Career
He is the co-author of "The Idea Economy" (1995). Rob served on the board of the Deseret Foundation, a medical charity that aims to provide predictable surgical care to children. Robert Brazell was born in Salt Lake City, Utah.
He graduated from the University of Utah, earning a bachelor"s degree in business administration.
In 1994, Brazell was Chief Executive Officer of Freedom Communications, a Utah business with 170 employees. Freedom Communications sold "education and opportunities for home-business entrepreneurs".
In May 1997, Brazell founded the online retailer Overstock.com, as D2: Discounts Direct. Two years later, he approached Patrick M. Byrne to seek capital for his venture.
Byrne invested $7 million through his investment fund High Plains, in exchange for a 60% stake in the company.
He believed "the financials were a joke", "but buried in all that was this billion-dollar idea". In September 1999, Byrne stepped in as Chief Executive Officer after Brazell "failed to make enough progress", and renamed the company "Overstock". Overstock went public in May 2002, three years after Brazell resigned as Chief Executive Officer. Brazell served as chairman and Chief Executive Officer of InStore Broadcasting Network (IBN), which he acquired in 2001 and was sold by Talos to POP Radio in June 2012.
