Leadership
Ross Shell, Founder/CEO
Ross has spent his professional career as a marketer and business strategist, as well as an entrepreneur. His work has spanned a number of industries with his most formative experiences coming from the branding industry, financial services, and strategic consulting work. In 2008, Ross launched Red Idea, a "consulting + ventures works" firm, serving promising growth companies and entrepreneurs.
After graduating from Stanford in 1993, Ross began his professional career in newspaper advertising, marketing consulting and later served as Director of Sales and Marketing for a growing website agency in Boulder from 1997-1999. He raised capital from a branding and design firm based in San Francisco to acquire the agency in 1999. From 1999-2003, Ross served as President of Tesser, the newly integrated entity. Tesser has grown to become highly recognized for its brand and store design work in the national restaurant and retail sectors. Ross was a part owner and board member in Tesser from 1999 to 2009. (continued)
Ross Shell, Founder/CEO (continued)
Following his role as President at Tesser, Ross was a member of the Client Services team at IDEO, known worldwide for product design and innovation consulting, serving clients from Fortune 500 to newly funded startups. From 2005-2008, Ross directed Client Services for an established alternative investment firm, which managed a platform of hedge fund and private equity products, with offices in the U.S, U.K., Asia and Canada. During his tenure, the firm grew from $250 million to a peak of nearly $700 million in assets under management.
Ross graduated with honors from Stanford, receiving a B.S. in Political Science. He was also a Boettcher Scholarship winner. He has been a consistent volunteer at the Camp Cheley/Children's Hospital camping program in Colorado. He has volunteered for local non-profits including serving on the board of e-town, a national radio show taped live in Boulder. He is also a Founding Partner of The Culture of Giving, a longstanding Boulder County philanthropic campaign. Ross is married and lives in Boulder with his wife and son.
Doug Granat, Advisor/Investor
Douglas Granat is the Founder of Trigran Investments, Inc. and has been President since its inception in June 1992. Mr. Granat has been a member of Trigran Holdings LLC since its inception in September 2006. Since 2000, Mr. Granat has served on the Advisory board of Active Screw and Fastener, a private company. Since August 2007, Mr. Granat has been a Member of the Investment Committee for Endurance Asset Management, LLC. Mr. Granat served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Illinois chapter of the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America from 2001-2003 and was President from 1998-2000. Mr. Granat received his B.B.A. from Emory University in 1991.
Bob McKenzie is the advisor to Red Idea’s "Idea Bakery" program. Under our "Venture Works" umbrella, this annual spring program offers recent MBA graduates an opportunity to launch their own company.
Over the past 14 years, Margaret Miner has become one of the top female entrepreneurs in the Boulder, Colorado area. An expert in designing retail customer experiences for women, Margaret has grown Rags Consignments in Boulder to single-store sales of over $1.4 million in 2008. The store's database contains over 18,000 shoppers and around 1 million items are brought in by customers for potential consignment each year. Launching Rags in 1995 with start-up costs of less than $6,500, Margaret continues to oversee all aspects of operating the business and is leading the expansion efforts of Rags to multiple stores across Colorado and beyond. Further deepening her retail expertise, Margaret also founded ten20 - a nail and waxing spa in Boulder - a more universally appealing "tweener" option between lower-end nail shops and higher-end spas. ten20 was launched in 2004 offering spa-quality nail and waxing services in an informal yet modern setting, along with complimentary Diet Coke and M & Ms, and giant-screen "girl TV". ten20 has experienced significant growth since inception, with sales exceeding $1 million in 2008.