Richard Johnson (entrepreneur)

In January 1988, Johnson co-founded the RBL Agency with computer engineer Columbia graduate, Bennett Carroccio. RBL Agency, a specialized recruiting firm for technologists, was the first company to have a classified advertisement in The New York Times with an email address in 1993 and then a website in 1995. The agency went on to become OTEC Inc.,[2] one of New York City's largest technical recruiting firms. In 1997 OTEC Inc.[2] opened its second office in San Francisco. By 1999, OTEC Inc.[2] had over 65 recruiters in New York and San Francisco.

After seeing the success of his online efforts in 1995, Johnson realized the internet would be the biggest business opportunity in his lifetime; thus, he began to focus on building an internet company. His early efforts included creating New Media Labs, a Silicon Alley-based research and development firm, to construct technology for the Internet. Some of his first projects included building the largest transactional system in the world for Columbia House Records and network monitoring solutions for Merck Pharmaceuticals in early 1996.

Johnson soon realized he was conducting more project-based work than anything else and came to see the significance of the Internet in the workplace. It was then that Johnson, with help from Carroccio, started developing OTEC Inc.[2]’s website into the job board that would later become HotJobs.com. By February 1996, the web site was launched as a separate company and HotJobs was established as the world's first truly interactive job board, where companies could post job openings directly onto the World Wide Web and applicants could interact with them via the simple click of a button..

As the founder and CEO of HotJobs, Johnson’s first advertising efforts included posting HotJobs as Yahoo!’s “site of the week” – an ad that could be purchased for $1,000 at the time. But, what he did next has been described as one of the “10 Gutsiest Moves in Entrepreneurial History.[3]” In 1999, Johnson startled the advertising world when he mortgaged his house and other assets to spend $2 million on a single commercial ad during Super Bowl XXXIII, considering HotJobs’ total revenues were approximately $4 million at the time. It proved to be a very savvy investment, as over $50 million in publicity was generated when news broke about Johnson’s 30-second spot. Immediately following its air time, HotJobs' servers were overwhelmed with requests and overnight Johnson had transformed his company into a giant.

In May 1999, Johnson did his first round of financing through a venture capital firm, such as Generation Partners, and then immediately filed to take his company public. By August 16, Johnson announced the 1st IPO[4] of HotJobs, which he later followed up with a 2nd offering in November 1999; his efforts succeeded in raising over $165 million from public investors.

In March 2001, when Johnson realized his vision for the company was at odds with his board of directors, he stepped down[5] as CEO and President of HotJobs, but remained an active chairman on the board. The next month, Johnson approached Andrew McKelvey, the CEO of TMP Worldwide Inc. and struck a deal[6] to sell HotJobs to the owner of Monster.com. The transaction inevitably failed to close after the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) launched an Antitrust Case[7] against the merger,[8] allowing Yahoo to make an unsolicited bid[9] and ultimately acquire HotJobs in February 2002 for $436 million.

In 2014, Johnson bought the old Hatteras Yachts Plant[10] in Swansboro, North Carolina, and anchored the facility, now under the name Swanspoint,[11] with two core tenants, Armstrong Marine[12] and Winter Custom Yachts.[13] Swanspoint[11] is now a boat manufacturing facility and full-service marine park.

In 2016, Johnson bought a 575 acre farm in Burgaw, North Carolina, and started Penderlea Farms.[14][15] Johnson purchased the farmland with a goal to grow and preserve historic Live Oak trees,[16] namingly those mentioned in the Live Oaks Society—one of which was the Airlie Garden Live Oak,[17] famously rooted in Wilmington, North Carolina. Johnson intends to carry on the DNA of these heirlooms[18] into new generations.

In 2005, Johnson joined the board and became a Trustee and chairman in the wildlife conservation group WildAid.[21] He recruited Emily Hickey,[22] a former Hotjobs employee, to become the global NGO, Chief Operating Officer (COO). Initially WildAid had 4 founders. Emily effectively divided the NPO, delegating 2 founders to focus on using marketing campaigns to effect change. One of their most impactful taglines reads: “ When the buying stops, the killing will too.” This tagline was used in an effort to stop the illegal trade of killing endangered species.

In 2005, Johnson became a member of the Bucknell Alumni Board[23] and after moving he and his family to Wilmington, North Carolina, became a member of UNCW’s Cameron School of Business Executive Advisory Board.[24] In 2009, Johnson co-founded Masonboro.org[25] to preserve and protect[26] Masonboro Island, the largest barrier island in North Carolina. With Masonboro.org,[25] Johnson developed the Island Explorers Program (ILX),[27] an educational component through partnerships with the NC Coastal Reserve,[28] Carolina Ocean Studies[29] and New Hanover County Schools.[30] ILX[27] created a science-based field trip that would pair with the curriculum of 5th grade science objectives. The first of the ILX trips[27] launched in Fall of 2013 with 50 students from Wrightsville Beach Elementary.[31] Since then, the program has grown to bring in over 2000 students from every eligible school in New Hanover County.

In 2019, Johnson started the town revitalization project,[32] Burgaw Now,[33] aimed at investing in businesses to revitalize Burgaw’s historic town square. After purchasing several buildings downtown, Johnson partnered with Jay Kranchalk,[34] a former Cape Fear Academy teacher, to open Fat Daddy’s Pizzeria.[35] The business is expected to open in 2020.

Johnson’s other non-profit work has included serving as a Trustee and Chairman on the Marketing Committee for Trout Unlimited[36] between 2010 - 2018. During his years on the board for TU,[36] Johnson helped grow their membership from 150,000 members to over 300,000 members.