My name is Rich Christiansen. I describe myself as a perfectly good business executive turned entrepreneur.
Before becoming an entrepreneur, I was general manager at both Mitsubishi Electric and About.com. After 20 years in the technology industry, I discovered that my true passion and talent is in launching start-up companies.
To date I have founded or co-founded more than 33 businesses. These ventures were bootstrapped with just $5,000 to $10,000 of starting capital. Eleven of those businesses were miserable failures, but 12 have became wildly successful multimillion-dollar businesses.
I am having the time of my life building and managing my own compilation of technology companies. I am not sure it should be legal for one individual to have this much fun. I take great pride and satisfaction in mentoring young talented individuals and helping business opportunities emerge.
This past year I have spent my time and efforts writing a book The Zigzag Principle. It describes the principles and steps I have discovered get my businesses to success. In order to prove and test the concepts in the book, I have been mentoring three different teams as they build their businesses: FrogHair, GoldenZephyr, and Christiansen Custom Dreams. I am proud to say that all three businesses are highly lucrative and successful. In addition, The Zigzag Principle became an Amazon.com, USA Today, and Inc. Magazine best-selling book and is continuing to have impact in the world of entrepreneurs and small-business owners.
My long term goal is to be actively involved in helping enable commerce and capitalism in developing countries. Of keen interest to me right now is Nepal. I am raising a young woman from Nepal as my daughter and have many strong ties to this amazing country. I recently returned from Nepal with my family where we not only trekked through the Himalayas, but also documented the Sherpa culture. This information can be found on SherpaTrek.com. I feel drawn and compelled to help this country evolve out of its desperate situation.
I received both my bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering technology and master’s degree in business administration from Brigham Young University. I am an avid mountain-climber and golfer. I am committed to my beautiful wife, five wonderful sons, and Nepalese daughter.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.richchristiansen.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
[...] These items are not of any great financial worth, but to me each item is invaluable as they represent an experience that could not be traded . They are in essence the items which have defined me both for positive and for negative in my business life. [...]
[...] This past week I had the opportunity to attend the funeral of one of my hero’s and mentors in life, Ray Noorda. Ray was the man who turned Novell from a failing startup company with 17 employees to a computer giant which employed more than 12,000 people and made Utah Valley a hub of technology. Most of the technology companies in Utah Valley today still have someone or something that was in some way touched by Ray Noorda. I had the opportunity to work for a small startup company that Ray founded while I was in college and then spent 8 years working in many places at Novell during it’s “Glory Days” while Ray was driving the ship. I derive much of my leadership style and philosophy from simply watching Ray. [...]