Tools for the Capitalist
Founder and CEO
Rafael Cabrera

Rafael’s focus has always been on using a disciplined approach to identifying opportunities in the marketplace, weak spots in competitors, and strengths in people. This trait has helped create a measurable and healthy return on investment (ROI) for the shareholders and stakeholders of his client companies.

He started his working life at his family’s commercial printing business in New York City working as an apprentice sweeping floors and learning the printing business from the ground up. Then at 24 he developed a marketing plan for his new employer that grew the company by $1 million in 12 months. Rafael added another $1 million to his employer's bottom line by the second year by developing strategic partnerships and expanding product offerings that he created.

His career continued to Wall Street where he managed and developed a financial services printing company that was the precursor to Kinko's. His Wall Street accounts included Prudential-Bache, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Chase Manhattan, First Boston, Drexel Burnham, Citicorp and more than half of the top 25 investment banking firms. He personally built this million-dollar client list and eventually sold it to seed his move to Utah and begin his own brick-and-mortar business, Rubicon Direct Marketing.

Rubicon Direct Marketing provided strategic planning and brand management for business-to-business clients in services, light manufacturer, and retail markets. His accounts included a variety of small- to enterprise-level businesses, most notably two billion-dollar real estate firms and a $500 million international publishing firm. Part of his business expansion for Rubicon included publishing a monthly business-to-consumer newspaper and starting a CEO-centric networking group later named the fastest growing “private chamber” by a statewide paper. Within 18 months he grew the publication from an 8-page 12,000-circulation paper to 32 pages, with distribution reaching 32,000. During this time, Rafael was appointed Chairman of the Nafta Committee for the Utah Hispanic Chamber of Commerce where he created and hosted a successful weekly radio show to support awareness of Nafta and the Hispanic Chamber.

Rafael relocated to Southern California and formed Tools for the Capitalist. He created this company as an ROI-centric brand management firm that included strategic planning, brand management, and corporate communications services. Tools for the Capitalist helped grow an $18 million company to $26 million in one year. Another client's company grew from $3 million to $10 million in 18 months.

Rafael continues to live in Southern California with his wife and children.