VACEOs Member Profile: Ron Carey, Tilt Creative + Production CEO
[Listen in as Ron Carey of Tilt C+P explains his business and the challenges he is currently facing.]
We meet Ron Carey in a warehouse building tucked just off of Arthur Ashe Boulevard near Bow Tie Cinemas in Richmond, Virginia. Once we’re inside, it becomes apparent that this space is enormous. In fact, it’s a 16,000-square-foot-studio and production facility, filled with costumes, sets, lights, furniture, a funky kitchen, and a few creative spaces to sit and relax.
“We do all types of work here,” says Carey, founder and CEO of Tilt Creative + Production (TiltC+P). “We build sets here. We’ve got camera equipment here. We’ve got multiple stages. And so, it’s just a fantastic facility for our business partners to come in and make great content.”
Ron, a closet introvert (and former UVA defensive lineman), prefers to lift others up to the light, using his business as his platform to make a difference. “The business, as well as my personal platform, is about making a difference,” he explains. “How do we make a positive impact in the lives of those we touch individually, as well as the business and nonprofit partners we come in contact with?”
At just two years old, his company might be the youngest 30-year-old business around. Read on as we explain.
CREATIVE + PRODUCTION: THE STORY OF TILTC+P
Tilt Creative + Production is a full-service advertising agency and video production company all in one, operating out of two locations in Richmond. TiltC+P’s fully equipped video and production studio is located near Scott’s Addition. Its downtown space is where TiltC+P’s creative team cranks out copy, artwork and post-production work for clients like Walmart, Audi, and Capital One to name a few. TiltC+P currently employs approximately 40 people.
“We started with the belief that there was a better way to offer content development for brands,” says Carey. “But we really believe that because we’ve combined creative services – so that’s writing and art direction, with production and post production – that having all of that in house and having our own studio is something that’s really beneficial for the client. And so that’s the reason we put together Tilt Creative + Production.”
Carey had a clear vision of what his business would be from the get-go – what it would look like and how it would feel. “It should have a strong culture about doing the right thing,” he says. “And so the ability to kind of see all of that come to fruition was what led me to be an entrepreneur.”
Carey says he gives his employees the freedom to make a lot of decisions and operate with quite a bit of autonomy. Everyone brings something of value to the table, regardless of their role. Witnessing company-wide collaboration at work is what excites him most.
“I get excited just thinking about it – which is the notion of having everyone gather around an idea. It can be a creative idea. It can be the idea of what our company could be. It could be ‘What does our website need to look like?’” But gathering around an idea and having 40 [people] move in the same direction to accomplish that. And I love that I get to do it with people I like. To me, that’s really important.”
HR EXEC TURNS ENTREPRENEUR
Carey’s career path to entrepreneurship included stints with iconic and locally well-known brands, including Mars, Inc.; Wyeth; the Richmond Times-Dispatch; and The Martin Agency. His background is varied, but it’s impossible not to recognize his extensive Human Resources background.
“For me today, human resources has probably been one of the best jobs that one could ever have in terms of preparing you for being an entrepreneur. It got me in touch with what’s important to people, how to think about business processes, and how to make sure people have what they need so that they can go forward and be successful and do what the business needs for them to do,” says Carey.
Carey officially shifted away from HR when he became president of Studio Squared – at the time, a new digital content division of The Martin Agency. “Which ultimately led me into purchasing that company, which is now Tilt Creative + Production,” he explains.
THE CHALLENGES OF A YOUNG 30-YEAR-OLD BUSINESS
Tilt Creative + Production is in a unique state. “The business is almost two years old, but the business was really a merger of two companies,” Carey explains. “One was 10 years old, and the other was 30 years old. So although we’re two years old, we still have some of the challenges that a 30-year-old business might face.”
He continues, “The biggest challenge I’m probably thinking about right now is just scale. We’re adding additional clients. We’re adding new people and resources. We’ve brought two companies together. What do those processes look like? Each week, each month, if you’ve been successful, you’ve added new revenue. And all of a sudden, that brings some complexity. So how do you pause to change your processes? What talent with new skills do you need in the business? So that’s probably the biggest challenge, is making sure we focus on how we continue to reinvent processes or what things we should stop doing. What things do we need to start to continue to be successful?”
