invizio co-founder & managing partner kevin v. michael featured in distraction magazine

7/31/2019 Invizio Co-Founder & Managing Partner Kevin V. Michael featured in Distraction Magazine

1/3

the magazine of the students of the university of m

WHY MIAMIIS GOING BIKE

CRAZY

How socialmedia can

Help you

get Hired

cool jobs &tHe alumni wHo

Have tHemfall football

preview

4 sHopping sit

you need to

know now

7 undertHe radarbars

+

april 2


2/3

30 Distraction Main Event

KEEP CALMTHEY HAVE

COOLJOBSAs of March, the national unemployment rate was 8.2 percent and graduates still struggled

to nd a job. And although were not sure if the recession is here to stay or gone for now,let these four Canes prove that hard work pays o.

words_sarah bromley and lyssa goldberg. photos_raquel zaldivar. design_sophianna bishop.

30 Distraction Main Event


3/3

3DistractionThe Extra Issue

David Lekach dreams big. As CEO of Dream Water,

the company behind the namesake zero-calorie drink that

helps people fall asleep, Lekach has made an effort to nd

a much-needed solution for the 70 million Americans who

suffer from sleep depravation.

We have taken a unique approach in helping give this

consumer segment the right product in the right moment,

Lekach said.

In 2009 Lekach jumped on the Dream Water

bandwagon after hearing about the concept from hisbusiness partner, Vincent Porpiglia. Porpiglia developed

the concept when he was tossing in bed one night.

Together with Porpiglia, Lekach helped bring a

concept in the clouds down to earth. They turned Dream

Water into a marketable product by reducing its size to

a simple 2.5 ounce shot, revamping the packaging and

creating all-natural avors like Snoozeberry and Lullaby

Lemon.

After a thorough review of potential launch

strategies, we ultimately set out to put the city that never

sleeps to sleep, Lekach said.

Dream Water became a reality when it launched in

December 2009 and was placed on the shelves of Duane

Reade pharmacy locations in New York City. It can now be

found in stores across the country.

Lekach nds value in this unique and relevant

product.

Everyone thinks that to be healthy you need

When Kevin V. Michael graduated from UMs College

of Engineering in 2007, he didnt know that he would one

day start up his own business.

After working for Motorola and Citigroup for four

years, Michael realized that working for large corporations

didnt satisfy his entrepreneurial drive. He sought out

to make it on his own and is now the co-founder and

managing partner of Invizio, a rm that offers information

technology support for small businesses that dont have

their own full-time IT employees. We function as a virtual

IT department helping them in their day-to-day technology

challenges, Michael said. Michael has inspired localcompanies to think virtually and has created Cloud-based

servers so that a day in the ofce can be completed far

from it.

During a lecture at the University of Dallas, where he

pursued his masters in business administration, Michael

learned about subscription-based service models and laid

the foundation for Invizio. Looking for some venture that

he could start to grow, he connected his IT background

with his new experiences in business.

The company was launched in 2008 during the brunt

of the economic downturn, but Michael and his staff

quickly adapted by designing a-la-carte IT services for

cash-strapped businesses. IT is one of those areas that

businesses will cut back on in tough times, so we had to

tailor our service offerings, Michael said. Invizio has since

grown to include a core team of three employees and seven

to eight contractors for on-site support.

Michael has had many role models along the way and

cant overstate their importance.

Other UM alumni that I knew, instead of pursuing

a career in corporate America, had decided to be

entrepreneurs and start their own companies, Michael said

I had inspiration from people like that.

It was during his time at UM as president ofthe National Society of Black Engineers that Michael

learned to be a leader, realizing that communication and

interpersonal skills are integral to success.

When youre placed in a position of student

leadership, it makes you realize how important other skills

are besides the technical skills that you develop as an

engineering major, Michael said.

To Michael, immersing yourself in as many different

experiences as possible will help you go far. And in fact, its

his outgoing and personable nature that awarded him a spot

in Legacymagazine and The Miami Heralds 40 Under 40

Leaders of Today and Tomorrow list.

to exercise and eat right. However, proper sleep is the

fundamental building block of any wellness initiative,

Lekach said.

Lekach graduated from UM in 2005 with both a law

degree and a masters in business administration and then

worked as an investment banker and managing partner in a

Miami law rm.

The amount of legal work Ive been able to handle

myself or oversee in an efcient manner has allowed us to

commit as much capital as possible towards sales, marketingand distribution activities, he said. Many of the skills

Lekach uses each day at Dream Water were learned at the

law, nance and management classes he took at UM.

Lekach says that being an optimistic pessimist has

helped him be successful.

Its easy to see the good in a situation [or]

opportunity, but I end up focusing on the negatives to

make sure we work through them properly, Lekach said.

Being the CEO of Dream Water and making the

company what it is today has come with many sacrices,

but Lekach still encourages other students to follow their

dreams if theyre ready for the commitment.

If you think you have a great idea, something that

makes you want to wake up and work on every day, then

come up with an initial plan of how you can turn that idea

into reality and do everything you possibly can to see it

through, Lekach said.

davidLEKACHkevin

MICHAELCEO of Dream Water

Managing Partner at Invizio

invizio co-founder & managing partner kevin v. michael featured in distraction magazine

Documents