Two New Brew Crews

Engineering+Business=Beer

Perhaps inspired by our own Keweenaw Brewing Company (Dick Gray ’82) and Schmoz Brewery in Grand Rapids (Chas Thompson ’91), a couple of husband-wife alumni teams are bringing craft brewing to two different locales: Appleton, Wisconsin, and Zeeland, Michigan.

We caught up with them as they branch out in new careers and take a shot as business people.

Mairi (Smith-Risk) Fogle ’09 and Ben Fogle ’08 are the Appleton brewers, Ben is a brewer and production manager, and Mairi is the marketing director.

“Between the two of us, we have taken on a large share of the responsibilities, but there are many other people involved as well at varying levels of ownership,” Mairi says. “Ben’s dad (Jeff) is the president of the organization and Ben’s stepmom (Leah) is the chef.”

Other alumni are involved: Carl Pierce ’08 is also a brewer/owner and Evan Zaborski ’10 is an owner and part of the construction crew.

“We are building the twenty-barrel brew system, kitchen, and bar ourselves in what used to be an auto parts shop on College Avenue in Appleton,” Mairi says. “We are optimistic that we can open this summer, and we we will have a full bar in addition to the beer, but our primary focus will be on our beer.”

She said her menu will be a beer-centric, with all food will having beer in it or will go well with beer.

“We are very focused on educating our customers on craft beer and being transparent in everything we do,” Mairi said. “We will have the brew system visible through floor to ceiling windows, and the distribution line and kitchen will be visible through large windows that we’ve pulled out and restored during the renovations.”

They’ve focused on sustainability, too. They’ve re-used much of the wood torn out of the building for tables and benches, recycled steel for our equipment, and using the spent grain for bread and will be giving the rest to local farmers as feed for their animals. They are on Facebook.

Tripel RootAcross Lake Michigan in Zeeland (southwest of Grand Rapids), Nate ’05 and Laura ’05 Gentry are converting a 115-year-old building downtown into a restaurant and brewpub called Tripel Root (www.tripelroot.com).

Zeeland might be considered a unique place to start, since they just reversed their alcohol sale ban in 2006.

But, times have changed, and accenting their family-friendly focus, Tripel Root will be open for lunch and dinner Monday through Saturday. Tripel Root will also offer artisan stone breads made with spent grains left over from the brewing process.  It will serve its own beer along with wine and “guest taps” from other microbreweries.

Nate’s interest in brewing started early.

“He was home brewing while we were at Tech,” Laura says. “We lived in one of the subdivisions up the hill from Shopko. Nate also was a bartender at The Library for a few years.”

Tripel Root aims to bring more people to the downtown area. “We love the Zeeland community and look forward to working with the city and local businesses and organizations,” she said. The last use for the building was a bank, and the drive-through will be replaced with a door and outside seating area.

They have been working hard.

“After a weekend of working on demolition, we filled our first 20 yard dumpster and have made progress on taking down the inside walls,” she says.

They are also working on fundraising.

“If anyone is interested in an opportunity to be a part of our Founding Members Mug Club, contact us at info@tripelroot.com.”

Are there any other alumni brewers out there?

This story was originally published in the TechAlum Newsletter.

Two Bows seeks funds for summer apparel line!

Two Bows-- the apparel line with the outdoorsy woman in mind-- is seeking funding for their summer line samples!

Three years ago Management major Jessica Tompkins started her own company Two Bows LLC .  Now a senior in the School of Business and Economics, Jessica needs our support!

Two Bows has been accepted by Kickstarter – an online threshold pledge system for funding creative projects– to raise funds for their Spring/Summer apparel line. She encourages everyone to follow the project, choose a reward, and pass along the word.  Two Bows only has 30 days to reach their goal of $5,000.  This money would then allow them to move forward taking the next big step to develop their company.

Jessica credits the School of Business and Economics and her classes for her growing success. Day by day she uses skills and knowledge she has gained at Michigan Tech while continuing to build the company’s foundation. Two Bows has previously been funded from several resources including: business competitions, Crowdbackers crowdfunding, and non-monetary awards. These sources, combined with social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin) have enabled her to market the company at a low cost.

However, in an effort to grow Two Bows, they are searching for additional funding sources to add a Spring/Summer line. This new line will supplement the products currently being sold for Fall and Winter. Jessica hopes the new line will allow Outdoorsy girls, like her, to be comfortable and look great while enjoying the hobbies they love!

By meeting their $5000 goal, Two Bows will have enough funding to create their new line, have professional photos taken, and update their website.  They only have 30 days to raise the money, and get their backers the rewards they earn in return for their funding! The rewards stack, so the more you back, the more you receive. Every donation helps!

