ellen Arndt
Director of Special Projects

A University of Portland graduate, Ellen Arndt has written and edited hundreds of professional business plans for start-ups, existing companies, and non-profit organizations. She began her writing career in college, and has since honed her writing skills in the areas of business and marketing. From freelance web copy to writing business blogs for websites such as resourcenation.com and blogtrepreneur.com, Ellen is adept in both the art and science of creating successful business plans which thoroughly convey core values, identity, and mission. She has worked for two successful business planning firms, and has helped raise capital for clients on the West Coast, East Coast, and most recently implemented her business planning skills to assist clients in Texas and Oklahoma prior to joining the Ethos 360 team.

Ellen is driven to represent projects in the best possible way without sacrificing client integrity. Whether that involves improving the client's understanding of his or her market segment, researching industry trends, or developing cost-effective marketing strategies, Ellen brings superior expertise to all aspects of the business plan. Ellen consistently exceeds client expectations.

Today, Ellen excels in writing special projects and overseeing rush business plans for clients with unique needs and expectations. Her ability to carefully analyze data and present it in a compelling and direct format has demonstrated her talent for completing business plans in short time frames or tailoring them to certain audiences that may require unusual and/or additional information. Clients can be assured that when they work with Ellen, who has become one of the industry's foremost experts in writing business plans, they are receiving concise plans that exceed their expectations.

In addition to business planning, Ellen brings experiences which include grant writing, copy editing, organizing promotional campaigns, and development of corporate responsibility communications. She brings exuberance and expertise to every project she touches.

Ellen Arndt has proven herself multiple times over with her ability to not only meet strict project deadlines, but to adapt to the needs of any project's specific criteria. Her accomplishments in this position include:

• Building an exciting elevator pitch for the news aggregate site Trenspot.com designed to instantly attract the attention of venture capitalists.
• Writing plans for multi-million dollar entertainment ventures that specialize in state-of-the-art night clubs and concert halls including Club Xotica and Destination.
• Consulting one-on-one with clients to improve their business models and enhance their revenue streams, provide key industry insight through SWOT and RISK analyses, and writing a tailored narrative for business plans that have a unique audience.
• Completing numerous business plans in limited time frames – from 48 hours to one week – while still maintaining utmost client satisfaction.
• Developed the web content for a medical professional recruitment website.

Michael Cassella
Director of Business Plan Consulting

In charge of constantly refining and improving Ethos 360's business coaching, mentoring, and small business consulting services Michael brings forth not only his depth of experience but a breadth of knowledge that is unparalleled. Battle hardened, Michael has been in the trenches for over three years working directly with business owners and start-up entrepreneurs along with managing and training small business consultants. Michael's philosophy is "assess, analysis, accept and action".

Michael intimately understands the trials and tribulations entrepreneurs face. Whether it's a home based start-up, a technology company seeking second round financing or a multi-million dollar company in need of an outside consultant, Michael has been there and done that. Having completed over 550 successful client engagements across a plethora of industry sectors Michael has developed the track-record few possess. A natural educator and leader he imparts his wealth of knowledge conducting Ethos 360's in-house small business coach training program. Teaching others is a passion for him and watching them flourish is the reward.

Before entering the small business coaching and consulting field, he helped build his family's construction business into one of Portland's premier residential and commercial builders. Day-to-day, Michael was involved in a position that involved quick-thinking, knowledge of various industries and finance, and the ability to communicate well with clients and workers. "It's serendipitous how those same skills translate to business mentoring."

Through this hands-on experience Michael developed his love of entrepreneurism and became a proponent and protector of the small business person. Blessed with the rare gift of being able to convey the sometimes difficult advice he must give to clients with a welcomed sense of pragmatism and levity.

Michael holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications and a minor in English from Portland State University.

