Business Features

Melissa Hartman/Town Crier

Bob Lane gained local attention after a Springer Trees neighborhood resident posted a picture of him on Nextdoor, questioning whether he was a scammer. It turns out the 18-year-old was going door to door as a part of his real estate license training.

A resident of the Los Altos Springer Trees neighborhood authored a post on the online Nextdoor site Aug. 23 with the title “Possible real estate scam.” Below the resident’s explanation of how a young man came to her door that afternoon asking if any neighbors were interested in selling their homes, she included a screenshot from her Ring security camera – a grainy image of 18-year-old Bob Lane.

The resident, who requested her name not be used, said she did not intend “to open a can of worms,” but she thought it curious that Lane was handing out Alain Pinel Realtors business cards that were worn (possibly from floating around in his pockets, she speculated) when the company had been acquired by the New York-based Compass Realty in March.

future.ventures

Future Ventures co-founders Steve Jurvetson and Maryanna Saenko finalized their 10th investment last month, with the venture capitalists drawing from their $200 million inaugural fund.

Well versed in aerospace innovations, the Los Altos-based team is now seeking out every conceivable sector generating tech “unlike anything they’ve ever seen before,” Jurvetson said.

Eric Davidove/Special to the Town Crier

Kua Body Studios founder Upuia Ahkiong, front, celebrates the company’s fifth anniversary with a luau party Aug. 25. Behind her are massage therapists who have undergone her training program, from left, Crystal Perretta, Jennifer Ruiz, Annette Oevermann, Carolina Huerta and Estel Pereira.

Twenty years ago, Los Altos businesswoman Upuia Ahkiong couldn’t have imagined becoming a massage therapist, let alone owning her own massage studio.

“It wasn’t part of my plan,” said Ahkiong, owner of Kua Body Studios at 106 First St., which celebrated its fifth anniversary last weekend. “I wanted to be a principal for a school. … My desire was to make an impact on the school level and at the state level because I just saw how the government and the school systems were really challenging.”

Courtesy of NowRx

Representatives of NowRx set up an info booth at the San Jose Jazz Festival earlier this month to spread the word about their services.

NowRx has launched the “Be Healthy Now” campaign in which it deploys pharmacists to local events. The Mountain View-based company – which delivers prescriptions to customers – sets up booths to offer various free screenings, consultations and trial packages.

The campaign has already made stops at the San Jose Jazz Festival and the Sunnyvale Music Series. NowRx pharmacists distributed free health packs featuring vitamins and over-the-counter medications, gave prescription consultations and screened people for high and low blood pressure.

Courtesy of Allison Taylor
Allison Taylor started Thought Marketing LLC, a Los Altos-based boutique consultancy, nine years ago after leaving a career running communications for a security software company.

Allison Taylor never planned to launch Los Altos-based Thought Marketing LLC nine years ago – she just knew she needed a career change from running communications for a security software company.

But as she talked to business contacts, everyone kept saying, “Let me know what you end up doing because I’d love to work with you,” she said.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Tyler Goloubef, standing, and Casey McConnell stain a fence for a Project Jobs client. The two are now running the company.

It’s pretty common for high school and college students to work doing odd jobs over the summer. What is unusual is creating a successful business that connects students with community members who have work that needs to get done.

However, Jake Klepper did just that when he launched Project Jobs in 2017. Klepper, a 2015 Los Altos High School graduate, was home from college for the summer and looking for work to supplement a part-time internship.