When Rick Sterling co-founded Sterling-Rice Group, he and his partner went into it believing they would fail. To reduce the risk of that, he and Michael Rice decided to speed up the process of making it or not making it. With a “high-hanging fruit strategy,” they were able to sign major companies like Pepsi, Kraft and Frito-Lay. Thirty years later, SRG is a $20 million independent marketing company with 111 employees. With a belief in having an economic impact, SRG donates 10 percent of its operating income yearly to charitable organizations in money or pro-bono work. One of Sterling’s interests includes helping organizations that focus on early-childhood education, poverty and youth. He’s a board member with the Family Learning Center. His other charitable involvements range from a local to an international focus. Sterling was one of the first mentors for The Unreasonable Institute, a global philanthropic accelerator, and SRG established a $2,000 fellowship with the University of Colorado’s Center for Entrepreneurship, providing scholarships for master’s in business administration students.