Business Biography for Bruce Milliken
Primary Business Achievements
Founder/Chairman/CEO of Random Access, Inc
Summary
Founded Random Access, a microcomputer integration firm in June 1985 in the basement of my home (the garage was the warehouse). I was the founder, chairman and CEO from inception to the sale of the firm to Entex Corp in September 1995 and continued on in a consulting role for 1 year. The company grew rapidly through aggressive and creative marketing/financing. Engineered the growth formula which saw sales rise to 350M and 750 employees at the time of the sale. Directed 5 rounds of public financing, including the IPO process in September 1990. Random Access stock was listed on the NASDAQ National Market System under the symbol of RNDM from 1992 until the time of sale. The merger of Random Access and Entex created the largest seller of microcomputers to businesses in the United States at the time of the merger . Random Access was recognized on the INC 100 list of fastest growing publicly traded companies 3 times, ranking as high as number 15 in 1992. I was recognized as Entrepreneur of the Year in 1992, as well as a finalist for the award in 1991 .In 1994, Fortune Magazine recognized me as one of the Top 40 Entrepreneurs under the age of 40.
Random Access succeeded for one primary reason: We stayed ahead of the competitors in innovations, services, offerings and abilities. I was able to put myself on the other side of the desk and look at the needs of the customers and customized our offering to match their needs.
In summary, Random Access was successful due to my ability to visualize new markets and develop cost-effective methods to penetrate these marketplaces.
Franchise Owner/Sports Clips Portland
On June 23, 2009, I purchased the franchise rights for 3 Sport Clips franchises in the Portland Metro Area. The 1st one opened on February 19th, 2010 in the Clackamas area at 10223 SE Sunnyside Rd. It has been a challenging first store as I have had to overcome an extremely poor first choice for a store manager and subsequently, the lack of quality individuals she hired. I became passive rather than an active manager and put my trust in an individual with a criminal record I was not aware of. It has been a humbling re-entry back into the business world but I am going to fight my way through it and get OR104 to profitability. The metrics are already indicating that the new team and spirit are being picked up by the customers coming into the store and the turnaround has begun!
On June 25, 2010 just one year after signing the franchise agreement, I opened my 2nd Sport Clips in West Linn at the West Linn Central Village. This location is already an excellent store as the competition is low and the demographics are great! I look forward to finding more strong locations in the PDX area and opening them up in the coming years!