Artwork for podcast Be EPIC Podcast
Building an Outdoor Brand from the Ground Up with Kile Graves
Episode 24627th September 2023 • Be EPIC Podcast • Brent Williams
00:00:00 00:29:11

Share Episode

Shownotes

This week on the podcast we continue our Business of Outdoor Recreation series with Kile Graves, Director of Operations at beardedgoat and Walton College alum, an outdoor apparel brand that is based in Northwest Arkansas and quickly expanding nationally. They discuss the burgeoning outdoor recreation economy in Arkansas and Kyle shares about his transition from the corporate world to the startup space with beardedgat. He discusses his passion for the outdoors, the challenges of establishing a brand in a growing sector, and how beardedgoat has capitalized on the growing popularity of outdoor recreation in Northwest Arkansas especially.

Transcripts

Kile Graves:

The mountain bike scene I don't think it was as

Kile Graves:

large as it is now. And just that side of outdoor recreation

Kile Graves:

is growing in popularity, we've definitely been able to ride

Kile Graves:

that wave. Because we were already leaning into that scene

Kile Graves:

anyways, it just wasn't as popular. And so as it's grown in

Kile Graves:

popularity, we've been able to just tap into it and say like,

Kile Graves:

hey, we're here.

Brent Williams:

Welcome to the Be Epic podcast, brought to you

Brent Williams:

by the Sam M. Walton College of Business at the University of

Brent Williams:

Arkansas. I'm your host, Brent Williams. Together, we'll

Brent Williams:

explore the dynamic landscape of business and uncover the

Brent Williams:

strategies, insights, and stories that drive business

Brent Williams:

today. Well, today I have with me Kile Graves. Kile is the

Brent Williams:

Director of Operations at Bearded Goat and alum of the

Brent Williams:

Walton College. Kile, thanks for joining me today.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, thanks for having me excited to excited to

Kile Graves:

be here.

Brent Williams:

Well, I'm super excited that you're here. And,

Brent Williams:

you know, I know you're engaged in the outdoor recreation

Brent Williams:

economy in Arkansas, which is really growing and exploding. So

Brent Williams:

I kind of want to, I really want to center us on that. But first,

Brent Williams:

maybe your story a little bit. I know you were you graduated from

Brent Williams:

the Walton College, but come to tell us all about you.

Kile Graves:

Yeah. So I grew up here in Fayetteville went to

Kile Graves:

Fayetteville High School before they tore it down and built the

Kile Graves:

new one. I think we were the last class in the old high

Kile Graves:

school. Yeah, came here. Went to the U of A, studied supply

Kile Graves:

chain, and marketing and economics were my minors, and

Kile Graves:

then interned at Walmart, between my junior and senior

Kile Graves:

year, got a job there right after graduation. And had these

Kile Graves:

like training development programs. And I was in the one

Kile Graves:

in merchandising, so I did that for about two years, and kind of

Kile Graves:

realized it wasn't my my speed, and got an opportunity to help

Kile Graves:

start something, Bearded Goat, from the ground up and so got

Kile Graves:

approached by the guy that had kind of raised some money. And

Kile Graves:

his name is Terry and decided to jump ship from Walmart at the

Kile Graves:

time, had learned a lot in kind of just big, big retail space. I

Kile Graves:

was in a planning role. So it's basically intro of in control of

Kile Graves:

the budget for a buyer. I was over hangers and laundry baskets

Kile Graves:

and things not so outdoorsy. But no, it was great. I learned a

Kile Graves:

lot and did that. And yeah, jumped ship. I think it was the

Kile Graves:

end of 2017. Like December of 2017. And yeah, been at Bearded

Kile Graves:

Goat ever since. So it'll be six years, six years is fall.

Brent Williams:

Well, those training development programs at

Brent Williams:

Walmart and specifically in merchandising are tremendous in

Brent Williams:

what you learn, right? I mean, just like the the span of what

Brent Williams:

you learn in a really short period of time, is pretty

Kile Graves:

It's crazy. It's the phrase drinking from water

Kile Graves:

tremendous.

