Students Start New Businesses at Midd

Middlebury Entrepreneurs is a Winter Term course that offers students the opportunity to create their own business or non-profit organization. Applications require a product proposal, and students often continue to develop and market their projects long after January. This year, the final products originated from a range of interests and innovations.

Will Stevens ’16 and Ian Bearden ’16 hit the ground running with Champlain Fresh Brew, their originally bottled organic cold brew coffee. In the kitchen of the Old Stone Mill, Bearden and Stevens use Vermont Coffee Co. beans to brew what they market as a “sweeter, more caffeinated and less-acidic” brew. They have also resurrected the growler system, (a bottle exchange process once reserved for beer) to personally bring their coffee to students, resident, and local businesses such as the Grapevine Grille in Middlebury. Looking ahead, Bearden and Stevens may soon offer samples around campus to gauge interest. They encourage students to “drink in the scenery” at champlainfreshbrew.com and to explore their Instagram page, @Champlain_Fresh_Brew.

Charles Archambeau ’16, Jon Broome ’16 and Mark Perry ’16 developed a line of post-workout snacks known as Clutch Food.

“We believe there is a gap in the quick-service food market for a food service that targets people with specific fitness and health goals,” Archambeau said. “Diet is as important as the workout itself when trying to get or stay in shape, but people tend to seriously overlook what they put in their bodies after a workout.”

In response, the group aims to make Clutch Food a healthy, tasty and affordable alternative to similar products on the market, and is pioneering the line with the Clutch Powerball, an organic energy bar. More snack items, such as smoothies, will be designed to provide different nutritional benefits tailored to specific workout goals. For example, a high protein but low calorie snack will be available for those who wish to build muscle without gaining excess weight. Snack items will be sold in the coming months to students, and Archambeau, Broome and Perry said they hope to make a deal with varsity teams to sign up for season-long subscriptions.

Josh Espy ’17 designed his expressive hat — named Flock — so that millenials could “react in real time to our social environment.” This “meme on a stick” can be manually propped up at will to display a joke, picture, logo or any other desired message. In a lighthearted nod to biomimicry, Espy likens both the shape and function of the Flock to a peacock’s plume, from which he also derived the name. The caps are currently used in social settings, but Espy is working to spread the appeal to sports fans and political campaigns. Students can order pre-made designs or customize their own flock at go/flockon.

Web-based technologies were also popular this year. Maddison Brusman ’18.5 created a community newsfeed app called Click that allows students to create and subscribe to local topics known as “pods.” These pages can include pick-up sports games, snow conditions, parties and political groups. “Really anything you can think of,” Brusman said. Click has been approved for distribution on the app store by Apple and will soon be available for free download. Students can learn more at www.getclick.click.

Keeping with the trend of community networking, Matt Linkous ’17 developed a dating website named Flock (unaffiliated with Espy’s product). Students can generate a list of crushes, and if there is a match, both parties are notified Thursday at noon, or “Flock-O’Clock.” Down the road, Linkous, with the help of Gordon Nickerson ’17, plans to implement more features on the website that will allow students to find mutual interest in events such as colloquiums and sports games. “There are a lot of people who are tangential in our lives and I’m hoping this will allow for more cross-over,” Linkous said.