Meet the Team
Andrew Spott– CEO, Founder
Andrew has over a decade of experience building, marketing and managing entrepreneurial businesses and client projects. Working closely with a wide variety of industries, he has developed a keen marketing insight for bringing clients closer to their audience.
He graduated from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University with a focus in Entrepreneurship. While at OSU, Andrew started (and later sold) an online food/entertainment marketplace that facilitated millions of dollars a year in transactions.
Today, Andrew is recognized as a thought leader in the startup business space, collaborating with clients and helping them better understand profitable marketing and new media platforms. His strong background in web and digital marketing inspires him to focus on results, metrics and customers when working in any marketing medium.
Ask Andrew about his thoughts on Ohio’s startup business scene.
Robert Kosmatka– COO, Founder
Robert holds a Bachelor of Science in Interactive Multimedia from Ohio University. Prior to co-founding Vivid Front, Robert was a consultant at Attevo, a global business and IT consulting firm. While there, he was responsible for development and implementation of e-business strategy for clients within his practice. Prior to Attevo, Robert led a web design and development firm which he started in 1999.
Today, Robert is responsible for the daily business operations at Vivid Front. In addition, he leverages a considerable knowledge of front end processes to assist and manage much of the development team. His entrepreneurial background is integrated with sharp understanding of emerging technologies as well as digital marketing and advertising. Robert designs and provides reliable, innovative solutions to our clients.
Ask Robert about his thoughts on Thom Yorke.
Harlan Miller– Senior VP, Principal
After graduating from The Cooper School of Art, Harlan worked for a number of major advertising agencies as an art and creative director. Building strong communication, creative and business skills in marketing and advertising, he forged an impressive track record of hands-on experiencewith a wide variety of consumer and business to business projects. Eventually, his work in planning, project and product management, advertising, sales promotion, direct marketing, public relations andcreative strategy lead him to open his own ad agency.
After spending more than 35 years in the industry, and having successfully grown his agency into one of the areas most respected, he accepted an offer for it to be acquired. His ability to successfully analyze an organization’s critical business and marketing requirements, identify deficiencies and potential opportunities and develop cost-effective creative solutions is second to none. This impressive background and considerable experience helps him guide the integration of traditional and digital marketing for our clients.
Ask Harlan about his thoughts on ranch dressing.
Matthew Brian– Creative Director
Mathew Brian is a corporate marketing strategist, designer and brand leader from Cleveland, Ohio. He began developing his skills at The Cleveland Clinic, where he focused on streamlining business processes, implementing marketing strategy and managing employee/patient satisfaction. Following this, he joined a technology consulting firm where he re-imagined the brand, created and deployed a digital presence and developed and strengthened customer touch points through marketing strategy and design.
Today, he collaborates with clients to craft authentic and ownable brand positions both visually and strategically. Often occupying overlapping roles, he simultaneously functions as strategist, designer, creative leader and brand cheerleader. As the Creative Director of Vivid Front, he dives deep into client relationships to form and translate brands across platforms, with an authentic point of view that produces truly inspiring creative.
Ask Mathew about his thoughts on authentic branding.
Don Boots– Senior Developer
Don Boots attended Stark State College of Technology, majoring in Computer Science and Online Application Development. Over the past 2 years, Don has developed web applications for clients in Akron, New York, Cleveland and Baltimore. Past clients include Alternative Press, Cleveland Clinic, Derek Hess, Goetze Candy, Patton Oswalt and Charm City Cakes. Don applies current user trends and technical practices to deliver robust, reusable applications regardless of the platform and technical specifications. His passion for staying current with emerging trends and technologies also helps him keep ahead of the nerdy acronym curve, which is a personal source of pride.
Ask Don about his thoughts on greasy-spoon burgers.
Kendal Richer– Senior Designer
Kendal studied graphic design at RIT in upstate New York and later graduated with a BFA from the University of Akron. He is a multi-disciplined designer and recipient of numerous industry accolades, with work that has been featured in national publications. Over the past seven years he has developed a sharp eye for design and typography while building a solid understanding of marketing practices and principles. He has occupied various design roles in agency, studio and corporate in-house settings at companies as small as six employees to over 1,000, including The Cleveland Clinic and American Greetings.
As the newest member of the senior team, he brings a well versed creative vision to the brand as well as a fresh approach to many client objectives. By applying creative problem-solving skills to traditional and online marketing, advertising and promotional campaigns, he consistently delivers unique solutions that remain within project constraints and exceed client expectations.
Ask Kendal about his thoughts on robots.
Angela Calabretta– Marketing Manager
Angela studied marketing and advertising at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pennsylvania. Her experience consists of a variety of fields including e-communications, creative writing, and events management. She has worked in both the small business and corporate worlds, most recently holding positions with two of the paint industry’s top corporations. Her past working directly with vendors and clients allows her to build and maintain strong relationships and embrace new and challenging problems.
Today, Angela continues her education at Baldwin-Wallace College and is soon to receive her Masters in Business Administration. As the newest member of the Vivid Front team, she is primarily responsible for assisting in the strategy, creation, and delivery of marketing programs to support the growth and expansion of clients’ products and services.
Ask Angela about her thoughts on Italian cooking.
Jessica PaoliIntern
Jessica is a graphic design student at Cuyahoga Community College, where she will graduate with an Associate of Applied Business in Spring 2012. While in high school, Jessica completed a certificate in Interactive Media through the West Shore Career-Technical School. Her work in web design and development has been recognized nationally through schools and professional organizations, and her designs for print led her to an Outstanding Student scholarship from the Graphic Arts Council of Cleveland.
Along with the balance of web and print design, she has an award-winning traditional art background.
While her degree is in progress, she is learning at Vivid Front by aiding in developing the best solutions in campaigns for print, web, and mobile platforms. Her youthful and bright energy brings a new spirit to a variety of client work.
Ask Jessica about her thoughts on high-fructose corn syrup.
David TothVP, Client Strategy
David graduated from Miami University of Ohio with a Bachelors in Political Science and a minor in Entrepreneurship. He also received the Entrepreneur of the Year award, in recognition of his work on a startup he launched while in school. David has worked with brands ranging from startups to Fortune 500 companies to improve their marketing strategy and digital integration. Having occupied roles on both the agency and brand side, as well as developing three companies of own, David has a range of experience that helps him connect with a wide variety of clients.
David provides a strategic and results-oriented approach to marketing and digital strategy for our clients. He begins by examining client objectives and strengths, then aligns those with creative marketing tactics. David helps organizations leverage the web and other digital mediums from the ground up.
Ask David how many laptops he has broken in airplanes.