Award-winning entrepreneur Wright Thurston currently acts as founder and Chairman of the Board for Elevate, Inc., a provider of television, Internet, phone, and security services. Thurston commenced his career in direct sales with the global entity Melaleuca, Inc., when he was 18 years old. During his tenure with the firm, he enlisted more than 1,000 distributors for its products. Subsequently, Wright Thurston started several popular businesses throughout the Pacific Northeast that sold cellular phones; eventually, Omniserve Wireless purchased his chain of retail stores. The following year, Thurston re-entered the industry with Future Phones Inc., which used physical storefronts and the Internet to find buyers for VoiceStream Wireless (today T-Mobile) devices. In only a year and a half, Future Phones emerged as VoiceStream Wireless' most successful affiliate in the nation, with nearly 2,000 employees and more than 20,000 buyers.
Recognizing the market's saturation of cell phone distributors, Wright Thurston applied his talents to home security systems with Firstline Security, Inc. Established in 2002, Thurston's business earned recognition as National Alarm Computer Center's Fastest Growing Alarm Company in the Nation during its first two years of operations. In 2003, it placed fifth in SDM Magazine’s survey of America’s largest providers of residential home security systems. Three years later, the firm qualified for the Inc. 500, and it ranked as 280 on the magazine's 2007 list. That same year, Wright Thurston was named a finalist for the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Today, Thurston runs Elevate, based out of San Clemente, California. Elevate offers consumers a number of different options that improve their houses and small businesses. To learn more about the company and Wright Thurston, please visit www.goelevate.com.
