Headstand Media LLC was formed in October 2007 by Randal Birkey and the Dillon Kane Group, located at 333 West Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois.
Randal Birkey
Web Strategist
312.768.7450
Randal began his early career as a freelance illustrator in 1980, creating custom architectural illustration and technical illustrations for customers nation-wide for 16 years. He founded BIRKEY.COM as a web design and development company in 1996. In 1999, he merged this creative web practice with a software development firm located in Chicago’s western suburbs where he managed the growth of the BIRKEY.COM division for eight years.
During that time his team provided world class web design and Microsoft based web solutions to customers ranging from non-profit Christian ministries and publishers (Kidology.org, Sonlife.com, Christianity Today International), non-profit museums (The Petersen Automotive Museum) and charitable organizations (Caris Prevention Services, Shared Hope International), to large public (Ryerson, Inc.) and private corporations (Amsted Industries, TTX, Electro-Motive Diesels).
Benjamin Nelson
Creative Strategist
312.768.7451
Benjamin joined Headstand Media with a background in web user interface and experience design with firms such as ClickCommerce, ShopLocal.com and freelance experience as Someday Soon Design. While at ShopLocal, Benjamin was part of a creative team that developed the Digital Punch TV vlog, a digital video viral marketing campaign which gained some notable traffic on YouTube and other video blog sites. Benjamin is also a musical director, teacher and improv actor with Second City.
Kyle Williams
SEO and Technology Specialist
312.768.7452
Since 1997, Kyle has been creating content driven sites with a focus on revenue generation from advertising, and search engine traffic. What started as a hobby, selling strategy guides for a popular video game through the Amazon.com website, lead to the development of Survive Outdoors, Inc., an informational portal on various wilderness survival topics. At Headstand Media, Kyle will combine his experience in search engine marketing with Web 2.0 methodology to further enhance and grow client businesses.
Tim Schwaar
Programming and Technology Specialist
Tim has many years of Microsoft and database technology programming experience in the architectural, engineering and property management markets. He has also worked as a lead developer on programming teams at Abbott Laboratories. Tim helps Headstand Media manage our Microsoft based customer sites as well as provides general programming and technical customer service and support.
Derek Taylor
Web Design and Technology Specialist
Derek graduated from the University of Illinois and began a web design career in 1997. In the years since, he has worked for clients including Microsoft, LaSalle Bank and CARS.COM. Derek assists Headstand Media and customers in the area of open source PHP and mySQL development on a project by project basis. One of Derek’s current projects is: http://www.chitowndining.com
Jason Zielke
Venture Associate
Jason works with the Dillon Kane Group, where he is a Venture Associate, responsible for identifying entrepreneurial and partnering opportunities for the Dillon Kane Group, as well as assisting existing portfolio companies (such as Headstand) with business development, strategy, marketing and operations support.
Jason is an entrepreneur and technology expert with ten years of professional experience in a variety of industries, including petroleum, insurance, e-commerce, health care, publishing and distribution. He has a B.S in Chemistry, an M.S. in Chemical Engineering, and will earn an MBA in June 2008 from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. At the GSB he is very active as a member of the Consulting Club, the Private Equity, Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Group, and as a co-founder of Net Impact, a non-profit group of MBA students committed to environmental sustainability and social justice.
He is very passionate about seed and early stage entrepreneurial opportunities, especially as they relate to the technology, retail and clean-tech/alternative energy sectors. He is active as a mentor, coach and business competition venture capital board member with icstars.org, an organization that equips inner-city youth for careers in technology and entrepreneurship.
Headstand Media is extending this combined expertise and partnership experience to serve public and private organizations and corporations with a wider range of creative and technology solutions, strategic web consulting, Web 2.0 integration, project management and search engine optimization services.