Kile Graves:

hose. You know, people say it's, it's so true. I remember coming

Kile Graves:

home. And I was with three roommates at the time. And I

Kile Graves:

think two of the three were working at Walmart. And we'd

Kile Graves:

come home and our brains were just like fried, and we're just

Kile Graves:

like what was happening? But yeah, you you know, I don't know

Kile Graves:

if they've changed it since but you would do 10 or so weeks in

Kile Graves:

like a replenishment role. And then you do a buyer role,

Kile Graves:

sourcing, product development, planning. And then at the end,

Kile Graves:

they'd spit you out into a full time position. And so yeah,

Kile Graves:

it's, it's amazing. I'm really grateful for what I learned

Kile Graves:

there. And just kind of understanding how retail works.

Kile Graves:

You know, retail math works, you know, in a day to day setting,

Kile Graves:

how to analyze a business, I think I learned a lot of my

Kile Graves:

analytical skills are definitely there. I honed them in there for

Kile Graves:

sure. So it was good. But I did not love the cube farm is what

Kile Graves:

we refer to it as in the startup world, but was not a fan of that

Kile Graves:

so.

Brent Williams:

So the transition to Bearded Goat, to

Brent Williams:

work and working with Terry helping start this company up. I

Brent Williams:

guess outdoors is something personally you're passionate

Brent Williams:

about.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, for sure. You know, we grew up going to the

Kile Graves:

Buffalo River every summer, going to the lake every summer,

Kile Graves:

running on the trails, mountain biking wasn't as big of a thing

Kile Graves:

growing up, I played basketball growing up. So I was kind of a

Kile Graves:

jockey and a sports guy. And so, but in the summer, you know, we

Kile Graves:

were outside in the fall, you know, we're outside. So that's,

Kile Graves:

that's kind of how I was raised and how I spend my time. You

Kile Graves:

know, my, my dad and I would fish throughout the year every

Kile Graves:

year and that was kind of like our thing and got into fly

Kile Graves:

fishing towards the end of college and skiing every chance

Kile Graves:

I could get. So any chance I could get outside we were doing

Kile Graves:

it basically. So that was always kind of a part of who I was and

Kile Graves:

my interests have always been there and so yeah, when Terry

Kile Graves:

approached me and I was still Walmart with the opportunity to

Kile Graves:

come kind of like help him launch the thing and he

Kile Graves:

explained, hey, I'm gonna create a brand in the outdoor world,

Kile Graves:

didn't really know anything else than that I was kind of like,

Kile Graves:

yeah, like the outdoors. And I've learned some stuff about

Kile Graves:

retail. So let's, you know, let's do it.

Brent Williams:

Yeah. And the purpose of the company, I don't

Brent Williams:

know if I'm going to get this exactly right. But basically,

Brent Williams:

boil it down to you guys are really trying to help more

Brent Williams:

people get outside, and I guess align the gear and apparel

Brent Williams:

between technical and everyday.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, yeah, I think, you know, that's our

Kile Graves:

website, I'm pretty sure at this point, and we've, you know, a

Kile Graves:

brand is a brand identities for us has kind of changed a little

Kile Graves:

bit as we've, we've grown and, you know, certain things will

Kile Graves:

take grip in the market, and other things won't. And so you

Kile Graves:

kind of have to adapt a little bit, but yeah our identity from

Kile Graves:

the start was, hey, if we can, it was me and I Owen Bell was my

Kile Graves:

counterpart of the company. He's our Creative Director, and then

Kile Graves:

McCain Martin, is in charge of our product development. He's

Kile Graves:

also a UARK alum at the Walton College, so yeah us three, we're

Kile Graves:

all from, and we kind of run the we run the company day to day.

Kile Graves:

And so us three all grew up in Northwest Arkansas, we all have

Kile Graves:

a little bit different interests. You know, McCain has

Kile Graves:

family in the west coast. So surfing was big in his

Kile Graves:

upbringing and interest. And I spent time on the river and

Kile Graves:

camping and Owen was also in Rogers growing up outdoors. And

Kile Graves:

so us three, kind of blended our interests in the outdoors and

Kile Graves:

how it's authentic to this area, which, for us, shows up either

Kile Graves:

on a trail of some sort or on the water of some sort. And

Kile Graves:

that's kind of where we've boiled it down to those two

Kile Graves:

environments. And then we said, hey, let's, let's just make an

Kile Graves:

outdoor lifestyle brand, clothing brand that we make

Kile Graves:

stuff we can wear doing any of that. That's kind of the idea.

