Royal Oak Ad Man Among 'Elite 40 Under 40' in Oakland County

Rick Van House, president and founder of Know Advertising in Royal Oak, was named one of Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson's "Elite 40 Under 40" at last week's State of the County address.

The Elite 40 represents Patterson's vision for the county. Those on the list are “individuals who are excelling in their fields and are working to improve the quality of life in their communities by giving back,” he said.

More than 400 nominations were received representing all areas of the county.

Van House, a Michigan State University graduate, left his college apartment in East Lansing a decade ago and moved to the Ferndale/Royal Oak area because he wanted to be in the center of everything, he said. After working for a few ad agencies around town, he quit to start his own business.

The 32-year-old Van House started Know Advertising out of his basement in Ferndale.

“I had a lot of friends who were entrepreneurs who needed help,” he said. Unmarried at the time and with few expenses, he took a risk. “I was 25 or 26 years old, and I referred to the back deck of my house as world headquarters,” he said.

Then one day, Van House decided to cold-call Tom Violante, the owner of  in Royal Oak.

“Tom said, ‘I’ve got somebody already. Call me back in a year.’ So I waited, but I kept sending him updates,” Van House said.

After a year, Violante called him back and gave Van House a shot. “I give Tom and his family a lot of credit for helping us,” Van House said.

With the Holiday account under his belt, Van House was able to move the business out of his basement. He purchased the The space is now home to seven employees. An additional 15-20 people freelance for the ad agency.

‘We love being in Royal Oak,” Van House said. “It’s a very creative city. It’s like a mini Madison Avenue.”

Know Advertising’s clients include Yaldo Eye Center, Holiday Market, LaBelle Electrical Contractors, MST Seamless Tube and Pipe and Brooklyn Pizza.

Van House has plenty of energy. In 2011, he and his wife, Nicole, he started The Van House Foundation to focus on helping health-related foundations and organizations with marketing and branding.

“Our goal is to help other foundations attract younger audiences to their causes and events,” Van House said.

To learn more about Know Advertising, visit knowad.com.

Elite 40 Under 40

• Bryan Barnett, mayor, Rochester Hills
• Richard Bernstein, senior partner/public service litigator/pro bono attorney, the Sam Bernstein Law Firm
• Kerrie Binno, senior medical imaging sales specialist, Lantheus Medical Imaging
• Dr. Amanda Boltwood, dentist, Dr. Komendera & Associates
• Scott Brills, 29, president, mSeven Media Inc.
• Phil Castonia, 33, business development representative for internal services, Oakland County Parks and Recreation
• Aaron Cozadd, executive chef, Union Woodshop
• Charles DeVries, senior director/director of business development, Automation Alley
• Lena Epstein Koretzky, general manager and co-owner, Vesco Oil Corp.
• Justin Fischer, accounting analyst, Ford Motor Co.
• Hajj Flemings, founder and CEO, Brand Camp University
• Milan Gandhi, vice president, Med-Share Inc.
• John Garcia, president, Benjamin Hunter & Harmony Group
• Peter Ginopolis, partner, Heritage Private Wealth
• Tatiana Grant, president, Infused PR & Events LLC
• Jeffrey Imerman, owner/founder, Imerman Cake Co. LLC
• John Latella, chief operating officer, Garden Fresh Salsa Gourmet
• Dr. Johnny Leung, president/chief optometrist, Accent Eyecare
• Laura Loughridge, state director, March of Dimes
• Ryan Maibach, president, Barton Malow
• Rebecca McGovern, assistant vice president, Clarkston State Bank
• Andrea McNinch, owner, Regeneration Raw/Heal Yourself Institute
• Steve Minella, president/director of Special Operations & Marine Division, International Union of Operating Engineers Local 324
• Dr. Chris Niedzinski, doctor of chiropractic, Innerlink Chiropractic
• Mike Palmer, owner, Premier Pet Supply
• Shane Pliska, president, Planterra
• Bill Pulte, managing director, Pulte Capital Partners
• Silvano Restiotto, global director of corporate quality, TI Automotive
• Jim Santilli, executive director, Traffic Improvement Association (TIA)
• Kevin Schnieders, CEO, Educational Data Systems Inc. (EDSI)
• Jeff Schostak, director of corporate real estate, Schostak Brothers Real Estate Co.
• Cassie Sobelton, system executive director, Detroit Medical Center
• Jaclyn Trop, business reporter, The Detroit News
• Rick Van House, president, Know Advertising
• Salina Washington, president/CEO, Miyan Media LLC
• Daniel Wisniewski Jr., branch manager/vice president of investments, Raymond James
• Karen Workman, community engagement editor, The Oakland Press
• Norman Yatooma, founder and attorney, Norman Yatooma & Associates
• Chris Ygay, owner, Revitalize Day Spa
• Colby Zemmin, vice president of business development, U.S. Medical Management