Class Year: 2014
Major: History
How did you get started?
After graduation, I spent a miserable year in sales at a data storage company based in the Silicon Valley. As of August of this year, I quit my job to work full time on my company Mulroe-Price Designs.
Tell us a little bit about Santa’s Flask.*
Santa’s Flask is a Christmas stocking that dispenses beverages. The flask is the same shape and size as a normal Christmas stocking, and it holds 2.25 liters of your favorite drink. Hang it on the fireplace and enjoy. Many of our customers choose to fill it up with wine. Others use it for mixed drinks. A popular choice is Fireball.
Where did the idea for Santa’s Flask originate?
The idea for Santa’s Flask originated during my sophomore year at the Lewisburg Bowling Club’s annual holiday party called “Christmas in October.” Santa’s Flask was a simple idea that combined two staples of any great college Christmas party: Franzia boxed wine and holiday stockings. While setting up the party, I decided to cut a hole in the toe of a Christmas stocking so that the Franzia bag’s spout could pop through. This DIY version looked shoddy, but it was a hit throughout the night.
I didn’t think much of the idea until my flight home for Thanksgiving a few weeks later. I started jotting down ideas, and potential names for the product. When I got home, I scoured Google to see whether or not anyone had thought of the product before. No one had. I pitched the idea to my brother Kyle, along with my childhood friend Travis Price, and they agreed to start the business with me. Four years has gone by since that night at the party, and Santa’s Flask is finally getting the exposure and hype that I always believed it would.
What has been the most exciting/rewarding thing about designing your own product? The most challenging?
This past week, we have experienced a wave of press that has made our success possible. It began with a post from the Instagram account @girlwithnojob. A few days later, Ludacris posted. The most challenging part of the past four years was the constant rejection from retailers who told me that the product did not fit their store’s image. My advice to rising entrepreneurs is to ignore this kind of feedback. Now that we are blowing up online, these same retailers are asking if they can work with us.
Where will Santa’s Flask be in 5 years? In 10?
In 5 years from now, I would like to see Santa’s Flask, along with a couple of other products we are designing, in the homes of millions of people worldwide. We have already shipped product to all 50 U.S. states, along with Australia, England, Ireland, Finland, France, and Norway. Interestingly, we received an order of 20 stockings that addressed to a US Army base in West Africa. In 10 years from now, I’d like to see Santa’s Flask still hanging by the fireplaces of customers all over the world. However, if all goes well, I would like to have sold the company by that point and be working on my next venture.
What did Bucknell teach you about entrepreneurship that you carried forward into the design of Santa’s Flask?
Bucknell taught me to manage my own time. As a history major, I did not take any business or management courses. Regardless, I was always reading about business and entrepreneurship. I recommend that rising entrepreneurs read the Harvard Business Review, which should still be in the magazine racks at the front of Bertrand Library. Additionally, it is important to leverage any contacts you have. Never be afraid to ask for help or an introduction. You’d be surprised how many Bucknell alumnus are willing to offer a helping hand.
To play devil’s advocate, what is something the real world taught you that Bucknell never did?
I loved my time at Bucknell, but the “real world” has taught me 99% of everything I know about business. If you want to start a successful company, you need to just commit and execute your idea. Do not slave over the details of your business plan. I guarantee that you will continuously change directions as soon as you start working. A vital skill that cannot be taught is cold calling. Initially, it was nerve racking for me to call up retailers and pitch them my idea. But with every phone call I made, the butterflies in my stomach faded.
Do you have any final words of advice for future entrepreneurs?
My final piece of advice to rising entrepreneurs is to create a working prototype of your product as quickly as you can and manufacture it for as little money as possible. Once you do this, ask your friends and mentors for feedback. Don’t worry about anyone stealing your idea. No one will try to knock you off until after you are profitable. However, once you are successful you should hire a damn good lawyer.
Fast Facts:
Instagram: Follow @santasflask
Favorite place to nap on campus: My bed of course
Favorite moment at Bucknell: Making the walk from my dorm in Vedder everyday freshman year to see my friends in Rainey 2.
If you have any questions or comments, Jack encourages you to reach out to him directly at jack@santasflask.com!
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