Michelle Barks
Director of Public Relations

Michelle Barks is in charge of public relations for Ethos 360. She brings her professionalism and best practices, fine tuned while working within various Fortune 500 companies most notably Nike Inc. Michelle focuses on public and media relations, brand building, and developing social media strategies. With experience and expertise that are unmatched, and with media connections that span multiple industries and markets, Michelle enables the Ethos 360 team to stay at the cutting edge of emerging social media trends.

Not only is Michelle a proponent of entrepreneurialism, she also devotes time giving back to others as an active member of the Portland community. She has done considerable charitable work helping local non-profits. Most notably, Juliett's House, a child abuse intervention center.

Michelle is a Cum Laude graduate of Oregon State University with a Bachelor of Science in Merchandise Management.

Christian Brenneman
Capital Consultant and Writer

Mr. Brenneman is a serial entrepreneur having spent the last 17 years starting up, growing and financing businesses. From the SBA loan process to pitching angel investors to Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) he's been there and done that. Christian shares his past experiences with Ethos 360's clients in the hopes they don't make the same mistakes he has in the past (and there's been a lot). When you call for a business plan or with a question you'll probably get Christian; he's here to help.

Through hard work and perseverance, Christian has already taken one company to the rank of #111 on the 2008 Inc. 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies list. His current goal is to make Ethos 360 his second.

Currently he is the Head of Investor Relations for Global Synergys Inc. and is working to secure additional rounds of financing. Global Synergys is a green technology company that has improved on a process that refines ethanol byproduct, Dried Distiller Grains Plus Soluble, or DDGS. Simultaneously, Mr. Brenneman serves as a board member with Cherry Voodoo LLC, a microbrewery located in downtown San Francisco. Cherry Voodoo produces two products: premium craft beer and a new premium infused liquor.

Rachel Yim, MBA
Lead Consultant and Financial Modeler

Rachel is well adept to the practice of business planning. She served as the Business Plan Competition Coordinator for Oregon State University, where she coordinated the logistics for the MBA Business Plan Competition. Her first place awards in both the MBA Business Plan Competition and New Enterprise Challenge Business Plan Competition helped her land this prestigious position.

Rachel's experience spans multiple sectors including project management, business planning, marketing, and public relations. A natural leader, Rachel has demonstrated her strong ability to organize successful projects from start to finish. She possesses proven expertise in strategic planning, organizational development, media relations, and budget analysis, both in the academic and organizational realms.

An MBA graduate of Oregon State University, Rachel studied management and entrepreneurship. Her passion for pushing start-ups and existing businesses in the right direction is evident in her work performance. She received her undergraduate degree in psychology from George Fox University.

Case study of success:

Rachel was an integral part of the business planning and development process of S-Ray Corporation, a company specializing in developing groundbreaking dental technology. She wrote the business plan which helped the company secure multi-million dollar investments. She is currently an equity shareholder in S-Ray as well.

Christina Hersey
Vice President and Director of Research

Business plan clients ask about the depth of our market research and the breadth of our industry knowledge around the clock. With the addition of Director of Research Christina Hersey, clients can expect thorough, inclusive market research in their business plan. Let's face it: quality market research is one of a client's biggest considerations, and often the most important component of a business plan. Clients' concern about this aspect of the business plan has plenty of merit, and is highly valued in our unique philosophy. A comprehensive market analysis and industry overview can make or break a business, weigh heavily on a loan approval, or be the deciding factor for an angel investor. Christina possesses unwavering expertise in this area, and has empirically proven her vast ability in compiling market research that has pleased thousands of clients- literally.

Christina is special and impossible to quantify. She possesses a level of experience specifically related to business planning market research that cannot be matched within the industry. A veteran in this sector, she has applied her skills to deliver approximately 2,000 business plans over the last half decade. No one else on the planet (and we've been looking, because if they did exist we'd hire them on the spot!) has the knowledge or experience to compare with Christina's talents. No matter what the business is, or what model is employed, she has done it all. We've subscribed to the most well respected premium market research databases to give her the right tools to perform her magic, accompanied by her own dynamic insight and background. Her research has helped raise millions along with launching empires, and will continue to play an instrumental role in the business planning process.

