It all started when Jessie Akkermans, co-founder of Doggies in Town, attended the World Business Angel Investment Forum in Istanbul. Zev Siegl, one of the co-founders of Starbucks, had shared a powerful digital message to all attendees of the event, which was broadcasted on the big screen of the opening day.
A few days after the event, back home in Malaga, Spain, Jessie decided to send Zev a “thank you” message via Linkedin, thanking him for his inspirational words. Only a few hours later, Zev replied, curious to meet the sender of this warm message, who had the proactive attitude that all entrepreneurs should have.
That very week Zev met online with Jessie to talk about Doggies in Town. It was the beginning of a strong & professional relationship. Week after week, Zev, with his experience as co-founder of Starbucks and multiple other companies, advises Jessie in many ways. Zev advises how to best approach investors, how to improve the investor presentations, reviews financial projections, helps ideate new marketing creatives. The advice has been so valuable to the growth of Doggies in Town.
Zev Siegl was born on December 28, 1942 in Detroit, Michigan to a Jewish family. His father, Henry Siegl, was a concert violinist who, starting in 1956, served as the concertmaster of the Seattle Symphony Orchestra for 26 years. His mother, Eleanor Shapiro Siegl, was an educator and founder of The Little School, now located on a campus in Kirkland, Washington.
Back in March 1971, Zev Siegl, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker established Starbucks Coffee Company in Seattle, Washington. Zev Siegl was vice president and a director for over a decade. When the business expanded to dominate the gourmet coffee trade in Seattle, with six Seattle-area stores and a wholesale business, Zev Siegl left Starbucks.
Zev has founded several other businesses, including Quartermaine Coffee Roasters in Rockville, Maryland, near Washington, DC.
In 2004, Zev joined the Washington Small Business Development Center where he served as lead advisor until 2012 anc worked directly with more than 500 individual entrepreneurs.
Today, Zev Siegl is passionate about enabling the leaders of new ventures to make good decisions. As a mentor, he meets online with leaders of new ventures, including the Malaga-startup, Doggies In Town. As a counselor to MBA candidates, Zev meets individually with students at two graduate schools of business to discuss their careers. As a global presenter, Zev speaks regularly to audiences of entrepreneurs and executives, most recently in Saudi Arabia, Poland, and Mexico City. Since March 1st, he has been presenting online as we are here today.
Today, he advises entrepreneurs from around the world, including Jessie Akkermans, of Doggies in Town.
Zev has been detrimental to the growth of Doggies in Town. He’s provided the following: