My Career Highlight Reel
Failed Miserably as a Student
I just wasn’t meant to be in a classroom. I graduated at the bottom of my class in High School and got rejected from every college I applied to. When I finally got into college I dropped out as quickly as possible. I went to school with the intent of studying Theatre and being an actor in Hollywood. It didn’t exactly pan out.
Founded Blue Diesel
(Interactive Marketing Agency)
When I was 19 I started my first company, Blue Diesel. It was the dawn of the Internet era and I was starting a Web development company - great timing I suppose. Landed huge clients - BMW, Bank One, Best Buy and Eli Lilly, grew it to $65 million in capitalized billings, and sold it to inChord communications.
Co-Founded Kelltech Internet Services
(Software, Content Management)
While still running Blue Diesel in Columbus, Ohio, I decided to co-found Kelltech Internet Services in Cleveland, Ohio. We started off doing consulting and morphed into a company with a simple content management software platform. Running two companies in two cities wasn't exactly a picnic but Kelltech was later sold to GTCR at a value of about $10 million so we must have done something right.
Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
I became the finalist and recipient of the Ernst & Young and U.S. Small Business Association Entrepreneur of the Year Awards in 1999 respectively. I think everyone in 1999 had +30 points added to their perceived IQ.
They were all subtracted in 2001.
Joined inChord Board of Directors
(Healthcare/Pharmaceutical Ad Agency)
inChord went from being a tiny little ad agency when I joined to becoming one of the fastest growing ad agencies in the country. I had the privilege of sitting on the board while also growing one of the largest lines of business while at Blue Diesel (we sold Blue Diesel to them when they were small). Watched the company grow from $50 million to over $650 million in billings in five years.
Founded Powerhouse.com
(Real Estate Industry)
Great idea, no opportunity. In 1999 I co-founded Powerhouse.com to help "roll-up" 185 independently-owned real estate companies to create an $8 billion national company. The idea made tons of sense to the founders, just not to the 185 unsigned real estate companies. Hey, it was 1999.
Founded Atomica
(Not-for-profit Arts Organization)
Founded a not-for-profit organization to help promote the convergence of art and technology. Put on some amazing shows and events with some unbelievably talented artists. Still have a hard time understanding how to ask for money with no intent on giving it back! Not-for-profit fundraising is the world's hardest job.
Ohio Businessperson of the Year Award
Named one of Ohio's most distinguished business leaders among past recipients such as Dave Thomas (Wendy's), Robert Lazarus (Lazarus Department Stores), and John McCoy (Bank One). Unfortunately you don't get a billion dollars to go with it like they did.
Joined Swapalease as CEO
(Automotive Leasing Marketplace)
Joined Swapalease.com as the CEO and learned how the auto industry works. Within a few years we became the world's largest auto leasing marketplace with over $1 billion in vehicles listed. In case you ever wondered whether that cheesy car salesman is screwing you on your lease - the answer is "yes" - he absolutely is.
Opened a Nightclub
(Entertainment Industry)
Had a stupid idea while nursing a post-New Year’s hang over that it would be a great idea to have a party like New Year’s every weekend. Six weeks later we opened up “Status”, a nightclub that held about 1,000 people and was home to acts such as Danny Howells and the Crystal Method. Closed it the same year. Somehow working from 8 a.m. on Friday (at my regular job) and then on til 4 a.m. Saturday got old really quick.
Created Two Collegiate Scholarships
Created two collegiate scholarships for Washington State University and Marietta College. The irony being I could barely pay for my own tuition a few years prior and dropped out of college completely.
Founded LeasePower
(Financial Services)
After growing Swapalease I realized there was a great opportunity to lease new cars, not just transfer existing leases. So I launched LeasePower. You could pick a car, choose a lease payment, and apply for financing right on-line. It turned out to be a great service for people to get a price low enough to take to a dealer instead of using us.
Published LeaseAdvisor on Paperback
Wrote an entire book about how to lease a car. Sold pretty well, primarily through Swapalease.com. If you ever find yourself suffering from insomnia, I highly recommend reading (or writing) a book about leasing a car.
Launched the Go BIG Network
(Business to Business E-commerce)
Created the world's largest community of startup companies. I set out to find a way to make life easier for entrepreneurs trying to start and grow their companies. An entrepreneur that joins Go BIG can now have access to tens of thousands of investors, advisors and services to help grow quickly. It's an amazing feeling to help so many people.
Became a Nationally Syndicated Columnist
In preparation for writing a book I asked American City Business Journals if they would let me author a bi-weekly column about starting companies and raising money. Within the first year the column would go on to get syndicated in 42 markets to over 4 million readers.
Published Go BIG or Go HOME
Published Go Big or Go HOME, a book about how to grow a company as fast as humanly possible. Wrote 900 pages in one year which left me with 200 published pages (and a hangover from the amount of caffeine it takes to write 900 pages). Believe it or not, it's really not that hard to write a book - it's just really hard to write a book without going off in a million directions at once.
