Hello! I’m Chris, Product Manager at Coplex
From Sparky the Sun Devil to tech product CEO (and four kids along the way), this is my story, and why I can’t wait to work with you at the Startup Studio, Coplex.
If you’re reading this, you are probably about to do business with Coplex or are perhaps interested in starting your engagement. I’m super excited to work with you! No, really, I have had a wide array of experiences that all tell me one thing — I LOVE working with entrepreneurs more than anything else. The first time I ever felt “at home” in the professional world was when I was surrounded by entrepreneurs and could feel their optimism, excitement and the fact that they didn’t look at the world like everyone else.
What founders do is crazy. They take what once was nothing and make something from it. They see a vision and put the things in place to make it real. Without people like you, we would still be stuck in the dark ages. You are the visionaries, the movers, the doers, and I feel it’s my privilege to spend time with you as you bring your vision to life.
I’ve attempted to put a few things into words, so you can get to know me a bit more. After all, we are going to be spending a lot of time together in the future. I understand if you just skim or read the headings, but if there is something that catches your eye, I hope we can make a connection; and, if we do, I hope we can become friends as we build your business together.
Here is a quick rundown of what you’re about to read. The TL;DR version, if you will:
- I grew up in a town of about 7,000 people with a high school football dome.
- I worked on a ranch and milked a cow every morning.
- Heavy equipment is just as much fun to drive as it is to play with in the sandbox.
- I love skiing and snowboarding.
- I asked my wife to marry me after only 19 days of dating… and she said yes.
- My claim to fame is my time as the ASU mascot, Sparky the Sundevil.
- I have 4 children — Boy (9), girl (8), boy (5), girl (2).
- My family loves taking crazy long road trips.
- I was a supply chain guy, turned wedding photographer, turned tech founder.
- I raised capital for my company at a $2M valuation.
- I once presented to the CMO of facebook (article).
- Some of my favorite quotes and books.
The Early Days
I’m an Arizona native. I know… no one thinks anyone was ever born here, but we exist. I was born in Phoenix, but I’ve lived in Thousand Oaks California and Joplin Missouri for a bit.
Most of my life was spent in a tiny town called Eagar, Arizona. Eagar is north east of Phoenix by about 4 hours. Our only claim to fame is having the only high school football dome in the country. Yes, as you’d expect on Friday nights, the town was dark and pretty much everyone was at the game. It was an amazing place to grow up with even more amazing people.
I come from a joined family with three boys and two girls… it was kind of like the Brady Bunch when my father remarried, except that we didn’t have a sweet maid like Alice, and we were lacking one girl (who never came by the way).
On the other side, my mother remarried, and I became a big brother for the first time to a feisty red head who became my good friend over the years. I got two more older siblings out of the deal, too. Coming from a big family was always fun… plus, I always had plenty of conversation material when people asked “So, how many brothers and sisters do you have?”
Construction and Cattle Ranching
After my mom re-married, I became a ranch hand at the age of 5 when we bought a 50-section cattle ranch (that’s 50 square miles) in New Mexico. Little did I know that being a kid on a ranch with a BB gun is about the coolest thing you can ever be at that age.
There are plenty of things to get you in trouble, but out on the ranch you never got in trouble for doing them! Granted, after going on a round-up for 15 hours, I was too tired to get into much trouble. I’m sure that’s why my step dad used to say “A tired boy’s a good boy.”
Later, my mother and step father decided to move to a hundred-year-old house in Missouri and run 1,500 head of cattle there. It was such an awesome place, and we made lifelong friends working together on that farm.
When we finally moved back to AZ, we lived in the beautiful White Mountains. Most people don’t think about forests and mountain peaks with Arizona, but it’s like a paradise nestled away from the desert life.
I had it all wrong, though. I would spend my winters in the mountains and my summers in the AZ heat doing construction. Why didn’t anyone ever tell me?
When it was 115 degrees outside and I was covered in dust and dirt while digging ditches, my dad used to ask me “Why are you out here digging ditches?” My default response was supposed to be “So I stay in college.” And you know what, it worked!
It’s ok, though, that’s where I learned to ski and snowboard, and where I took my kids in 2015 to pass on the tradition of carving the slopes! There are few things as awesome as fresh powder and an empty mountain.
My father has been in construction as long as I’ve been alive, and, as a kid, I used to be his sidekick on the job sites. I learned early on that job sites don’t have the usual “rules of the road” or age requirements, so let’s just say I had a blast behind the wheels of my fair share of loaders and backhoes as a kid and teenager.
You might not know it, but every Caterpillar ignition key is the same, so if you have one… you have them all! (Insert evil laugh and wringing fingers together).
ASU: I was Sparky the Mascot
I followed in my father’s and brother’s footsteps and attended Arizona State University. Like most kids, I didn’t really know what I wanted to spend the rest of my life doing, but I knew that one day I wanted to own my own business and do something really cool.
I always had a passion for process improvement and when I went to my first supply chain course, I realized that it was right down my alley. I decided to dual major in Supply Chain Management and Business Management… because, you know, why not do two at the same time?
At the start of my freshman year there were some tryouts for the “Sparky” mascot coming up, and my sister-in-law convinced me that I should go try out. It sounded like fun, so I thought I’d give it a try. There wasn’t an ounce of pressure since I didn’t think I’d get the position. The try outs were fun, but really gross because all ten of us had to put on the suit and the mask to go perform for the crowd and anonymous judges at a basketball game. Wearing someone’s sweaty costume wasn’t what I was planning on, but I tried not to let it bother me and went out to have fun.
The funniest part is that I didn’t care if I got the position. There were 9 other guys that were ripped gymnasts who were able to do tumbling and backflips, but I couldn’t’ do any of that. So, I just had fun with the crowd and interacted with the fans. You must have guessed how surprised I was when they said I had been selected to be Sparky the Sun Devil for ASU. It was such a fun gig — lots of work for sure, but what a cool experience.
Mission Work: Two Years in Santiago, Chile
After my first semester in college I chose to serve a mission for my church, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. It was going to be a two year commitment, so in my short lifetime, that was basically forever. I sold pretty much everything I had… because in two years it would all be worthless right? Let’s just say when I came home I didn’t have as much to return home to as I would have thought.
The time I spent in Chile was the most challenging, spiritual, and fulfilling thing I had ever done. Living every day in the service of your fellow man is something I can’t put into words. The people there were so giving and kind, and I really learned what it meant to love someone without expecting anything in return.
It was so incredibly difficult to speak a language you had just learned and adapt to a new culture with new food and new customs as a nineteen-year-old, but I came to love being a Chilean. I miss it there and I hope to go back soon!
My BEST Decision
The single best decision of my life came when I was 25 years old. I was in my last semester of college and was re-introduced to a captivating west valley girl who had a country heart and the knack for getting to know your entire life’s story in your first meeting. I talked her into going salsa dancing with me on Cinco de Mayo and the rest, as they say, is history.
After some fervent prayers, I asked her to marry me only nineteen days after dating. We were married four months later in the Mesa, Arizona Temple.
I’m usually the type that researches things to death. I can’t even buy a package of pencils on Amazon without reading reviews and comparing the specs, but in this case, I have never been more decisive about any decision in my life—and I can’t believe she said yes!
We were supposed to be in New York for my proposal but missed our flight in Las Vegas. So, at 2:00 AM, I proposed on the corner of Las Vegas Drive and Flamingo. It all worked out, even though not quite as planned!
Ten years later and what was once a small car has turned into an SUV and all kinds of crazy fun. I’m the father of four beautiful munchkins that keep me on my toes and make me feel like a rock star every day.
When you have people screaming for joy when you walk in the door or falling down with sheer excitement, you’ll know what I mean.
They also teach me how much I don’t know about being a father and what I thought the word “never” was going to mean (if you’re parent you will get that reference), but we manage to have a lot of fun along the way.
We have taken cross country road trips in our amazingly huge beast of a conversion van (you don’t see many in AZ). In fact, by the time my newborn was 10-months-old, she had been to ten states!
Ok, yes, we are that crazy, but our kids are great travelers… and right now they aren’t teenagers, so we can take them anywhere without much complaint. We’re living that up as long as we can.
Corporate Life
I was recruited out of ASU’s supply chain program like a rock star or an NBA prospect. Back in those days, ASU had the #2 supply chain program in the country, so companies from all over would fly in their recruits for a few days of fun and interviews.
I racked up the frequent flyer miles and saw some really cool places. Ultimately, I settled on Fluke Electronics in Seattle, WA. (I bet you’ve seen your handyman with a Fluke product… most grandpas seem to have one for some reason, too.)
