Jim Beach

Jim BeachJim Beach’s first book, School for Startups, was published by McGraw-Hill in June 2011. Jim has started businesses and has taught entrepreneurship around the world.

He was a member of the faculty of the Institute of International Business at Georgia State University from 2001 to 2009. During this time, he taught international entrepreneurship, with a focus on risk avoidance, creativity, and internet marketing skills. Jim was the highest ranked professor in the department for 12 straight semesters, was named Study Abroad Director of the Year for the State of Georgia, and was invited to guest lecture at U. of Colorado, U. of Texas, Austin, U. of Utah, and U. of Hawaii.

In 2009, Jim founded The Entrepreneur School, www.TheEntrepreneurSchool.com/, a web resource devoted to teaching his philosophy of low risk entrepreneurship. He is Executive Director of a non-profit source on entrepreneurship for over 100 countries called www.InternationalEntrepreneurship.com. Jim has presented for several Fortune 500 companies on topics as diverse as the “Future of Oil Scarcity,” “How to Export in a Down Economy,” and “Getting to Number One on Google.”

At the age of 25, Jim founded American Computer Experience in 1993. From 1993 to 2000, Jim grew the company with no capital infusion to $12 million in annual revenue and to over 60 permanent and 700 temporary employees, operating in 39 states and in three countries. The company was the world’s largest technology training company for children, and enjoyed corporate tie-ins with Microsoft, Intel, Lego, NASA, and many others. In 2000, Jim closed two rounds of venture funding, one for $2.4 million and another for $6.4 million. The Atlanta Business Chronicle recognized the company was one for the fastest growing companies in Georgia for both 1999 and 2000. In 2001, Jim was selected as one of the “Forty under Forty” most influential citizens by Georgia Trend magazine. He has appeared on NPR, MBNBC, CNN and other major news sources as an expert on technology and education, and has spoken in Japan, Korea, India, and other countries.

In 2002, Jim started his first import/export firm, called TimelessChair.com. The firm was the result of a bet he made with a class. The class got to choose the industry and country that he must start a company in, and he had 3 months to start a company with a positive cash flow. The class selected furniture and Pakistan. Jim, in response, took 100 year old Kilim and Persian rugs and used them as the fabric for very high-end furniture. The firm was profitable by the end of the semester, winning the bet for Jim. Since then he has started a high end designer leather clothing import firm from Argentina, a leather jacket and purse import firm, and several other import or export related businesses.

Jim received his Japanese and Business Administration masters degrees from the University of Hawaii and Japan-America Institute of Management Science, of Tokyo, Japan in December 1992. He specialized in Japanese Financial Systems and was selected to receive the Fujitsu Foundation for International Education Scholarship, was a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, and also was awarded Highest Honors. He has worked for the Japanese government trade promotion office (JETRO) where he helped American companies export to Japan and The Coca-Cola Company, both in Japan and in the United States.

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