Family Business Nation-Behind the scenes tour with Les and Seth Gold

Les Gold and Seth Gold – father and son owners of American Jewelry and Loan and stars of the hit TV show “Hardcore Pawn” will take us on a tour of their famous pawn shop – and share what they have learned as third and fourth generation pawn brokers. You can expect their wisdom to be down-to-earth and pragmatic. We will also have time for networking and small group discussions.

Gold's visibility has led to speaking engagements, sales training seminars, and even a TED talk. He was sought for comment on Detroit’s financial troubles for media outlets such as The Detroit News, The Huffington Post, TMZ, and Fox Business. He has been featured on: The Today Show, Yahoo! Financially Fit, Good Morning America, Inc. Magazine, CNN Your Money, and Forbes Magazine.

Seth Gold is a fourth generation pawnbroker who was named the 2013 National Pawnbrokers Association Pawnbroker of the Year at the organization’s annual meeting and conference.

He learned the business from the inside-out and backed his knowledge with a degree from the University of Michigan and designations in diamond grading and colored gemstones from the Gemological Institute of America. He joined the business after his graduation from the University of Michigan.

He launched an ecommerce division that now generates 30% of the company’s sales. He oversees the marketing for the store including social media and internet marketing. His leadership in the industry has led to serving as the youngest state President for the National Pawnbrokers Association. As such, he has worked closely with legislators to impact laws relevant to the pawn industry.

The Gold’s supports The Heat And Warmth Fund ('THAW Fund'), which helps local families pay their heat and electricity bills. In February 2013, a fund-raising party dubbed 'Hardcore THAW' and held after-hours in his store raised more than $40,000 for the organization.