Ice Bulb, consultant Charlie Baecker at a glance

Founded: December 2007

Start-up funds: $100,000 in personal savings from Entin and his former business partner

CHALLENGE

How to find enough customers that want his higher-priced products

GOAL

Increase annual sales to $750,000 in 2010, educate people about the possibilities of using ice as decor, and become the leader in the ice industry

MEET THE EXPERT

Charlie Baecker is administrative director of the Don Beall Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship at the Paul Merage School of Business at UC Irvine and a lecturer at the business school. He is also director of the Orange County Business Incubation Network, which is managed by the Beall Center. Baecker's several decades in the Southern California electronics and software industries have included being a company founder and serving variously as president and in management roles for sales and marketing and product development. He was also a consultant at Ernst & Young with a focus on manufacturing operations and information technology. He also composes for and performs in a string quartet.