In this week’s Keep Going, I sat down with Steve Rad, founder and CEO of Abacus Brands and Backdrop.com, to talk about building two thriving companies from the ground up. His story starts not in a boardroom but in a Taco Bell parking lot, selling trade show displays out of the back of a car after the 2009 financial crash. What grew from those early hustles became Backdrop.com, a full-scale event display business that’s now introducing Backdrop Alive — a system that turns static backdrops into interactive, augmented reality experiences for trade shows and brand activations.
Steve isn’t just rethinking how companies connect with people in physical spaces. He’s also reshaping how kids connect with science and technology. His toy company, Abacus Brands, builds immersive learning kits that mix hands-on projects with virtual reality — from digging up dinosaur bones to exploring crystal caves. The company has already earned a Toy of the Year award and now has new lines launching with National Geographic, DK, and even ESPN.
We talked about bootstrapping, surviving the pandemic when trade shows disappeared overnight, and staying “lean and consistent” when everything feels unstable. Steve’s advice for founders is simple: stay in your lane, focus on what you can do exceptionally well, and don’t chase every shiny opportunity.
He calls himself a “Basecamp One” entrepreneur — far from the summit, but climbing. That mindset, the willingness to stay small, nimble, and hungry, runs through his entire story.
Listen to the full episode to hear how a Craigslist side hustle turned into a two-company career and why, for Steve Rad, making toys is still about wonder, not just sales.