A University of South Alabama graduate, Christina and her husband Nathan moved to the Portland area in 2005 after spending four years as a Navy family. They recently welcomed the birth of their first child, Demetri Benjamin.

• Five years of in depth market research for thousands of business concepts making her peerless
• Her work earned compliments from prestigious financial institutions such as the World Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada. Both stated, "This is the best business plan we have ever seen."
• The most complete professional business plan researcher making her the go-to for the mind numbingly complex and technical business planning projects

Doug Johnston
Vice President of Business Development

After severe budget cuts threatened the continuation of music and art classes at his local school district, Doug commenced a new company that would work aggressively to stop school shortages from occurring. Through hard work, an unwavering passion, and determination, his school fundraising company, formed in 2005, was able to help 27 different school districts in two states by filling in budget gaps to prevent shortages. After five years of successfully growing his company, Doug made the decision to sell the business to the first employee he had hired back in 2005 to make certain that his passion for school fundraising would ensue.

Doug joined Ethos 360 to help aspiring entrepreneurs and existing business owners foster their ideas and long-term growth strategies, and turn them into thriving enterprises with bright futures. Doug is no stranger to the pitfalls and challenges of owning a business, and will utilize his experience in business ownership to prevent others from making the same mistakes he did that can jeopardize the company's a foundation and integrity. His knowledge in launching a start-up business, preparing a concise, well-structured business plan, and implementing the plan itself into action are among his specialties in business development.

He spent several years as the National Sales Manager for a marketing company contracted by the United States Golf Association, where he assisted both large corporations and locally owned companies in effectively promoting themselves in front of thousands of potential customers. This position bolstered his expertise in formulating and deploying sound marketing methods for propelling business growth. The experience and lessons learned in marketing start-ups and existing businesses will be passed on to Ethos 360 clients.

His accomplishments speak highly of his character, further proving him as a positive addition to the Ethos 360 team:

• Former Shooting Guard for Oregon State; lost to Georgetown in the Final 8 of the NCAA Tournament
• 2005, 2006, and 2007 National Sales Representative of the Year for Bench Craft Company
• 2008 New Accounts Sales Manager of the Year for Bench Craft Company
• Currently coaches his son's soccer and baseball teams here in Portland, Oregon

Jamey DeOrio
Editor in Chief

Jamey DeOrio is an expert in helping clients to perfect their ideas on paper. His years of writing and editorial experience in the business planning industry have aided hundreds of entrepreneurs and business owners to define and refine their goals and visions. Jamey's editorial track record has earned him the moniker "eagle eye" by his peers and he is often called in as the final overseer for complex business plans.

A thoroughly edited plan, integrated with the client's input, is the pinnacle of industry professionalism. The best business plan furnishes investors with a clear impression of the company and offers an informative and engaging read, which ultimately paves the way for funding.

Jamey is a magna cum laude graduate of Ithaca College. His diverse academic background includes studies in mathematics, computer science, and English, culminating with a Bachelor's Degree in creative writing. He is a two-time featured reader at the school's Handwerker Gallery and was granted the chance to study on an individual basis with Cornelius Eady, an award-winning American poet and a faculty member of the University of Notre Dame's Creative Writing MFA program.

• Played a key role in the development of a business plan for a subsidiary of one of today's largest online retail stores.
• Refined and performed research for the business plan of Green Bike Share, a bicycle-sharing technology and hardware provider that has been signed to help build the upcoming bike-share program in Boulder, Colorado.
• Completed extensive revisions on a pro bono plan for a gourmet Mexican food cart in Portland, OR, with close contact with the Founder.
• Helped to write and headed revisions on the EthiDolls business plan, a company that manufactures high-end educational dolls fashioned after historic female African leaders and packages them with their stories.

