Ric Militi – Founder & CEO of Crazy Raccoons LLC – a technology think tank and home to Zip App; Creating the Anti-Agency; Being fearless and not chasing the money; Basing decisions on people and passion versus money.

Segment 1: (Length :03:00) – General Updates; Introduction to Ric Militi; Intro him; Introduction to Crazy Raccoons LLC, ZipApp and InnoVision; concept of Viafied (a developing concept around the online review space).

“Living with the desire to just continually do more and accomplish more. It’s that adrenaline rush that motivates us and Crazy Raccoons came out of that.”

“All great products and great companies come out of passion. It’s manifested in so many ways. There are so many things that drive passion.”

“Curating real time discussions into market research.”

Segment 2: (Length :05:00) – Talking with Ric; South Park Yelp Episode; Engaging with Zip App Users and learning from them;

“We’ve actually created a new category called ‘nonsense’ to allow people to talk about anything they want.”

You can find the zip app HERE

Segment 3: (Length :04:00) – Working on his 3rd company; Being encouraged to launch a new kind of agency; Film & Video company.

“Each of the companies has someone spearheading them. They really are the people that are the key visionaries for each one of those and they’re entrepreneurial.”

“Anyone that works for our companies shares the profit and I often bypass my own bonuses to make sure everyone else gets bonuses. Everyone gets bonuses. Everyone is treated as great as I can treat them. Nothing makes me happier.”

“Well you know what it is? You go to bed at night and you can smile and you’re at peace with yourself. You know what you’re doing is right and you never feel like you’re ever doing anything to hurt anybody or upset anybody. You’re trying to enrich people’s lives. That’s honestly what makes me happy.”

Segment 4: (Length :03:00) – InnoVision the Anti-Agency; Treating clients / entrepreneurs like family.

“When I was the VP of Marketing at Valley View . . . I had several clients that remained friends over the years and they said, ‘Ric can you just get back into the agency world,” and that was right after they told me how much they hate their current agency. They wanted me to do it the way I knew how to do it – the anti-agency. It stuck so we run with it.”

“What it means to me is that we’re not going to bill by the hour and nickel and dime our clients. We’re going to treat them like family.”

“The anti-agency is about great service, treating our clients way above and beyond and making them feel like they are the only clients regardless of what they’re being billed.”

Segment 5: (Length :03:00) – Mantra: “Be fearless. Don’t chase the money, follow the passion. I base my decisions on people and passion versus the money.”

“I came from a very modest family. We’ve struggled. I know what it’s like to not have money . . . I have to make my decisions on the people, the passion and what’s going to be best for everyone.”

“I believe in generosity, sharing and everyone should prosper that works hard. I don’t believe in entitlement. There’s no way that’s going to be happening around us, but the people that work hard in any of our organizations, are dedicated and visionaries and they are rewarded for it.”

Segment 6: (Length :03:00) – Hustler Thought of the Day:

The magic happens when everyone sees the same vision and has the same goal. – Ric Militi

What this means to Ric:

“Choose the right people. Choose the people that have the vision. Starting your own business is not for everyone. It’s a commitment like no other and it’s a mindset. You’re going to face defeat and failure and it’s going to help you incredibly.”

“Don’t be defeated. Be fearless. Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t. I was a poor Italian kid off a boat and I surrounded myself by great people and believed in them as much as I believed in me.”

 

GENERAL NOTES:

Ric Militi – Founder & CEO of Crazy Raccoons, LLC

• An innovator in the marketing world, Ric Militi has fearlessly embraced every aspect of the industry for over 35 years and throughout his career.

• He’s been fortunate to work with several iconic brands including
  • Pennzoil, Corona, Neutrogena, Kahlúa, Nissan, the Rio Hotel & Casino, DreamWorks/SKG, Merv Griffin Hotels, Disney Collectibles, Crystal Cruises and more.

• Rather than taking the traditional approach, Ric opened his own ad agency, The Ad Group in 1990. The agency specialized in entertainment and represented clients including Universal CityWalk, Warner/Chappell Music, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences.

• The agency was acquired by Eisaman, Johns & Laws (EJL) Advertising in 1994 and ultimately, Ric served as president of Y2K Communications, a division of EJL.

• After EJL was sold, Ric went on to work as a marketing consultant until 2004 when he became VP of Marketing for newly launched Valley View Casino. Since then, the casino became one of the greatest casino success stories in the US and continues to be one today.

• In 2012, Ric returned to his agency roots launching InnoVision Marketing Group, with Valley View Casino & Hotel as his flagship client.

• InnoVision has sailed to new heights, helping launch several businesses along the way. Looking to expand further, Ric recently launched Pretzel Logic Productions as a sister company, led by an Emmy Award-winning production team.

• Most recently, Ric founded Crazy Raccoons, a tech think tank designed to create simple solutions to complex problems, especially in the marketing world. The tech company recently launched their first product, Zip – The Question Answer App.

• In tandem, the companies can now successfully solve all marketing challenges with effective solutions. Now as CEO of three different marketing, film and technology firms, Ric takes the same approach in everything he does with passion, innovation and drive.