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It’s only been seven months since Keith Pandeloglou left his six-figure sales position with TriNet.
Since then, he’s opened a coworking space in Lakewood Ranch and managed to build it to 90% capacity. He’s now looking to open a second location in downtown Sarasota.
Pandeloglou decided he wanted to get involved in the coworking business after watching the company WeWork grow in a number of different cities. Pandeloglou’s clients at TriNet often worked at WeWork locations in different big cities, and he thought it was a cool concept. Coworking allows a person from a small company or startup to work in an office atmosphere with a virtual mail service and collaboration opportunities for a monthly fee.
Pandeloglou has also started a consulting business.
With TriNet, a national human resources and payroll company, he experienced all aspects of the business, moving from IT to client services to sales. He worked his way up to manager of inside sales for the East Coast. He worked with the company through acquisitions and going public.
But Pandeloglou always knew he wanted to go out on his own. He started his first business, a networking company, when he was 19. He left because the corporate route at the time felt safer. Now, he doesn’t regret that decision because of the experience he gained working for large corporations like CIGNA Healthcare and TriNet.
“I purposely set up this lifestyle so I can participate” in the community, Pandeloglou says. He’s currently president of Suncoast Technology Forum and serves as an ambassador for Lakewood Ranch Young Leaders Alliance. He didn’t want to continue with the 11- to 12-hour days involved in corporate life. Today, he has “no moral conflicts” about participating in the groups. “It’s all in line. It helps my goals and everything plays off each other.”
— Traci McMillan Beach
Name: Keith Pandeloglou
Age: 34
City of residence: Lakewood Ranch
Twitter handle: @UTCVentureGroup
Employer: UTC Venture Group
Title: CEO
Birthplace: Mineola, NY
Years on the Gulf Coast: 6 Years
Marital status/children: Single / No Children
Alma mater: Villanova University
Best place to network: Cowork LWR of course!
Coolest business experience: Meeting Daymond John from FUBU / Shark Tank
Messy desk or clean workspace: Clean all day!
Best business lesson ever learned: Perfection is the enemy of “good”
A website that makes your job easier: Dropbox
Community group you’re most involved with: Lakewood Ranch Business Alliance
Favorite off-hours activity: Taking in the excellent restaurants of Lakewood Ranch Main Street
Two people, dead or alive, you’d like to have dinner with: Steve Jobs and Mark Cuban
What you would be doing if you could pick another career: General Manager of a Baseball Team
Top item on your bucket list: Drive around the USA in a Tesla
Skill you’d like to learn: SEO
Who would play you in a movie about your life: Joseph Gordon-Levitt
If I had a magic wand I’d: Ensure my family and closest friends didn’t have a financial worry for the rest of their lives.
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