Parkite Rick Alden, founder of the locally-based headphones company Skullcandy, was recently named Entrepreneur of 2009 by Entrepreneur magazine.
In an interview Monday, Alden said this honor means the most to him of all the awards he’s received since the company started six years ago. The fast-growing business has gone global as its products continue to appeal to active youth and music lovers.
According to public affairs agent Lindsey Groepper, the January 2010 issue of the magazine with Alden on the front cover appeared on newsstands Friday.
After narrowing down five finalists for the award back in March, the magazine opened up the contest to the public for online voting that ended in October, the press release said.
Alden was in Las Vegas Monday finalizing a deal to name a performance area in the Hard Rock Hotel the Skullcandy Stage. He said the week the company launched in 2003 had been the busiest one in his life.
“Every week since has continued to get busier and way funner,” he said Monday.
He credited much of the company’s success to its employees.
“The best part of it as we get more slammed, we hire more and more amazing people,” he said, adding, the bigger and the better the team becomes the more fun his job is.
The article in the magazine references his love for surfing and a recent trip to Fiji. The Park Record recently reported the company’s marketing department is moving to San Clemente, Calif. to be closer to the surf industry. But on Monday Alden clarified he is still first and foremost a snowboarder.
“After 20 years of surfing, I’m still the single worst surfer who has ever lived on Earth. I’m a snowboarder. Every day of that trip was worse than before,” he said.
In addition to being able to surf and snowboard, Alden explained that what makes his job so much fun is being in touch with his customer base.
The heaviest users of iPods and headphones are young teenagers who love a good time, he said. The activities they’re into, the places they go and the music they listen to are all things he enjoys too.
As a father of teenagers in Park City schools, Alden has first-hand experience. That partly inspired an idea to offer prizes to local schools in exchange for supporting him for Entrepreneur of the Year.
Julie Baker, and advisor for the student council at Treasure Mountain International School, said Skullcandy promised them money and company swag. She said Tuesday she was excited to hear the news and said the money will be a big benefit to the council and its goals.
“Nothing is more punk rock than getting local schools behind us,” Alden said. “We really consider such a huge part of the success of Skullcandy the support and reception we’ve had within the Park City community.”
He said they’ve been able to hire fantastic talent from within the area, and ever since his family moved to town in 2001 he’s found it a wonderful place to live and raise children. The willingness of the schools to support his bid is further evidence of what a great community it is, he said.
The opportunity to give back to a community is what he loves most about entrepreneurship, he said. At its heart, business is about identifying a problem and striving to fix it.
“I have a dysfunctionally high opinion of entrepreneurship,” he said. “A problem lots of people have is one you can solve over and over.”
The potential for success in entrepreneurship enlivens individuals to get active in solving problems. He said it’s one of the most fulfilling forms of self expression.
“Your business becomes your own personal canvas to express creativity,” he explained.
Meanwhile, jobs are created, the local economy is strengthened and the community becomes a better place to live, he added.