We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jackson Harris a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Jackson, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Coming up with the idea is so exciting, but then comes the hard part – executing. Too often the media ignores the execution part and goes from idea to success, skipping over the nitty, gritty details of executing in the early days. We think that’s a disservice both to the entrepreneurs who built something amazing as well as the public who isn’t getting a realistic picture of what it takes to succeed. So, we’d really appreciate if you could open up about your execution story – how did you go from idea to execution?
In 2018, I was a college student at Columbia State Community College studying business. One weekend my grandpa Bobby, came into town to stay with us. One evening while he was getting ready for bed, he came out of the bathroom from shaving holding a jar with a solution inside of it and a series dates labeled outside of the jar. I asked him what’s inside that jar? and why do you have dates on the side of it? He said, “This is a solution that I developed years ago”. My grandpa spent his career as a chemical engineer working for some of the biggest chemical companies in the world; with experience in everything from product development to overseeing multi-billion dollar chemical plant construction builds. So I knew whatever was in the jar had to be interesting. I asked him what did the solution do. He explained to me that after he shaves, he submerges his razor in the solution. The solution sanitized and lubricated the blade. The compounds in the solution would bond with the hydrogen molecules(water) on the steel and would accelerate the evaporation process, extending the life of the blade by over 1000%. It was an alcohol based solution with anti-microbial and anti-corrosive elements.
While thinking about this over the next week, I decided to write an article for my college newspaper about how college students can save money on razors by using this solution. While writing this article, I had the epiphany that the solution could be bottled and sold in stores and online. So, I hit the drawing board.
I discovered the best method of delivery for this solution was a mist/spray nozzle that would deliver just enough product to coat the blade and be effective. Then I transitioned to a branding phase. I came up with the name, “Stay Sharp Solutions” and started working with a graphics designer to develop the packaging. I was happy with the final prototype and invited an entrepreneur friend of mine to breakfast to discuss the idea. My friend enjoyed the product concept and helped me set a meeting with the Digital Treehouse marketing agency. About a week later, we were all three sitting down for coffee and looking at the packaging and discussing the product concept. After a few hours of discussing details, the owner of the marketing agency made me a partnership agreement. Their agency was to provide the resources to rebrand the packaging, develop the website, produce brand content, and help market it on social media. I was thrilled and quickly accepted the offer.
The following six months would be spent working with more designers, web developers and supply chain sources.
The final brand name was decided to be “Grandpa Bobby’s” and the product name was “Razor Savor Serum”. Not long after the product launch, Grandpa Bobby’s advertisements were being heard on some of the biggest radio stations in the country and featured in magazines and articles. It was even voted “Best Father’s Day Gift” in 2019 by City Lifestyle Magazine. The product was placed in barber shops and boutique stores across Middle Tennessee and I couldn’t be happier.
Today the product is still in stores and still available for purchase online at Grandpabobbys.com.
This is the story of my first licensed business and my official introduction to entrepreneurship.
Jackson, 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?
Both of my parents owned their own businesses when I was growing up. My Dad, Jimmy, owned a marketing agency and my Mom, Elizabeth, ran multiple entities within the spa world. I always had little side hustles growing up. From selling off-brand iPhone chargers in a virtual store to walking nearby neighborhoods offering pressure washes. When I was 14 my mom helped me start a little summer business called “Jack of All Trades.” I would go door to door seeing if people needed help with anything. I patched holes in walls, cut grass and weeded. If there was something more complex than I thought I could do myself, I would call our family’s handyman to come look at it. I owe a lot to my Mom and Dad’s support of my interests and goals especially in music and martial arts.
When I was 21 I became interested in the Cannabis market and decided to take a go at it. I visited farms, met with stores and researched the market. I ultimately came up with the brand name “Delta Therapeutics.” I was talking to my Dad about it one night and he told me that my cousin in Knoxville had been doing that for a while. He sent me his number and I called him the next day. It turned out that not only was my Cousin Steve running a business out of Knoxville called “Sweet Leaf,” but that business was generating almost 2 million dollars in annual gross revenue. Steven set me up with a supply of the highest quality products available, educated me on the variety and taught me how to sell it with complete confidence in its quality.
