For the second year in a row, Santa Monica resident Kevin Emamian, owner of auto repair center The House, has been recognized by his alma mater, Arizona State University (ASU), for starting and managing a fast-growing business.
The event, held on the university’s main campus, saw 135 outstanding alumni announced as members of the Class of 2024 during the university’s annual awards program, which recognizes the fastest-growing organizations owned or led by alumni. The honorees range from sole proprietors to leaders of large corporations across dozens of industries, including architecture, construction, information technology, law, marketing and public relations, nonprofits and real estate.
Emamian was nominated last year as well, but this year he was honored in the Next Revenue category, which is only recognised if a business has consistently grown by a certain amount.
“It’s like I was fighting at lightweight last year and now I’m fighting at middleweight,” said Emamian, who was ranked 16th in the $250,000-$1.99 million division (last year) and 30th in the $2 million-$9.99 million division (2024). Both divisions had more than 40 fighters in them.
Eligible companies are assessed based on significant growth in total sales and revenue over the past three years and are categorized into three financial tiers: $250,000-$1.999 million, $2 million-$9.999 million, and $10 million or more.
“I guess it will be a while before I’m able to compete in the top categories,” he adds with a laugh, “but it’s a real honor to be recognized by my university, which prides itself on nurturing current and future entrepreneurs.”
This year, there were 52 first-time winners, 34 from 17 states across the U.S. and 101 Arizona-based companies, bringing in a massive total of $17.421 billion in revenue. Additionally, up to 10 intrepid undergraduates each year present their innovative business ideas in front of nearly 1,000 attendees, including Emamians.
“It’s incredibly inspiring to watch the students present their unique and profitable business plans,” he said, adding, “Their enthusiasm gives us hope that future entrepreneurs have the foundation to succeed in their industries.”
Emamian said he was determined to pass when his best friend was accepted and honored as part of the Class of 2022. “I was determined to pass. I felt both proud and jealous when my friend stepped onto the field at Sun Devil Football Stadium,” he said.
Emamian had received a track and field scholarship offer from Westmont College in the long jump and triple jump, but an injury right before the start of the school year caused the offer to be rescinded. Looking for a last-minute alternative, he visited the campus of Arizona State University and fell in love with it. According to its advertising tagline, Arizona State “maintains a top position in innovation, surpassing MIT, Stanford and USC.”
“While working at Lexus Santa Monica, I met my business partner, Steven Adams, who worked in the service department and a gentleman named Matt Unger who showed me the inside story of the automotive industry, which prepared me to eventually take over this tough industry and start my own business,” Emamian said.
The 2024 recipients were announced at a reception in April at Mallet Arena in Tempe, Arizona, but all of the recipients will be honored again at Sun Devil Football Stadium on Sept. 7 before their hometown team takes on the Mississippi State Bulldogs. It’s the event Emamian is most looking forward to.
“Yes, I’m really looking forward to it,” Emamian said, his face lighting up. “I’m going to see and hang out with all my old friends, I’m going to meet and hang out with all the award recipients, and of course, I’m going to get to go out to my hometown football stadium and soak up the glow of ASU love. Honestly, there’s no other feeling like it,” he said.
The Haus is a certified independent Mini Cooper and BMW repair shop located at 2621 Pico Blvd. The second location is in Sherman Oaks at 14850 Calvert St. Emamian’s slowly but surely expanding empire celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.
Plus, if you own one of those little icons of old British design, you’ll probably already be familiar with The Haus – in fact, the name means “house” in German, which is entirely fitting since BMW bought and relaunched the Mini brand in 2000.
Scott.Snowden@smdp.com
