Daniel Milstein

Early life and education

Daniel Milstein was born in Kiev, Ukraine, which was then known as the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic. There, his family suffered government oppression and anti-Semitism. His grandfather, a doctor, was ordered to tend to the victims of the 1986 Chernobyl disaster. After his death from that work, Milstein's family decided to emigrate to the United States. The family landed in Michigan in December 1991 to the news that Ukraine had affirmed independence from the USSR.

Milstein worked part-time at a local McDonald's to help support the family while completing high school. He later graduated from Cleary University, which awarded him an honorary Doctorate of Business Administration in 2012. He also served on their Board of Trustees.

Milstein and his brother, Alex Milshteyn, both went into different areas of the housing business. Milshteyn (a different spelling of the family name) became a real estate agent, then started his own real estate company.

Career

Milstein worked for various financial institutions starting with TCF Bank. He later worked for Comerica Bank and ABN AMRO Bank before launching Gold Star Financial Group in 2000.  In 2009, Crain's named Milstein as one of their "40 Under 40" - people who have made their mark in business before age 40.

Gold Star Group

Gold Star Financial Group

Gold Star Financial is a privately-owned mortgage lender licensed in the United States to operate in 35 states. Milstein founded the company in 2000 in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where it maintains its headquarters. The company operates on a model of high-volume discount mortgages with low risk, using relationship marketing.  During the subprime mortgage crisis, Gold Star expanded into the vacuum and grew over 700% to 40 offices nationwide.

Gold Star Financial Group was named one of INC’s 500 Fastest-Growing companies in America and Milstein was ranked the number one loan officer in America in 2009 and 2010. The Detroit Free Press named Gold Star to its “Top Workplaces" list six times from 2011-2017.  In 2015, Gold Star was named to the Ellie Mae Hall of Fame.

Gold Star Sports Management – Gold Star Hockey

Gold Star Sports Management – Gold Star hockey is a sports management firm that primarily represents NHL and KHL players and provides representation, advocacy and financial services to players across their careers. Milstein is a NHLPA Certified Player Agent. Eddie Mio is Director of North American Operations.

Pavel Datsyuk was the first prominent player to join the company. In 2009, Milstein and Datsyuk met with Mitch Albom for an interview that centered on his ties with Russia. By 2014, Datsyuk wanted to retire from the Detroit Red Wings and return to Russia permanently. GM Ken Holland and Milstein agreed on terms that had Datsyuk playing another year on his contract before officially leaving in June, 2016.

In the same year, Milstein stepped in for Artemi Panarin as a two-year extension was being negotiated with the Blackhawks. Panarin was looking for a representative who spoke Russian and aligned with his priorities. The next year, Panarin was traded to the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Due to Nikita Kucherov’s lack of salary arbitration rights and desire to play, he accepted a "bridge" deal for an unsatisfactory salary with the Tampa Bay Lightning in late 2016. Kucherov switched to Gold Star Hockey to handle his future contract negotiations just ahead of helping Russia win a bronze medal at the World Championships.

Gold Star also represents Nikita Zaitsev, Alexey Marchenko and Nikita Nesterov, among others.

Gold Star Publishing

In 2011 Milstein started his writing career by publishing his first book through his own publishing company: The ABC of Sales.  A nonfiction primer on the sales industry, Milstein began with discussing the impact of Ray Kroc’s philosophies as a teenager working at McDonald's. The bestselling book was generally well received. Kirkus Reviews stated; "Milstein’s ideas are easy to grasp [and] his message is clear: love the product, love the customer and do whatever it takes to close the sale." The book received several awards for sales and content, including honorable mentions at the San Francisco and New England literary festivals.

Milstein's second book was best-selling memoir, 17 Cents and a Dream: My Incredible Journey from the USSR to Living the American Dream, published in 2013. The title of his book refers to the 17 cents a friend had given Milstein to mail a letter upon arrival in the United States. The book related his family's escape from Ukraine and covered a multitude of experiences, from living in poverty in subsidized housing and learning English, to his pursuit of the American Dream and forming Gold Star. The book was well received; it was awarded an ‘Honorable Mention’ by the Paris Book Festival in May 2013 and ranked No. 1 on Amazon’s list of Kindle eBooks in its category.

Street Smart Selling: How to Be a Sales Superstar, Milstein's third book, was published in 2014. The book uses examples from Milstein's company for advice on how to succeed in sales. Reviews called the book authentic and uplifting.

Rule #1 Don’t be Rule #2 was released in 2017 and focuses on overcoming adversity. In addition to Milstein’s own experience, the book also includes “countless stories of those who've dominated their respective fields against seemingly insurmountable obstacles.” Winner of Beach Book Festival and named #1 in Hollywood Book Festival in Business category.