Author Archive for Olivia Whiteman

RCP Drum Company

RCP Drum Company was started in 2018, by the father-son duo Brian and Robert Pettry.  The idea originated when Brian and his wife ordered a drum pad for their son Robert from a different company, and were unsatisfied by the pad, the shipping time, and the customer service the company provided.

By using Brian’s business knowledge that he acquired from running another family business, and Robert’s skills as a drummer, the father-son team created what they believe is the best practice pad on the market.  Many practice pads that are currently available do not provide a similar feel to a real drum, nor do they always have a rim or sound anything like a real drum.  Using Robert’s knowledge as a drummer, as well as feedback from others, they designed the pads to be flexible enough to meet many different types of drummers’ needs.  By placing different types of rubber under the head, each pad can have a different feel.  Their mindset was not to make the most profit, but to create the best practice pad they could.  Brian and Robert also made the pads so that if a part breaks or wears out, or the drummer just wants to change up the look, each piece is easily replaceable and interchangeable.  The head of the pad is made out of an epoxy coated anodized aluminum fabric, which can only be sourced from two companies in the U.S., but it sounds the best.  Every pad is custom built for each order and is guaranteed to be shipped within two business days of placing an order.

Brian and Robert wanted all of the parts to be sourced locally so that they could have personal relationships with the manufacturers, while also allowing them to have easier access for faster shipping times.  All the parts for the pads are made in the USA, many of which are made in Illinois and Wisconsin.  The pads are then assembled by Robert and his dad.  They also realize the opportunity they have been given to start this company and try to give credit to God as often as they can.  While setting oneself apart as a Christian company can have a negative impact, Robert and his dad have said that more often than not, they have received wonderful support and have had some great groups purchase from them because of it.

RCP Drum Company really strives to create a local and personal connection both with their customers and their manufacturers.  They believe that a personalized connection is important for a company, and something that is not often found today.  Sometimes this means answering phone calls late at night, replying to countless emails, answering questions on social media, helping someone with a broken product or who isn’t satisfied with the product, and numerous other ways of making the customer feel like they aren’t just another dollar.  Robert and Brian also use a local college student to film their product videos and a local high school student who takes a lot of the stock photos and designed their logo.  This gives a young person in the community the opportunity to be a part of something bigger.

Looking for a custom practice pad, made in the USA, from a company that gives wonderful customer service?  You will find all of that at RCP Drum Company.

 

https://rcpdrum.com/

Bombas – More Than Just Socks

A common irritant in one’s daily life is socks.  While it might not be your first thought for what irritates you, many people dislike it when their socks fall down, do not provide support, cause blisters, make your feet hot, or maybe worst of all, the irritating seam that goes across the toe of socks that never seems to be in the right place at the right time.

As it turns out, in 2013, David Heath and Randy Goldberg were irritated enough with these problems that they started a company called Bombas.  Heath and Goldberg were regular consumers, knowing nothing about the in’s and out’s of the sock industry, but what they did know was their own pain points.  They set out to achieve two goals:  design the best sock in the history of feet, and give a pair of socks to a homeless shelter with every purchase.  By targeting their own pain points, they developed unique socks.

The socks are all contoured to either a left or right foot.  The ankle socks have a blister tab, calf-length socks have “stay-up technology” that actually works, and their no-show socks use stay-put heel grips and contour seam construction to stay where they are supposed to.  All of the styles incorporate the company’s now signature honeycomb across the mid-foot to provide addition support, a y-stitched heel to cup the heel of your foot, and a reinforced foot-bed to be longer lasting and more supportive.  Health and Goldberg now have several different styles and lines of socks including dress socks, compression socks, wool socks, quarter socks, and athletic socks, as well as the standard crew, ankle, and knee high socks.

To Heath and Goldberg’s second goal, they realized that the number one most requested item from homeless shelters was socks, due to the necessity that they be new.  They developed a one-for-one business model and now for ever pair of socks you buy, they donate a brand new pair to a homeless shelter in need.

In 2014, Heath and Goldberg took Bombas to Shark Tank.  They were successful in getting a deal with Daymon John, and officially launch the company.  Heath and Goldberg hoped to give away one million socks by 2025 but in fact, they met that goal in only two and a half years, and a mere six months later, they had given away two million pairs.  At the time this post was written, according to the live counter on the Bombas website, they have donated 27,811,296 pairs of socks.