Lean Manufacturing
During my time at Fluke, I learned all about lean manufacturing and the Toyota production system. Kaizen and 5S were part of my daily life, as well as kanban inventory management. I was responsible for maintaining $2.5M of inventory for our production line of digital multimeters through lean principles. I loved the lean methodology and learned a lot about what it takes to make physical product while at Fluke.
From the Corporate Environment to Prototype Building
In the corporate environment, I quickly learned that I didn’t much like maintaining the status quo and constantly putting out fires. I was much more into building and creating new things, so I took a position as a prototype buyer for a solar manufacturing firm out of Scottsdale, AZ, named Stirling Energy Systems.
While I was at Stirling, I did supplier selection for machined components and subcomponents of the closed gas engine. It was amazing to travel the country and see how parts are made from some of the most skilled machinists in the world. It was also very fulfilling, because not only were we going to make clean energy, we were also going to put the plants in Detroit back to work making the other dish components.
The whole concept was fascinating. We were supposed to build a solar installation the size of Manhattan Island in Imperial Valley, CA, but due to the price cuts for photovoltaic panels from China, the company was forced to liquidate. It was sad to see, but we had become an amazing team and we were so close!
Startup World and Tech Industry
When the solar company went belly up, my wife and I realized that we were only as secure as the corporate team’s decisions were for the company. We decided to jump the corporate ship and turn a hobby into a full-time business to become luxury wedding photographers. I know, crazy right?
It was a total blast. I got to spend a few days a month working and spending time with my wife on the best day of most people’s lives. Not to mention, I got to taste pretty much every type of wedding cake known to man. I shot a total of 99 weddings in my time as a photographer and learned so much along the way. I should have probably gone for the century mark… but who knows, maybe I’ll shoot one more!
My only claim to fame from a wedding standpoint is that I once shot a wedding of 5 siblings who all got married on the same day! Yeah, that was crazy!
Being a photographer makes you look at the world a bit differently, with a bit more of a creative eye. Because you have to be the salesperson, creative director, editor, UX designer, web guy, and IT Pro, it only made sense that out of all of these roles, I would find something that I really love to do.
As it turns out, I found that I love to combine process automation with tech and UX/UI. That combination turned into a startup called Automate IQ. (If you’d like to learn more, you can see the blog here.)
Zillow for Senior Living
After doing the photography thing and then working my way into video, I created a digital marketing company that filmed the interior of senior living communities so people could see them online before they toured them in person. I met with the executive management teams of the largest senior living providers in the country, and I was able to land three of the top five companies.
We went on to successfully raised $300,000 from local angel investors for an internet directory website in the senior living industry and, in the process, learned how to grow and manage all aspects of a SaaS business. I had some hard knocks along the way and found out what it really meant to live and breathe what you do. It was a TON of work, with a lot of mistakes along the way, but I wouldn’t trade it for the world.
Through all of these experiences, I’ve been able to gain an appreciation for all walks of life and especially for the entrepreneur. There is always a connection to be made and problems to solve. I can’t wait to help you on your journey.
Favorite Quotes
- Far better it is to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure, than to take rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much because they live in the gray twilight that knows neither victory nor defeat.” — Theodore Roosevelt
- Entrepreneurship is living a few years of your life like most people won’t, so that you can spend the rest of your life like most people can’t.” — Anonymous
- “Start-up success is not a consequence of good genes or being in the right place at the right time. Success can be engineered by following the right process, which means it can be learned, which means it can be taught.” — Eric Ries
Companies I’ve Built
- SeniorSearch.com
- Magnetiqmarketing.com
- Voicecuttech.com
- Automateiq.com
- Sparkthis.org
Favorite Books
- The Book of Mormon
- Tipping Point
- Great from the Start
- Lean Startup
- Value Prop Design
- Moby Dick
- Conscious Capitalism
- Being George Washington
- Unbroken
- I Will Teach You to Be Rich
Favorite Blogs/Websites
- Quicksprout.com
- Neilpatel.com
- TechCrunch
- Product Hunt
- Whatever I find on Google
Specialties
Digital Marketing, Marketing Automation, Product Management, Lean Startup, Video Production, Video Analytics, Wordpress Design, Purchasing, Cost Reduction through VAVE and negotiations, Prototype Sourcing, Strategic Supplier Sourcing, Supplier Audits & Continuous Improvement, Kaizen, Kanban inventory management, Oracle
