Our Staff
Rob Monster, Chairman
Robert Monster, Chairman of IDNoptions, LLC leads the highly regarded venture capital firm headquartered in Seattle, Washington, Monster Venture Partners (MVP). Prior to founding MVP and Domain Strategie , he founded of Global Market Insite, Inc. (GMI), a leading provider of technology-enabled services to the global market research industry. Mr. Monster served as Chairman and CEO from 1999-2007, during which time GMI achieved annual revenue growth of 100+% per year and served customers in more than 60 countries. GMI is backed by Technology Crossover Ventures, FT Ventures and Voyager Capital.
Prior to founding GMI, Monster was a global product development manager with Procter & Gamble. During an eight year technology management career with P&G, Mr. Monster worked and lived in Europe, Asia, and North America. He also traveled extensively in Latin America as part of his global role in leading the development and commercialization of a series of successful new product initiatives.
Monster, a Dutch-American, is fluent in English, Dutch, and German. Mr. Monster has both a BS and an MBA from Cornell University where he studied Life Sciences and Economics. Monster is a member of ESOMAR — World Association of Research Professionals. Monster is co-author of the book Market Research in the Internet Age, published by John Wiley & Sons.
Monster is winner of the 2005 Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year award in Technology and Software (Pacific Northwest). He serves on the boards of GMI, Healthcare.com, Demoxi, Gateskate and Clickable.com.
Steve Epstein, CEO and CO-Founder
Steve has been an executive in technology for more than 15 years. Steve has been an Internet and e-commerce director for MicroAge, USWEST, and Qwest. He was the CTO and COO for three start-ups that were acquired by technology companies from China, Japan, and Korea. He earned BA in East Asian Studies from Columbia University and an MBA from UCLA. Steve served as a US Navy Officer in East Asia for 4 years.
Natalie Grinblatt, COO, CMO
Natalie Grinblatt co-founded IDNoptions, LLC with Steve Epstein, CEO and Andy Fielman. Grinblatt also serves as Executive Vice President for Corporate Development of Domain Strategies, Inc. Prior to her work in helping to build successful business on premium domains, Grinblatt had extensive operational and marketing experience as an executive in some of America's most prestigious business schools including Cornell University, the University of Michigan and Arizona State University. Natalie helped to create the Global Management programs for the Ross School of Business at University of Michigan whose ranking went from 11-2 during her tenure and the International Strategy for the Johnson School of Management at Cornell University whose ranking jumped from 18 to 7 while she served as Director of Admissions and Financial Aid. Natalie served on the Board of Directors for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Mountain States Region and has been an active volunteer for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. Natalie earned a BA and MBA from the University of Michigan.
Patrick Pun, Executive Vice-President, Asia-Pacific.
Located in Shanghai, P.R. China, Patrick Pun is responsible for managing business development, strategy formulation and execution for IDNoptions, LLC. Mr. Pun works with entrepreneurs who use IDNoptions’ premium domains and build those domains into successful businesses in the Asia Pacific region. An EVP for the highly regarded Monster Venture Partners (MVP) headquartered in Seattle, WA, Mr. Pun is a key venture partner in helping to globalize the MVP investments. Prior to MVP, Patrick was the General Manager, Greater China of Global Market Insite Inc. (GMI). During his time with GMI, he has successfully brought GMI into Greater China region, built up the organization and business network, developed/localized company products & services, and gained the market leadership position in the online research sector in Greater China region (Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan). Patrick brings to IDNoptions, LLC fifteen years of experience with several multi-national FMCG companies, where he successfully turned around their Chinese business units. He worked with Asia Brewery, Heineken, Jardine Caldbecks (a joint venture of LVMH and Bacardi Martini), and TW Group, in organization establishment/management, business development, market research, and brand building. Before he entered the FMCG arena, he worked with Shanghai Film Studios, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, and Daily Chance Advertising Ltd.
Originally from Shanghai, China, Patrick has lived and worked in Mainland China, Hong Kong, and Canada. Patrick received a Bachelor of Arts degree from the Shanghai Theater Academy, China, and a Master of Business Management degree from University of Calgary, Canada.
Nate Whitehill, CTO
Nate Whitehill is the lead designer and co-founder of Unique Blog Designs (UBD). Nate has personally worked with over 150 clients in the past year, by coaching and helping small businesses integrate custom blog designs into their marketing mix. Online since 1997, Nate has been a computer expert for over 10 years. In 2003, Nate co-founded a Scottsdale, Arizona-based web design firm, infinFX media. infinFX would soon be transformed from an e-commerce solution, into a one-stop shop for custom blog designs and blog marketing.
In August of 2007, after realizing the power and growing popularity of blogging, Nate, along with two co-founders, started Unique Blog Designs. Since then, UBD has worked with over 175 clients and redesigned blogs for several of the top 100 bloggers in the world, John Chow and Jeremy Schoemaker (Shoemoney). Nate's favorite part about blog design is being able to see his artwork transform from rough concept to finished product, furthering a businesses' goal to increase brand awareness and generate new leads.
Andy Fielman, Co-Founder