Kile Graves:

And so it's, it's loose enough, where we can create products

Kile Graves:

that don't necessarily fit into a specific water category. It's

Kile Graves:

it's more than just lifestyle, but our inspiration and the soul

Kile Graves:

of our brand lives, lives there so.

Brent Williams:

If if you're asking you maybe to reflect on

Brent Williams:

the last, what, five, six years that you've been there, you

Brent Williams:

know, today, where the company and the brand is at, and maybe

Brent Williams:

the products versus when you started five or six years ago,

Brent Williams:

what, what is still the case? Or what's still true, and maybe

Brent Williams:

what's different?

Kile Graves:

Yeah, that's a good question. What's different, you

Kile Graves:

know, I think we started probably trying to make products

Kile Graves:

that were way more technical than we do now. And making

Kile Graves:

clothes is really hard. Like, it's, it's us three, we have an

Kile Graves:

idea for a piece, and then we turn it into reality. And so

Kile Graves:

it's, it's a long process. It's an expensive process. But I

Kile Graves:

think originally, we were trying to make, you know, pretty

Kile Graves:

intense, outdoor, you know, stuff, you could ski in really

Kile Graves:

technical pieces, water resistant clothing and rain

Kile Graves:

jackets, and more high end on the technical side. And I think

Kile Graves:

we've shifted over the years into more of a lifestyle brand,

Kile Graves:

we still have hits of technical pieces, and our our products are

Kile Graves:

really, really high quality. And they're designed with a lot of

Kile Graves:

intentionality. But the technical aspects aren't as

Kile Graves:

important to the product, I would say now. And that's

Kile Graves:

allowed us to reach just kind of a broader market, you know, and

Kile Graves:

guys that are like, hey, I'm not in the rain every day hiking,

Kile Graves:

but the one time I am a year, I'm gonna grab this jacket, you

Kile Graves:

know, and all the other weekends, I'm not hiking in the

Kile Graves:

rain, I can wear this jacket. So we've kind of shifted our focus

Kile Graves:

there. But the focus on being outside and spending time

Kile Graves:

outside has remained constant for sure.

Brent Williams:

The purpose clearly is the same. Just the

Brent Williams:

business pivoted just a little bit.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, the assortment, the offering has

Kile Graves:

kind of changed a little bit.

Brent Williams:

For someone that's not been engaged in

Brent Williams:

apparel, you know, you mentioned apparel is hard, and it's very

Brent Williams:

hard, right? You know, you've got short selling seasons often.

Brent Williams:

And then for one given product, you've got multiple sizes and

Brent Williams:

colors. And it's a it's a big challenge to go from an idea to

Brent Williams:

execution and execution well. Talk us through a little bit of

Brent Williams:

that process.

Kile Graves:

Ah man, yeah, it's, you know, so you, you'll come up

Kile Graves:

Yeah, and lots can change in a year.

Kile Graves:

with an idea for for the silhouette. You know, like the

Kile Graves:

pants I'm wearing or are launching this fall, they're

Kile Graves:

heavyweight cotton canvas, kind of like a work wear type of

Kile Graves:

pant. So we'll have an idea in our head of like, hey, we want

Kile Graves:

to pant that's a little bit baggier fit, heavy duty cotton.

Kile Graves:

You know, in the beginning, you don't know what different types

Kile Graves:

of fabrics they are, at least I didn't. So I was like, alright,

Kile Graves:

we also have to durable what does that mean? Well, it

Kile Graves:

probably means it's cotton and it probably has a little bit of

Kile Graves:

like a canvas aspect to it. So you start sourcing fabrics until

Kile Graves:

you feel the one you like and you think is the right style and

Kile Graves:

then you get a prototype made which is always way off, you

Kile Graves:

know in fit and how it looks and colors are always random, you'll

Kile Graves:

have like a bright orange work pant, that we would never make

Kile Graves:

that color. But that's what you have until you're closer to

Kile Graves:

placing your orders. So you refine the fit over a couple of

Kile Graves:

months and you get the fit, right. And then you choose your

Kile Graves:

colors. And you know, you're selecting Pantones and then

Kile Graves:

you're dyeing fabric, and you have to wait for that sample to

Kile Graves:

come in. And then you're approving a color decision, you

Kile Graves:

know, months in advance, before you get to see the, the finished

Kile Graves:

garment. And so it's a lot of kind of deciding on the fly. You

Kile Graves:

know, we're we're making really calculated decisions, but we

Kile Graves:

have to make them quick. Because you're, you're making the

Kile Graves:

decisions, basically a year out for when the product gets here so.

