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Founder and Advisory Board Bios: Ryp Walters • Richard Schwab • Dick Damrow • Rick Bunney Ryp Walters
Richard Schwab
Dick Damrow, Vice President for Creative Services
Rick Bunney
OverCoffee maintains a relatively flat organizational structure and operates with an Open Book philosophy. Ryp Walters, OverCoffee's Founder and President (see below), is quick to credit the success of the company to the OverCoffee staff. To help the company with strategic planning, OverCoffee maintains a three person Advisory Board. Each member of the Board has a strong background in one of OverCoffee's key strategic areas: financial, marketing and technology.
Founder, President, Recovering Engineer
From his vast educational background to his practical work experience, Ryp has demonstrated a firm knowledge of the practical applications in cutting-edge technologies. Completing his
undergraduate and masters' degrees in Electrical
Engineering in just four and a half years at
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
(VPI), Ryp has demonstrated his drive for technical
applications.
Ryp has worked in both large and small businesses
with practical applications of cutting edge
technology. While understanding the engineering
elements, he focused on product development and
user acceptance research. This includes spread
spectrum cellular phones (1988-1990), ISDN digital
telephony (1991-1992) and hand-held Global
Positioning System products (1992-1994).
Ryp founded Developing Virtual Realities (DVR) as a
web development firm in September 1994 with the
goal of applying his talents beyond the design
stage. Recognizing the potential opportunities
that the Internet would become, Ryp knew he'd found
his dream job. For three years, DVR grew from a web
development business to a full-service Internet
company offering dial-up and dedicated Internet
connections. As the business steadily grew, Ryp
separated it into two businesses: telephony and web
site design. In June 1998, he spun off the
telephony portion and renamed the web site
development company, OverCoffee Productions.
After performing market research on his largest
customers, Ryp chose to focus OverCoffee in the
Gift, Toy and Collectible Industries.
Since then, Ryp has gained significant experience
in sales and marketing techniques while building
strong relationships with employees and customers.
Wishing to gain additional business management
knowledge, Ryp graduated from the Fast Trac II
program through the University of Iowa Business
School in 1997. Ryp frequently speaks on Internet
topics at trade shows and conferences.
Board Member
Richard Schwab provides a keen eye on the financial
aspects and influences that impact the technology
industry in which OverCoffee participates. A true “Friend
of the Entrepreneur,” Mr. Schwab naturally blends
optimism with reality checks while maintaining a sincere
interest in Return On Investment. He earned a BA in
Accounting and an MBA in Marketing from University of
Minnesota, Duluth. With his CPA and CMA accreditation,
Mr. Schwab has 24 years business experience working at
Medtronic and NCS in Accounting, Finance, and General
Management. He is currently an Angel Investor,
Community Volunteer, and Woodworker.
Board Member
Before moving to Iowa to join a division of Young & Rubicam, Dick was Executive Vice President of Carmichael Lynch, a leading national consumer advertising agency in Minneapolis.
With advertising and communications experience on both the agency and client side of the desk, Dick has been integrating branding and direct marketing programs for national marketers for more than 30 years. He now guides creative and campaign strategy for Stamats Communications, a marketing and communications firm that exclusively serves more than 100 colleges and universities.
A former Midwest Direct Marketer of the Year, Dick was named to the Cedar Rapids Advertising Federation Hall of Fame in 2002. He has served on the faculties of the National Center for Database Marketing, the Direct Marketing Development Collaborative, and Adweek Seminars. He has been a guest lecturer in direct marketing at the University of Minnesota, St. Thomas University, University of Wisconsin/Madison, University of Iowa, and served on the faculty of the American Association of Advertising Agencies Advanced Advertising Institute.
He holds the Certified Business Communicator (CBC) professional designation and is a cum laude graduate of Hastings College in Nebraska. In addition to the OverCoffee Advisory Board, he currently serves on the Board of Advisors of two other start-up companies and the Board of Directors of Theatre Cedar Rapids, "You're Not Alone" Conferences, and Peppertree Studios Art Gallery.
Board Member
Rick Bunney brings technical review and technical
resource management experience to the Board. With a
BS in Applied Mathematics degree from the University of Pittsburgh, Mr. Bunney started his career as a computer programmer with Electronic Data Systems. He earned
his advanced systems engineering status while swimming with the sharks during his employment at EDS. Mr. Bunney successfully transitioned his skills into a management role at APAC where he oversaw the backend data processing and quality assurance organizations.
While employed at CRST International Inc., he is Vice President MIS in an
industry where margins are thin and access to real-time data is critical.
Copyright © 1994-2005, OverCoffee Productions L.C. All Rights Reserved.
222 3rd Ave. SE, Suite 2, Cedar Rapids, Iowa 52401
888.220.1300 • US:319.398.7300• Fax:319.398-7301