Rick Steele

Rick Steele is an American entrepreneur and co-founder and CMO of Selectblinds, LLC, an online retailer of independently branded window fashions. In 2016, Steele's company, Selectblinds.com, became the first retailer to stop selling corded custom window covering products, leading industry efforts to change manufacturer safety standards and prevent the deaths and injuries that result annually from children who become entangled in window covering cords. He is also a business speaker, philanthropist, author of several business and children's books, professional endurance athlete, 14-time Ironman, and first place US Male finisher in the 2020 World Marathon Challenge, completing seven marathons on all seven continents in seven consecutive days, a feat completed by less than 200 people in the world.
Early life
Born in Virginia, Steele's family moved to Ohio when he was a young child. At 13, Steele first became an entrepreneur selling 1985 Topps trading cards. Combined with his own lawn care business, Steele supported himself through high school. Adopting a business model of selling things without holding any inventory proved successful in his early and future ventures.
:I knew it was what I wanted to do from an early age. It was probably that first baseball card trade that netted me a profit! I remember it well. A 1985 Topps Mark McGwire rookie card set it all in motion. - Rick Steele
After graduating, Steele briefly attended ITT Technical Institute in Dayton, Ohio.
Business career
Selectblinds.com
Steele founded privately held Selectblinds.com in 2003, growing it from first-year revenues of $885K to over $65 million in just 10 years. In 2008 it was ranked No. 287 in the Internet Retailer Top 500 Guide with a 33% growth in sales credited to brand marketing efforts through partnerships engineered by Steele with popular television shows and networks such as ABC's Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Fox's , Bravo's Top Design, Netflix, HGTV and the Discovery Channel.
Recognizing the importance of carts and Phoenix Business Journal, Select Blinds currently has almost 100 employees and is estimated to have transacted over $2B in the United States lifetime value.
Public image
Steele speaks regularly as a subject matter expert on internet traffic and conversion rates. Recent engagements have included presentations at Google (2018), Traffic Mastery Nashville (2017), Traffic and Conversion in Atlanta (2017), Spanx (2017) and numerous other ecommerce-related conferences worldwide. He is a member of the Forbes Communications Council and is a frequently quoted source for business articles including Entrepreneur.com and Rescue a CEO Blog Nation. He also writes on a variety of topics on Medium.com.
:Ask everyone to start the review process, whether their experience was good or bad. It builds amazing legacy and forces you to get better. Asking everyone to write a review will expose most flaws publicly, giving you free insight on how to improve the business. — Rick Steele
:Data may disappoint, but it never lies. — Rick Steele
Philanthropy
Steele has been instrumental in curating a corporate culture at his company through philanthropic initiatives.
#GoCordless Movement — In 2016, SelectBlinds.com partnered with Parents for Window Blind Safety to promote the #GoCordless movement, with the goals of improving industry safety standards and educating the public on the dangers of corded window coverings. On June 15, 2016, Selectblinds.com CEO, Al Silverberg, spoke before the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission to request a new window covering mandate that requires all related retailers to be cord-free by the beginning of 2018. [Update: In 2017, the Window Covering Manufacturers Association (WCMA) proposed revising the voluntary standard to require “stock” products be cordless or have inaccessible cords. This would apply to pre-made blinds purchased in stores or online. (Corded blinds would still be available in custom products.) The updated voluntary standard awaits final approval, but the WCMA said companies selling window coverings in the U.S. and Canada will likely be required to comply by the fourth quarter of 2018.] In recognition of Selectblinds.com's decision to only sell cordless window coverings, Steele was given the 2016 Humanitarian Award from Harvard Business School's Business Expert Forum.

Safe Kids Day — SelectBlinds.com sponsored 2014's Safe Kids Day through Safe Kids Worldwide, giving away window blind cord cleats to all attendees.
Free Cord Cleats Program - In 2015, the company announced its Free Cord Cleat program, open to both customers and non-customers. Through it, they distributed more than 82,000 window blind/shade cord cleats to families with small children.

Feed My Starving Children — SelectBlinds.com employee volunteers pack meals for Feed My Starving Children several times a year. FMSC is a non-profit that provides nutritionally complete meals specifically formulated for malnourished children in more than 65 countries around the world.

Habitat for Humanity ReStores — Habitat for Humanity ReStores are nonprofit home improvement stores and donation centers that sell new and gently used furniture, appliances, home accessories, building materials and more to the public at a fraction of the retail price. Selectblinds.com donates any returned window coverings to local ReStores, which use the proceeds to build more Habitat for Humanity homes throughout the world.

College Scholarship Program — Selectblinds.com awards an annual $1,000 college scholarship to deserving students to help offset course-related expenses, books and supplies, housing, etc.
In addition, Steele donates time and financial resources to numerous organizations, including daughter Kylie's non-profit animal rescue, Rubicon Rescue. When his younger daughter, Izzie, contracted and recovered from Kawasaki disease, Steele wrote the children's book Izzie’s Lost Blanket, all proceeds from which have been donated to the Kawasaki Disease Foundation. He and wife Gina also support Banner Children's Hospital in Mesa, Arizona, along with the national Crohn's & Colitis Foundation and The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research.
In 2019, Steele became the winning bidder on the #38 Ford Fusion NASCAR driven by David Ragan at the annual Barrett Jackson Car auction. Steele's mother had been treated by the healthcare system when she was a child and it was that inspiration that drove bidding to $300,000.
Publications
Children's books
* Oh Yes She Did!
* Izzie’s Lost Blanket
Safety books
* The Complete Homeowners Guide to Safety4Kids

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