Kile Graves:

For sure.

Brent Williams:

So big, big challenge managing an apparel

Brent Williams:

supply chain.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, yeah, it is. And it's, you know, we have, we

Kile Graves:

have some really good partners that help us make this stuff.

Kile Graves:

And they're really flexible. And I think because our team is so

Kile Graves:

small, we're able to make decisions quickly. And if us

Kile Graves:

three can kind of get aligned on an idea whether it's a color, or

Kile Graves:

a fit or style of a piece. We know it's pretty much a home run

Kile Graves:

hitter. So yeah, that's kind of the grid we we push it through.

Brent Williams:

Well, you know, as we, as we mentioned at the

Brent Williams:

outset, you know, the outdoor economy, outdoor recreation

Brent Williams:

economy in Arkansas, has, you know, what, one I guess we've

Brent Williams:

had the natural assets for forever. But it seems like we're

Brent Williams:

really getting aligned as a state and as a region on I would

Brent Williams:

say leveraging those assets. You know from, from a quality of

Brent Williams:

life and from an economic development standpoint, just you

Brent Williams:

know, you're a native here, what do you see? How are you guys

Brent Williams:

participating in all that?

Kile Graves:

Yeah, no doubt. Like, I think the the Greenway

Kile Graves:

was the first, Razorback Greenway, it was kind of the

Kile Graves:

first piece that I recognized, I was like, Whoa, this is, this

Kile Graves:

was legit. You know, it runs all the way from downtown

Kile Graves:

Fayetteville to Bentonville, and it's continuous and you can ride

Kile Graves:

your bike. I can't remember when they when they completed that.

Kile Graves:

But that was the first piece to me that I recognized the growth

Kile Graves:

and then obviously, the mountain biking, that's the biggest piece

Kile Graves:

for our brand. And me personally, you know, it has

Kile Graves:

been a couple times a week, I'll go in the mornings and ride on

Kile Graves:

the trails. But that's, that's been the most obvious is just

Kile Graves:

the the growth and the development around the mountain

Kile Graves:

bike scene. Specifically in Bentonville and Fayetteville and

Kile Graves:

Northwest Arkansas, and then even across the state now it's,

Kile Graves:

you know, there's a lot of trails being developed, and

Kile Graves:

people look for ways to get on them. Whether it's first time on

Kile Graves:

a bike, or people are traveling here from all over the world

Kile Graves:

now. We'll run into people in Bentonville, you know, in their

Kile Graves:

vans, and they drove from Maine to Bentonville, Arkansas, and

Kile Graves:

they're parked outside camping. And, man, we heard about

Kile Graves:

Bentonville we got to get down there. And I was like,

Kile Graves:

Bentonville, do you? How, why are you coming to Arkansas, you

Kile Graves:

know, because we've known is great. But the the development

Kile Graves:

and the building of the trail system and how it connects to

Kile Graves:

the culture of the cities I think is really cool. And then

Kile Graves:

the the lake is another big piece of our brand, which, you

Kile Graves:

know, we've we've grown up on and because it's controlled by

Kile Graves:

the Corps of Engineers, it's not as commercialized, which is a

Kile Graves:

good thing. It keeps its natural beauty there. So yeah, that's

Kile Graves:

and that's even grown though to you know, wake, wake surf boats.

Kile Graves:

That's kind of where our brand lives and we were surfing behind

Kile Graves:

the boat. If you've ever done it,

Brent Williams:

I have

Kile Graves:

We need to take you out sometime.

Brent Williams:

Yeah, I'll go again though.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, let's go. It's a it's a blast. But you

Kile Graves:

know, those, they're way more popular than when I was a kid.

Kile Graves:

You know, it was like, you go on the lake, and it'd be pontoons,

Kile Graves:

and maybe one cobalt, you know, or something. And now it's these

Kile Graves:

super nice wakesurf boats everywhere. So, you know, and I

Kile Graves:

think that's, you know, probably credit to a lot of the big

Kile Graves:

corporations and up north that are cultivating the region. And

Kile Graves:

you know, the involvement of the Walton College here and how it's

Kile Graves:

connecting students to those job opportunities and making this

Kile Graves:

area just more of a desirable place to live. I think it's like

Kile Graves:

you said, it's always been desirable, but they're starting

Kile Graves:

to tell people about it, which has its pros and cons.

