Bio
Curt Richardson is the co-founder, with his wife, Nancy Richardson, and chairman of Blue Ocean Enterprises, Inc. and Blue Ocean Holdings LLC, both Fort Collins, Colorado-based companies they founded in 2011 to commit capital to promising businesses, strategically invest in commercial real estate, and support the local community through their philanthropic organization, The Richardson Foundation.
Richardson is also the founder and chairman of OtterBox®, a Fort Collins, Colorado-based innovator of protective solutions for the leading global handheld manufacturers, wireless carriers and distributors. Richardson founded the company, which originally produced a line of waterproof boxes for outdoor enthusiasts, in 1998. Today, OtterBox has global operations and offers five lines of device-specific cases for today’s hottest technologies.
Entrepreneurial drive has always fueled Richardson’s way of life. In 7th grade, he opened Curt’s Lawn Service in downtown Denver. By the time he turned 21, he owned Genie Plastic Tooling, and in 1981 launched Richardson Tool and Mold. Richardson also imported molds for Mattel®, Display Technology, and other U.S. companies before turning his focus to creating the first prototype of a waterproof case in the early ’90s.
In 2010, Richardson was named Northern Colorado Business Report’s “Bravo Entrepreneur – Fort Collins” winner and led OtterBox to the Better Business Bureau’s “Torch Award for Business Ethics,” among other honors.