Richard J. Christiansen
Richard J. Christiansen (July 5, 1965) is a successful entrepreneur, thought leader, loving Husband, Father, Grandfather, Chairman, and Philanthropist. He has founded and co-founded 52 businesses across a variety of industries including technology, online marketing and sales, imports and exports, real estate, innovative products, lead generation, and most recently worm poop.
Rich embraces his humanist personality with his passion for family and creating lasting impact alongside his loved ones. He is known for aligning his own passions with altruistic thinking to develop concepts that are value driven and leave a positive impact on the world.
He is also a co-author of the book Bootstrap Business: A Step-By-Step Business Survival Guide and author of the bestselling book, The Zigzag Principle. Embracing his love of family and togetherness, he even co-authored a third book alongside his sons Alex and Tim, called Even if Your Toes Turn Purple: Raising Teenagers that are Confident, Happy, and Stand Out.
Rich values his family more than anything else and will never miss an opportunity to spend time with them. Him and his wife Gaye are the parents of five sons and a daughter they sponsor from Nepal. Together, they share eight beautiful grandchildren. As a family, they enjoy playing frisbee golf, exploring the outdoors, and always have their eyes set on the next big adventures.
Along with his family, Rich loves to explore and spelunk slot canyons and crest the summits of high mountain peaks. He has started up the throat of Mt. Everest three times, longboards weekly with his two youngest sons, and loves zooming down the ski slopes like a teenager. He is also a passionate golfer and loves fast, thrill-catching cars with sleek lines.
Early life[edit]
Richard was born in Beaver, Utah to John and Laurel Christiansen.[1] He graduated from Beaver High School. He attended Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, earning a B.S. in electronic engineering technology in 1989. In 1991, he earned a master's degree in business from BYU's Marriott School of Business.[2]
Career[edit]
Richard worked as General Manager of the PC Division at Mitsubishi Electric, Product Line Manager at Novell, and General Manager of About.com.[3] He left the corporate world in 2003. He is a serial entrepreneur and a parallel entrepreneur,[4] and has founded or co-founded 52 businesses, 16 of which have become multi-million-dollar success stories. Though he has currently sold most of his businesses, his business have seen international success in 14 countries,[5] specializing in wide range of fields, including technology, lead generation, SEO, real estate, online imports and exports, and many others. Some of Richard’s former businesses include: Tornado Solutions, Know More Media, Cyclone Trading Company, MortgageSaver101, Mountain Grabbers LLC, Castlewave, HooDoo Capital, and Custom Dreams LLC.[6] Richard's early-state venture capital firm HooDoo Capital has backed Cards2Life, a 3D greeting card business[7] and Ascent Wear, an urban wear clothing store in Provo, UT.[8]
In 2011 Richard became an Entrepreneurship Founder[9] for the Rollins Center for Entrepreneurship & Technology at BYU. In 2017 he became a member of the Southern Utah University (SUU) Board of Trustees.[10] As a member of the SUU Board of Trustees, Richard has been involved with entrepreneurship and is the founding member of the SUU Entrepreneurship Leadership Council.[11][12] Alongside his membership on the SUU Board of Trustees, he is currently the principal of the Mom Conference.
In 2020 he released a program on Building Family Legacies through Symbols, Traditions, Doctrine, Defining Events and the Supporting Structure. Build Family Legacies helps families upgrade their relationships through a program consisting of five different modules that include detailed lessons and structures crafted carefully to enhance lasting ties and strengthen bonds. This program provides the ultimate roadmap to building the best family legacy your family could ever imagine and was as spawned from a book he and his son Tim co-authored: Even If Your Toes Turn Purple: Raising Teenagers that are Confident, Happy, and Stand Out.
Author[edit]
Richard co-authored his first book Bootstrap Business: A Step-By-Step Business Survival Guide. It was published in 2009 by Wizard Academy Press.[13] Richard's second book, The Zigzag Principle was published in 2011 by McGraw-Hill.[14] The Zigzag Principle is a USA Today,[15] Amazon.com, and Inc. Magazine[16] bestseller. Richard co-authored his third book Even if Your Toes Turn Purple: Raising Teenagers that are Confident, Happy, and Stand Out[17] with his sons Tim and Alex Christiansen.
Richard was the featured author, in May 2012, of the 12 Books Group[18] leading the discussion of his second book, The Zigzag Principle.
He has lectured around the world, giving keynote presentations at universities, conferences, and corporate events. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as Forbes and USA Today, and he has been interviewed on countless radio, podcast, and television programs.
Philanthropy[edit]
Richard is involved in philanthropic efforts around the world. He is particularly interested in helping the people of Nepal. After a family trip to the Himalayas in 2001, Richard and his family decided to help the Nepalese people, starting by sponsoring a Sherpa family, bringing them to the United States to further their education.[19]
One of Rich’s significant talents is spotting and mentoring winners, having launched and trained hundreds of young women and men over the years. He is presently the Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Southern Utah University and a Founder at Brigham Young University.
References[edit]
- ↑ Cook, Robert (25 April 2005). Salt Lake Tribune http://www.sltrib.com/utah/ci_2683034. Retrieved 10 August 2012. Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ "Entrepreneurship Founders". BYU Marriott School. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ Zwilling, Martin. "Rich Christiansen - Parallel Entrepreneur Interview". Startup Professionals Musings. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ "Kings of Social Media". Utah Valley BusinessQ. 23 Feb 2011. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ "Board of Trustees | Office of the President | About Southern Utah University". SUU. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ↑ Stewart, Briana (Spring 2010). "UV 50 - Top Startups to Watch". Utah Valley Business Q (Spring 2010): 42. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ "Our Story". Cards2Life. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ↑ Herald, Karissa Neely Daily. "Ascent Wear opens in Provo; Tiny House workshop; Utah home care costs stable". Daily Herald. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ↑ "BYU Marriott School of Business - Entrepreneurship Founders - Richard J. Christiansen". marriottschool.byu.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ↑ "Board of Trustees | Office of the President | About Southern Utah University | SUU". SUU. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ↑ "Entrepreneur Leadership Council | Dixie L. Leavitt School of Business". SUU. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ↑ "Why SUU is the Place for Student Entrepreneurs | 2017 News Archive | News & Press". SUU. Retrieved 2019-01-03.
- ↑ "Wizard Academy Press". Wizard Academy. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ Peterson, Pamela. "The Zigzag Principle: The Goal-setting Strategy That Will Revolutionize Your Business And Your Life". McGraw-Hill Professional. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ "USA Today's Best-Selling Books". USA Today. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
- ↑ 800 CEO Read Business Books & Great Ideas. "The Business Book Bestseller List". 800-CEO-Read. Retrieved 29 August 2012.
- ↑ Gunderson, Garrett. "The Successful Entrepreneur's Guide To Teaching Your Kids About Business And Life". Forbes. Retrieved 2018-05-23.
- ↑ Rich Christiansen to Lead Business Book Group
- ↑ Washburn, Daniel A. "Sherpa Girl's Dreams Come True in Utah". SherpaTrek.com. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
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