Brent Williams:

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, and building a

Brent Williams:

brand like yours and a company like yours. I mean, I'm sure.

Brent Williams:

I'm sure there's a benefit of just being here around all in in

Brent Williams:

that ecosystem.

Kile Graves:

For sure.

Brent Williams:

The relationships with other

Brent Williams:

entrepreneurs and companies, there's a lot of support for

Brent Williams:

entrepreneurs building companies here as well.

Kile Graves:

Yes, yeah, there is, you know, we, when we

Kile Graves:

started, you know, five years ago, the mountain bike scene I

Kile Graves:

don't think it was as large as it is now. And so from just what

Kile Graves:

we were talking about earlier, just that side of outdoor

Kile Graves:

recreation is growing in popularity. We've definitely

Kile Graves:

been able to ride that wave. Because we were already leaning

Kile Graves:

into that scene anyways, it just wasn't as popular and so as it's

Kile Graves:

grown in popularity, we've been able to just again, tap into it

Kile Graves:

and say like, Hey, we're here. This is what we're about

Kile Graves:

anyways, we've been able to ride that wave. But yeah, the startup

Kile Graves:

scene is way more connected than I thought it was, you know,

Kile Graves:

going here, I studied supply chain and interned at Walmart,

Kile Graves:

like I said, and so my exposure to the business world was always

Kile Graves:

in the biggest of settings in Walmart. And so I didn't, I

Kile Graves:

didn't have a lot of exposure to the startup world, until I left

Kile Graves:

to help start Bearded Goat, but since then, you know, it's

Kile Graves:

amazing the connections across small businesses and founders

Kile Graves:

that are trying to figure out ways to help each other and come

Kile Graves:

up with ideas and just kind of cross pollinate almost.

Brent Williams:

Yeah. As, as you sort of look for look forward

Brent Williams:

for the company. You know, what's kind of the hopes and

Brent Williams:

dreams? And then, you know, maybe even, you know, your your

Brent Williams:

hopes for our region and our state as it relates to outdoor

Brent Williams:

recreation?

Kile Graves:

Yeah, that's a good question. Yeah, I think dreams,

Kile Graves:

hopes and dreams for Bearded Goat would be, you know, we kind

Kile Graves:

of have this, this internal argument with us three, where

Kile Graves:

we're kind of like, we want to brag and make it known where

Kile Graves:

we're from. And we're from Northwest Arkansas. And that's

Kile Graves:

where our inspiration and our identity for the brand comes

Kile Graves:

from. But you also don't want to be too specific to a region

Kile Graves:

because you can limit the size of your potential market. And so

Kile Graves:

we kind of have this debate of back and forth, like, how do we

Kile Graves:

wave our flag where we're from, but not put us in a small box

Kile Graves:

of, you know, a specific demographic. And so I think

Kile Graves:

continuing to find that balance as we grow and find more people

Kile Graves:

that just enjoy spending time outside, and they like, spending

Kile Graves:

time on the lake, and they like spending time on trails, and

Kile Graves:

they like the clothes that we make because it supports this

Kile Graves:

lifestyle of adventure and creativity, and just getting

Kile Graves:

outside in creative ways. So I think if we can continue to grow

Kile Graves:

and find more and more people that like this lifestyle that

Kile Graves:

we're promoting. That's the vision, it's not very specific.

Kile Graves:

But yeah, just growth man, just seeing people. Like I saw

Kile Graves:

someone this weekend wearing a pair of our swim trunks at the

Kile Graves:

farmers market. And every time I see someone wearing a piece,

Kile Graves:

like we always take a picture and send it to each other. And

Kile Graves:

that never gets old. It's really fun. Because you spend so much

Kile Graves:

time and thought creating like a pair of swim trunks. And then

Kile Graves:

you see someone wearing it, you're like, man, you chose to

Kile Graves:

buy that, you know, and wear that today. And so it's just

Kile Graves:

cool. But yeah, for the region. You know, you hear the sayings

Kile Graves:

of like, this is the next Austin all the time, at least we know

Kile Graves:

we hear those. And I think it's real. And I think we have a

Kile Graves:

unique setup here. I guess it is similar to Austin with, you

Kile Graves:

know, biggest corporation in the world. And then you have Tyson

Kile Graves:

and JB Hunt, and all the resources and energy that

Kile Graves:

they're pouring into the economy here. But then you also have a

Kile Graves:

SEC school that's in the same area. And so you get the energy

Kile Graves:

and the youthfulness of the college world. And you blend

Kile Graves:

those together with a unique outdoor market that's growing in

Kile Graves:

popularity. It just has this really cool, unique hub that

Kile Graves:

isn't like and we're in the south. So you know, it's not a

Kile Graves:

coastal city, which is also unique. But I think people are

Kile Graves:

desiring that, you know, it's cheaper to live. I don't know

Kile Graves:

the stats on like, how many people move here a day, but I

Kile Graves:

know they're keeping track. But I think if we can continue to

Kile Graves:

grow and figure out a way to accommodate for all the people

Kile Graves:

that are moving here but not lose sight of what made

Kile Graves:

Northwest Arkansas unique in the first place. That'd be cool.

Brent Williams:

I agree. I agree. Well, we were

Brent Williams:

reminiscing, before this, I think I met you when you were a

Brent Williams:

freshman in 2012. And maybe kind of shifting gears just a little

Brent Williams:

bit as you think back to your time in the Walton College and

Brent Williams:

at the University of Arkansas. You know, and now you're six,

Brent Williams:

seven years post that, you know, helping run and build a company,

Brent Williams:

what are some of the things or experiences that really stand

Brent Williams:

out to you that you think gave you an advantage in that?

Kile Graves:

That's a good question. Yeah, I think you

Kile Graves:

know, taking your taking your classes seriously is a really

Kile Graves:

important thing. I think trying to maximize what you're getting

Kile Graves:

out of class is important, which is hard to do when you're 18 you

Kile Graves:

know, like, hey, what you're learning is really important and

Kile Graves:

will apply to you and six years from now, but telling that to

Kile Graves:

six years ago me it's hard to like hammer home. I think that

Kile Graves:

and networking and making relationships is really

Kile Graves:

important. I feel like everyone says that looking back but it

Kile Graves:

really is you know, the people you meet you know if you can

Kile Graves:

build a relationship and build a little bit of trust and network

Kile Graves:

as you continue your career and get into your career. The

Kile Graves:

people, you know, is so important, you know, being able

Kile Graves:

to ask questions and bounce things off of them, especially

Kile Graves:

in the startup world, like so much is, is leveraging your

Kile Graves:

network for everything, from fundraising, to marketing, to

Kile Graves:

product testing, to feedback, it's, you know, it's everything.

Kile Graves:

So if you have a large network of authentic relationships, and

Kile Graves:

you can really leverage them, and it gives you a gives you a

Kile Graves:

leg up, I think.

Brent Williams:

I couldn't agree more, you know, when when you

Brent Williams:

think about when I think about our students, you know, I want

Brent Williams:

them leaving the Walton College with, you know, with knowledge

Brent Williams:

and skills. I mean, of course, it's maybe one of the first

Brent Williams:

things you think about when you think about going to college.

Brent Williams:

But then layering experiences of any kind, you know, you

Brent Williams:

mentioned an internship at at Walmart or an internship in any

Brent Williams:

size company, can be super beneficial. And, and then you

Brent Williams:

cannot understate this the power of the relationships that you

Brent Williams:

form, you know, and and that network that you really start to

Brent Williams:

build, and then that network starts to expand over time. Like

Brent Williams:

those are real real value.