Joined the Board of the Columbus Symphony
Was pleasantly surprised to be asked to join the Symphony's Board. Partly because the other people on the board are so well-regarded and partly because I'm nobody.
Became a Columnist for Forbes
Started writing for Forbes, the magazine that changed my life as a kid. When I was 19 I was riding the bus back and forth every day to the law firm I was interning at. I never cared about business but read Forbes during the bus ride all the time because it was the only magazine the law firm had sitting around. Reading the Forbes coverage of great entrepreneur literally made me want to become one myself. Within three months I had started my first company, Blue Diesel. So you can imagine writing for the magazine means a lot to me! ( My first column )
Became a Columnist for Largest Men's Pub - Askmen.com
Started as a regular columnist for AskMen.com, the largest men's publication with over 5 million readers per month. It was really cool to just write "guy stuff" and not just "business stuff", although I think transitioning to relationship advice probably ain't gonna happen. ( My first column )
Joined the Board of the GroundWork Group
The GroundWork Group is helping bring technology to non-profits. Up until now the idea of "non profit" and "technology" was a fear of mine, not a goal.
Wrote for TechCrunch, GigaOm, and VentureBeat
Began contributing to TechCrunch , GigaOm , and VentureBeat , some of the most innovative blogs on the Web. The rate at which guys like Michael Arrington consume and publish stories is just beyond my capacity. The guy is superhuman!
Joined the Board of Young Isaac
Young Isaac is one of the most creative and energetic ad agencies in Columbus. I can't get enough of the work they've been doing, and their founder, Artie Isaac is a genius.
Joined the Board of Navigator Management Partners
Got back to my consulting roots and joined the board of Navigator Management partners alongside Jeff Wilkins, the guy who founded CompuServe before anyone knew what the Internet was (except Vint Cerf I guess).
Featured in Wall Street Journal
The hallmark of an entrepreneur's career in my mind is either the cover of Forbes (I'm happy just with the columnist job) or a feature in the Wall Street Journal. It was really cool to see this feature when it was printed. Actually, it was almost eerie because I associate the Journal with far more respectable businesspeople than me in it. ( Online Version )
Founded GotCast.com
(Casting for TV Online)
If you read the rest of my bio you'll learn one thing - I really wanted to be an actor and totally blew it. GotCast is my second hope. We're turning Hollywood on it's head by bringing the casting process online. Now I've got more opportunities to get rejected from Hollywood than ever! It also marks the 10th company that I've started.
Little Known Facts About Wil
In case I ever become famous and you wind up as one of the remaining contestants for "Final Jeopardy", these facts could prove invaluable.
I graduated at the bottom of my class in High School
Someone had to be at the "top" of the class, someone had to be at the bottom. I was the one at the bottom out of 250 students. I graduated with a remarkable 1.2 GPA after barely making it through a Home Ec class that my teacher let me take to graduate. I got rejected from every college I applied to. Needless to say with a 1.2 GPA you don't go very far in the admissions process.
I got rejected from every college I applied to.
Instead I just started "showing up" in college and eventually they let me start getting credit. That's no exaggeration, I really just started showing up.
I dropped out of college at OSU
I'm a big fan of the Ohio State University ("let's go Bucks!"), but when I was there the Internet was just taking off and it wasn't a very good time to be hanging out inside a classroom. Besides, I was a terrible student.I've written two children's books
They aren't published (yet) but I've written a whole series of stories about a superhero cucumber named "Cucumbro" who rules over "Home Pickle" and fights colorful characters like "Bananaman" and "Radishian". Yes, I know these are juvenile concepts but I wrote the books when I was 16 and Vegetales hadn't come out yet.
I used to own a nightclub
When I was younger (not much, but younger) I opened up a nightclub in Columbus, Ohio called "Status". We went from concept (me waking up New Year's day and deciding we should keep the party going permanently) to implementation (six weeks later we opened up the club) in record time. We closed it that same year, but still played host to some great nights and great acts like Danny Howells and The Crystal Method.
I ran a BBS on my Commodore 64 Computer when I was 10
Call it "way before the Internet bubble", but in 1985 I was running a Color64 Bulletin Board System on a Commodore 64 Computer with a 300 baud modem tying up my parent's phone line. Ten years later when the Internet boom hit this would prove to be a real helpful move.
I auditioned for the lead role in the movie "Primal Fear"
When I was leaving high school all I ever wanted to do was pursue acting. So when I got into college I got a talent agent and started going on auditions. I did some commercials and such, but at one point I got to audition for the lead role in the movie "Primal Fear". Needless to say I didn't come close, but the guy who did get it (damn you, Edward Norton) went on to become a huge superstar. I suppose if you're going to lose the role to someone, it may as well be Edward Norton.
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