Profiles

Cigar retailing is typified by a guy who loves to smoke and opens one store. Abe Dababneh has built an empire. His Smoke Inn stores have grown to 12 locations

“The one thing I was most impressed by when I did my due diligence is where they sourced their products. The apricot and pineapple are sourced from Australia. They are

Regent Bank Chairman and CEO Cyril S. “Sid” Spiro is ready for growth after raising $20 million in capital. The Great Recession whacked Regent’s customer base of small and medium-sized

In August 2001, Maria Merce Martin and her family moved from Venezuela to Weston, Florida, trying to escape horrific violence in their native country and joining thousands of others fleeing

What types of companies do you invest in and why? We invest in lower middle market companies where we see opportunities for operational improvements and growth. We invest in sectors

You might call Bianca Diosdado a unicorn hunter – always seeking unique, coveted talent in the field of technology. Not only is finding candidates a competitive process, but there is

John Kanas burst onto the business scene in South Florida as part of an investment team that took over the remnants of BankUnited after it was seized by regulators during

Tell Carlos Arboleda and Mike Moore that there seems to be an air of mystery about what they do – even after looking at their COI Access website – and

Q&A What are some of the favorite projects you have been involved with and why? I really do love every project that I work on, but my three favorite projects

Clearly, Ivanka Trump, daughter of The Donald – former model, real estate entrepreneur, author, wife, mother and head of her own fashion empire – was equal to the challenge. It’s

One of the regular guests on my Fried on Business radio show is Carlos Rosso, president of the Related Group. He combines an incredible real estate vision with an extraordinarily

It was quite a surprise to Preemo and TechBar founder Ivan Mladenovic when he became one of three company owners selected from more than 8,000 applicants to receive advice from