Today we’d like to introduce you to Max Gondek

Hi Max, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.

Now this could be a very long story but I will try to keep it short and sweet. I am an Engineer for my day job (which unfortunately I still have) and I have always wanted to make some sort of tangible product I could sell. This has been an idea in my head for years but it was my wife Lauren who indirectly gave me the motivation to start GondekEDC.

She started her own business in a different industry and got really busy really fast. At first I worked out a bunch and ran through my Netflix queue, but within a week or two I got pretty bored. It was the perfect time for me to start GondekEDC and design our first product, The Traveler.

Fast forward about four years are now my wife and I both work on GondekEDC, her previous business has closed, and we are pursing this with the goal of quitting the day job. We have around 100 different products on our store right now and always trying to expand and grow the business.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?

Of course not! haha. When I first started I thought we would instantly sell out and I would be successful within a month. Reality hit me quite quickly and I learned business was just as much marketing as it is making great products. I have never been a big social media guy but my wife pushed me to make accounts in multiple places to get the name out. It has helped a lot but in itself a struggle with the ever change “algorithm”.

We have also had issues on the production side of things. We make a majority of our gear by hand but do outsource some of our machining work to local shops. Once we had a finishing issue with a huge order that I had to refinish throughout the night in order to get the shipment out. Just another day in the life of a small business owner.

I am sure I could make a list pages long with different examples but we always try to pivot when we need to. Hasn’t failed us yet.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?

GondekEDC makes everyday carry (EDC) gear. This consists of all sorts of items but we mainly focus on knives, handkerchiefs, pouches, and pry pars. All of our products are made in the USA which is something we feel very strongly about.

What we believe sets us apart really can be summarized in our motto: good people making good gear at good prices. Ever decision we make follows this. Whenever customers reach out to us we always try to treat them with respect and make their experience with us as positive as possible. Nothing brings us greater joy than going above and beyond for a customer. Of course quality is important but to us we see this as a given. Can’t sell bad products. The final aspect is the good prices. For example we sell our handkerchiefs for $10 mostly and call them Hamilton Hanks (after the $10 bill). Other makers of similar products charge $20+ each. My day job in manufacturing has taught us the importance of throughput and utilizing our time. Because of that, we are able to keep our prices as fair as possible.

What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?

Never stop learning. This is something I have tried to incorporate in my life throughout all aspects, but is especially important in our small business. There are always new technologies, new products, and new trends to stay on top of. If you stop learning, you almost always start moving backwards in our opinion.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gondekedc.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gondekedc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/gondekedc/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@GondekEDC