According to founder and President Phil White, AE Group Mechanical Engineers has provided professional mechanical engineering services in the Ventura and Santa Barbara County areas since 1976. Under the lead of principal engineers Hugh McTernan and White, the company’s designs have long emphasized energy efficiency and sustainability.

Notable projects in which AE Group provided engineering services include major renovations to Santa Barbara’s historic Lobero Theatre, the new Ventura College Applied Science Building and many school and college facility projects in Ventura, Oxnard, Port Hueneme, Santa Paula, Moorpark, Thousand Oaks, Lompoc, Carpinteria, and Santa Barbara.

Stated White, “We have been privileged to have worked on hundreds of very interesting projects in the area with many talented architects and facilities managers. It feels good to have contributed to making the local built environment a better place for people in which to live, work, and go to school.”

Setting up a lemonade stand in the front yard is not what it used to be.  Not only does it take passion and tenacity, today’s entrepreneurs know that it takes visionary genius, a superior product and social, mobile, and video advertising.

Enter The Trade Desk.  The Trade Desk started out in 2009—quite literally at one desk—in the Ventura Ventures Technology Center, the City of Ventura’s business incubator, located behind City Hall. Before long, they moved on to occupy several desks, then, an office suite, an entire floor, and on to offices all over the world.

“The Trade Desk powers the most sophisticated buyers in advertising technology. Founded by the pioneers of real-time bidding, The Trade Desk has become the fastest growing demand-side platform in the industry by offering agencies, aggregators, and their advertisers best-in-class technology to manage display, social, mobile, and video advertising campaigns,” according to their website.

The Trade Desk recently started trading on the NASDAQ.  Shares were expected to be priced at $14 – $16 per share.  However, they opened at $28.75 per share because of strong investor interest.  By the end of day one, their stock had jumped 67% and the company’s value had risen to over a billion dollars.

Their list of awards reads like a millennial’s career bucket list….Entrepreneur’s Top 25 Company Cultures, Deloitte’s Fast 500, Forbes Magazine’s America’s Most Promising Companies, Outside Magazine’s Best Places to Work, just to name a few. In seven years, the company has grown to more than 387 employees and has offices in major US cities such as L.A., San Francisco, Boulder, Chicago, and New York and international offices in London, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Seoul, Singapore, Tokyo, and Sydney. But their headquarters remain in Ventura and the Ventura Ventures Technology Center was the catalyst that helped make this happen here instead of somewhere else.

Other companies that were launched in the City’s incubator have also gone on to be successful, such as Connexity and MomentFeed.  However, after these companies “graduated” from the incubator, they established their headquarters in other cities.   Incubators can be effective at helping to launch companies but there is no guarantee that when their business gets off the ground, they will choose to stay where they hatched.

And that is what makes The Trade Desk one of the City’s economic success stories and an asset to our diverse business community.  “As a growing global company, they could choose to locate anywhere.  The fact that they stayed loyal to Ventura, and have chosen to remain here — less than two blocks from City Hall — where it all began is a testament to the fact that Ventura is a great place to do business,” said City of Ventura Economic Development Manager Leigh Eisen.

The Ventura City Council had the foresight and vision to launch the incubator that helped accelerate their progress.  The Council will honor The Trade Desk and host a brief reception to celebrate this milestone at an upcoming council meeting.  There will be lemonade.

Mark and Kathy Hartley, owners of the building at 598 E. Main Street and of the restaurant Watermark, have finalized plans to lease the building to  the Ortiz family of the reputable El Pescador Restaurants.  The family, who owns and runs 24 restaurants, will introduce Limon Y Sal, their new concept for “modern” Mexican food.

The Hartley’s bought the building, which dates back to the 1920s, and transformed it into a classic masterpiece.  Throughout the restaurant and rooftop lounge there is a blend of old and new.  Three large priceless murals depicting the Camino Real from ‘20s.  overlook the dining room.  The bank vault dates back to the late twenties and the early thirties.  Hartley added the 3^rd floor contemporary W2O.  Such recording artists as Kevin Costner, Leanne Rimes, Jimmy Messina, and Kenny Loggins have played in the past few years.

“It’s been a fantastic ride!” claims Hartley.  “We want to thank our dedicated employees and our loyal customers, many of whom have become friends.  We are excited to be able to spend more time with our out-of-town family and focus on our core businesses and philanthropic endeavors.”

Hartley is in the music business and has an office in Ventura and in Nashville.  The Hartley’s are owners of the Lavender Inn in Ojai, part owners of the Star Lounge in Ventura, and have other real estate investments.

