Though he’s up against companies that are many times his size, don’t bet against Rustin Kretz. This 33-year old technology entrepreneur and huge fan of thoroughbred racing knows how to work hard. And like his horses, he’s not afraid of the competition. While he pushes himself hard, he expects just as much commitment from the people he hires. Eighteen-hour days are typical for some employees of Scorpion Design, which creates websites and conducts online marketing for lawyers. Perhaps that is also why Kretz is so fascinated with thoroughbreds. The first time he went to the Kentucky Derby, he decided he had to have a horse. His very first purchase— a brown beauty named Westwood Pride — won his heart, so much so that he has since acquired 34 more horses. I went to college for marketing. I was planning to finish but I got a job in the technology sector working for a giant start-up funded by AT&T. I was one of their tech guys, building websites. It was like an 18-hour a day job, but it was a great experience. It was what I always imagined working for a good company would be like. Then they changed the management. All of a sudden, the guys who started it, who were the inspiration and the fire, they were gone and suddenly we were working for these new guys who were very corporate. They took the heart and soul of a tech company, which in my mind is a company that works as hard as you have to. If that means you’re not sleeping, you’re not sleeping. That’s what tech people do. Before you knew it, people were leaving at 5:00. And guess what, they were out of business in six months. But I’ve taken that start-up company mentality with me. We work hard, but we have fun. We play craps. We play videos. We make it fun. But you have to dedicate 18 hours a day or sometimes, just not sleep, which is what I did for years. I spent a few days trying to figure out the right name. I happen to be a Scorpio. Plus, I had the tattoo that I got when I was 19. Looking back, I’m glad I picked that name. Everyone here considers themselves a scorpion — someone who works hard and does not accept no for an answer. We’ll work hard and play hard, but we do what it takes to reach our goals. Headquarters: Valencia CEO: Rustin Kretz three-year growth rate: 143.3 percent 2010 Revenue: $8.2 milion 2009 Revenue: $5 milion 2008 Revenue: $3.4 million We are, without a question, changing the way attorneys look at marketing. They did not used to market at all. And that’s been part of our growth. The more people go out there with a great website and others see how good it is, the more they want it too. There are certain firms who need to market their services more: the DUI, immigration, family law, bankruptcy, personal injury. Those are the guys that want cases from online because that’s profitable. It’s not the corporate litigators. We have two major competitors: FindLaw, which is Thomson Reuters and Martindale-Hubbell. They are enormous. They are the gorillas in this business and we are the annoying step-child. They are upset with us, I’m sure. We do it better and faster. They have 1,000 sales reps; that’s 12 times larger on just the sales side than my entire staff. But it doesn’t matter. They don’t have the loyalty we have. I did not think I would love horse-racing as much as I do. But I fell totally in love with this. I decided to take my wife to the Kentucky Derby for her birthday in May 2010. And it’s weird, I’m watching these celebrities walk in and the horses go by and I’m saying, ‘Wow that is so cool.’ Unfortunately, when I get something in my head I have to do it and I have to do it big. So when I got back to LA, I could not stop thinking about it. I found this most amazing young trainer and she found me my first horse. I never even saw it, just sent the money. It turns out we were lucky. I got an amazing, amazing horse. Her name is Westwood Pride. She represents what we are here. She has so much heart. She fights. She wants to win. She’s like ‘Out of my way, I’m doing this.’ It’s kind of how we are. You see the people who want to work harder, try harder…these horses represent the same thing. I love the fact that we can make a difference by working hard and caring. — As told to Judy Temes
Why I Raise Thoroughbreds
