In 2002, the now 39 year old entrepreneur, Kim Russo, began her Wall Street based merchandising company, GDN, from her living room armed with only an intense passion and great determination to succeed.  Without any formal financial or economic background and in deep financial debt, she transformed her then small firm into a multi-million dollar company with international reach.  Today, GDN’s client roster boasts of the world’s most impressive Investment Banks and Fortune 100/500 companies in six continents and over a dozen countries.  Aside from her success with GDN, Ms. Russo has recently created and developed her e-commerce business, www.daretobenaked.com, an overall body toning and cellulite reduction solution.  Dare to be Naked has a promising future as Ms. Russo is currently working on a potentially explosive marketing strategy via infomercial with a leading national direct television marketing firm. 

Ms. Russo’s first entrepreneurial effort was at the age of 17, when she placed self-designed flyers on cars, offering at home manicures and pedicures.  Early on, she knew she wanted to pursue a career that would capitalize on her entrepreneurial drive and creative spirit.  In her mid 20’s, she was hungry for a prosperous livelihood and began studying to become a stock broker and eventually landed at Prudential Securities before beginning her ultimate career path in deal toys.  Since then, Ms. Russo has been sought out by the Wall Street Journal and Financial Times for articles printed which featured three photos of GDN’s designs (see media kit for copies).

In addition to her growing business at GDN, Ms. Russo is diligently working on her latest dynamic creation, www.daretobenaked.com (DTBN).  After being consistently questioned on how she stays in shape without working out on a regular basis, she began to share her methods with women and realized she was onto something incredible.  This discovery gave birth to the DTBN idea.  From concept to execution, Ms. Russo developed DTBN and generated sales within the first week of launching her site.  Ms. Russo feels DTBN was a natural evolution since she is obsessed with being healthy fit vs. model thin and wants woman to realize that with a degree of discipline, you can look and feel fabulous.  DTBN is a series of simple techniques in comprehensive format (similar to that in Pilates) which are easily integrated into your daily routine and require minimal effort but however, do require awareness.  The DTBN philosophy, Ms. Russo says, be conscious of your body movements throughout the day, which is the DTBN philosophy.  Within the DTBN download, she has also included her top 10 quick tips on staying healthy inside and out.

Ms. Russo, who makes her home in Manhattan’s downtown Financial District (FIDI), is a member of New York State’s lead economic-development agency, Empire State Development; WBENC, Women's Business Enterprise National Council; and ASI, Advertising Specialty Institute.  An active donor to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and a number of breast cancer charities, she participated in Morry’s Camp annual fund-raiser for underprivileged children.  Ms. Russo also serves as a committee member for the Edwin Gould Services for Children (EGSC), and has participated in the Covenant House mentoring program for children.  She frequently coaches and inspires young entrepreneurs, pro bono, and claims success is attributed to:  passion, a love for what you do and NEVER accept no for an answer.

Drawing from her background, Ms. Russo sat on the ad hoc board and subsequent design committee for 15 Broad Street and regularly spearheads efforts to increase communication and collaboration among the various members of her industry.

For more information on Kim Russo, please contact
Plum Relations, kate@plumrelations.com