For now, Carey is relying on his football experience at UVA to help him keep his eye on the ball: his core mission.
“I think when I look at the business, I really think about growth,” he adds. “And the core mission of the business for me is about fulfilling the needs of our clients. And I think if we fulfill the needs of our clients and then separately provide our employees opportunities to grow and make a difference, I feel like we’ll be able to continue to grow and expand across North America. I’m really excited about the future.”
Thanks for sharing your story with us, Ron!
RON CAREY OPENS UP ABOUT HIS VA COUNCIL OF CEOs FORUM (VIDEO)
Learn how a CEO forum or peer group can help your business
“Outside of the formal group, I feel like I can pick up the phone and call any of my group members and bounce an idea off of them, and also their expertise back. And so for that, it’s just been invaluable.” – Ron Carey, on his VACEOs forum.WATCH VIDEO.
Charlottesville’s Tiger Fuel President Gordon Sutton Opens Up About Company Growth and More
In 1982, Gordon Sutton’s father, a successful lawyer, found himself in the unlikely position of running a fuel company. At the time, the company was a small short truck distribution business in Charlottesville, Virginia, selling three and a half million gallons of heating oil a year.
Today, Tiger Fuel is a large-scale operation with an employee count of 270. The company is no longer just about fuel – although the fuel business is expected to distribute approximately 124 million gallons to customers across Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, and North Carolina this year. Still headquartered in Charlottesville, the company now includes nine convenience stores with delis and operates 10 car washes under the All American Car Wash brand.
If you live in Charlottesville – and especially if you’re close to The Market at Bellair on Ivy Road – chances are you know about the gourmet-to-go experience that’s popular there. “We hear all these crazy stories about people driving two hours out of their way to get our sandwiches,” says Tiger Fuel President Gordon Sutton. “The line will be wrapped around the inside of the store and coming back out the store into the lot during UVA game days!”
Gordon, alongside his brother Taylor, runs the business now. Gordon is humble, unassuming, grounded, and articulate. Though he grew up in the business – at 15 years old, riding his bike to go pump gas, wipe windshields and check oil – he once dreamt of a life out West chasing fish. But it’s “Pickle People” he and his team chase today. Here’s more about this soft-spoken, inspiring young entrepreneur.
Q: Tiger Fuel is really diversified. Can you break it down for us?
A: It really breaks down pretty cleanly into three equal buckets. There’s the retail company, which has the stores and the car washes; then we have what we call the short truck or home heat side of our business, which is propane and heating oil [this side of the business serves customers from Appomattox all the way to Culpeper, Virginia]; and then there’s the commercial and wholesale fuel distribution side of the business. This business unit serves the whole state of Virginia into North Carolina, West Virginia and parts of Maryland through a vast network of dealers.
Q: You clearly love Charlottesville, but at one point you thought seriously about living out West. Is that right?
Yes. So I was born and bred here in Charlottesville – went to school here and the University of Virginia – so I’m very passionate about UVA. Charlottesville is a very important part of who I am, who this company is, and what we’re all about.
After UVA, I went to Wyoming. I was a fishing guide out there for three years. I thought that was going to be my “astronaut job,” you know – that I was going to die doing that. And I thought that’s why I was on this earth. And I pretty quickly realized that I had turned the thing I loved the most in the world into work. I also realized I wasn’t realizing my full potential or taking advantage of the gift of a solid education that my parents gave me. So I moved back.
Q: What sets Tiger Fuel and The Markets apart from your competitors?
A: If you think about it, our business, our products, are very generic. You know, nobody’s buying propane from Tiger because it’s better than AmeriGas’s. Nobody’s buying Budweiser or gas or Gatorade at our stores because it’s better than what’s at Sheetz. They’re buying them from us because of our people and our culture and our service. We try to make each customer feel like a celebrity – giving them what we call Tiger Way Service.