New restaurant owner Parfait Eklu holds the scissors to cut the ribbon at Barrel 33, surrounded by City of Ventura Councilmember Jim Monahan, Ventura Chamber members, supporters, and Barrel 33 employees.

by Sheli Ellsworth

Tracy McIntosh was studying to be a teacher when a car accident changed her life. McIntosh already had a history of headaches. “I’d suffered from migraines three to five times a week since I was two years old. My migraines involved the usual pain in the skull but also sensitivity to light and nausea and vomiting.” As McIntosh got older, the migraines drastically affected her life. “I would come home from school, go to my room, turn off the lights and hide under the covers and moan.” McIntosh says she would spend whole nights in the bathroom when the nausea took over and then go to school the next day. “It was my normal.”

Then in her late teens, a drunk driver totaled McIntosh’s car and she began to suffer lower back pain. While in college, she worked as a seamstress, bent over a sewing machine eight hours a day. “The pain became unbearable. My mom took me to her chiropractor and after a month of seeing him, I realized I hadn’t had a headache in weeks. The experience changed my life, I decided to become a chiropractor to help others.”

McIntosh went to Life Chiropractic College West in the Bay Area and opened her first practice in the San Diego area. She sold it after three years to work in London, England for a year and then moved to Bakersfield. However, fate wasn’t finished with McIntosh. “Some friends moved to the Channel Islands area and we came out to visit. We couldn’t believe somewhere so wonderful existed so close to Bakersfield.” McIntosh and her family has lived in Ventura for several years, but only recently moved her chiropractic practice here.

McIntosh’s practice is not focused on treating symptoms. “It’s a way to maintain health through regular adjustments. Nerve interference caused by misaligned spinal bones decreases joint motion and causes pain and lessens the body’s ability to function properly.”

McIntosh says that today’s lifestyle causes much of the problems. “Traffic, computer work and hours looking down at cell phones can cause ongoing problems.” She offers unlimited adjustments for a flat fee for people who might benefit from regular weekly/monthly care.

McIntosh is located in Salon Panache, 3639 E. Harbor Blvd. #122 . “When the owner at the salon offered me a room to rent I was a little dubious. I was worried that men wouldn’t want to come in and working out of a salon seemed awkward, but I really wanted to practice in Ventura and my unique working arrangement allows me to keep my overhead low so that I can pass the savings on to my members.”

“At first it was women coming from the salon. Then they brought their husbands so many of my patients are couples. As it turned out, we are close enough to the naval base that I get men from there. It really is a fun place to work.”

McIntosh says she loves everything about Ventura. “Sometimes I’m driving around at sunset and the sky is orange over the ocean and the palm trees are silhouettes in the sky and I can’t believe I live here.”

Anyone interested in visiting Dr. McIntosh can call 295.8747 for an appointment.

by Gail Field

Robert Brown’s smile says it all:  “I’m happy here, and I love the work.”  In his office at Drapes West in Ventura, Robert Brown moves easily from the paperwork on his desk to the machinery he operates to make custom window and door treatments for individuals and corporations.

Toting heavy water hoses up and down stairways and drying out water-damaged carpet got more difficult as he grew older.  He wanted something that would challenge him mentally–something new.

Not long ago, while still at the carpet cleaning business, Robert was just doing a neighborly deed when he agreed to look after the Drapes West business while the owner was ill. The owner had been very happy with the way Robert handled the work, keeping things humming while the owner was away, so when he retired, the owner decided to sell the business.

“I wanted a new challenge,” says Robert.  “When Drapes West came up

for sale, David Hilty and I decided to buy it.”  I’ve always admired Dave and the way he did business.  He is generous with his clients and volunteers lots of time and effort to help the community of Ventura.  He and I have that in common: we both like to help people and our community.

Robert’s neighborly, helping attitude is evident.  “I like to make a personal connection with my clients,” he says.  “We work together to find the right window or sliding door covering for them in their home or business—the right product, the right materials, coordinating colors and sizes.  We help individuals and large companies, doing private homes as well as apartment and office complexes.”

Robert is intent on finding the ideal product for each customer.  Typically for individual customers, he gives consultations on the products in clients’ homes.  “Once we decide on what they need, and before I leave, I ask, ‘Is there anything else you want me to do?’  Sometimes the client just wants me to reach something on a high shelf, or hold a ladder while they climb it.   I’m happy to do it.  This business is a perfect fit for me.”

Robert Brown welcomes customers at Drapes West, 2316 Channel Drive #B, Ventura, Phone: 643-3254.