Elizabeth Buelow, MA
Writer

Elizabeth "Liz" Buelow has contributed to the writing and editing of thousands of business plans, from start-up boutiques to multi-national endeavors. She possesses a Bachelor's degree in English from the University of Wisconsin, and a Master's degree in Writing from Portland State University. A creative writer at heart, Liz prides herself on providing eye-catching and innovative details to each business plan, ensuring both professional and fresh incentives that investors will notice.

Because of her ability to understand what each client is trying to achieve with their business plan, Liz deals exclusively in product summaries, which detail the new business owners' specific product or service, and how everything is formatted. In this role, Liz strives to help clients receive the funding they need to pursue their dreams and ambitions.

Matt Westbrook
Financial Modeler

A graduate of Auburn University with a Bachelor's degree in Economics, Matt Westbrook brings a wealth of experience to Ethos 360's financial modeling department. To date, Matt has successfully constructed and validated thousands of analytical models for a wide range of enterprises, both start-up and existing, to enhance revenue growth and foster cost reduction through statistical principles and data analysis. By properly interpreting clients' products and data, Matt is able to identify opportunities for cost reduction, revenue growth strategies, and increased efficiency through statistical analysis.

He believes that the best financial models should represent a blend of both optimism and caution, with the end goal of complementing the business plan as a whole. In addition, Matt enjoys staying up-to-date on events in the macro economy, which has helped broaden his knowledge of both large and niche industries.

Meghan McCracken
Writer and Editor

Meghan is an experienced technical and business writer who has written and edited thousands of business plans. Her editorial skills were mastered at a fast-paced business environment, where she worked on in-depth business plans and proposals. She also has valuable entrepreneurial experience working with an international retailer.

She brings a scientific background to projects, allowing her to delve into complex technical content and language mechanics. She is detail-oriented and precise, with an eye for the flow and structure of the document as a whole. Meghan continually leverages her expertise and business background to produce business plans that accurately portray the client's concept in an engaging manner for investors and lenders.

Meghan holds a double major in Creative Writing and Linguistics from George Washington University. With her combination of business plan writing skills and real-world entrepreneurial experience, Meghan brings added value to every client at Ethos 360.

Meghan is most proud of the following accomplishments during her business planning career:

• Researching and writing a detailed analysis and market review of a cancer-fighting agent, transforming published scientific studies, data, and papers into a workable investment proposal.
• Successfully completing a 48-hour turnaround on an alternative energy proposal that was presented to government officials at the state and federal level.
• Consistently placing an unshakeable priority on precise detail of language and prose flow, bringing a higher level of readability, coherence, and quality to the finished product.

Mary Yajko
Writer

Mary strives to bring clients what is missing from most of today's mass-produced business plans: depth, purpose, and cohesion. Modern business writing is overwrought with empty language serving merely as filler, yet words are our primary tools of expression and should not be taken for granted. With her love of the English language and her respect for clients' endeavors guiding her work, Mary does not let business owners' unique ideas slip through the cracks of a faulty writing style.

Invaluable to her work at Ethos 360, her memorable years working closely with a local start-up taught her hands-on the hazards and excitement of an entrepreneurial lifestyle. Mary has a dynamic work history; her familiarity encompasses everything from nationally established companies to neighborhood non-profit organizations.

Mary graduated with honors from Ithaca College with a B.A. in Sociology – devoting years of study to perfecting relevant, ambitious, and meticulous research of the socio-cultural landscape. She minored in Writing and received scholarships and recognition for her prose. Mary has enjoyed putting thought into word since her first years of literacy, and this devotion will not fade.

• Utilizes each client's personal vision to create highly customized strategies for new and growing ventures
• Earnestly communicates marketing plans for nonprofits, local start-ups, eco-minded businesses, highly technical companies, and ambitious online endeavors
• Composes in-depth competitive comparisons and creative explorations of a businesses' operational advantages

Ryan Manfrin
Chief Financial Modeler

Growing up within a family of successful entrepreneurs, Ryan first-handedly experienced the excitement of entrepreneurship, thus driving a lifelong interest. As someone who cares deeply about the economy's welfare, Ryan believes it is the emergence and growth of small businesses that will revive the global economy.

