Our story:
Most babies are born in a hospital. "Sammy" the TurtleTip.com mascot was born in the front seat of Nikki and Stone Melet's car. Inspiration struck the San Francisco couple while driving down the road, reminiscing about their delicious meal the night before, at a local restaurant. But instead of gushing over the succulent flavor of the chicken or the fresh crispness of the green beans, the focus was lousy service. Their water glasses were never refilled, the server was rude AND she got Stone's order wrong, forcing him to inhale the remains of the bread basket while staring down his wife for almost 10 minutes while she reluctantly took the opportunity to eat her meal while it was hot. "Why did we give our typical generous tip last night," wondered the couple? They decided it was for fear of appearing cheap, or confrontational. That's when "Sammy the Turtle" hatched. Why not start tipping what servers actually deserve on a case by case basis, then give a little to charity every time we withhold a little from bad servers?! They figured, surely there are charities more deserving of the $5 they over-tipped that slow server the night before. Two months later, the first one thousand little sticker books, aka "TurtlePacks," were born --- ready for adoption through TurtleTip.com. Although they love the idea of helping generate charitable donations, ironically, their favorite part of the plan is the smiley stickers. Yes, each TurtlePack also includes smiley Sammy stickers for the great servers of the world. Nikki and Stone really love leaving those. They say they're a lot of fun, and very empowering!
About the Founders:
Stone Melet is a former television news anchor/reporter turned entrepreneur. After a decade in broadcast journalism, he moved to San Francisco in 1999 to try something new. Mr. Melet started an online service which eventually morphed into a software company. He ultimately sold it in 2005 to one of the world's largest eCommerce companies. Shortly before selling his first company, Stone started a new venture called BEST OF, which he runs full time today. It's a thriving business, focused on collecting media attention surrounding pro athletes. BEST OF packages and sells the material directly to the athletes. Melet is also involved in several other San Francisco based ventures, as a partner, board member and active advisor. The Flint, MI native comes from a family that's highly active in volunteerism, which Stone himself takes part in each week in San Francisco through JFCS.org. Mr. Melet is an avid runner who also enjoys surfing, tennis, ice hockey and DINING OUT! He graduated from the University of Michigan and enjoys regular trips back home to the Great Lakes State with his wife Nikki, also a Michigander.
Nikki Satovsky Melet is a practicing Physician Assistant - PA-C, focused on dermatology and plastic surgery. She assists plastic surgeons in San Francisco with breast reconstruction for breast cancer patients. Nikki was recently published in the medical journal Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery for her research on breast reconstruction. In addition to her full time PA work, Nikki takes an active role in the Bay Area medical community. She's a member of the San Francisco Bay Area PA Association and volunteers in the community. Prior to practicing in the Bay Area, Nikki attended the University of New England's Physician Assistant Masters Program. Before graduate school, she got her required patient care experience during an action packed two-year term as a paramedic in her hometown of Detroit, MI.
It was in her senior year at the University of Wisconsin when Nikki discovered her passion for medicine. Nikki's passions include eating chocolate chip cookie dough, surfing, cooking new recipes with friends, watching The Food Network and spending time with her husband at the Bay Area's tastiest restaurants.
