I feel as if what were doing, were playing a baseball game, he says.
And were probably somewhere in the fifth inning right now.
His collegiate efforts earned him a spot as an undrafted free agent for the Toronto Blue Jays in 2011.
Kris Dehnert,left, CEO and partner and Randall Thompson, president and founder, pose for a portrait inside the Thompson Mug Co. production facility in Bartow, Florida. Tina Russell/The Penny Hoarder
For most, following one path only to see it end sooner than expected is a major setback.
And in a few short years,Thompson Mug Companywas born.
No Interest Til Almost 2027?
It was there, in the dugout during practice, that Thompson had a lightbulb moment.
A hitting coach cut the barrel off a bat so the players could focus on gripping the handle.
He went through a ton of different trials and prototypes before he finally got it right.
He started out with a chop saw and a vice.
He also bought a wood-burning kit from his local Michaels arts and crafts store.
It wasnt good by any stretch of the imagination, he says with a laugh.
But it was a place to start.
This prototype led to days and days of frustration.
Next, he decided to buy a drill press despite knowing next to nothing about the tool.
I slowly bring down the drill press and the bit just lightly touches the barrel and just BOOM!
It just flings [the barrel] against the wall.
He quickly repacked and returned the drill press.
Over time, he started asking himself better questions and developed a solid product.
By June of 2016, he was ready to introduce the Dugout Mug to the world.
And he wasnt picky when it came to side jobs he says he basically started seeing dollar bills everywhere.
Thompson funneled pretty much everything he made into his new company.
The next thing that happened, he calls fate.
Dehnerts profile revealed that he was an entrepreneur.
The two chatted over a beer and parted ways.
After thinking on it, he decided to focus his efforts on Thompson Mug Company.
After all, it was beer, baseball and e-commerce what was not to like?
That meant leaving the full-time job and side hustles behind.
By mid-March, Dugout Mugs were being sold online and at a rapidly increasing rate.
says Dehnert of the amount of money being made.
They temporarily shut down production for properly regroup.
Within a couple of months, they were set up with a new manufacturer and facility.
From there, sales quickly ramped up again, leading to a very busy end of the year.
We had girlfriends, wives, moms, everybody in here packing for Christmas last year, says Dehnert.
The massive Blue Jays order was a full-circle moment for Thompson.
Despite the mid-year shut down, Thompson Mug Co. sold over $1 million worth of merchandise in 2017.
The company also recently launched itsofficially licensed MLB line.
A Team Effort
The success of Thompson Mug Co. is very much a team effort.
In a lot of ways, they operate like, well, a baseball team.
Each staffer even has a nickname for instance, Dehnert is Promo because hes always out promoting the product.
They feed off each others energy, bouncing back and forth when telling a story.
With years of entrepreneurship under his belt, Dehnert has self-proclaimed short memory and thick skin.
His charisma is infectious and networking is in his blood he is instrumental in securing new licensing deals.
Dehnert thinks that if Thompson could only do one thing forever, it would be dreaming up new stuff.
Meanwhile, his one thing would be selling shoulder to shoulder, high-fiving athletes.
Together, their different mindsets create a third eye, and it makes the partnership work.
Thompson doesnt think the company would be at the level it is today if it werent for Dehnert.
He sped up my learning curve, Thompson says.
He forced me to get uncomfortable and thats… thats where growth comes in.
Next Season
Dehnert and Thompson have a pretty clear vision for Thompson Mug Companys future.
Theyd like to continue to expand the product offering, but stress the measure twice, cut once method.
And not literally, although this is wood were talking about, so maybe a bit literally.
And theyve both talked about the possibility and logistics of selling the company someday.
I dont want to necessarily reflect on a win until we get through the full nine.
I just want to be fully engaged in the moment, he says.
For the time being…
I kind of just want to be pitch to pitch.
Kaitlyn Blount is a staff writer at The Penny Hoarder.
(Can you sense my millennial sarcasm there?)
You know which ones were talking about: rent, utilities, cell phone bill, insurance, groceries…
