Neil Baller
Youbetcha
Minnesota <1988
The kid hammered a dime into a screwdriver with a rock. Not because he wanted to, but because the latch key kid who loses his key was locked out of his house and it was damned cold. So he’d make it happen with whatever tools were available. Even if he had to make them himself.
This resourcefulness wasn’t just necessity — it was in his upbringing. While other kids got Ataris, Neil’s family went with the Commodore 64. Together they coded games, saving their work on cassette tapes, the boy handling sprites while his father managed the heavy lifting. It wasn’t the easy path, but it laid a foundation that would define the decades to come.
The Minnesota winters forged more than just frozen jeans that somehow make excellent snow pants and an outrageous Lego accumulation. Between wilderness camping in the BWCA and learning the command line on the U of M VAX computers, Neil developed a distinctive worldview: some systems can be understood, optimized, and when necessary, creatively circumvented to help.
This would be a quote, possibly in italics if they’re not ugly. Whatever shall we do? This would be a quote, possibly in italics if they’re not ugly. Whatever shall we do?
His father’s choice of high energy physics research over more lucrative options set an early example. There are always trade-offs, but integrity matters. His mother’s relentless work ethic as a medical director and nurse showed him how to keep moving forward, regardless of circumstances. These lessons would prove invaluable in the years ahead. Objective truth balanced with compassion was the currency of the realm.
Crucible
Chicagoland 1988–2004
At Northern Illinois University, Neil’s pattern of creative system-hacking emerged. Armed with a science scholarship but driven by artistic impulses, he pursued both paths simultaneously. When the graphic design program proved too limiting, he found ways to accelerate through it using desktop publishing – much to the quiet approval of his more progressive professors.
The computer lab became his playground after hours, redistributing RAM between machines to handle bigger projects, then carefully returning everything to normal before morning. It wasn’t strictly by the book, but it got the job done without harming anyone. This philosophy – finding creative solutions within ethical boundaries – would become a recurring theme.
His break into the professional world came through an unlikely source: Sam’s Wines & Spirits, then the largest wine retailer in Chicago. Starting as a stock clerk, Neil’s focus on his BA led to a low stakes confrontation with management which led to an unexpected opportunity. With a tossed catalog, demanding to know if he could produce something similar, he said yes. He saw instantly how to transform their manual paste-up process into a digital workflow.
Within days, he had specified an entire desktop publishing setup and was revolutionizing their production process on a door across wine crates. Soon he wasn’t just changing Sam’s operations – he was forcing their entire ecosystem of print providers to evolve. But as the organization pulled him deeper into Chicago’s old-school business culture, Neil recognized the need to extract himself before getting too entangled in systems he couldn’t ethically optimize.
The transition to Frankel/Arc Worldwide marked his entry into the world of major brand and promotional marketing. Working with clients like McDonald’s and the CDC, Neil quietly leveraged his early internet expertise to outmaneuver office politics. While others debated solutions in meetings, he would step out, quickly research the actual answers, and return with coffee and precisely targeted insights.
Superluminal
Silicon Valley 2004–2014
The path to Silicon Valley began with wildflowers. Specifically, Death Valley wildflowers, when a friend's shared burn out with digital sparked six weeks exploring the Southwest. The journey led to Marin County, where seeing a friend's meteoric rise in music production offered a glimpse of Silicon Valley's possibilities. The decision to make the leap was immediate.
Northern California revealed what was possible when technical capability met aggressive scale. Broken bathrooms became $10 million MRR through collective drive and shared purpose. Then acquisition. Then another venture. Then another. Each cycle forged deep bonds with founders and executives who understood what it meant to transform vision into reality together. This collaborative intensity would define his Silicon Valley years.
His initial recognition that Flash was under utilized quickly evolved into something far more significant. By understanding the deeper metrics and systems at play, Neil transformed simple banner ads into an entirely new form of digital engagement. The numbers were staggering: billions of impressions, unprecedented click-through rates, and a fundamental shift from PPC to PPA models.
The impact reached beyond impressive numbers. When click-through rates soared so high that networks suspected fraud, extensive audits revealed an uncomfortable truth: people simply responded to better experiences. Major platforms had to recalibrate their metrics and expectations. The work showed up in newspaper comics too, though that hardly mattered compared to the fundamental shifts in how digital engagement would be measured going forward.
The mobile gaming venture raised a million dollars on a single deck, leveraging their deep understanding of distribution mechanics. While the company's trajectory shifted from its original vision, the experience revealed valuable insights about startup ecosystem dynamics.
Fusion
Nebraska 2014–current
The move to Lincoln represented more than just a chance for his kids to experience actual seasons. After seeing every angle of the digital landscape – from Chicago’s old-school operators to Silicon Valley’s venture players – Neil recognized an opportunity to break free from traditional agency-versus-internal-staff models.
Through Gravyboat, he’s targeting a specific pain point: post-funding B2B companies trapped between specialist silos and organizational comfort. Drawing on decades of experience transforming systems from the inside, he’s now positioning himself as an external force for companies hitting series B stagnation.
The challenge isn’t technical skill or execution – it’s navigating complex structures while still shipping. Where others see surface-level brand decisions or technical constraints, Neil sees opportunities for systematic transformation. He’s not interested in creative flourishes or digital gimmicks, but in building frameworks that turn organizational noise into signal.