DECEMBER 2015

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Top of page, from left: Saber Ammori, RJ King, Mike Sarafa, Ron Boji and John Kello Left: Mingling before the program obstacles to opportunity The Chaldean News hosts its first Entrepreneur Forum BY VANESSA DENHA GARMO PHOTOS BY DAVID REED In business people fail all the time and ideas come and go, but success occurs when those who are knocked down get up and try again. They not only listen to great ideas, they research and execute a plan. That was the message from the four panelists who spoke at the Chaldean News first Entrepreneur Forum on November 12. Nearly 100 community members gathered at Shenandoah Country Club to hear from John Kello, Saber Ammori, Ron Boji and Mike Sarafa, who have all experienced setbacks and success. Sharing past Chaldean News Economic and Enterprise stories, I talked about the late Mike George and how he made note several times that Chaldeans know how to reinvent themselves and catch the next big wave. I made opening remarks and introduced our moderator, RJ King, editor of Dbusiness Magazine. He, too, reinvented his career, from a daily business reporter at the Detroit News to overseeing one of the most prestigious business magazines in the country. He also knows first-hand what it is like to be part of a failed venture. He was instrumental in bringing the Redbull Air Races to the Detroit River in 2008. It was a coveted event but because of liability issues, the event was cancelled after just three years and King, like many, had to move on. “We are talking about rebounding,” said King. “How do you get through trials and tribulations, start over and make it even better? I have a tremendous amount of respect for this community. You are such a business-oriented culture.” Saber Ammori started Wireless Vision with his partners, his brother Omar and brothers Mark and Kevin Denha. In 2005, he ventured into the wireless business after some failed restaurant ventures. “It has been a great run,” he said. Wireless started with just two stores and today they have more than 250 locations across 15 states. Ron Boji is the president of Boji Group — a diversified company in development, hotels, gas stations and distribution. They have close to 400 employees and do about a halfbillion dollars in sales. John Kello, co-founder and CEO of MatchRx, was a long-time commercial real estate broker and developer before SUPPORT PROVIDED BY venturing into a company that allows pharmacies to buy and sell overstock prescription drugs to each other. Like many entrepreneurs in real estate, Kello’s business was hit by the 2008 economic downturn. “We had a lot of time on our hands,” he said. But he didn’t stand idle. His business eyes and ears were open and Kello became intrigued by an untapped area of the pharmacy industry – overstocked items. His partner came up with the idea and the two executed the plan; today they do business with 4,000 pharmacies around the country. Mike Sarafa, president and CEO of Bank of Michigan (BOM), which was recently acquired by Level One Bank, jokingly noted, “I am a banker and a lawyer, a member of two of the three oldest professions in the world.” BOM, which is nearly 10 years old, was partnered with Capitol Bank Corp. After a few years, the bank was hit by the downturn in the economy. “We battled through a recession and battled through a struggling holding company which we exited in 2012. We have few good years behind us now and recently saw an opportunity to merge with Level One – a deal expected to close in the first quarter of next year,” said Sarafa. Bank of Michigan was a sponsor of the event along with Walled Lake Schools and Meijer. “Starting a bank is not like starting a hot dog stand,” said Sarafa. “It is a complicated venture and very difficult to be done, and most likely will not be done in the future.” The banking industry has changed drastically and today there are fewer bank charters being approved than in years past, he explained. There has also been a consolidation of banks. In 2000, there were roughly 16,000 state or national chartered banks in the United States and today there are less than 6,000. Each of the panelists experienced his share of difficulties. For MatchRx, starting the business itself was a challenge. “In our instance, we started a marketplace where you needed a buyer and seller,” said Kello. His partner, who is a pharmacist, also became a customer by buying products posted on the MatchRx site just to create a marketplace. “It worked,” said Kello. “Creating a marketplace from scratch was a twoto three-year process. We never took outside funding for it. It took a lot planning, patience and good people on the team to make it a success. We trusted what we were doing.” Today, they face challenges on the regulatory side and are often in Washington, D.C. to address laws and issues. “We were prepared for this new law in place but you are never fully prepared to deal with the federal government and the speed in which they move,” said Kello. “It is a glacial speed. You can meet and go to D.C. as often as you can and try to make an 26 CHALDEAN NEWS DECEMBER 2015