Kile Graves:

Yes, yeah, they're invaluable. We, I studied

Kile Graves:

abroad, in between my sophomore and junior year with Molly

Kile Graves:

Rapert. And Sam Porkstad who we mentioned earlier in the

Kile Graves:

podcast, and I had so much fun, like, just from an experience

Kile Graves:

standpoint, you know, if you're listening to this, and your

Kile Graves:

student, go study abroad, it's awesome. Like, it's the most

Kile Graves:

fun, free will you get to learn and experience things and be in

Kile Graves:

a different culture. And I think that experience of getting

Kile Graves:

outside my comfort zone was really important. Because I'm

Kile Graves:

from Fayetteville, and you know, go here, and I see people I've

Kile Graves:

known forever at the coffee shop. But going and living in a

Kile Graves:

different country for six weeks really did push me out of my

Kile Graves:

comfort zone, which I think helped transition into bearded

Kile Graves:

goat where it's like, hey, there's no rules here, sink or

Kile Graves:

swim. If you're trying to make this thing work, you got to, you

Kile Graves:

got to grind. And so I think that was an important piece that

Kile Graves:

I didn't realize, probably until the past two or three years

Kile Graves:

where I was like, man that that experience in college definitely

Kile Graves:

helped me now. And even some relationships, you know, Anne

Kile Graves:

Velliquette, I think our first or second year at Bearded Goat.

Kile Graves:

I don't know if Molly connected us or what. But we, me and Owen

Kile Graves:

somehow ended up coming and doing like a presentation for

Kile Graves:

one of their classes. And we were, Owen was redesigning our

Kile Graves:

logo, and we're getting feedback on that. And then also some like

Kile Graves:

guerilla marketing efforts, and we actually got an idea from one

Kile Graves:

of their classes for like a college rep program. And we ran

Kile Graves:

it for a couple months to kind of get some boots on the ground

Kile Graves:

in the early days. And, you know, we implemented that idea,

Kile Graves:

from a class from a student and it helped us kind of get over

Kile Graves:

the first hump of the first couple of months of business.

Kile Graves:

And since then we repositioned it and pivoted a couple times.

Kile Graves:

But yeah, if I wouldn't have had connections still at the Walton

Kile Graves:

College probably wouldn't have happened.

Brent Williams:

Well, I love that story, your story of in

Brent Williams:

some ways, the University of Arkansas and Walton College kept

Brent Williams:

you here. Right, you know, you worked for a really, really

Brent Williams:

large company and got some tremendous experience there.

Brent Williams:

Now, you've been in a startup for five or six years, and

Brent Williams:

you've still kept yourself engaged. And you know, the two

Brent Williams:

faculty members in marketing in our Department of Marketing,

Brent Williams:

Molly Rapert and Anne Velliquette, that you just

Brent Williams:

mentioned, are they do a great job of engaging business of, of

Brent Williams:

all size in with our students.

Kile Graves:

Yeah. And I think it really helps the students,

Kile Graves:

you know, when you have someone from the real world business

Kile Graves:

setting come in, and they're not that much older than you. And

Kile Graves:

they're talking to you about their experiences, and they're

Kile Graves:

asking you for your advice. I think that's when the, the brain

Kile Graves:

has like a different chamber, you know, and when you can

Kile Graves:

activate that chamber of thinking in a business, real

Kile Graves:

world business setting, that's where the learning takes place,

Kile Graves:

you know, and they do a great job of, of doing that. For sure.

Brent Williams:

They sure do. Well, you've hit on this a

Brent Williams:

little bit. You mentioned, study abroad, is something you advise

Brent Williams:

students, but just as you think about our students today, all

Brent Williams:

right. What are some of the pieces of advice that you know

Brent Williams:

from where you sit today that you would give to our students?

Kile Graves:

Yeah, I would say, this might be kind of lame, but

Kile Graves:

I would say just go get a job.

Kile Graves:

Like if you're working, if you're in the business college,

Kile Graves:

and you don't know what you want to do, which I didn't when I

Kile Graves:

was, you know, and I knew I liked business and supply chain

Kile Graves:

was interesting. So I was like, hey, I'll major in that. Go get

Kile Graves:

a job where you can work in addition to your studies, and

Kile Graves:

you can learn what you like and don't like and you can figure

Kile Graves:

out what you're passionate about and what you're interested in.

Kile Graves:

Not everyone, you know, is fortunate enough to do something

Kile Graves:

that they love. But if you can, then you should pursue it. So

Kile Graves:

yeah, I would say, just get a job, just work, figure out what

Kile Graves:

you like, figure out what you don't like, check things off the

Kile Graves:

list, compare that to what you're studying, and try and

Kile Graves:

connect the dots as much as you can between the classroom and

Kile Graves:

then your real world job, you know, as much as you can. And

Kile Graves:

the more you can do that, the four years, you're here, I think

Kile Graves:

the transition to working full time will get easier, and you

Kile Graves:

might be able to pick up speed quicker, so.

