Bob Reiss grew up in Brooklyn and attended the New York City public schools. He is a graduate of Columbia University (where he played on an undefeated basketball team). He is a U.S. Army veteran, and a Harvard Business School graduate. He has been involved in 16 start-ups and is the founder of a number of highly successful companies, including Reiss Games, R & R, Inc., and Valdawn, Inc., a division of R&R. R&R/Valdawn was named to the Inc. 500 list of America's fastest-growing companies for three years in a row.

Bob Reiss is the author of  Bootstrapping 101- Tips to Build Your Business with Limited Cash and Free Outside Help . He has been involved in 16 start-ups, is a three time INC 500 winner, a graduate of Columbia University and Harvard Business School. He has been the subject of two Harvard Business School cases--taught at more than 50 institutions around the world--and has been a guest speaker in entrepreneurship classes at the undergraduate, graduate, and executive levels both nationally and internationally.