Eric Bandholz worked as a financial advisor in Washington state, but the company Eric worked for had a “no facial hair” policy that he was not a fan of, so he left the company to start a beard grooming company. He attended a Startup Weekend event where he met Lindsey Reinders and Jeremy McGee, who would go on to help Eric form the company Beardbrand. Beardbrand sells a variety of beard care products including beard oil and mustache wax. Initially the three of them started with $8,000 and they had to reinvest any profits they earned back into the company for their first 10 months. Beardbrand launched its online store and put a lot of resources towards marketing on online platforms which helped the company to grow. Particularly important is the companies YouTube channel which has over 1,000,000 subscribers and has been essential in helping the company to grow. Eric appeared on ABC’s Shark Tank and although he did not receive any investment money the publicity gained from appearing on the show helped to raise awareness about Beardbrand and increase sales.

Seeing that Eric left the safety of his job to pursue something that he’s passionate about is very encouraging. I think Eric is a great example of an entrepreneur taking something that they love and making it into a business.