Richard Sexton is an e-commerce visionary who started in business back when online advertising cost about .05 per click and Amazon only sold books (they did!)
Richard's story has been well-documented by Google, Entrepreneur Magazine, Internet Retailer, the Charlotte Observer, Furniture Today, and other industry media....he walked away from a high-paying but unsatisfying career and embarked on a one-year journey across Asia with his future wife, Cheryl. Together, they were inspired by stunning landscapes, fascinating strangers, and cultures that changed their thinking, their perspective towards the world and to each other (they were engaged by the voyage's end). Upon their return, Richard began his first brick-and-mortar business in Charlotte while Cheryl began her medical residency. What started as a funky crafts store selling Tibetan imports and furniture grew into a much bigger business when it went online in 1998. This business eventually became Carolina Rustica, which is now a nationally-recognized omni-channel retailer of high end furniture. In addition to its highly-visible website, the company maintains a large showroom in Concord, NC, a few miles from home and still close to the traditional home of the furniture industry. In 2012, the company was sold to Mattress USA, based in Brighton, MI, and Richard continued in his role as President until early 2015. Later that year, he started OmniMarketing2020, in addition to accepting a role at AAA Carolinas first as Digital Strategist and then becoming promoted to their first Vice-President of Member Engagement. There, Richard pioneered some internal changes in organization as well selecting new technology partners for their digital footprint, and helping to pioneer their venture into customer journeys. Richard most recently was Chief Product Officer for MicroD for nearly three years, developing their digital marketing program, building a nationwide furniture marketplace concept, taking a leadership role in all dealer and enterprise sales, and developing significant technical enhancements to the core platform. Richard's mission was to enable home furnishings retailer to become more competitive in the arena of digital lead generation, onsite engagement, and e-commerce. He was responsible for crafting their digital marketing offerings, as well as development of the platform-based 3D program, third-party partnerships, and creation of a marketplace concept. Richard's expertise is wide-ranging, having personally addressed all business, strategy, and e-commerce issues associated with growing a company from nothing to $10m. in sales. He speaks nationwide at the largest internet technology conferences on all things e-commerce and consults small and large businesses through OM2020. Some of the issues he can help you with include: business start-up strategy, search engine optimization (SEO), e-commerce platform selection, social engagement, channel conflict, paid search, cross-channel merchandising, user experience (UX), responsive design, and content marketing. Contact him and see if OM2020 can help you. He'll be honest if he can help, and if he can't, he'll point you in the right direction. For some really early history, check out the official Google AdWords Success Story on Richard and his company. Google did a case study on Richard's success using their suite of products when he was building Carolina Rustica. Although its a little dated, this Google-produced video has now received 100,000 views! |
Hiking Solu Khumbu, Nepal, 1994
The store that started it all, Himal Home Gallery, Charlotte, NC 1996
Having fun at a AAA Carolinas event in 2016
|