Latest news with #Waggoner
CNBC
4 days ago
- Business
- CNBC
34-year-old CEO shares his No. 1 piece of advice for entrepreneurs—it helped him build a $1 billion company
Starting a company straight out of college, with no prior business experience, isn't always easy. To support himself and his flavored-water business Cirkul, Garrett Waggoner played professional football in Canada and worked as a car valet in the offseason, he says. His co-founder Andy Gay worked in the women's shoe section of a department store, Waggoner adds. Together, they sought advice from anyone and everyone. Today, Waggoner's top tip for young entrepreneurs has a hint of irony to it: Don't listen to everything you're told, the 34-year-old CEO says. "Every time you get advice from somebody who has grown a business, make sure that you're interpreting it through your own lens," says Waggoner. "What worked for [them] might not work for a different type of business." Waggoner and Gay launched their Tampa, Florida-based business in 2015, got their products — reusable water bottles with built-in disposable flavor cartridges — onto retail shelves in 2018, and obtained a $1 billion pre-money valuation during a $70 million fundraising round in 2022. Some of the advice they received in Cirkul's early years worked, Waggoner says: focusing on solving a real problem rather than trying to build a cool product and "obsessing" over customer experience. Before the pair landed on the Cirkul bottle's current design, they found themselves lost in imagining all of the cool things a new product could do, says Waggoner. Refocusing on solving a problem "made us ground everything we did in the customer's actual need, which is gold," he says. Other pieces of advice were less effective, he says, or simply weren't applicable to the type of business Waggoner and Gay wanted to run. They tried outsourcing their manufacturing, for example — a common practice for consumer product companies — but struggled to find a factory that would work with Cirkul to produce a novel product. "Most folks in the beverage space do cans and bottles, so when approached with something unique, they all declined to lean in," Waggoner says. "We, by necessity, were required to manufacture the product ourselves." Manufacturing their own product required a "tremendous amount of successes, failures and ultimately, learning," he adds. Cirkul's manufacturing currently takes place in warehouses in Tampa and Salt Lake City. Other entrepreneurs agree: You need to figure out when to listen to someone's advice, and when to break from conventional wisdom and trust your gut. "When you're just getting started in a small business, it's easy to drown an opportunity if you let yourself get pulled by different ideas," billionaire entrepreneur and investor Mark Cuban told CNBC Make It in March. Successful business owners take other people's feedback seriously while filtering out bad or irrelevant advice, Cuban added. Kopi Kenangan co-founder and CEO Edward Tirtanata offers similar advice: Don't ever sacrifice what makes your business unique. His Indonesia-based coffee chain, which brought in more than $100 million in sales in 2023, broke into the already-saturated coffee market by creating customized menus for different countries and tailoring items to local tastes and price points, Tirtanata said in May 2024. The strategy ran counter to the conventional wisdom of using a standardized global menu, which many other chains do, he noted. "The next Starbucks is not going to look like a Starbucks, the next McDonald's is not going to look like a McDonald's. The next Google is not going to look like a Google – you need to be radically different in order for you to compete against the incumbent," said Tirtanata.