impression and sometimes it sparks. We kept knocking on the door.” Determination paid off. “We have learned a lot and have gotten kicked in the teeth a ton but we have persevered,” he said. “It has been gratifying getting through it all.” Kello led right into Sarafa’s observation about business. “John touched about three great points that apply to every business: There is a need, an idea that has to be executed, and good people must be in place,” he said. “That is what happened in the bank. Mike George had a lifelong dream over the years to have a bank in the Chaldean community. Ultimately, the idea to launch Bank of Michigan was Martin Manna’s.” At first, Sarafa thought it was a “hair-brained” idea. However, “I knew there was a need in the community for a niche bank to service some of the businesses we have in our community.” BOM was opened but not without its own struggles. In the spring of 2010, the bank regulatory arm — FDIC — stopped by unexpectedly. Many of the banks within the Capitol Bank Corp. family were failing, and Sarafa was given a letter that stated if the FDIC insurance fund was in jeopardy because of the other Capitol Bank Corp. banks, all of the banks would be held accountable. Ten banks were seized and the rest figured out a plan. In 2012, BOM reached a deal to purchase 51 percent of the bank and they raised the capitol to buy it. “The silver lining in our story is that we persevered through the recession; we managed through difficult loans and in 2012 we bought out Capitol Bank Corp. and became the first independently owned community bank in the Chaldean community,” said Sarafa. “We were able to be entrepreneurial, as we are as a community, and had many good years that followed. This year put us on target to sell at a very good price to Level One.” He concluded by saying, “the need, the idea, the people, the perseverance through hard times and being opportunistic is what makes for a success.” In 2004 Ammori was getting out of restaurant business, which had started out as a prosperous venture but was later losing money. A proclaimed retailer at heart, Ammori began looking at other industries, and wireless telecommunications had promise. He and his partners did some research and looked at various carriers, then decided to do business with T-Mobile. “We put our life savings in the business,” said Ammori. “When you grow up in retail, you think all retail is the same. In wireless it was very different. This was a combination of retail and sales and we had no idea.” Within 18 months, they lost all the money they invested. They were on the verge of closing when an opportunity came to purchase 12 locations. They decided to go for it. As Ammori said, “My partner Mark said, ‘we are either the dumbest people in the world or the smartest.’” T-Mobile was growing and they were looking to partner with sophisticated retailers. Ammori and his team hit it off with the T-Mobile leadership team. In 2008, the leadership team tested out a business plan never done before and gave Ammori’s group 12 corporate locations in the Columbus, Ohio market. “The CEO said to us, ‘we don’t usually trust dealers but we trust you guys.’ So they gave us an opportunity and it took off,” Ammori said. Today they have 1,500 employees. “I would say the two of the greatest traits of a leader is trust and courage,” said Ammori. “What really made us successful is that T-Mobile trusted us, our employees trusted us and we built trust with our customers.” Along with courage is knowing you can’t please everyone. “I tell my kids this all the time: ‘say what you mean but don’t be mean,’” Ammori said. Wireless Vision, which was once living month-to-month barely paying their rent, now plans to have 300 locations by 2016. When Boji graduated from college in 1993 with a construction management degree, there wasn’t much going on in development or the family grocery business. He ventured into the computer business in the Lansing area. “I think what my father and I have been able to do is take obstacles and parlay them into opportunities,” said Boji. He too faced obstacles and has always been poised for opportunities. One came several years ago in Lansing when his father, Louie Boji, wanted to buy the former Michigan National Tower building, a Lansing landmark at 25 stories high. Ron and his mother opposed the idea but Louie was undeterred. Boji, who had no experience in building management, used what he called his “Chaldean flair” and sales experience to engage his new tenants. “I was going to wow them,” he decided. He walked around and introduced himself to everyone. One of those meetings would forever set the tone for the Boji businesses. “My dad always said, ‘never burn a bridge because you never know if it is the same bridge you need to cross,’” he said. “That is politics 101.” He met then-lobbyist Dennis Muchmore on the tour of his family’s new building. Today, Muchmore is Gov. Rick Snyder’s chief of staff. “Dennis explained to me that day that we did not buy a building that is just bricks and mortar. We bought a landmark. He told me I had two options: to manage the building from the basement and do well for my family or I could parlay this into many other opportunities. I had no idea what he meant at the time.” Some 18 years later, Ron’s office is on the 23rd floor of the building, and the Boji family owns more than FORUM continued on page 28 Clockwise from top left: Tom Naimi and Gene Dickow; George Kalabat and Dr. Shakib Halabu; the panelists share a laugh. DECEMBER 2015 CHALDEAN NEWS 27
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DECEMBER 2015

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