About a year later, my Mom, Elizabeth, took on the effort of rebranding and operating a home design and private contracting company called Uni-Pro (Universal Professionals). She Quickly had the website under works and new accounting and sales systems in place. Before I knew it, she was dealing with contracts that were over $700,000. Once I saw those kinds of numbers, It was an easy decision to accept her previously extended invitation and come on board. I partnered with a company called Rubix Lines LLC so they could take care of the cannabis accounts while I shifted focus.
The contracting business was amazing. Nashville is such a booming town that there was plenty of work to be done. I was able to observe mainly residential and some commercial building processes. There was a lot of responsibility that came with managing accounts and keeping up with everything. I remember one time I had to drive an hour away to a lumbar yard to give them the specs on a new build and purchase the lumbar package. After showing them the blueprints they calculated an estimate and I swiped a debit card for about $47,000. That was the most money I had ever seen! little did I know, later that year we would liquidate a commercial building in Franklin for about a million dollars. Again, I was amazed and excited to be around. I got a great deal on a nice ride, we bought a home in Brentwood and put it in the company name so we could stop paying rent on multiple living spaces; We took trips to the Keys looking for opportunities while vacationing; it was a great year.
In 2022, I met Gary Sadker, the founder of Red Ridge Entertainment Inc. & Magenta records – a label that had been operating successfully in Nashville for over 30 years. Me and Gary got to know each other and quickly started working together. He would call me out to play on music videos, come to the studio sessions and have lunch to talk about his industry. Growing up in Nashville, I’ve seen my share of starving musicians and failed production companies over the years. I had an instinctive resistance to the industry because of that. Gary had been doing this a long time. He’d produced music for Porter Wagoner, worked on music videos with Alan Jackson, did personal favors for Tim McGraw and had a studded staff of top notch musicians who had played, produced or composed with everyone from Miley Cyrus to Morgan Wallen. He had a huge range of capability and utilized it for 30 years in Nashville. I was definitely intrigued. Gary offered me a role as a consultant on operations and I was delighted to participate. Before long, I found myself knee deep in the operations of a Nashville Entertainment Company and loving every moment of it. I myself had been a musician my whole life, to work with some of the best musicians in the world was such an honor. Gary had introduced me to a world that I endear to this day when he offered me a partnership at the record label. I accepted an equity offer and began to phase out of the construction contracting role with my mom. I was still around to help if I was needed but my focus was elsewhere. a few months into it, I acquired one of my biggest clients to-date, “Grupo Bal.” This conglomerate was the largest producer of silver in the world and owned about 15 arenas throughout South America that were dedicated to bull fighting. They contracted me to represent their organization to the American Talent agencies, particularly WME and CAA. When my mom originally helped me evaluate the record label for the partnership agreement, her interest was mainly in supporting me. She didn’t really have an interest in being directly involved on a day to day or weekly basis. That changed when things started to take off some and she came on board as a partner and CFO. Although she’s not involved in the day to day operations, she’s still a highly respected member of the Label’s board and someone who changed the complexion of the company entirely. Most of my time now is spent working with private clients on a broad scale of business management and marketing projects.
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
In 2018, I was a college student at Columbia State Community College studying business. One weekend my grandpa Bobby came into town to stay with us. One evening while he was getting ready for bed, he came out of the bathroom from shaving holding a jar with a solution inside of it and a series of dates labeled outside of the jar. I asked him what’s inside that jar? And why do you have dates on the side of it? He said, “This is a solution that I developed years ago”. My grandpa spent his career as a chemical engineer working for some of the biggest chemical companies in the world; with experience in everything from product development to overseeing multi-billion dollar chemical plant construction builds. So I knew whatever was in the jar had to be interesting. I asked him what the solution was. He explained to me that after he shaves, he submerges his razor in the solution. The solution sanitized and lubricated the blade. The compounds in the solution would bond with the hydrogen molecules(water) on the steel and would accelerate the evaporation process, extending the life of the blade by over 1000%. It was an alcohol based solution with anti-microbial and anti-corrosive elements.
