Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jason Sealand. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Jason, thanks for joining us today. So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

Mad Viking was forged from a tight knit group of friends standing around a bonfire.. We were arguing who could grow the most epic beard. Since we could not solve the drunken debacle right then and there, we convinced each other to meet up 6 months later at a local VFW. In those 6 months, we got so much attention for the competition that the venue had to change and the idea behind the event changed as well. We went from 5-6 guys arguing about who has the best beard into a 150-200 person beard competition where the proceeds go to a charity. (Children’s Hospital) to be exact, a charity we still support to this day. We named the competition Trucker McNasty’s Battle of the Beards”. Which is a DJ name I had from my not so adulting past. The competition was a mild success. We raised $1500 for the Hospital. From the ashes of that first Comp is where Mad Viking was born. All of us as new beardos had zero knowledge of beard comps or beard clubs or even beard products. We started this with a love for getting together with friends and trying to raise money for charity. From this love is where everything else fell into place. Mad Viking was named after my Great Grandfather from a stories he told me as a kid. He was relentless on the field and did not like to lose. He intimidated other players from the mound and even got scouted by Honus Wagner for the Pirates and Yankees. He was often referred to as The Angry Swede or the Mad Viking from his earlier 1920’s-30’s baseball days. For some reason the name stuck inside my head and I carried it with me.

Jason, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I’ve always been interested in anything computer related from design to programming and everything in between. It also couples well with my love of photography. I never planned going into ecommerce though or even creating a company like Mad Viking. I kind of fell into it when I realized I had a lot of the skills necessary to survive in that world. I am 100% self taught and I am just driven by the dopamine hit of learning something new that I am interested in. Without that I imagine I would have never even gotten to where I am at. As they say, “Do something you love and you’ll never work another day in your life”. I suppose that is pretty true.

Mad Viking kind of organically happened through that beard competition we were having between the 5-6 of us friends. During that time in 2012 I realized there was a way to not only keep my beard groomed but to also make it healthier and grow better. Prior to that time I only had really short facial hair at times and never kept it for too long because of the itch that came with it. So after growing it in for a few months I realized that I needed to solve that itching problem if I were to keep growing for another 4 months.

The initial challenge between our friend group was to all start with a clean shaven face and then grow out a beard and meet up 6 months later at a local VFW to judge each other and to see who could grow the best beard. After a few weeks in we were all second guessing our decision and I took to the internet in search of answers. We were basically looking for anything that could help with this beard itch we were all going through and also to see if we could use a product that would help us grow it out faster.

There was not a lot of options back then and that was the light bulb idea moment for me. I figured I could make something that would help us all and that is where the idea for our beard oil began. I ordered a bunch of natural oils and heavily researched what each one of them was good for. After coming up with a solid list of oils and quantities I bottle a few up for friends and used some myself. By the time we got to the end of that 6 months just before our meet up and competition, I realized I was on to something as I was getting requests for the beard oils from other friends and people asking if we sold it.

So that is how the idea for making a company centered around men’s grooming began. It all stemmed from a group of friends doing a fun challenge together and trying to raise money for charity while doing it.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

So Mad Viking as a company was not an instant success. Meaning it was not something I created and could quit my day job a few days later and be able to support my family. I was a truck driver at the time and that is what I did to make ends meet. When my business partner and I started the company we agreed to keep working our normal jobs to support our families and to keep Mad Viking as our side hustle or hobby and to keep every dollar made invested back into the business for at least 2 years. Those two years became five years really fast and at that point we realized it was time to jump into the business full time. The hardest decision and pivot ever was to make that leap. It affected all aspects of our business, career and life. There was no safety net and no going back. It was succeed at all costs or die trying.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I think reputation is built by action and not by words. I realized early on if we create a product that it has to work really well and our customers need to find great utility in it. Not only does the product need to be the best ingredients, packaging and quality possible, it has to be backed by a company whose mission is to provide the customer with the best experience possible. For the first 4-5 years as a company I personally would be answering company emails as they came in real time. I remember one time of many where I would be out on a well pad (as I hauled oil tanker at the time) at 3am answering an email and getting a response back instantly from the customer at the other end thanking us but at the same time asking us what we are doing up at 3am answering emails. Its that dedication and drive through actions that builds reputation. Go beyond what is expected and do what you say.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://madvikingbeard.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/madvikingbeardco/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/madvikingbeard/
• Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jason-sealand
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/madviking_beard
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTlaG6zQuiU