Experience.
Perspective.
Results.
Helping owners build businesses worth owning.
Helping Business Owners
Answer Their Most
Important Questions.
$100M+
Client Assets Managed
300+
Mergers & Acquisitions
Since 1997
E-Commerce pioneer
350+
Employees hired & led
I Built Successful Businesses. But They Owned My Life.
I was working seven days a week, more than 100 hours, and hadn’t taken a vacation day in 15 years. I was making nearly every important decision, and the businesses had become too dependent on me.
When I finally stepped back and looked at what I had built with fresh eyes, I realized how much needed to change. So I rebuilt the businesses, and my life.
I Wanted a Better Life
It was 1997. I was 26 and working in mergers and acquisitions at Bank of New York Mellon.
I wanted independence, financial freedom, something I could build myself, and ultimately a better life. So I started Hampton Nautical, a nautical home décor company.
Over the years, Hampton grew into a much larger operation. I also built Blue Chip Macro, an investment management company that eventually managed more than $100 million in client assets.
From the outside, it looked like the dream was working. For a long time, I thought it was too.
Success Made it Easy to Say Yes
The more successful my businesses became, the more they required from me. More products. More employees. More clients. More decisions.
Things I enjoyed slowly disappeared. Time with friends. Golf. Lakers games. There was always something the business needed first.
The strange part was that I didn’t feel trapped. I felt successful.
A business doesn’t have to feel like a prison to own you. Sometimes it looks exactly like success.
“I Don't Have Anybody.”
In August 2021, I was hospitalized with severe COVID. A nurse asked who should make medical decisions for me if I became unable to make them myself.
I didn’t have an answer. I had spent decades building businesses, with employees, clients, factories, and thousands of products.
But when someone asked who should speak for me if I couldn’t speak for myself, I had nobody (no wife/girlfriend, no parents, no brothers, no sisters, no other relatives, no childern). Eventually, I gave her the name of a good friend.
That question forced me to confront something I had never really stopped to consider: I had built successful businesses, but not the life I had hoped they would create.
Building a successful business isn’t the destination.
It’s the vehicle.
Would I Build Them the Same Way Again?
After I recovered, I began looking at the businesses I had spent decades building with fresh eyes.
They were successful. I still wanted to own them. But I realized I would not choose to run them the same way again.
At Hampton Nautical, that meant questioning years of products, customers, employees, and complexity that had accumulated as the company grew.
At Blue Chip Macro, it meant deciding whether I wanted to restart an investment operation that had required hundreds of positions, constant monitoring, and nearly all of my attention.
Both experiences taught me the same thing: a business can be successful and still need to change.
I Finally Have the Life I Wanted
Once the businesses stopped requiring all of me, I could choose where my attention went.
I started seeing friends again. I returned to Lakers games. I could leave while the stock market was open without feeling that something might fall apart. Most importantly, I finally made room for relationships.
I met Pamela Maria de la Luz. She became my wife, and her children became my family.
Pamela and I later created AgaveLuz Organic Tequila together, a business built around something we both care deeply about: helping rescue animals.
Today, our life includes family, friends, businesses we care about, and a home full of rescue dogs and cats.
I still own Hampton Nautical. I still run Blue Chip Macro. I still work hard. But work is part of my life now. It is no longer my entire life.
Would You Buy Your Own Business?
Looking at my businesses with fresh eyes changed the way I think about ownership.
If you were looking at your business for the first time today, would you choose to buy it?
If the answer is no, be curious about why. The reasons usually point toward what needs to change, not only in the business, but sometimes in the life that comes with owning it.
The goal isn’t simply to build a bigger business. It’s to build a business you would actually want to own, and a life you actually want to live.
Rick Norris, CFA
Building a more valuable business
isn't the destination. It's the vehicle.
For more than 35 years, I’ve experienced businesses from multiple perspectives.
Those experiences have shaped how I evaluate businesses and the decisions that make them stronger and more valuable.
ENTREPRENEUR
Founded and grew Hampton Nautical, Blue Chip Macro, Westside Wellness, and AgaveLuz Organic Tequila.
INVESTOR
Managed more than $100 million in client assets. Former largest stock option on the E*TRADE platform.
BUSINESS ADVISOR
Advised on more than 300 mergers and acquisitions at Bank of New York Mellon, working directly with CEOs, CFOs, and founders of Fortune 1000 companies.
Questions every business owner faces
How do I grow my business and make it more profitable?
Where should I invest time, capital, and management attention?
What opportunities am I not seeing?
How can AI create a competitive advantage for my business?
How can I attract more of the right customers?
If I stepped away from my business, what would happen?
Experience and perspective help turn the right questions into better decisions.
Proof In Action
Businesses we’ve founded, built, and continue to operate.
MANAGED OVER $100 MILLION
Built proprietary quantitative investment strategies focused on protecting capital and delivering long-term results.
PIONEERED A NEW RETAIL CATEGORY
In 1997, recognized the shift to e-commerce and built the world’s leading retailer in its niche.
BRINGING BACK AUTHENTICITY
Crafted a premium organic, additive-free tequila before shortcuts became the standard.
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF WELLNESS
Launched a concierge healthcare practice built around proactive, personalized care.
Proof In Action
Businesses I have founded, grew and continue to operate.
MANAGED OVER $100 MILLION
Built proprietary quantitative investment strategies focused on protecting capital and delivering long-term results.
PIONEERED A NEW RETAIL CATEGORY
In 1997, recognized the shift to e-commerce and built the world’s leading retailer in its niche.
BRINGING BACK AUTHENTICITY
Crafted a premium organic, additive-free tequila before shortcuts became the standard.
BUILDING THE FUTURE OF WELLNESS
Launched a concierge healthcare practice built around proactive, personalized care.