While thinking about this over the next week, I decided to write an article for my college newspaper about how college students can save money on razors by using this solution. While writing this article, I had the epiphany that the solution could be bottled and sold in stores and online. So, I hit the drawing board.
I discovered the best method of delivery for this solution was a mist/spray nozzle that would deliver just enough product to coat the blade and be effective. Then I transitioned to a branding phase. I came up with the name, “Stay Sharp Solutions” and started working with a graphics designer to develop the packaging. I was happy with the final prototype and invited an entrepreneur friend of mine to breakfast to discuss the idea. My friend enjoyed the product concept and helped me set a meeting with the Digital Treehouse marketing agency. About a week later, we were all three sitting down for coffee and looking at the packaging and discussing the product concept. After a few hours of discussing details, the owner of the marketing agency made me a partnership agreement. Their agency was to provide the resources to rebrand the packaging, develop the website, produce brand content, and help market it on social media. I was thrilled and quickly accepted the offer.
The following six months would be spent working with more designers, web developers and supply chain sources.
The final brand name was decided to be “Grandpa Bobby’s” and the product name was “Razor Savor Serum”. Not long after the product launch, Grandpa Bobby’s advertisements were being heard on some of the biggest radio stations in the country and featured in magazines and articles. It was even voted “Best Father’s Day Gift” in 2019 by City Lifestyle Magazine. The product was placed in barber shops and boutique stores across Middle Tennessee and I couldn’t be happier.
Today the product is still in stores and still available for purchase online at Grandpabobbys.com.
This is the story of my first licensed business and my official introduction to entrepreneurship.
We’d love to hear about how you met your business partner.
In 2022, I met Gary Sadker, the founder of Red Ridge Entertainment Inc. & Magenta records – a label that had been operating successfully in Nashville for over 30 years. Me and Gary got to know each other and quickly started working together. He would call me out to play on music videos, come to the studio sessions and have lunch to talk about his industry. Growing up in Nashville, I’ve seen my share of starving musicians and failed production companies over the years. I had an instinctive resistance to the industry because of that. Gary had been doing this a long time. He’d produced music for Porter Wagoner, worked on music videos with Alan Jackson, did personal favors for Tim McGraw and had a studded staff of top notch musicians who had played, produced or composed with everyone from Miley Cyrus to Morgan Wallen. He had a huge range of capability and utilized it for 30 years in Nashville. I was definitely intrigued. Gary offered me a role as a consultant on operations and I was delighted to participate. Before long, I found myself knee deep in the operations of a Nashville Entertainment Company and loving every moment of it. I myself had been a musician my whole life, to work with some of the best musicians in the world was such an honor. Gary had introduced me to a world that I endear to this day when he offered me a partnership at the record label. I accepted an equity offer and began to phase out of the construction contracting role with my mom. I was still around to help if I was needed but my focus was elsewhere. a few months into it, I acquired one of my biggest clients to-date, “Grupo Bal.” This conglomerate was the largest producer of silver in the world and owned about 15 arenas throughout South America that were dedicated to bull fighting. They contracted me to represent their organization to the American Talent agencies, particularly WME and CAA. When my mom originally helped me evaluate the record label for the partnership agreement, her interest was mainly in supporting me. She didn’t really have an interest in being directly involved on a day to day or weekly basis. That changed when things started to take off some and she came on board as a partner and CFO. Although she’s not involved in the day to day operations, she’s still a highly respected member of the Label’s board and someone who changed the complexion of the company entirely. Most of my time now is spent working with private clients on a broad scale of business management and marketing projects.
Contact Info:
- Website: rrnashville.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100065656011540&mibextid=LQQJ4d