We recently connected with Jason Mathe and have shared our conversation below.
Jason , thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Are you happier as a business owner? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job?
As a entrepreneur I own several businesses, I started at a young age, straight out of high school I started working for my dad, he at the time owned a landscaping company and still currently owns it, I worked for him for a few years and learned the craft. Which was a semi ordinary Job 7-330ish every week day and most Saturdays for only a half day. I had a lot of freedom and really no responsibilities after work and for a kid right out of highschool I was making really good money. One day I decided out of the blue why not just open my own company and do the same as him and be partner companies, I had no clue at the time what I was getting myself into,,long hours, very little take home money for the first few years, completely weather dependent. But I never gave up and now that company has grown enough and generated enough i could start my next business venture which was completely by accident. I designed and tested s new type of fishing lure, a In-line Rattle system, that can be added to most presentations thought out the fishing industry, bass, walleye, musky just to name a few. I started this venture back in 2019 so fast forward to 2022, I ended up patenting this new rattle, after that had 2 licensing deal fall through. At that time I really didn’t know what to do, I spend all this money on patents and making a good product in hope of just getting a royalty check each month, I looked all over for manufacturing, US was extremely expensive and couldn’t afford to compete with my competitors, China I could never find a reliable source to make my new rattles into the fishing baits i designed and tested. September 2022 was the time everything changed, I entered myself and business into a reality Tv show, that was based around entrepreneurship and you compete against other entrepreneurs for all levels, from start ups to multi million dollar companies. The Blox is the name of the show and only took 60 people in the country to compete, to my surprise in September 2022 after applying and going through a 4 phase interview process, I was casted for the show, 50 thousand applications and only 60 people were chosen for season 6 for the Blox and I was one of them. So I went down to Kansas City and filmed a tv show for a week and learned more in that week than I had my entire business career. When I returned i had a completely new mind set, and decided to take this Tackle company I was forming and start manufacturing myself, I purchased a injection molder, few more 3D printers, all the equipment to paint, assemble and package. I built my own website, and started to try and sell, which was way tougher than I thought. Now 2023 I’m gaining retailers and selling, many nights of no sleep and endless worry. I often think back on the days of a regular job and how much easier it was but if it was easy it wouldn’t be worth it. This life style is draining, it has its highs and lows, but at the end of the day no matter what day I’m on, day 2 without sleep, I never regretted my decision to open and press on even when the odds weren’t in my favor. I found it’s extremely hard for a small business to get a loan, so I struggled to manufacture enough to make ends meet and to make enough to buy bigger and faster equipment. I am currently at that point that I’m able to purchase bigger and faster equipment and it’s a breath of fresh air.
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?
Getting into the tackle design and manufacturing business wasn’t ever the plan but sometimes things just fall right into place. My background in this industry is I fish at the professional level, pro walleye angler. I design and manufacture some of the most unique fishing products on the market. Currently hold 2 US patents, for my Juggernaut In-line rattle system. I pioneered this type of component for walleye fishing and to be more specific i designed it to use on night crawler harness, years of testing went into making this possible. I’m very proud of myself for setting the example and never giving up on your dreams, I often get messages from people saying I gave them the inspiration to follow their dreams by showing them regardless of circumstance anything you want, you can go get. Nothing is impossible. I designed a product for multiple applications of use so I could target individual markets within the fishing industry and I did that with 1 component, no company has ever done this before. My designs will change the fishing industry’s how anglers target fish will be different, in my design I hit all the key aspects for triggering fish to bite, visual, vibration, sound, and scent. I have a saying 1 component 1000 uses, if you can think of a bait it can be added to or a new design utilizing this rattle the possibility’s are endless, everything from fresh water to salt water, bass to walleye. The limit is there is no limit.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
My pivot would be a bigger one considering I had zero knowledge going into it or even how to make it. I went from just a Tackle designer that made prototype, to a full scale manufacturer. This I had to learn by trial and error
How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?
Funding my business was a huge challenge that took a long time, working my full time job as owner of a landscaping company I was able to save enough money for a small scale operation in manufacturing, gaining traction and income along the way and saving until I was able to scale up the size of my equipment.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ghosttacklecompany.com
- Instagram: Jmathe20
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jason.matheghosttackle