Business Insider
28-05-2025
- Business
- Business Insider
This beverage brand CEO says making his products in the US has been essential to his success
One really important — and often overlooked — thing about coming up with a new product idea is finding a way to make it. That's what Cirkul co-founders Garrett Waggoner and Andy Gay discovered when they came up with a concept for a water-enhancing flavor cartridge system back in 2015. "The Cirkul cartridge was such a novel form factor, and no one had ever done anything like it before," Waggoner told Business Insider. Making the product overseas wasn't even an option, since there weren't any contract manufacturers who could do the job. "We just had to start doing it ourselves," he said. Waggoner and Gay had "no formal background in manufacturing or operations, but back in 2018 we leased a little warehouse and started filling cartridges by hand at night." Bit by bit, the Tampa-based brand gained a following on social media, linked up with Walmart, announced a $1 billon valuation in 2022, and Waggoner said the company now has a million square feet of production space divided between Florida and Utah. Waggoner said making his products in America paired well with the company's original direct-to-consumer model, which allowed the team to quickly turn customer feedback into useful changes, rather than having to wait for a ship to cross the Pacific Ocean. "In the early days, if you dropped the bottle from, say, hip height, the cartridge would kind of break apart," he said. "So very quickly, our engineering team identified manufacturing tolerance adjustments that strengthened that connection." That rapid feedback loop was "vital to helping the product grow up to where it is today," he said. An expanding menu of flavors is still driven by customer feedback, with cartridges mixed and made in the US. In addition to the cartridges, Cirkul also sells a selection of plastic bottles (which the company makes here), and a newer line of Stanley-style stainless steel tumblers (which are currently imported, though Waggoner said he's exploring ways to bring that production on-shore). Although the decision to make his products primarily in the US was at first more about necessity than principle, Waggoner said he hasn't really seen outsourcing or off-shoring as attractive options. "We've been growing so quickly that, to be honest, it's just never been a consideration, because we've been building our operations out continuously," he said. "Frankly, the team takes a lot of pride in it, and it's a lot of fun to see the team deliver something that is novel."
Yahoo
17-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
West Virginia Humanities Council cancels grants due to federal cuts
CHARLESTON, (WBOY) — Amid federal funding cuts, the West Virginia Humanities Council has announced that it has had to cancel commitments to grants used to help fund things like local history and cultural enrichment programs at schools, museums and libraries throughout the state. The Humanities Council awards about $350,000 in grants each year and has argued that these grants are a small and worthwhile investment that helps West Virginians understand themselves and their communities. 'We bring people together, we celebrate West Virginia's history and culture,' said the Council's Executive Director, Eric Waggoner. Waggoner said that on April 3, he received a form email without warning that the federal money for the Humanities Council would no longer be available. Waggoner described having to inform the grantees as 'terrible.' Tariffs could raise prices on wedding, prom dresses in West Virginia 'We work with local historical societies, we work with small communities, we make sure that money goes into projects in communities around the state that West Virginians in their home communities want,' Waggoner said. Waggoner told 12 News that the West Virginia Humanities Council's total budget is about $1.8 million, and that they spend 75% of that on grants and programming. The council receives half of its funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), which was founded in 1965 and recently experienced cuts from the Trump Administration. The council has to raise the other half of the funds on its own to qualify for the federal money. Waggoner told 12 News that funding the NEH in total costs less than one dollar per taxpayer. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
USA Today
06-04-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Great Lakes cruises: Victory Cruise Lines relaunching with US, Canada sailings this month
