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‘Self-made’ by 40,
entrepreneur wants
to ‘give back’
ALLEN BRASWELL shepherds
a breakthrough therapy for
Parkinson’s disease
By RONALD C. TRAHAN
By the time he was 40 years old, Allen
Braswell, the oldest son from a middle
class family, had made enough money so
that he never had to work a day in his life
again.
He had been recruited 12 years earlier
by his father, Allen Sr., to join his father’s
company, Circuit Test Inc. (Tampa) as
Vice President of Sales in 1985. (Circuit
Test repaired printed circuit boards for
Fortune 500 computer manufacturers.) In
‘91 Allen was promoted to President and
in ‘93 to CEO. When he joined Circuit
Test, the company’s annual revenue was
$2million, and the company employed 25
persons. When Circuit Test was acquired
by EFTC Services in ‘97, Circuit Test’s annual
revenue approached $50 million,
and the company employed nearly 1,000 people. Allen credits his entrepreneurial
success, partly, to what he learned as a
cadet at the United States Military Academy.
“West Point taught me how much
you can get done in 24 hours,” he recalls.
But Allen has always been an ‘achiever’.
Indeed, Circuit Test’s growth in the ‘90s is
attributed to its game-changing strategy
of partnering with logistics giants FedEx and UPS. In 1992, Allen convinced FedEx
to allow Circuit Test repair technicians to
be located within FedEx facilities in Memphis,
Tenn., to offer computer manufacturers
a one-day turnaround time for
products needing repair. This groundbreaking
strategy soon became the industry
standard. A few years later, Allen
achieved the same arrangement with UPS
in Louisville, Ky.
So, what does an ‘achiever’ like Allen do
when he has attained enough financial
success that he no longer has to work, but
still has half of his professional life ahead
of him? It took him several years to find
an opportunity to build a business in a
field that would be good for society. “Our
healthcare system is a mess, ripe for new
ideas that can cut costs and help sick people
get better,” says Allen. In time, he
accepted the position of CEO with Pico-Tesla, a fledgling company with groundbreaking
technology in dire need of an
‘achieving’ CEO. He, along with his two
partners, also invested $4 million in the
Company.
Initial focus: Parkinson’s disease
Pico-Tesla Magneceutical® Therapies,
based in Clearwater, FL, is focused initially
on Parkinson’s disease. PD affects
1.5 million people in the U.S., with
60,000+ new cases diagnosed each year.
PD is a chronic and progressively degenerative
disease of the brain that impairs
motor control, speech, and other functions.
The popular actor Michael J. Fox,
who has PD, has raised awareness of the
disease through the Michael J. Fox Foundation
for Parkinson's Research (MJFF).
About 70% of people with Parkinson’s
have tremors, making this one of the
most common symptoms. It usually starts
in one limb and can affect the arms, legs,
feet, lips and head.
Magneceutical® Therapy
Is there a cure for Parkinson’s? No. But
Allen Braswell is convinced that his Company’s Magneceutical® Therapy is a
breakthrough for treating PD.
‘Magneceutical’ Therapy involves the
use of an extremely low-level electromagnetic
field (EMF) applied by a specially
designed device—the Resonator™,
along with proprietary therapeutic protocols—
intended to improve a number of
the symptoms of Parkinson’s, such as
tremors.
“Unlike other treatments for PD, ours is
designed to be a non-invasive, non-significant
risk, and thus far we’ve seen no adverse
side effects,” Allen explains.
“What makes our business so exciting,”
he adds, “is that we cannot be successful
unless we help lots of sick people, and we
cannot help lots of sick people unless
we’re successful.”
“Our platform is unique in the
neuromodulation space.
No other company is
doing what we do,” insists Pico-Tesla’s Allen Braswell.
Initially, Allen Braswell
expects to develop the
Magneceutical® Therapy
for symptomatic relief from
Parkinson’s disease.
The Rise of Allen Braswell, Jr.
Born:
June 1, 1958, Keesler Air Force Base, Biloxi, MS
Job History:
Oct. 2006-Present: President and CEO of Pico-Tesla
Magneceutical® Therapies, Littleton, Colorado
First Homerun:
Circuit Test Inc. Upon graduation from
the Univ. of Florida, Allen practiced law as a criminal
defense attorney in Pinellas County for three years. Recruited
by his entrepreneur father, Allen Sr., Allen Jr.
grew his father’s company, Circuit Test, from $2 million
in revenue and 25 employees in 1985 into a global
business with approximately $50 million in annual revenue
and nearly 1000 employees at the time of its
sale to EFTC Services in 1997.
Education:
1976-1978: U.S. Military Academy (West Point)
1978-1980: University of Florida, Bachelor of Science,
Business Administration (Finance)
1980-1982: University of Florida, Juris Doctorate
Hobbies:
Mountain-biking, racquetball, snowboarding
Personal:
Three children, two grandchildren |
