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

Cort, appreciate you joining us today. We’d love to have you retell us the story behind how you came up with the idea for your business, I think our audience would really enjoy hearing the backstory.

I started Sauce Toss in 2014 as a way to bring hockey to football tailgates at my alma mater- Iowa State. There was a lot of bean bag toss and other games we all know and love. I thought it would be cool to put a hockey stick in your hand in a tailgating setting.

I started making prototypes and found a design I thought might work. Took it to market in October of 2015 and when I put it online, it went viral.

Sauce Toss is basically “Bean Bag Toss” for hockey players. Take it to the beach, the rink, tailgates, camping, basically anywhere you would play yard games. There’s a small middle net worth 3 points and a large outer net worth 1 point, play to 21. We received a patent for it in 2018 and is the only patented hockey yard game.

A little background on the name, Sauce Toss name originates from a Saucer Pass, which is a skillful pass used in hockey, where the puck floats and flies like a “flying saucer”. ‘Tossing Sauce’ is a very familiar slang term used by hockey players, to describe this artful pass.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

I played hockey competitively through college, and when I was going to more tailgates with my friends, I wanted a way to bring hockey in a yard game form. Hockey has always been a big part of my life.

I was in medical device sales for 9 years- from orthopedics to robotic surgery. I started Sauce Toss initially as a passion project.

In 2019, I was talking with my friend John Vadnais, who is a serial entrepreneur (recently featured on Shark Tank for VaBroom), we decided to take it on full-time. Now, with the success of Sauce Toss, we are branching out and bringing several different and disruptive hockey products to market.

I am most proud of having an idea, believing it could work, and taking the risk to take it to market. I remember vividly when I first was sketching out concepts in my room and my roommates laughed at me, but they became a pivotal part of Sauce Toss’ launch. To see it bring so much joy to people around the world makes me feel so fulfilled.

Can you tell us the story behind how you met your business partner?

It’s crazy to think, but almost every opportunity in my life has been related to hockey. I met John, because my best friend Brad Krueger at Iowa State played together. John and I immediately hit it off, because I loved his entrepreneurial spirit. My dad is an inventor, and when I met John, I was so intrigued with his vision and spirit of innovation. We always stayed in touch and he was a pivotal inspiration to me starting Sauce Toss, now we our co-owners marching hand-in-hand.

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

I was in a successful position doing medical device sales. I really loved it, but always felt I could do something more fulfilling. Don’t get me wrong, I really enjoyed helping surgeons and staff treat there patients better. Being in surgeries all day was taxing at times, but was the closest thing I can relate to preparing and playing hockey. I loved helping the people who actually make a direct impact on patients through the products I sold and the support I provided.

So leaving that was scary, uncertain, and I couldn’t have done it without John. I had built up a wealth of medical knowledge, which didn’t pertain to building and scaling a business. I had to learn a completely different skill set which John was able to provide.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://saucetoss.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/saucetoss
• Facebook: facebook.com/saucetosshockey
• Linkedin: linkedin.com/in/cortbulloch
• Twitter: twitter.com/saucetosshockey
• Youtube: youtube.com/saucetoss
• Other: tiktok.com/@saucetoss

Image Credits
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