Richard Nikoley

I'm Chairman of the Board, Provanta Corporation, a company I founded in 1992; I manage some rental properties, do small-project real-estate developments, and am working on an Internet venture startup, Zazingo, Inc. I blog at Free the Animal

Born & raised in Reno, NV.

Attended and graduated from a small, fundamentalist baptist private high school. Went on to attend Tennessee Temple University in Chattanooga, TN.

Graduated Oregon State University in 1984. Business Administration.

Commissioned in the US Navy, Surface Warfare Officer (SWO), 1984.

USS REEVES (CG-24) 1984-1987, Yokosuka, Japan.

- Assistant Missles Officer
- First Lieutenant
- Electrical Officer

U.S. SEVENTH FLEET embarked aboard USS BLUE RIDGE (LCC-19) 1988-1989, Yokosuka, Japan.

- Assistant Fleet Scheduling Officer
- Assistant Logistics Officer

Student in the French language, Defense Language Institute, Monterey, CA 1989.

US Navy Exchange Officer to the French Navy aboard FNS COLBERT (C 611) and FNS DUQUESNE (D 603) 1990-1991, Toulon, France.

- Navigator

Left the US Navy in 1992 and returned to the U.S., San Francisco Bay Area. After a few false starts in entrepreneurial endeavors, I eventually founded the company that was incorporated as Provanta in 1998.

In 2006, co-founded an Internet venture in the lending space that was eventually incorporated Zazingo, Inc. I serve as Chairman and we are in the pre-startup, seed and angel funding phase as of 2008.

Took up the sport of Hang-Gliding in 1996 and flying airplanes in 2005. Though I've soloed in the powered plane, I've yet to complete licensing requirements as of 2008.

Met my future wife Bea in 1995. Married in 2001. Two dogs, no kids.