Brent Williams:

Kile, I couldn't agree with you more, actually, I

Brent Williams:

really couldn't. You know, I think about I think about

Brent Williams:

education. You know, a business school education is so enhanced

Brent Williams:

when you're learning and applying. And, and, and it

Brent Williams:

doesn't matter, I agree with you doesn't matter what job you're

Brent Williams:

doing, what company you're with, as long as you're learning and

Brent Williams:

applying and back and forth. That's how you get the most out

Brent Williams:

of out of education. But then, you know, it does teach you

Brent Williams:

what, you know, what you're interested in what you're not

Brent Williams:

interested in. And, you know, a typical student, not every

Brent Williams:

student, but you know, a typical student, you mentioned an 18

Brent Williams:

year old coming in as a freshman and leaving as a 22 year old.

Brent Williams:

There's a lot of change and transition in your life during

Brent Williams:

that period of time. So you want as much experience as you can.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, I mean, I remember I worked at Walker

Kile Graves:

Brothers through college and other

Kile Graves:

Yeah, John Cole.

Kile Graves:

John Cole, another professor. Is he still teaching?

Brent Williams:

He's not teaching, but he's still

Kile Graves:

Okay, nice. Yeah, I worked there, freshman year, all

Kile Graves:

involved.

Kile Graves:

the way through school. And I was in a fraternity too, and so

Kile Graves:

we'd go and I worked on commission. So I was like, hey,

Kile Graves:

the more of my buddies, I can get here to come by jackets and

Kile Graves:

stuff, the more my paychecks gonna be. So, you know,

Kile Graves:

inadvertently, I learned how to leverage my connections in my

Kile Graves:

job. And, you know, I was I was interested in clothing, and I

Kile Graves:

had a good outdoor clothing section in the store that was

Kile Graves:

kind of in its early stages. And so, you know, I was able to go

Kile Graves:

do that from noon to five every day after class, and then come

Kile Graves:

back and learn about supply chain. And after I did that, I

Kile Graves:

went to Walmart. And I was like, man, I really, I really enjoy

Kile Graves:

the sales and networking and marketing parts of Walker

Kile Graves:

Brothers in clothing. And then I really did enjoy the analytical,

Kile Graves:

big data, Walmart, in a retail setting type of stuff, but feel

Kile Graves:

like I wasn't able to make the impact in such a big company. So

Kile Graves:

when I came to Bearded Goat, those two things kind of clicked

Kile Graves:

or I was like, man, I like sales and guerrilla marketing, small

Kile Graves:

business. But, you know, I also like data and making projections

Kile Graves:

and analyzing stuff. And so I was able to marry those two

Kile Graves:

things up. But I didn't realize the value of a part time job. I

Kile Graves:

don't think until now, where I'm like, man, I enjoyed that. I

Kile Graves:

just didn't really know. That's what I was enjoying until I got

Kile Graves:

into Bearded Goat probably.

Brent Williams:

Well, it seems like you've taken advantage of

Brent Williams:

all of those experiences and combine them in a way now in a

Brent Williams:

role at Bearded Goat that seems to be just a great fit for you.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, it's been really fun. It's it definitely

Kile Graves:

is a good fit. You know, I wouldn't, I wouldn't change it

Kile Graves:

for anything. It's, you know, I think it's the best job in the

Kile Graves:

world because it's us three and we're, we're creating and it's

Kile Graves:

hard and the markets hard and starting starting an outdoor

Kile Graves:

apparel brand that's nationwide out of Arkansas is pretty hard.

Kile Graves:

But it's really fun so.

Brent Williams:

Well, we're glad you're here in Northwest

Brent Williams:

Arkansas. The Walton College is super proud that you're one of

Brent Williams:

our alums.

Kile Graves:

Thank you.

Brent Williams:

And so we wish you the best and wish Bearded

Brent Williams:

Goat the best and thanks for joining us on the podcast.

Kile Graves:

Yeah, of course. Of course. It's awesome.

Brent Williams:

On behalf of the Walton College thank you for

Brent Williams:

joining us for this captivating conversation. To stay connected

Brent Williams:

and never miss an episode, simply search for be epic on

Links

Chapters

Video

More from YouTube