Yanni Hufnagel is the CEO of Lemon Perfect, a high-tech company that has developed a revolutionary new system for weight loss. He started as an entrepreneur trying to create self-maintenance products for his daily smoking habit, which he still does today. However, he realized that the product had more potential than what he was doing with it and decided to shift his focus onto something that mattered to him, weight loss.
- Education
Yanni Hufnagel graduated from the University of California, where he graduated with a degree in communications and economic policy. In addition, he also has an MBA from Duke University. After college, he joined the United States Marine Corps, where he served for three years. He was later medically discharged for back problems.
- Carrer
Hufnagel started as a media executive at the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), where he served as a senior producer and director. He then transitioned to the nonprofit sector, where he was working as Director of Marketing and Communications for the American Red Cross. In addition, Yanni worked in various other capacities in media and marketing with CBS, Annenberg-CPB, PBS, and NBC.
- Achievements
Yanni Hufnagel has won many awards for his work, including the American Chamber of Commerce in Germany’s Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs’ Entrepreneur of the Year Award, the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year South Africa and has also been named one of California’s Top 50 business leaders. He is also a member of the San Diego Business Journal’s 40 Under 40 Class of 2009.
- Lemon Perfect
While at the Public Broadcasting Service, Hufnagel started his own Lemon Perfect company. While working for PBS, he started a venture to produce self-maintenance products for people who smoked cigarettes. The product was later launched as an online store where people can buy self-maintenance products such as slim sticks and cravings. In addition, the company launched a weight loss program that allowed customers to buy their products online and receive them in their mailboxes within two weeks.
Success is a mindset. Innovative products are nice. But it takes a lot more than that to be successful. As an entrepreneur, Yanni is always looking for opportunities to grow and improve his company’s portfolio of products and services. He tries to see new problems and how he can solve them with his company’s current product lineup.