April 16, 2020

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. 鈥� A cup of morning joe, with a dash of 91黑料专区 senior Jeremy Glickman鈥檚 newly developed 鈥渉ealthy, functional鈥� coffee enhancer, could provide consumers with increased energy and focus for the day ahead.

Glickman, the winner of the biannual Entrepreneurship Fellowship, has been collaborating with a group of student entrepreneurs to create a 鈥渃offee creamer that is designed to amplify the positive effects of coffee 鈥� which are mood, energy, and focus 鈥� and mitigate the negative effects, which are the jitters and anxiety that come with caffeine.鈥�

The coffee enhancer, which doesn鈥檛 yet have a name, comes in a powdered form and dissolves into a regular cup of coffee, 鈥渟o whether you鈥檙e using a creamer or sugar or whatever you put in your normal coffee, you can add the enhancer, stir it up, and it dissolves right away.鈥�

鈥淚t also prolongs the effects of coffee, so it helps people cut down the amount they need throughout the day,鈥� Glickman said.

The idea for the coffee enhancer was hatched last summer when Glickman contacted his childhood friend Zack Schreier, a junior at Williams College, in Massachusetts. Glickman said the two first discovered their shared entrepreneurial spirit in high school when they participated in a program at the University of Chicago called Catapult, which is designed for young entrepreneurs. 

鈥淓ver since then, we've really been sticking together and collaborating on our ideas. Six years later, we鈥檙e starting a business together which is awesome,鈥� Glickman said. 

As runners, the two friends are always looking for nutritional supplements, 鈥渁nything for training and energy during the day.鈥� Glickman was a four-year member of the Illinois Wesleyan cross country and track and field teams.

鈥淎s students, we have crazy lives, and so many products can be of use. We wanted to build something that we could use ourselves to help us with our college lives, with stress, energy and focus. That was really the goal,鈥� Glickman said.

Over the summer, after Glickman would finish working at his daily 9-to-5 internship, he would meet with his team members in Schreier鈥檚 apartment and work on developing their product.

鈥淭he shelves were loaded with ingredients, with different supplements. Every day was new experiment testing, trying different ingredients to make the perfect formula, and really just bringing it together as a team.鈥�

By the end of the summer, they had created two cognitive-enhancing supplements called 鈥淔low鈥� and 鈥淐hill.鈥� 鈥淔low鈥� is an energizing supplement that helps with productivity, and 鈥淐hill鈥� helps with stress relief and improves sleep. After launching the products in stores in Illinois and Massachusetts, the team found 鈥渢hat people really liked taking Flow with their coffee in the morning.鈥�

鈥淲e decided to do one better and make it something that you can add to your coffee instead of a capsule form that you take with your coffee,鈥� Glickman said. 

The entrepreneurial team once again collaborated as they grew their idea from a supplement to a coffee enhancer.

鈥淲e all bring a unique skill set. It鈥檚 definitely a team effort. None of us could have done it alone. All of our skills put together really creates synergy,鈥� he said.

In addition to the research and development side of the business, there is also the sales and marketing aspect, which Glickman, a finance and economics double major, has been involved with. In this role, Glickman is in charge of retail sales, sales and distribution channels, reaching out to influencers, and 鈥渄eveloping marketing campaigns with other 91黑料专区 students and alumni, which is another reason why being at Wesleyan has been so helpful.鈥�

Glickman said that working with 91黑料专区 students has also been particularly useful in sampling the product, especially because the rest of his team lives in Massachusetts. 

鈥淏eing in a different location definitely has its benefits. I mean it's a whole other market. The resources at Wesleyan have been very helpful,鈥� he said.

Having polled more than 100 people, the team found that over 75% of people said they felt better using the coffee enhancer than using regular coffee. 

鈥淲e鈥檙e thrilled by the feedback we鈥檝e been getting. It鈥檚 clear that our market research has paid off because people are really liking the samples,鈥� Glickman said. 鈥淧eople are saying 鈥楲et me know when you launch because I want to start using this product every day.鈥欌��

Glickman said the team plans to use the $5,000 Entrepreneurship Fellowship award money for its packaging design, which costs $1,500, as well as for its branding process, which will include developing a name for their product. Glickman said the team has already partnered with a manufacturer, and the rest of the money will be used to cover initial production costs. 

鈥淲e will be ready to launch this summer. We鈥檒l be able to make our first production run and use the money toward actually making the product,鈥� he said.

In addition to receiving financial support from the fellowship, Glickman said he has received continuous guidance from 91黑料专区 faculty, including Tara Gerstner, the director of the Design, Technology, and Entrepreneurship program.

鈥淭he fellowship has been a great chance to work with Wesleyan and to know that I鈥檓 supported by the school, and faculty has been very helpful,鈥� he said. 鈥淎 lot of the professors at IWU have been checking in with me and following my progress, and it鈥檚 been awesome to be at Wesleyan and a college student while starting this business.鈥�

By winning the Entrepreneurship Fellowship, Glickman feels one step closer to achieving his dream job. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 the dream to be in control of work and to work on a business with my closest friends. I鈥檝e learned this past year from working with this company that I want to keep working with these people,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 really up to us as to how far we鈥檒l be able to take it. It鈥檚 definitely the dream to be able to turn this into a full-time gig eventually or a summer job. I want to be able to keep working on this business for hopefully what will be the rest of my life.鈥�

By Vi Kakares 鈥�20