In his early career, Mr. Richards worked for Olivetti and Panasonic, initially in sales and later in channel development, where he found his passion for product development and developed a know- how in Chinese manufacturing. Mr. Richards developed the “SuperStore Program” for Panasonic that took them from a traditional dealer-based network into warehouse stores such as Office Depot, Staples, Costco and Sam’s Club. He later joined Elecom, a computer accessory company, as its General Manager and President, where he further developed his sourcing and product development knowledge.

In 1998, Mr. Richards was recruited and hired by the Seidler Company and Electro Source, a video game distribution company, to start a video game accessory division. This division, then named Pelican, over the ensuing years grew to be the largest and most profitable division of the company. In 2006, Patriarch Partners acquired the business and appointed Mr. Richards as CEO and President of the newly named Performance Designed Products (“PDP”) in 2007. During his time at PDP, PDP grew to become a leading third-party accessory company in the United States. In 2012, PDP entered into successful partnerships with Disney, as well as with Lego/Hasbro for the creation of “Toys to Life” programs.

In 2017, Mr. Richards co-founded VoltEdge, a video game accessory company with Nima Taghavi, which was sold in 2020 to GameXpress. Mr. Richards is currently consulting for major video game accessory companies, providing assistance in sourcing, product development, operations and sales. He also has an active partnership role in a start-up technology-driven pest control company.