ABOUT US

At one point or another all of us have overlooked something obvious and heard something to the effect of, "It's as plain as the nose on your face" or, "You're soaking in it" or, "It's sitting on top of your head." Usually one walks away from such an experience feeling, at best, stupid. Once in a blue moon, however, that stupidity translates into a novel idea. Such is the story of UnderMats.

It started with a poster. A poster nobody wanted. It was passed from office to office until at long last someone - perhaps frustrated that it once again had made it back into his or her office - slipped the poster beneath a chair floor mat no doubt hoping that that would be the end of it. And so it was. Years passed, countless feet passed over or past it and few if any took notice.

Until one day Capitol Advantage founder Bob Hansan passed by that old poster for perhaps the ten thousandth time and paused - paused just long enough to ask, "What is that thing still doing there?" Then a sneaking realization that that old poster actually brightened things up a bit, enlivened the office space, leant it some character and definition. And like any good entrepreneur, Bob wondered whether, over the years, there had been a terrific new business idea brewing beneath all those feet.

On a lark Bob mentioned the idea to his son, Ryan, a senior business major at American University. A photography enthusiast and university senior nearing his business degree, Ryan eagerly accepted the reigns and added a twist or two of his own, foremost among them the concept of supporting various charitable causes as part of the UnderMats' experience.

So the next time you overlook the obvious, take an extra moment and ask yourself, "Is there something I'm still missing?"

Ryan Hansan

Like many if not most college seniors, in the autumn of 2007 Ryan viewed his imminent graduation from American University with a mixture of excitement and trepidation. A business major uninterested in focusing exclusively on business, a gifted photographer unsure how to translate that skill into a profession, Ryan found himself wondering if it was even possible to bridge the two and still find time for his burgeoning interest in philanthropy. Enter Bob Hansan, his entrepreneur father and successful businessman (see below). In one of those rare and peculiar synchronicities that arise in life, Bob only recently had developed a brainchild for a new business that - you guessed it - depended on powerful imagery for its core product offering.

A short time later, Ryan found himself leading the charge to create UnderMats, which allowed him to combine his business studies with his love of photography. Ryan even found a way to add his own imprimatur to the UnderMats concept, focusing some of the company's energies on cause-marketing relationships to ensure that UnderMats made money and, just as important, made a difference. You can see some of Ryan's personal work - much of which is focused on raising awareness of issues related to poverty and homelessness - at: http://flickr.com/photos/ryanhansan/ You can reach Ryan by email at: ryan@undermats.com

Bob Hansan

Entrepreneurship is nothing new to Bob Hansan. Upon graduation from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1986, Bob immediately founded Capitol Advantage and began selling - business-to-business - print directories of who's who in Congress. Today those directories are a ubiquitous part of the legislative life of thousands of organizations all over the world and Capitol Advantage has grown into the nation's largest provider of print and online advocacy, civic participation, and congressional relationship management tools and services.

Bob is a nationally recognized figure for his pioneering work in helping individuals and organizations be heard on Capitol Hill and in statehouses across the land; he has been named to Harvard University's distinguished list of "25 People Who Are Changing the World of Internet and Politics"; and he is a two-time winner of the American Association of Political Consultant's Pollie Award.

Bob is a managing partner of the Internet advocacy-consulting group 720 strategies as well as the congressional knowledge management solution company, Knowlegis; he is the creator of the nation's leading civic participation website, Congress.org; and he is the founder of National Civic Participation Week, designated by the U.S. Senate to take place September 11-17th.