Great Lakes cruises: Victory Cruise Lines relaunching with US, Canada sailings this month Show Caption Hide Caption How to find the best price, perks when booking a cruise Find the cruise that works for your budget with these tips. Problem Solved Victory Cruise Lines, a small-ship cruise operator, is relaunching with two refurbished ships, Victory I and Victory II. Itineraries range from nine to 14 nights and include shore excursions, onboard lectures, and multiple dining options. Prices start at $4,999 per person, covering pre-cruise accommodations, transfers, meals, drinks, and various onboard amenities. A small-ship cruise operator is about to make a comeback in the U.S. Victory Cruise Lines is relaunching this month with Great Lakes and Canada cruises. American Queen Voyages' founder John Waggoner is reviving the brand with two 190-passenger ships, Victory I and Victory II. The vessels, which were purpose-built to sail the Great Lakes, the St. Lawrence Seaway and French-Canadian Maritimes, were previously owned by American Queen Voyages before it shut down last year (Waggonner was no longer involved with the company at the time). American Queen Voyages acquired Victory Cruise Lines in 2019. Both ships have been refurbished, and will sail popular and lesser-visited ports within North America. Many of Victory's customers want to 'wrap (themselves) in the American or Canadian flag,' according to founder and chairman Waggoner. 'I think what we find is that a lot of our guests have traveled all over the world, and now they are looking for something that's at home,' he told USA TODAY. When will Victory Cruise Lines relaunch? Waggoner and his wife Claudette, who co-owns the company, will host Victory's first cruise of the year. The 10-night cruise aboard Victory I will sail from Portland, Maine to Toronto, Canada on April 16 ahead of the ship's christening. Victory II will be christened in Chicago on May 12. What can guests expect? Victory will sail itineraries ranging from nine to 14 nights in 2025. Those include All 5 Great Lakes cruises, which visit Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior, sailing from either Chicago or Milwaukee to Toronto (or departing from Toronto). The 5 Great Lakes & St. Lawrence Seaway itinerary will sail between Chicago and Montreal, while the Great Lakes & Thunder Bay cruise round-trip from Chicago includes two great lakes – Michigan and Superior – and an overnight stay in Michigan's Mackinac Island, among other sailings. Stops will include Detroit and Marquette in Michigan; Green Bay, Wisconsin; Port Colborne, Ontario – giving guests access to Niagara Falls – and more. Victory will also be the only cruise line to dock at Chicago's Navy Pier. The company offers a variety of excursions along the way, from a visit to the Soo Locks in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan and the Museum Ship Valley Camp, where guests can learn about the area's history, to a behind-the-scenes tour of Lambeau Field where the Green Bay Packers play. 'And then you hit Cleveland, where you dock right (near) the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame,' Waggoner added. 'And then Detroit, where you get to go to the Henry Ford Museum of (American) Innovation.' The ships will also host a LakeLorian program in partnership with the National Museum of the Great Lakes, offering lectures from historians and naturalists. Other onboard features include three dining concepts, a sun deck and a salon and spa. How much does Victory Cruise Lines cost? Available cruises currently start at $4,999 per person, according to Victory's website. The fares include a pre-night hotel stay, transfers from the hotel to the ship, food and drinks onboard, a tour in each port, Wi-Fi and more. 'What I hope (guests) take away is the grandeur and the beauty of the Great Lakes and the St. Lawrence Seaway,' Waggoner said. Nathan Diller is a consumer travel reporter for USA TODAY based in Nashville. You can reach him at ndiller@
Yahoo
11-03-2025
- Yahoo
The disturbing 10-day journey of a stolen family vehicle
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. – A 2021 GMC Yukon was recently recovered by police 10 days after being stolen. The owner, Angie Waggoner, picked up the vehicle from impound on Monday. It doesn't look much different from the outside; inside, it is a wasteland. Waggoner said she found '…about 15 cell phones, five or six purses. … The cat was the most surprising for me.' Two cats, to be specific; with the litter box—and litter—left behind. Both are now in shelters. '(Police) said there were at least 15 people in there,' she said. 'There are bottles of urine in there where they went to the bathroom in bottles.' Man arrested for threat to kill St. Louis mayor, others: Records She said the thieves grabbed her car keys off the table while she was distracted eating with her three children at a McDonald's. 'The insurance company was going to total it because of the biohazard, but now they're just gonna pay to have everything fixed,' Waggoner said. It was Waggoner's dream car. Her purse and child safety seat long gone. After posting pictures of her trashed Yukon on Facebook, Waggoner said she found another reported victim. Classie Hughes met her to see for herself. Hughes stepped back and repeatedly gagged as she could not bear the smell. She said she noticed on the Facebook posts that there was a monogramed bag stolen from her home, with her name on it. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now 'My name is 'Classie.' No one has my name, so how stupid could you be to take something with my name on it?' Hughes said. 'It was weird things, like my ultrasound photos, were taken.' Police in O'Fallon, Missouri, are applying for criminal charges after recovering the vehicle. 'This case serves as a strong example of the challenges vehicle theft victims face,' police spokesman Bryan Harr said. 'It's not just about losing a vehicle; it's also about the personal violation that comes with it.' Waggoner said she's determined to see the case through prosecution. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
