Whenever Dan Miller is asked to share his background – which happens all too often to even the most private CEOs – he starts off with the same ol’ script. Got his engineering degree, then his business degree, then worked at Intel during the glory days, yaddayadda. But the fact of the matter is, that was a lifetime ago. Dan has long since morphed from a sharp engineer and sales victor at someone else’s firm, into a startup visionary and finance whiz at his own firm. He’s a big-picture thinker and risk-taker—one might say to a fault.

After selling his last venture (AeroComm) and [un]settling into retirement, Dan’s wife told him to get out of the house and get a job. Dan’s restless mind came to form the backbone of a modest entrepreneurial think-tank named Red Nova Labs. Today, Dan continues to bounce off the walls, uncovering opportunities in the multifarious field of web marketing.

Successful startup CEOs are a rare breed. They usually don’t get into startups because they have a strong desire to manage a lot of people or drive a big, deliberate ship. Instead, they are technologists, dreamers, visionaries. Dan is that rare breed. He typically exhausts himself by putting in half-days (that is, at least 12 out of 24 hours) dreaming of new products and markets, and how to most efficiently manage company resources. Dan draws pictures in the sand for budgets, partnerships, operations, culture, on and on, then watches as his team turns them into something realistic and dynamic. Dan considers his highest priority finding and retaining top talent and giving them the tools to go as far as they can.

• Dan is like a plant—he needs sunlight and liquid (e.g. Grey Goose) to thrive.
• Dan’s favorite two words are “risk” and “reward.”
• His strategic style can be summarized as “ready, fire, aim.”
• Dan’s biz mottos are unconventional and press-unfriendly, such as “go ugly early.”
• Even though he runs a web marketing firm, Dan is pretty much unGooglable.
• Dan’s favorite sports teams are the Chiefs, the Royals, the Big 12 (10) and the Basehounds.
• He is typically seen in shorts (even in winter), and sometimes without shoes.
• Dan gets a pedicure whenever he sells a company.
• His two dogs make grizzlies question their masculinity.
• His four kids make Dan question his sanity.
• His wife is a saint and also questions Dan’s sanity.