That said – and as much as I said our products are generic – we are really, really good at food. In fact, Bon Appétit magazinecredited us with being the first gourmet-to-go gas station. I mean, we’re selling poached salmon and seared steak. Our chefs come from the nicest restaurants downtown and get paid really well. So I’d say what sets us apart is our people, and our commitment to our people, and to the food and service we give.
Sutton with pickle stickers and Tiger Way button.
And I realize that sounds pretty generic, but we really believe that, and it’s baked into our DNA. It’s how we define ourselves. We have a really dynamic, amazing human resources department, and we’re really, really focused on hiring what we call Pickle People.
Q: Did you say “Pickle People”?
A: YES. Part of our onboarding training, or Tiger Way Training, is a half-day training, and there’s a video in there about a successful restaurant. The whole mantra is just, “Give the customer the pickle,” you know? Like, do whatever it takes to make the customer happy. And so we’ve carried that over. I mean, I have pickle socks, we have pickle badges and stickers. It works its way into our hiring process.
Q. In the last few years, you’ve opened three new retail stores and hired 70 employees. How do you find and retain employees?
Again, we have an amazing HR department. They go above and beyond the call of duty. We also pay well, and we have amazing benefits. For example, we just built our own primary care facility with a partner that’s exclusively for our employees. We offer that to part-time hourly folks in the stores. So we’re very, very committed to our employees.
We are also very community minded. The philanthropic work that we’re doing at Tiger is something I’m super, super proud of, and I think it also really helps our ability to recruit and retain, as well. And I think, more importantly, it makes the team feel really great and makes them want to stay and feel good about what they’re doing. It makes them happy at work, which makes them give that great service.
Sutton and his forum at VACEOs Annual Retreat
Q: How has your VACEOs Forum helped you?
I’ve found that it’s been very, very rewarding on a personal level more than anything. When I first got in this role, I was sort of overwhelmed. Nobody wants to hear you complain, and I get that. It’s hard for people to be sympathetic, because they look at you and they’re like, “Oh, you’re at the top!” I totally understand it. But it has been valuable and useful to me to be able to get some stuff off my chest. Sometimes you just need to have somebody to whine to and have them not scoff in your face. The people in my forum group understand what you’re dealing with and are sympathetic.
So it’s been the most beneficial from a personal standpoint – making me a better husband, better father. And I think that correlates to being a better boss and happier person in general, and all of that has an effect. And there are some really, really smart, seasoned, capable people doing some exciting things, and so I’ve learned a lot, too.
“I think if you’re not growing, you’re dying. I know it’s a cliché, but I believe it.” – Gordon Sutton, President, Tiger Fuel
Q: What’s next for you?
A: Continued investment in solar energy projects and diversification into real estate development. We have invested heavily in solar, and we will continue to do that. We’re also developing 33 acres at Zion Crossroads, which will be more of a traditional big box development with a big-name grocery store, a hotel, a couple of restaurants, and apartments and townhomes. That’s a departure for us.
I don’t want to look back on my career and think I just sort of took this gravy opportunity and coasted. I want to look back and say, “I really made a difference. I have that. I made it bigger and better. I created more opportunities for more people.” And so that’s an important part of our future – continuing to grow. I think if you’re not growing, you’re dying. I know it’s a cliché, but I believe it.
About VA Council of CEOs Virginia Council of CEOs members represent a wide range of industries and business sizes. Hundreds of SMB CEOs in Virginia have found the Council to be a critical resource in growing their companies – and themselves. Learn more about the benefits of VACEOs membership.
VACEOs Member Profile: COLAB President Steps Away and Into Innovation
For Eddie O’Leary, president of web development firm COLAB, one of the best business decisions he ever made was to step away from it – to release himself from operational concerns, that is, and focus on the reason he got into business ownership in the first place.
It was two years ago when he had a serious discussion with himself. “So for me, I had to kind of put my ego in check, and I had to say, ‘You know what? There’s really somebody else who can run this business better than me, and I’ll focus on strategy and sales and the things that I really like,’” explains O’Leary.
In this case, that meant a sustained focus on growing the business and building up his leadership team – and investing in a quality chief operating officer.
