I liked Bangkok much more after having visited a second time. We toured the usual sites like the Royal Palace. During my first visit, I was exhausted and couldn’t get any sleep. With my second visit, I had the benefit of rest. Bangkok is teeming with life. This time, I appreciated that. The most surreal [...]
Thailand Jeep Trip – Part 6: Mae Salong to Chang Mai
Eventually Fabien became so sick that we had to return to Chang Mai to take him to the hospital. He had a pretty nasty infection in his throat, and the doctor ordered him to rest for at least three days. We returned the Suzuki Caribbean and ended up staying in a very nice, new furnished [...]
Thailand Jeep Trip – Part 5: Chang Rai to Mae Salong
Eventually we became very bored with Chang Rai and even though Fabien was sick, we decided to check out Mae Salong (or Santikhiri), a remote village populated by a stranded Chinese military battalion left over from the 1949 revolution. The military refugees, their families, and a new generation of Thai-born children have made a life [...]
Thailand Jeep Trip – Part 4: Mai Hong Son to Chang Rai
After leaving Mae Hong Son, we stopped at a bunch of local hill tribe villages. The villages were so inviting. Although some of these places were extremely remote and literally on the border near Burma, they had internet access. The same people that stirred huge puts of rice over a communal fire for the entire [...]
Thailand Jeep Trip – Part 3: Pai to Mae Hong Son
After a few days in Pai, Fabien, Sylvia and I left for Mae Hong Son. Mae Hong Son is a town further out and a jumping off point to go visit local hill tribes. The drive there was stunning and having a giant Dutch girl stuffed into the converted half backseat of the Suzuki was [...]
Thailand Jeep Trip – Part 2: Chang Mai to Pai
Pai is a very cool town near the Myanmar border in the extreme northeast area of Thailand. Foreign travelers meet in Pai, and hip Thai nationals move there. Prices were very inexpensive, and the atmosphere was relaxed. Pai might be my favorite town in all of Thailand. I also experienced my first chilly night since [...]
Thailand Jeep Trip – Part 1: Ko Tao to Chang Mai
With our goal to abandon the tourist track, Fabien and I rented a Jeep in Chang Mai. It may have been the best decision of the entire trip. I never realized how much I like to drive and the freedom that comes from being behind the wheel. In Ko Tao, we considered buying a scooter [...]
Ko Tao, Thailand
I am now an Open Water Diver, certified by SCUBA Schools International. I received my certification in Ko Tao which, when translated, means Turtle Island. I arrived in Ko Tao after taking a six hour train ride from Bangkok to Chumphon, followed by a two and a half hour ferry ride to the island. I [...]
Bangkok, Thailand
The original plan was to travel directly to India, but I flew into Bangkok instead. I researched Thailand, and it seemed like an amazing place, very friendly to travelers. Bangkok was a rude awakening though. Most travelers come into this city on the way to somewhere else; many are middle-of-the-night-delirious from long flights and time [...]
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.
Recent Tweets
Follow @RobEmrich on Twitter
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SpeakerSite to Demo at IT Martini 17
May 20, 2011
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SpeakerSite is Hiring: Inside Sales
July 18, 2011
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BULX acquired by Dealyard
August 12, 2011
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FastFireplaces.com Acquired
September 1, 2011
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Bali Bound
September 12, 2011
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Internet Retailer Covers Sale of BULX
April 10, 2012
- The PaeDae Core Values April 6, 2012
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Lessons Learned: Just Launch.
March 25, 2012
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PaeDae is Hiring (again)
March 22, 2012
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Are College Degrees Necessary for Start-Ups? Free Course Bonus!
February 22, 2012
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




