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Startup Weekend is Coming to Columbus January 14-16, 2011

By on December 30, 2010 in Entrepreneurship, TechColumbus

Here is a note from Startup Weekend organizer Nick Seguin an entrepreneurship guy at the kauffman foundation, a principal at dynamIt, and a partner at weBuild: “Startup weekend is coming to Columbus again and we’re looking for folks interested in startups, people with creative and technical skills, and anyone else who wants to join to [...]

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My New Venture — BULX Press Release

By on June 28, 2010 in BULX, Entrepreneurship, TechColumbus

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BULX.com, New Private Sale Website for High-End Home Improvement Goods, Raises Seed Round Financing Columbus, Ohio – June 23, 2010 – BULX.com, a private sale website devoted to high-end home improvement goods, announced today closing internal seed round financing from its founders. Opening for business in midsummer, BULX will bring the private [...]

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About Rob Emrich

Rob Emrich is a serial entrepreneur, currently involved in his latest venture as the Founder & CEO of PaeDae.

He has founded and served as chief executive of six startups and social ventures, including Road of Life (distributed $70M+ curriculum), BULX (acquired by DealYard.com 2011), Boundaryless Brands (acquired 2011) and SpeakerSite.

Rob has spoken about his work at Startup Weekend, Ohio State University, Kenyon College, The John Glenn School of Public Affairs and others.

He is a mentor at the startup accelerators Hub Ventures & Founders Factory, and sits on a number of nonprofit boards.

Rob and his work have been featured on NPR, Inc.com, PBS, American City Business Journals, major dailies, and countless blogs, as well as the book 21 Questions for 21 Millionaires.

He lives in Santa Monica with his fiancée, the fashion stylist Kara Kaufman.

My Startup Path

Startup 6: PaeDae (pronounced Pay Day)
(Internet Advertising Technology)
Status: Private Beta
Funding: Investor Backed

Startup 5: BULX
(Flash Sales E-commerce for Durable Goods)
Action & Result: Signed exclusive online distribution agreement with Angie’s List (Nasdaq: ANGI), in less than 1 year BULX became the worlds first & largest private sales company for home improvement products. It was acquired by DealYard.com in 2011
Funding: Bootstrapped
Lessons: The right team is critical, ownership structure matters

Startup 4: Boundaryless Brands
(Enterprise E-commerce, Logistics, and Marketing Technology Platform)
Action & Result: Built e-commerce and marketing technology for medium sized ($20MM to $120MM) distributors of durable goods. Acquired in 2011
Funding: Bootstrapped
Lesson: Focus on the opportunity, not on control

Startup 3: SpeakerSite
(Online Marketplace of Public Speakers)
Action & Result: Built technology, scaled to large adoption but little revenue, three years of 'ramen profitability', ceased operation
Funding: Bootstrapped
Lesson: Take on a big market with a burning problem, focus on one company at a time

Startup 2: B.A. Mensch Consulting
(Digital Marketing and Technology Consulting)
Action & Result: Scaled to seven figure revenue, evolved into next three ventures
Funding: Bootstrapped
Lesson: Be a good person, treat people right

Startup 1: Road of Life | The Keren Emrich Foundation
(Nonprofit, Social Enterprise)
Action & Result: Sold car and stocks, built the first online health curriculum in wiki format, scaled to $70M in distribution to over 250,000 children internationally
Funding: Stage 1, Bootstrapped; Stage 2, Grew to Government, Corporate, Foundation Grants & Major Gifts
Lesson: Meaning trumps everything, do something you care about

Startup Weekend is Coming to Columbus January 14-16, 2011

My New Venture — BULX Press Release

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