Turns out O’Leary’s ego check has paid off royally. In 2018, COLAB made Richmond BizSense’s RVA 25 list of fastest-growing companies (again) and attained Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Companies status for the first time. Today, COLAB is in innovation mode, reaching into untapped opportunities that may not have come about otherwise.
O’Leary says the leadership work and investment in the team has “allowed me to go back and do some of the things that are really the reason that I started this company in the first place – which is to create new opportunities, explore new technologies and really grow our offerings.”
He’s particularly excited about the opportunities Alexa may bring.
“ALEXA, WHAT IS COLAB?”
O’Leary describes COLAB as a company that solves business challenges. “Our niche is solving business problems with technology,” he explains. “We typically build websites and web applications that are designed specifically to solve problems, create opportunities or create operational efficiencies. What makes us special is the fact that we have a full team of strategists, designers, developers, engineers and product managers all located here in Richmond full time.”
The reinvigorated COLAB of today augments large-company marketing teams and designs apps for voice recognition platforms like Alexa.
“COLAB has been creating a great product for a long time, but the work we’ve done in the last year or two to build up a great leadership team has allowed me to go back to focusing my time on increasing the innovative product offerings we have, such as Amazon Alexa smart speaker apps, as well as putting together our digital partnership program.”
O’Leary is particularly excited about the opportunities associated with smart speakers, smart TVs, and the Alexa and Google Home product lines, as consumers are moving away from web searches and using voice-activated tools for information instead. According to O’Leary, it’s a trend business owners need to keep an eye on.
“The growth in that area has been tremendous,” he says. “It’s [Alexa] a device no one had heard of three years ago, and now something like 42 percent of people have them in their homes.” It’s an untapped area well-suited to COLAB. In fact, the team just released the first smart speaker app for the Virginia Lottery.
A LEADER BY DEFAULT? (WE THINK NOT.)
O’Leary describes himself as a “CEO by default,” explaining that even though he grew up watching his father run several small companies, he didn’t feel like business ownership was for him. (His background is in political science.)
After a stint building websites and web applications, O’Leary saw an opportunity, and COLAB was born – and, though it wasn’t his initial intention, he became a CEO.
Whatever the name or role assigned to him, O’Leary is clearly a LEADER. He has the courage to act on opportunities, even if that means a bruised ego.
“I think there comes a time for some people like me when you have to recognize that doing everything yourself or solving all business challenges or being in charge isn’t what necessarily defines success for you,” he says.
Empowering others. Acting on opportunities. O’Leary a leader by default? We think not.
O’Leary has been a member of the Council since 2014 and he’s found that the relationships he has formed there have helped him make smart decisions.
“As I think back about the time when I joined the Council, I would say that our business was doing a great product, and it was a valid, legit business. But we were probably around eight or nine people and around a million dollars in revenue,” he says. Adding, “I recognized, by being part of the Council, that it was important for me to take some serious steps in order to take advantage of the tremendous opportunity COLAB had. Through my Roundtables, and through the people I’ve met, I’ve really been able to take advantage of other people’s experiences to make really smart decisions about how to grow the company.”
We believe Steve Rosser might just be the happiest man in the world.
We met him earlier this month at his new 9,250-square-foot production facility at 1908 North Hamilton Street in Richmond, just five weeks after the facility started producing what is arguably one of the most addictive of products ever made: Gelati Celesti ice cream.
We were worried Steve might not have time to chat in the middle of opening a new production facility during his busiest time of year, but, as usual, he was welcoming and all smiles. And why not? He’s grown a small ice cream shop with a small production area out back and a staff of nine into a local ice cream shop icon – with four retail stores, a wholesale customer stream and 110 employees.
Steve’s product may be a soft sell, but don’t underestimate this entrepreneur. He’s an accomplished businessman with a point to prove. We spoke to him about managing growth and balancing work and life. We learned about what he considers the most important business decision he’s made and more. Here’s what this VACEOs member had to say.
LIFE IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT NOW
Steve’s background includes long stints in executive-level positions with Luck Stone Corporation and Reynolds Metals Company. In 2010, it was time for a change. He and his wife, Kim, purchased Gelati Celesti and never looked back. The brand quickly grew from one store on Broad Street in Henrico County to multiple locations across Richmond. In February of this year, a fourth retail location opened at 1400 North Boulevard in Scott’s Addition.
