How Student-Run Ventures are Changing Higher Education: The Story of Marquette University's Blue & Gold Brewing

Manufacturing Happy Hour · 4 Apr 2023 · 1h 02m

What this episode covers

John Knapp, Executive Director of Innovation Alley at Marquette University, and Jackson Cosgriff, a student, discuss the creation of Blue & Gold Brewing, a student-run venture that produced '77 Golden Ale' for National Marquette Day. The project involved collaboration with local Milwaukee breweries including Broken Bat Brewing, Good City Brewing, and Gathering Place Brewing to provide students with real-world business and product development experience. The episode details the process of naming, recipe development, and marketing, highlighting how the venture bridged academic silos through applied learning and interdisciplinary teamwork.

Mentioned

Companies
Marquette University, Innovation Alley, Broken Bat Brewing, Good City Brewing, Gathering Place Brewing, Blue and Gold Ventures LTD, Flow Tech, A3, Traction
Products
Blue & Gold Brewing, 77 Golden Ale, Draft Guard

Other shows on the same ground, closest first.

  • How I Built This · 1h 19m

    Dogfish Head Craft Brewery: Sam and Mariah Calagione

    Sam and Mariah Calagione, founders of Dogfish Head Craft Brewery, recount their journey from home-brewing in a New York apartment to building a $300 million craft beer brand acquired by Boston Beer Company. They discuss their unconventional brewing philosophy, which incorporates unusual ingredients like cherries, chicory, and pumpkin, and their strategic decision to open a brew-pub in Delaware to navigate early market barriers. The episode highlights key innovations such as the 90 Minute IPA, created using a vibrating football game to infuse hops, and the brand's evolution from a small local operation to a major player in the industry.

  • How I Built This · 36m

    Samuel Adams: Jim Koch (2017)

    Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Company, explains how he left a management consulting career to launch Samuel Adams in 1984, reviving a 150-year-old family recipe to create the craft beer movement. Koch details his 'lean startup' approach, including renting brewing space, hiring Dr. Joseph Owades, and personally cold-calling bars with beer in his briefcase to secure initial accounts. The episode highlights the brand's rapid growth after winning 'Best Beer in America' at the Great American Beer Festival, leading to a unique direct-to-consumer IPO that raised $65 million. Additionally, Kaitlin Mogental of Pulp Pantry discusses her garage-stage venture of turning juice bar pulp into snacks, focusing on sourcing ingredients and managing small-batch production.

  • How I Built This · 37m

    Brewing creativity with Jim Koch of Boston Beer Company

    Jim Koch, founder of Boston Beer Company, discusses the company's innovation strategy, emphasizing the importance of looking for 'aberrations' in consumer behavior rather than just following market research. He details the long, non-linear journeys of products like Twisted Tea, Truly Hard Seltzer, and Angry Orchard Hard Cider, explaining how initial failures or misidentified target audiences eventually led to massive success through product refinement and patience. Koch also highlights the development of high-end non-alcoholic beer and the technical challenges of creating nitrogenated canned beers, while reflecting on the enduring nature of quality products versus fleeting trends.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 15m

    Create All-Natural Cocktails in 2 Minutes with Steep't

    Alison Nathenson and Chloe O’Coyne, co-founders of Steep’t, explain how they pivoted from a slow cold-brew alcohol infusion concept to a rapid-infusion tea bag product during a Harvard Startup Boot Camp. They detail the formulation challenges with a food scientist, including using monk fruit for sugar-free options, and describe their current handmade production model. The founders discuss their direct-to-consumer sales strategy, highlighting a viral TikTok moment that sold out their inventory, and outline upcoming retail-ready SKUs and a new brand identity.

  • The Startup CPG Podcast · 43m

    Looking on the Starryside with co-founders Liz Seelye & Erin Fasano

    Starryside co-founders Liz Seelye and Aaron Pisano discuss launching Star Water, an organic, immunity-boosting beverage for kids in 8-ounce aluminum cans. They detail their journey from prototyping flavors with a former Ben & Jerry’s expert to navigating the 2022 can shortage and finding a co-packer willing to handle small, flat-beverage runs. The founders explain how they leveraged the Startup CPG community and Expo West’s Alley Rally to validate their product, secure feedback, and build relationships with retailers and media.

The summary, chapters and topics are generated from the episode’s audio by this directory, not written by Manufacturing Happy Hour. The episode itself belongs to its publisher.