Image: Dan Anton
Have you met a military vet before? Have they shared their personal story of the war? Of the heartache? Of the moment their life was changed forever? Of course there are hundreds of thousands of military men and women out there, each equipped with their own unique story that they’ll share with close friends and family. For Dan Anton, his story begins like most, the passion to serve his country along with some twists and turns of starting his own business and become the successful entrepreneur he is today. So who is Dan Anton and why should we care about his story? Let’s dive in shall we!
Dan was born in New Jersey, the oldest of three boys. Dan’s parents were very involved with their kids to help them pave the way for success. Dan began to find his passion with boxing but with too many blows to the head, his father thought it would too much for his son to endure with only being a sophomore in high school. He decided to pursue a creative passion elsewhere.
One of his younger brother’s Matt asked Dan “Why Would people buy from you and not direct?” This was a question that Dan had explained about a large community of people online who were searching for video games. They would pay for someone to find the particular game and have it shipped to them. He began to purchase popular video games like World of Warcraft from local stores and sell them online with a markup. Dan started to make thousands of dollars while in high school part-time and really enjoyed it until the Twin Towers fell.
Image: Dan Anton
Alongside thousands of other men and women, he signed up to fight for his country without a second thought. He put off his career as an internet entrepreneur and enlisted to go to basic training once he graduated with honors from Montclair State University. He then became a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army.
After his first deployment, Dan once again began to find an interest in internet marketing again. He once again talked to his brother Matt about building a social network for gamers which was similar to the popular MySpace back in 2006. Dan had a deep passion for everyday life and the risk he took was beginning to take place in his work ethic. Dan and Matt began learning every aspect of the internet marketing including EMail Marketing, SEO, PPC, Social Media and more! The video gamer trader now was envisioning a more stable and secure business for himself and his family and how to begin to make a difference with those around him and around the United States.
Matt and Dan began getting clients locally and from business forums. He began to notice that many of them didn’t have the desire to market their own products or service themselves online and that’s where they wanted to help. Matt came on as the online marketing manager for Liberty Travel while Dan worked on complicated computer systems and solutions as well as problem solving what was plaguing small business owners. His computer science background was helpful as he kept seeing inefficiencies in human-based tasks and in turn, developed a software to assist in the process of increasing ranks in Yahoo, Google and Bing. The military had taught him the importance of small details which served him well when working with creating his software.
After years of living stateside and building up a profitable business, Dan had to mentally shift gears back to being a leader and officer in the United States Army, and put aside private sector aspirations.Through a subpar internet connection Dan would help forget the burdens of the day by going over marketing strategies for a few minutes at a time, only to be rushed off the phone by an emergency, lack of internet, or the need to prepare the men for a combat patrol mission.
Image: RankCrew
A few years later he met his fiance Allison while in Atlanta and he began to fill whole again both spiritually, mentally and physically. Be began to again find a solution to problems and helping others succeed online. Today, Dan runs RankCrew, a successful software program and manages a team of developers and marketing specialist. His products and services are used by thousands of businesses each day, and as a byproduct he has become a multi-millionaire!
Dan makes it his mission to help everyone around him become successful and with his attention to detail, this thirst for knowledge and his ability to keep his customers happy and satisfied, working with Dan to help boost your blog or dream is inspiring. As a true success story from rags to riches, he knows the importance and value of working hard and striving for your dream to become a reality.
Thanks to Cait for sharing! Check out her blog or follow along on Instagram too.
