Red Frog Events

Joe Reynolds ’03

Since its founding in 2007, Red Frog has enjoyed a 24,000 percent increase from first-year sales, developed a fanatically loyal customer base with close to 725,000 Facebook fans, and molded a corporate culture as unique as…well, a red frog! The company, which specializes in the active entertainment industry, produces three race series, Great Urban Race (GUR), Warrior Dash, and Beach Palooza.

Founder Joe Reynolds’ vision was inspired by the CBS show The Amazing Race in May 2007. But instead of being passive spectators, he envisioned creating fun, city-wide adventures that could be actively enjoyed by legions of participants.

“It seemed like an outlandish idea at the time and I had some people telling me it wasn’t a good one, but I just went with my gut and held the first Great Urban Race (GUR) in Chicago,” said Reynolds.

His instincts were right on target and he turned a profit on that very first race. Reynolds took what he learned from that experience and transformed a modest $5,000 investment into a $50 million company by 2011. All it took was unbelievably hard work, a passion generating excitement, and a “just do it” attitude.

So exactly what does Red Frog do? Let’s take a closer look…

Teams competing in Great Urban Race solve clues and navigate a city by walking, running, or using public transportation. Starting with a website and eight races in fall 2007, it has expanded to 40 cities with a projected 28,000 annual participants in 2011.

The second event launched by Red Frog was Warrior Dash, a 5K obstacle-running event for thrill-seeking athletes. Each race concludes with a celebration featuring very muddy participants enjoying live music and beer. The 2011 Warrior Dash tour included 36 races and attracted more than 650,000 athletes nationwide.

Beach Palooza, a 5K obstacle-running race is Red Frog’s newest offering. Complete with live beach tunes and beer, the series was launched in November 2010 and expanded to seven sandy locations in 2011, adding another 25,000 fun-loving fans to the Red Frog family.

It’s good to be red

It takes a lot more than an innovative idea to build a successful business. There were many 100-hour workweeks before the company’s first bigger successes.

He believes a work-hard, play-hard alternative work atmosphere is at the heart of Red Frog’s success. “I wanted to create a workplace that felt like home and hire employees that felt like family,” Reynolds explained. All employees enjoy a weekly lunch, free meals after 7:30 p.m., endless drinks, and daily snacks. Traditional coffee breaks are replaced with tricycle races, dancing contests, and foosball tournaments. For Froggers who need to re-charge, they can whizz down a zip line or play Wii—all on company time.

Six ISU graduates, who were among the first hired, hold key roles within the company, which has grown to include 125 über-energetic, nice-to-the-core employees. And since Red Frog receives more than 2,000 resumes a month, they can afford to be choosey when selecting staff. Currently one out of 150 applicants is hired into their event coordinator program, but competition is becoming increasingly stiff as interest in working at Red Frog continues to rise.

Red Frog offers a benefits program that is incomparable to any other workplace in the world. Employees receive Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO, vision, life, and dental insurance. The 401k plan has no vesting schedule with a 100 percent match on up to 10 percent of an employee’s salary. Froggers also enjoy unlimited vacation days, one work from home day per week, taking a family member or friend on a fully paid trip to one event per year, keeping their award flight miles, a match of up to a $1,000 in charitable contributions per year, a birthday massage, $100 office decor allowance, maternity leave of up to 12 weeks and paternity leave of two weeks at 100 percent pay, and up to $1,000 per year to use at their own discretion for training and development.

Once employees hit the five-year mark they’re eligible for a fully paid four-week sabbatical with any one person of their choice or their spouse and children to South America, Europe, Africa, or Asia.

Camp Red Frog

Reynolds and his Froggers recently moved into their newly designed Camp Red Frog. They did a lot of brainstorming and then challenged architects to create a space surpassing anything they had previously delivered. Designers were asked to insure the space reflected environmentally respectful features. Camp Red Frog, located in the heart of Chicago’s River North neighborhood, is filled with functional meeting spaces, a slide, customized swings, a rock-climbing wall and a 50,000-piece Lego conference table. Reclaimed wood from a Kansas barn was used for the tree houses and tables. Doors from the previous office were reused. Automatic lighting and other systems were incorporated to conserve energy. Even a chandelier created from 192 recycled mason jars is “green.”

Customer service is everything

A total commitment to building lasting relationships with highly satisfied customers is the focus of every Red Frog employee. One of the company’s greatest innovations is RegistratioNATION. Launched in 2009, it provides automated online payment processing and database management for event registrations to insure remarkable customer service. Once participants arrive at a race there are always numerous event coordinators and full-time staff dedicated to offering an unforgettable adventure.

“We understand the importance of building relationships with customers and see each of our participants as valued individuals. Whether we are conversing on the telephone, over email, or in person, we remain genuine and authentic, while projecting our contagious positive attitude,” said Reynolds.

Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube are leveraged to build excitement about upcoming events and provide participants a way to share feedback, testimonials, and photographs and video of their adventures.

“We continue to find ways for them to interact and engage with our Red Frog Family beyond just their presence at our events,” Reynolds explained. “Even our website which is designed like an old-time arcade is fun and functional.”

An active corporate citizen

Red Frog partners with St. Jude Children’s Hospital, donating a portion of the GUR proceeds from every race to help young children faced with an illness. Local charities unique to each race location also receive significant financial support and a boost in visibility thanks to Red Frog.

“One clue in every race provides participants the opportunity to interact with the hometown charity and collect small items that go directly to the people each organization helps,” Reynolds explained.

Warrior Dash partners with nonprofit GreenSneakers, an organization that facilitates the cleaning and distribution of shoes to third-world countries. Take a look inside a Warrior Dash event online.

Snapshot of 2010 Red Frog Philanthropy

$200,000 to St. Jude Children’s Hospitals (on target to raise more than $350,000 in 2011)

$170,000 to local charities in host communities (2011 totals are already approaching  $750,000)

50,000 pairs of athletic shoes donated to GreenSneakers (2011 estimate is more than 180,000 pairs)

Looking ahead

“I’ve reinvested and encouraged innovative thinking with an eye on our long-term success,” said Reynolds. “That philosophy is why I’m confident Red Frog will be a larger thriving company in two, five, and fifty years from now.”

The company plans three new launches within the Red Frog umbrella in the next 18 months, two of which will be on a far larger scale than anything done to date.

“To me, Red Frog Events encompasses a way of life, rather than a place to pick up a paycheck. The free enterprise system has given every employee, every community, and every charity we’ve touched an opportunity for growth and a chance to be extraordinary,” added Reynolds.

Great Urban Race Normal will be the kick-off event for Homecoming 2011. Visit www.greaturbanrace.com/event_normal.php to learn more or to resister.

It’s been said “You’ve gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you meet your handsome prince.” Well that fairytale ending came true this September when Casey O’Connor ’07 married Red Frogger Joe Reynolds. The couple met at Great Urban Race Normal during Homecoming 2009.