Shelly Sun

Brainstormer, Business adviser, Business leader, Business mentor, Consultant, Entrepreneur, Idea generator, Parent

SHELLY SUN BIO Shelly Sun is the CEO and Co-Founder of BrightStar. She is a Certified Franchise Executive (CFE) and participates on the IFA Membership and FranPAC committees. Shelly was selected as the Entrepreneur of the Year by the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) in 2006, was on the 50 fastest growing Woman Owned Companies Entrepreneur Magazine list in 2007, 2008 and 2009 and was honored as an Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist in 2008 and 2009. Lastly, she was also selected as the IFA’s Entrepreneur of the Year in 2009. Shelly was named the "franchise queen" by Crain's Chicago Business. Under Shelly’s leadership, BrightStar has been selected for the Inc. 500 for the last few year, improving year over year - #3771 in 2007, #1998 in 2008, #217 in 2009, and #181 in 2010. Prior to starting BrightStar, Shelly had a busy executive career marked by rapid advancement and achievement. She is a certified public accountant with a master’s degree in accounting from the University of Colorado and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Tennessee. ABOUT THE COMPANY SHELLY FOUNDED BrightStar a premium healthcare staffing company providing the full continuum of care, from homecare to supplemental staffing for corporate clients such as nursing homes and physicians offices. Under Shelly and JD’s leadership, BrightStar launched its franchising efforts in 2005, becoming the first franchising company in the country to specialize in both medical and non-medical care and healthcare staffing. In five short years, BrightStar has grown from one corporate office to over 200 locations nationwide, and is now on track to open 400 locations by the end of 2011, including international expansion.

I am passionate about mentoring people looking to grow their business, introducing them to the possibility of franchising their concept, and sharing hard lessons so that others can avoid my mistakes.

Passionate about job creation and franchising as one means of an engine to do so, I have begun writing a book about growing your business with less capital. In the book, I take readers through the hard lessons learned starting a business, ways to identify franchiseable concepts, and how to grow the business domestically and internationally by building a strong franchise organization.

Ability to explain complex topics very simply, Ability to Influence Change, Accountability, Accounting & Business Finance, Business Development Strategy, Entrepreneurial Business, Franchising, Mentoring, Public Speaking, Strategic Planning & Diagnostic Analysis

Leading large groups of people through strategic conversation, ideation, and implementation. I am excited to be able to exercise this muscle with TED!