Ryan is interested in all aspects of the business plan process, with a focus on financial models. Having been a key player in several successful small businesses, Ryan understands the challenges and obstacles that business owners face. This real world experience has allowed him to understand and develop strategies on preserving capital and innovative financing.

Ryan is an alumnus of the University of Oregon, where he excelled academically, majoring in Political Science with a minor in Business Administration. His multi-disciplinary background is merged with his interest and expertise in clean technology industries.

Ryan brings his global political awareness to Ethos 360. He continues to hone his knowledge on up-and-coming business trends, and is particularly interested in the green energy sector. Some highlights of Ryan's background include:

• Developing sustainability initiatives to reduce expenses and preserve jobs in local wineries in the Pacific Northwest.
• Working closely with European business owners providing Ethos 360 with a global insight and international perspective.

Ariel Lepor
Graphic Designer and Programmer

With a keen eye for effective and aesthetic designs, Ariel brings his suite of creative abilities to Ethos 360 and our clients. Proficient at graphic design, photographic composition, web design, XHTML, CSS, PHP and JS programming, his technical expertise blends seamlessly with artistry. An admitted fan of anything related to IT, Ariel ensures that all the cogs in the computers at Ethos 360 are working at optimum capacity. He lends his expertise to design and branding clients to deliver a beautiful product that is both effective and beneficial in accelerating one's business.

Ariel is the founder of GreenLeaf Imaging, a design business that offers a myriad of services ranging from logo development to custom web design. His passion for design and artistry has been instrumental in the development of the Ethos 360 website.

A native Californian who takes pride in his work as a graphic designer and freelance nature photographer, Ariel has won multiple awards for his photography. As the strongest artistic team member of Ethos 360, he continues his uphill battle to convert us all into Mac users.

Nick Baker
Reception / Accounts and Billing

When you call Ethos, the friendly voice you'll hear at the other end of the phone belongs to Nick Baker, our resident receptionist who also manages accounts and billing. A master task juggler, Nick brings his talents in the precise art of handling monetary transactions as well as his gracious and helpful persona to our team here at Ethos.

Mr. Baker also has a print and graphic design background having gained extensive experience working at some of Portland's top firms over the last five years. Always staying on top of the latest software tools, he is proficient with Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, Photoshop, Acrobat, and Dreamweaver. His growing portfolio includes branding work for a variety of businesses including an architect, a typographer, a sustainable landscaper, music production company, a green recycling business, and a non-profit women's leadership organization.

Born and raised in the Portland area, Nick is a graduate of Portland State University with a Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design. His interests include mathematics, woodworking, architecture, and antique muscle cars.

• Branding and corporate identity specialist
• Skilled at a wide variety of print design across multiple industries
• Vigilantly stays on the bleeding-edge of the latest methods in graphic and print design

Brooke Strickland
Writer and Researcher

From coffee shops to multi-million dollar corporations, Brooke has edited and written thousands of business plans during her career. Working in a fast-paced business environment for the last three years, Brooke took advantage of the opportunity to work with entrepreneurs at all stages of the business planning process. Her niche lies in the marketing strategy portion, having created thousands of marketing plans for start up and existing businesses.

Brooke brings a diverse skill set to Ethos 360, having worked in management, marketing, medical and magazine editing, and technical writing. Published in more than 13 magazines across the country, she holds an Associate’s degree from Clark College and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Washington State University Vancouver with a Professional Writing Certificate. An avid reader of fiction, memoirs, and poetry, Brooke appreciates creative, fresh approaches to writing business plans.

Some of her accomplishments include:

• Completing numerous marketing strategies for clients in one week’s time, accurately and in-depth
• Writing a portion of a business plan for Carolyn Kepcher, famous T.V. personality, most known for her right-hand advising to Donald Trump on The Apprentice
• Editing multiple medical books and articles for doctors around the country