We recently connected with Christian Schauf and have shared our conversation below.

Christian, appreciate you joining us today. Crazy stuff happening is almost as certain as death and taxes – it’s technically “unexpected” but something unexpected happening is to be expected and so can you share a crazy story with our readers

There’s been a lot of crazy moments. What comes to mind is launching the company. The first product, the Seventy2 Survival System, was an idea I believed in, but very few others did. Regardless, I put my life savings into the idea and went for it. I launched in November and I promised delivery by Christmas – assuming at the best we would sell a couple hundred units. When we sold over 1,500 in a few weeks, it was a serious problem. I had only bought enough supplies for 1,000 and assumed that would last me a year or more. My small apartment turned into a warehouse assembly line and I literally hired anyone I could to help me build kits and ship them.

In addition, we had sales to over 40 countries which forced me to spend countless hours simply figuring out how to print labels, fill out customs forms and get thousands of large boxes picked up for delivery. I remember taping my fingers because they were bloody from building for weeks on end and carrying load after load of boxes to the curb for the UPS guy. I knew the cutoff day for holiday deliveries was coming, and on the day the UPS driver showed up, I literally gave him a beer as a way to make him hang out a bit longer so we could package and label the remaining kits. What a wild start to it all.

Christian, 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’m a farm kid from Wisconsin. I’m big on community, family, integrity, and authenticity. My life has taken me all over the world, and my career and passions have been extremely diverse. From recording music with Prince, racing snowmobiles in 35 below zero, spending my 30th birthday in Saddam Hussein’s former home, to hunting the Arctic Circle for weeks with nothing but what’s on my back… these experiences have given me a rare perspective on everything from human behavior to brand building to community, and it’s all dovetailed into Uncharted Supply Co.

And I think that perspective is really important to the brand’s origin. Uncharted wasn’t just an idea we developed based on stats, built in a factory, and put some marketing behind. No, my expert team and I actually live the experiences behind the brand. Each product comes from an honest place of personal experience and desire to create products that can change the world for the better.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

I constantly consume podcasts, audio books, and articles on everything from politics to product to entrepreneurship. It’s really hard to put my finger on one or two examples. That said, there are a few that come to mind:

Shark Tank – when I was building Uncharted, Shark Tank was constantly playing in the background. While simple, the questions the sharks asked over and over were important when it comes to building a solid business. It was a great litmus test as I was working in a vacuum, building the initial stages of Uncharted. I was always making sure I had a great answer for every question, and that was probably very helpful when we were selected to appear on Season 9.

Books like Shoe Dog and Losing my Virginity are great perspectives into a few hyper successful individuals (Phil Knight and Richard Branson). If I pulled anything from those books, it’s that entrepreneurship is hardly ever a straight line. These guys were down to their last penny more than once, and they continued to drive ahead. Building Uncharted has definitely had its ups and downs, and it gives me a lot of courage and confidence in those hard times to know that the guys I’m aspiring to be like in a business sense endured similar struggles.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

If we’re going to build products that we toute as life-saving, then they better damn well be. Oftentimes, this has come at the expense of an attractive margin, and frankly, we probably lose a lot of potential customers to cheaper and less effective alternatives. But I know for a fact that our products work in the time of need, and over time as our customers find themselves using our products, the quality of the gear shines and that message gets shared. I recently added up every review on our website, which was thousands, and our average review out of 5.0 is a 4.952. We sell to multiple government agencies, and dozens of former and current special forces operators buy our products for themselves and their loved ones. These are all things I’m very proud of.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://unchartedsupplyco.com/?keyword=uncharted%20supply%20co&gclid=Cj0KCQjwnP-ZBhDiARIsAH3FSRc1W_MBLES1RF7s7Ysty_-o8V-q6icnu7xdFOsTJblsl_PqeR62is8aAjbTEALw_wcB
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unchartedsupplyco/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unchartedsupplyco/
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/uncharted-supply-company/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/unchartedsupply
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/UnchartedSupplyCo

Image Credits
Uncharted Supply Co.