Geoffrey Gran was born and raised in Chicago. After living away for college, he returned and started his career in healthcare. In 2004, he and one of his best friends growing up, Bill Hoyer, decided to go into business together. After conducting extensive research, they ended up in the countertop business. They started their company, Midwest Countertops, on July 1, 2005, and with no experience in the industry, they came at it from a little bit of a different perspective. Classically trained as sales and marketing guys, they approached their new venture as a sales and marketing company that happens to make and install countertops. They sought amazingly talented people who also possessed technical skills. Fast forward to today, Gran and Hoyer operate a fully automated, fully digital sales and marketing company with160 employees that fabricates countertops.