John Rampton - Founder and CEO of Pixloo

The majority of my inspiration comes while in the shower. It’s the one time during the day when I don’t have to think about anything, I don’t have to impress anyone and I don’t have to really do anything but shower. It’s a great time to relax and get to know myself. I find myself taking extra long showers for this reason. I love that personal time. It’s my time!

John Rampton is best known as an entrepreneur. He is always working on products or businesses that will help people and make money. He enjoys the startup atmosphere and has worked at several startups. He is currently working on Pixloo, a startup that helps people sell their homes online.

John has always enjoyed the online space, as it gives him the freedom to work from anywhere in the world. He started his online career working for a real estate startup called Obeo. After helping grow the company over 300% in 3 years, he moved on to affiliate marketing, managing multi-million dollar budgets.

John has a Bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Utah.

What are you working on right now?

I am working on Pixloo.com, a startup that helps people sell their homes online. This has been my primary focus and my passion. I also have a couple side projects that I work on and enjoy, including PPC.org, a daily blog about PPC tips and trends, Blogging.org, my blogging tips site and MapleNorth.com, where I work on client business that pays the bills and allows me to pursue my passions.

Where did the idea for Pixloo come from?

I worked at a real estate startup called Obeo. While I was there, I turned away thousands of potential customers because they were not licensed real estate agents. I thought there had to be a better way for people that wanted to sell their homes online. I discovered that there were only a few options out there, so I created Pixloo.com, a real estate virtual tour company that helps both homeowners and real estate agents sell their properties online. Now we don’t have to exclude anyone!

What does your typical day look like?

I typically wake up around 5:30-6:00 AM. I try to go for a walk to clear my mind. I start work 30 minutes later. I work for the next 12 hours on client building, PPC, affiliate marketing, SEO, link building and everything that helps pay the bills. I’ll typically eat several times during the day and stop work around 6:00 PM.

I love participating in local events and love watching movies.

How do you bring ideas to life?

When I have a bright idea, I typically run it by 3 of my best friends (Ryan Watson, Adam Green and Mitchell Stoker). They will either tell me to go for it or that it’s a horrible idea. The ideas that everyone likes are the ones that we build or start working on in one way or another.

What’s one trend that really excites you?

Money…I love watching money and how much it affects people. I love watching the trends of money going up and down. I love watching how it effects people and how much it controls their lives.

What was the worst job you ever had and what did you learn from it?

I had a job with a company that was scamming people online. When I found out, I immediately quit the job. It sucked walking away from such great money but it taught me a lot about myself and to never question my values.

If you were to start again, what would you do differently?

I think I’d do everything the same. I love where I am today. The only thing I would change is I would learn how to program sooner. I’m trying every day to learn more and more. This has helped me to work more effectively with programmers and designers and to diversify my skills set.

As an entrepreneur, what is the one thing you do over and over and recommend everyone else do?

I read books; I love to read books about my passion: startups and how to succeed.

What is one business idea that you’re willing to give away to our readers?

I think there needs to be competitors to Craigslist, Wikipedia and Ebay. Craigslist is one of those companies that has dominated the market; I think it’s time for someone to build a better site and take them out. Same with Wikipedia and Ebay. I think some startup has the power to build something far better than these companies and be successful.

Tell us a secret.

I don’t think I’ve read a complete book in my life. I suck at reading. When I was younger, I would make my mom read to me because I couldn’t concentrate on the words that I was reading. I couldn’t read more then a chapter at a time. Later I discovered audio books, which I love. They have changed my life.

Even if you aren’t good at something, you can overcome it. Listening to audio books has helped improve my reading skills. I can now focus 10 times more than I used to. I love reading short online articles on sites like TechCrunch and Mashable. It has helped me overcome my fear of reading.

What are your three favorite online tools and what do you love about them?

OpenSiteExplorer.org is a great tool for determining how valuable a website is. When I’m looking for links online, I go to this site, search my competitors’ sites looking for the best links and then try to get my links on the high-performing pages.
iTunes is a great online tool to download books. Even though it’s not considered a tool, it’s a great way to get tons of audio books with just a click of your mouse. I learn so much from books. I attribute my online success to lessons learned from the books that I listen to.
Google is amazing, you can find pretty much anything about anyone these days. I use everything that they offer. Gmail, Google Docs, Google +, etc.

What is the one book that you recommend our community should read and why?

Rich Dad, Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Sharon Lechter because this book has changed my life. It helps your brain have a totally different mentality. It makes you want something more and go about getting it in a better way. I think this should be a must read for everyone. Even if you’re not in real estate, I think it applies to investing in yourself.

What’s on your playlist?

I love Eminem, Linkin Park, Skrillex, Gym Glass Heroes, Matt Nathanson, Blink 182 and many other artists. I’m all over the board. When I’m not listening to music, I’m listening to audio books.

If you weren’t working on Pixloo, what would you be doing?

I think I would be working on PPC.org, another project that I have a passion for. If I wasn’t working on that, I’d be working on blogging.org.

Three people we should follow on Twitter and why?

@jsrampton: That’s me, and I’m the bomb dot com.
@maplenorth: He is one of the smartest people I know. He’s great to bounce ideas off of and one of a dozen people in the online world whom I trust.
@techcrunc:h They write stories about some of the greatest companies that you can learn from. I love to read their articles and I learn so much from each one. It also spurs on my brain and gives me additional ideas.
@zacjohnson: A very smart online guru who provides tips that anyone can use.

When was the last time you laughed out loud? What caused it?

Two minutes ago when the man next to me at the airport said that his hero was Mr. Popper from Mr. Popper’s Penguins and went on for 10 minutes to the Chinese man sitting next to him about it. It gave me a good laugh that he’s got such an admirable hero!

Who is your hero?

My hero is Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “be the change you wish to see in the world.” I try and live that every day. I want to change the world for the better.

What is one mistake that you have made in the business world that others can learn from?

One lesson I have learned is to choose your team wisely. Not having or paying for the RIGHT team upfront can cost you TONS more money down the road.

Where do you get most of your ideas?