Bombas is an example of two regular guys, seeing a pain in their own lives and finding a way to solve it.  Not only have they created what are arguably the best socks in history, but they have also found a way to make a huge impact in the lives of many people who are in need of an item most of us take for granted:  socks.

 

Pura Vida

Griffin Thall and Paul Goodman are the founders of the bracelet and jewelry company, Pura Vida.  Pura Vida was started when Thall and Goodman visited Costa Rica in 2010 while they were both still college students.  While there, they fell in love with the place, the colors, and the easy going lifestyle that was common in Costa Rica.  They met two people who were making bracelets on the streets.  Thall and Goodman were distraught when they found out that these two people, while making and selling beautiful bracelets, were struggling to survive and support their families.  Wanting to find a way to help, they ordered 400 bracelets and brought them back to San Diego, where they proceeded to sell them all in one small shop within a few days.

Determined to continue to make a difference, Thall and Goodman started the Pura Vida company, which means “pure life”.  The brand is meant to represent the little things in life and slowing down to live life to the fullest.  Pura Vida is now working with numerous artisans in Costa Rica, selling the handmade bracelets in hundreds of color combinations, all around the world.  They are currently working with over 800 artisans in Costa Rica, as well as in El Salvador, and India, giving the artisans an opportunity to generate a steady and stable income to support themselves and their families.

The simple action of seeing the struggle of bracelet makers in Costa Rica gave Thall and Goodman the idea to create a company and a movement to help not only the people they met on their trip, but others with similar stories, by giving them an outlet to reach a greater market with their bracelets.  This simple idea of wax coated string bracelets has now turned into a company that sells millions of bracelets world wide every year, while supporting artisans who would not otherwise be able to have that type of reach.

 

Ben Wolfgram

Ben Wolfgram is an entrepreneur and engineer.  He is the founder of a company in Philadelphia called WE Automation that designs and produces industrial machines for extrusion and blow molding, material handling systems, and packaging systems.  Why might he be of interest to me?  Because of a different company he started called BenShot.

BenShot is a handmade glass company in Wisconsin that makes unique glasses that feature bullets, shotgun shells, arrow heads, golf balls, and fishing lures embedded in the side.  Benshot was started in 2015 when Wolfgram wanted to make it easier for his glass-making parents to sell their wares.  Before Wolfgram started BenShot, his parents were traveling around the country to various craft, vendor and art shows.  Wolfgram thought it would be easier if his parents had an eCommerce store to connect with their customers instead of traveling around the country all the time.  His parents loved the idea and are now selling to an international customer base.

Wolfgram’s father manufactures the glasses along with a resident designer and glass worker in a historical furniture factory that was formerly owned by Thomas Edison, in rural Wisconsin.  The packaging, etching for the glasses, and wood etching for coasters, are done in Wolfgram’s WE Automation factory in Philadelphia.  Everything they design and manufacture is made and sourced in the USA.  Before creating their own glass factory, Wolfgram and his parents approached many different manufacturers and were told that their idea would never work and the only way to get an object to stay in the glass like Wolfgram wanted, would cause glass to break.  That did not stop Wolfgram and his father, they experimented with different and unconventional methods.  They figured out that if you make a dent in the glass while the glass is still soft, then glue the bullet, golf ball, fishing lure, or arrow head into the glass after it has slowly cooled off in a kiln, the glass will not shatter.

BenShot has also partnered with several companies to etch the company’s logo onto their glasses.  They have also made several limited runs of glasses raising money for various charities.  One of their most recent charities was Project K-9 Hero, a non-profit that provides assistance with medical costs, food, and end of duty services for retired police and military dogs.

Ben Wolfgram, and his company BenShot, is inspiring because he saw a need with his parents to connect with their customers without traveling all over the country, and combined it with the resources of his manufacturing company to create a unique eCommerce business.  Wolfgram and his father also had to create a new method of getting objects to stay securely in glasses without shattering the glass.  Due to their success, they are now able to give back to their community and country by partnering with various charities and non-profits as well.