Two Bows needs all the support it can get to reach their goal!  Let’s help out one of our own, click here to read more and make a donation!

Tech Business Teams Take 2nd and 3rd in THE Project

Business and Economics students from Michigan Tech had another successful showing at THE Project, taking 2nd and 3rd places respectively.

Two Michigan Tech teams competed in the second West Michigan Project Management Institute THE Project 2013 competition. There were seven collegiate teams competing for $10,000 prizes, and both Michigan Tech teams made it to the Final Four.

Michigan Tech Team B placed 2nd overall and received $3,000, and Michigan Tech Team A placed 3rd overall and received $2,000. Team B consists of Danielle Boettger (Economics), Evan Beckner (Operations and Systems Management), August Skultety (Operations and Systems Management). Team A consists of Kira Eck (Marketing), Mitch Fedie (Management), Amanda Halonen (Operations and Systems Management), and Mandi Severn (Management). All students were enrolled in BUS4950 Advanced Project Management this semester.

Details about the competition are located at: http://www.wmpmi.org.

Students Tackle Silicon Valley over Spring Break

The School of Business and Economics led a student group to Silicon Valley for an Alternative Spring Break trip.

Alternative Spring Break trips are all the rage at Michigan Tech!  These trips enable students an affordable way to get away from Houghton and have some fun over Spring Break.  The School of Business and Economics offers a students the opportunity to tour the high tech companies of California’s Silicon Valley.

“Going on the Silicon Valley trip was a great way to spend break because I got to meet a lot of cool and inspirational people, while touring top-notch technology companies,” says scientific and technical communications major Armando Flores. The School of Business and Economics organized this trip to give students a backstage pass to tech giants like Google, Autodesk, Cisco and Brocade Communications. The visits came with plentiful opportunities to network, learn about business strategies and explore a whole new world of career options.

Aside from connecting with industry leaders, the students got to experience a culture that differs from what they are accustomed to. “I caught a glimpse of what life is like in California. It really is a melting pot of people, culture and innovation,” Flores says.

The trip wasn’t strictly business, however. The students also had time for fun, creating memories that will last a lifetime. “The most memorable experiences for me were visiting The Gallery at Autodesk, riding a G-Bike at Google and then visiting the Hacker Dojo,” says Flores. “Swimming in the ocean was pretty cool too.”

These thrilling experiences may have made returning to classes a challenge, but they also gave Flores something to strive for. “The trip put everything into perspective and motivated me to keep working hard. One way or another, I will go back,” he says firmly.

Click here to read the full Tech Today article that describes other Alternative Spring Break opportunities Michigan Tech students engaged in this year.

Visiting Women and Minority Scholar Series Welcomes Alice Stuhlmacher

Alice Stuhlmacher will be presenting on, 'Gender in Negotiation: Lessons for Men and Women' on Wednesday, April 3rd

As part of Michigan Technological University’s Visiting Women and Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series, the School of Business and Economics will welcome Alice Stuhlmacher to campus April 1st – 3rd, 2013. During the visit, Stuhlmacher will visit classes in the School of Business and Economics as well as the department of Cognitive Learning Sciences. Faculty and student groups will participate in presentations and round table discussions throughout the visit.

The campus community is invited to attend an open presentation titled, “Gender in Negotiation: Lessons for Men and Women.” The event will take place on Wednesday, April 3, 2012 at 1pm in the Alumni Room of the Memorial Union Building.

Alice F. Stuhlmacher is a Professor of Psychology at DePaul University in Chicago.  Her research interests include negotiation and conflict in organizations, particularly relating to gender,  labor mediators, and virtual communication. She has been active in applying meta-analyses to summarize existing research and has also published research relating to personality, workplace safety, and decision making. Her Ph.D. is from Purdue University in Industrial-Organizational Psychology. She has served as program director of the Ph.D. program in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and as affiliated faculty in the M.S. in Human Resources at DePaul’s Graduate School of Business. In addition to conference presentations and publishing, she has been an invited speaker to various groups such as Women in Science, Women in Business, Georgetown University’s Gender in the Workplace Research Initiative, and Harvard University’s Gender in Negotiation Research Seminar, and is excited to join us to discuss gender issues in the workplace.

Stuhlmacher’s visit is part of the Visiting Women and Minority Lecturer/Scholar Series. This event is funded by the Michigan Tech President’s Office and a grant to the Office for Institutional Diversity for the State of Michigan’s King-Chavez-Parks Initiative.

For more information about Alice Stuhlmacher, see her profile on the DePaul University website.