In April of 1999 I was hired by the Internet start-up, OurHouse.com to do marketing and next generation customer experience design. OurHouse was the online play of Ace Hardware.

I was the 16th hire, eventually there would be over 150 people working at the HQ in Evanston, IL.

I published the book by Mr. Fix-It, Lou Manfredini, “101 Most Commonly Asked Questions About Repairing Your Home” in the Fall of 1999. We actually sold hundreds of copies via an 800# BEFORE the site went live for e-commerce! Lou became the brand ambassador for OurHouse and was a regular on the Today Show.

In early 2001 I designed the prototype for OurHouse Radio, a streaming service that would’ve been a pioneer in content creation and connected commerce.

This was WAY ahead of its time and included news, interviews, integrated promotions, music, and original content such as comedy and even a short mystery radio skit!

Listen to the demo here:

I also designed edutainment/commerce platforms for OurHouse including OurHouse University which was to have a faculty of home entertainment and home improvement “Deans” – each overseeing a “College” or Department such as “Gardening,” “Home Enterraining on a Budget,” “First Time Home Owners,” “Dorm Living,” “The Wired Home,” “The Accessible Home,” and “The Sustainable/Green Home.” Each Department would have a range of products, webcasts, forums, and each purchase would send a donation to a partnered nonprofit.

This work generated sales, publicity, and novelty in the marketplace. The end goal was to increase people’s return visits to the web site, increase their time on the site, build a profile and purchase history, and to build loyalty in our viewers and shoppers.