John Cooper

Many people know John Cooper as the lead singer and bassist for the hard rock/metal band Skillet, but many do not realize that John Cooper holds many other roles as well.  As the only founding member still a part of Skillet, Cooper has released ten albums since 1996.  Cooper’s wife Kory is also a member of Skillet, and their relationship is strengthened by touring and performing together while spreading God’s love to others in often godless environments.  Part of John and Kory Coopers’ mission, along with the rest of the members of Skillet, is to openly be Christians, but to perform music that appeals to people who are not often reached by Christianity.  Skillet’s songs all have Christian themes and messages, though some are more subtle than others, and John Cooper discusses his faith at every concert.

As if performing, recording, and traveling with Skillet was not enough, Cooper started a side project in 2018 called Fight the Fury.  Along with the guitarist from Skillet, Seth Morrison, Cooper co-wrote and released a five song EP and toured with both Skillet and Fight the Fury throughout the spring and early summer of 2019.  Though some might say Fight the Fury is similar to Skillet in terms of their music, Fight the Fury is much darker and heavier music and deals with many dark and tough subjects that are not as well suited to Skillet.  Cooper has made it clear that while Skillet is a Christian band that plays hard rock and metal, Fight the Fury is definitely a metal band first, whose members happen to be Christians.

In addition to Skillet and Fight the Fury, John Cooper also released his own line of beard care products in the late fall of 2018.  Through a partnership with Hawk+Hatchet, these products are now being sold through major distributors such as Macy’s and Amazon, as well as through Hawk+Hatchet’s own website.

Throughout these many projects, John Cooper has remained a faithful Christian, husband, and father.  He has enjoyed great success being able to tour with many mainstream rock and metal bands such as Korn, Breaking Benjamin, Slayer, Five Finger Death Punch, Nickelback, Lynyrd Skynyrd, and numerous others, as well as performed on Fox & Friends several times.  John Cooper takes every opportunity to share his faith with the world and uses the platform he has worked to create to help spread God’s word.  John Cooper is an inspiring entrepreneur, as he has successfully managed to create and be successful in two different bands, launched a beard care line, and been a loving husband and father.

Nine Line Apparel – Tyler Merritt

Nine Line Apparel is a patriotic clothing company based out of Savannah, Georgia.  It was created by now military vet, Tyler Merritt and his wife in 2012.  They started as a small t-shirt company based out of their garage while Tyler was still on active duty, deployed overseas.  His wife successfully managed the company for a little over a year and over that period of time, they expanded into a small house, and then purchased a storefront in 2014.  The company started gaining a lot of traction and over the next several years they made the decision to expand yet again.  In 2017, Nine Line Apparel opened the doors of their 60,000 sq. ft. facility outside of Savannah, Georgia, where they operate today.

Nine Line Apparel is dedicated to uniting Americans.  They are committed to their values which are stated on their website as:  1. Respect the flag and what it stands for.  2. Support the military, police, fire departments, and any other public service who have and continue to serve the United States honorably.  3. Being patriotic is not something to be ashamed of.

Nine Line Apparel, under the guidance and leadership of Tyler Merritt, is continually innovating to ensure they can stay profitable while still manufacturing their items in the U.S.  While it may not always maximize profits, they are committed to upholding their values and serving the American people.  They now carry numerous t-shirt designs and styles, sweatshirts, hats, jackets, accessories for dogs, a new women’s line featuring athletic wear, and many more patriotic apparel related items.  Tyler Merritt has built this company from the ground up and is now seeing incredible success with numerous interviews and bits being aired on Fox News, the brand being carried at large stores such as Cabela’s and Field and Stream, and countless online orders being placed every day.

Many of Nine Line Apparel’s employees are current and retired military, and they specifically seek to give jobs to former military members who are searching for jobs.  Tyler Merritt also created the Nine Line Foundation, which is a non-profit organization, partially funded by the profits of Nine Line Apparel, that is dedicated to meeting the special and financial needs of severely injured soldiers and their families.  Their latest project is building a Veterans Village, which will provide housing and training needed for homeless veterans to get back on their feet.  Tyler Merritt with his businesses has found a way to be both profitable and make a social impact without compromising his morals and values.  It is inspiring to see a company take a stand, stick to it, and even with a considerable amount of backlash, still be successful.

https://www.ninelineapparel.com/pages/about-us

https://ninelinefoundation.org/about-us/