Gelati Celesti Growth Timeline
2010: Steve and Kim Rosser purchase Gelati Celesti shop in Golds Gym Plaza in the West End from Peter Edmonds, who co-founded the business with his father in 1984.
2011: The Rossers purchase a production facility on Dabney Road to increase ice cream making capacity
2012: The existing wholesale business was greatly expanded to include more Richmond area restaurants
2012: Second retail location opens in Bon Air
2013: Gelati Celesti Food Truck makes the scene
2014: Third retail location opens in Short Pump
2017: Fourth retail location opens in Scott’s Addition
2018: New production facility on Hamilton Street opens to accommodate growth. Dabney Road production facility closes
In May 2018, Gelati Celesti openeda new production facility on Hamilton Street that’s nearly quadruple the size of the former building on Dabney Road. It will serve all of the business’ retail shops and wholesale accounts. “Now we have plenty of room, and the great news is, it should hold us about eight years,” says Steve. “We’ve got a lot of growth ahead of us.”
“ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS I’VE DONE SINCE I BOUGHT THE COMPANY”
For Steve, managing his company’s growth has been a matter of business alignment and defining the culture. “I was very fortunate because in a previous career before this, I was a general manager in a corporate business, so I had the opportunity to run a business,” he explains. “What I think is essential is constant alignment. Everything has to align for what the ultimate objective is.”
Steve’s alignment began with his first facility expansion, which satisfied the initial demand for his product. Then the right leadership was put in place to hire the right people. He sums it up this way: “Make sure you can make it, you can manage it, you can serve it, and you can lead it. And then you’re ready to open stores.”
Steve Rosser with his production team in new facility.
After the second Gelati Celesti store opened and his food truck service was in high demand, Steve quickly realized he couldn’t be everywhere at once and his culture was in jeopardy. So he called in some help. He and his management team worked with John Sarvay at Floricane.
“We got our leaders together and talked about what we really wanted to be, and the profile of a person who would fit,” Steve says. “We use that information when we talk with prospective employees. We’re able to say, ‘This is who we are. Does that mesh with your personality, your career objectives?’ That’s one of the most important things I’ve done since I bought the company: work on the culture.One of the most important decisions we make here is, ‘Who do we hire?’”
SEVEN DAYS A WEEK, 363 DAYS A YEAR. WORK VS. LIFE: IS THERE BALANCE?
Gelati Celesti stores are open seven days a week, 363 days a year, and stay open until 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. at night. “I’m always on duty!” says Steve.Still, he insists he does balance work and life beautifully – especially now that he has a great team in place to manage the day-to-day operations.
“I have a great balance, but it’s blended, and that’s the difference,” Steve explains. “Entrepreneurs plan their personal and work life.During the first two or three years, my vacations were coming here, and I loved it! Now I do take more time away, because we’ve empowered leaders who know what to do. My job is management of the culture and future business development, so the day-to-day stuff takes care of itself. That’s because we have a great team of people.”
“I HAD CONFIDENCE IN MYSELF, BUT I NEEDED TO PROVE IT”
At 53 years of age, Steve came into entrepreneurship relatively late in life. His primary motivation? “I always had this need to know if I could do something on my own,” he says. “I had confidence in myself, but I needed to prove it. I needed to prove that I could take this business and make it grow.”
And now he’s totally committed to making it grow in the Virginia Beach market. He plans to open three stores there, as well as entering other markets in Virginia. He also hopes to add at least three more stores in Richmond. “That will take care of the next three or four more years. At that point, I’ll be working on the next stage of my life.”
For now, he’s clearly a happy man.
“I read something in Richmond BizSense recently about a woman who just opened up a candy shop on Grove and Libbie,” he says. “I absolutely understood it when she talked about how she used to be an attorney and she got so she didn’t like to practice law any longer. She said, ‘No one enjoys calling their lawyer, but everyone loves coming to the candy store.’ Ice cream is a very similar situation. People come in and they’re ready to smile – to have a few moments of joy. That’s what we do.”
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