Speaker - Sept. 13, 2013

David Duley

Entrepreneur

David Duley, originally from Flint Michigan, has called Atlanta his home since arriving to attend school at Oxford College of Emory University and Emory University’s Goizueta School of Business. David’s first entrepreneurial adventure started during the dot.com boom when he tossed his hat in the ring by starting The Handyman Network, Inc., a unique service that would allow customers to find qualified contractors for their home improvement projects with just the click of the mouse. While at The Handyman Network, David invented "Handyman In a Can™," the first way home improvement retailers could sell installation services as a product right off their store shelves.

After The Handyman Network, David began consulting for small and medium size corporations. While technology sales slipped globally, David helped develop a new sales platform for a local start up company that increased sales by over 100%. In 2003, David started Triad Ventures, LLC, a real estate investment firm specializing in the investment of bank and government owned assets.

David also founded PEARL Protected, a company that brought to market the worlds first permanent escape ladder system for 2 and 3 story residential homes, apartments, condo’s as well as student and military housing.  The PEARL escape ladder has been featured on The Today Show, Good Morning America, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition and numerous other national media outlets. PEARL has also won the Home Safety Council Award for product Innovation, LBM magazines top 20 new building products of 2006 as well as Building Magazines 2006 product of the year award.

On July 1, 2009 PEARL was sold to Werner Ladders to bring our permanent escape ladder to the masses.  Werner Ladders (www.wernerco.com ) is the world’s largest ladder company with roughly 75% market share in the US with growing markets in the European Union and a recent launch into Mexico.  Until their partnership with PEARL, Werner ladders had never had an escape ladder product.  By working with PEARL Protected, Werner launched the Werner Fire Escape ladder system with Home Depot, Lowes, and various other big box retailers.

David is also co-owner of a successful restaurant in midtown Atlanta called The Nook, on Piedmont Park.  The Nook’s patio was ranked #2 by Creative Loafing magazine Atlanta.  In addition to a nice patio, The Nook has brought to market many innovative dishes that have reached acclaim such at Totchos™ (tater tot nachos), the “Bloody Best” (named top 10 Best Bloody Mary in America)  and the various “ Stuffed Burgers”, that have been winners of the 2010, 2011 and 2012 Atlanta battle of the burgers.

David’s latest project is I Can Media, LLC.  In 2012, the self published book  titled “I Can Fix America: 52 common sense ways YOU can make the United States great again” arrived online and in bookstores across America.  This book and subsequent website will help empower Americans with simple tool and ideas that can help restore America for generations to come. Since the release of the book, David has appeared on numerous national talk radio and TV shows.

In 2012, David was named by the Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the “40 under 40” in business and community service.  David was appointed by City Council to serve on the Board of Ethics for the City of East Point, GA in 2009 and recently rolled off the Board of Directors for Jerusalem House in Atlanta Georgia (www.jerusalemhouse.org ) which houses over 50% of permanent housing for the homeless living with HIV/AIDS in the Atlanta metropolitan area.