Thomas Kayton & Grant Suddarth with Haley Ehrke

Engler Entrepreneurship Author

11/17/2017 Added

19 Plays

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Haley Ehrke interviews Thomas Kayton and Grant Suddarth about their experience in the Engler Entrepreneurship program.

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[00:00:00.334]Welcome to Inspired by Engler,
[00:00:02.447]I'm Haley Ehrke, an agribusiness major
[00:00:04.612]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:00:06.931]Today we'll hear from two Engler Entrepreneurs,
[00:00:09.459]Grant Suddarth and Thomas Kayton.
[00:00:11.713]So, Grant, what has made you jump start your business
[00:00:15.344]in the middle of your college career?
[00:00:16.900]To be honest, it's really been the Engler program.
[00:00:19.277]Kinda just backstory, this past summer I had an internship
[00:00:22.888]where I was working everyday in the summer
[00:00:24.896]and really came across a problem that I thought
[00:00:27.958]that could be exploited with a business idea,
[00:00:30.454]so I contacted Dr. Field,
[00:00:33.040]the director of the Engler program,
[00:00:35.118]and just kinda followed up with what I should do next.
[00:00:38.506]And really, the Engler program is the reason
[00:00:40.256]the idea I've had has turned into an actual business
[00:00:43.897]rather than just staying an idea for years.
[00:00:47.667]What have you learned about yourself?
[00:00:49.232]So, before I started my business,
[00:00:50.297]I was always considered myself a competitive
[00:00:52.999]and hard-working person,
[00:00:54.122]but besides the typical sports or academics,
[00:00:57.265]I really had nothing to test that in the real world.
[00:01:00.673]So, since starting the business,
[00:01:01.973]I've really learned that that really is who I am.
[00:01:04.779]Been able to come into work
[00:01:05.809]and really try to build the moat around my own business
[00:01:10.186]to separate myself from the competitors,
[00:01:12.253]and this has all come through in my competitive spirit,
[00:01:14.528]as well as my hard work and wanting
[00:01:16.696]to push myself in front of the other people
[00:01:18.972]in the open market.
[00:01:19.805]Before this, I had small ideas,
[00:01:21.802]but nothing I really acted upon
[00:01:24.298]or really went through the different stages
[00:01:26.501]of entrepreneurship.
[00:01:27.554]With this being new, have you found anything
[00:01:29.594]to be a challenge or an obstacle you weren't expecting?
[00:01:33.251]Every day is a challenge and an obstacle,
[00:01:35.176]I think, in entrepreneurship.
[00:01:36.592]That's something I learned awful quickly.
[00:01:39.213]Coming out of this past summer with the idea,
[00:01:40.850]I thought I had this idea set in stone,
[00:01:42.449]it was gonna come together,
[00:01:44.330]and it would be just like that, quick and easy,
[00:01:46.919]then make the big bucks, right?
[00:01:48.370]But at the same time, I learned very quickly
[00:01:51.176]that every day is a new obstacle.
[00:01:53.777]There's something that you didn't expect to come your way
[00:01:55.507]or a new piece of information you learned
[00:01:57.582]or something won't quite work out,
[00:02:00.369]so it's definitely rolling with the punches,
[00:02:03.883]having an audible, switching things up.
[00:02:05.660]And they're not always bad obstacles,
[00:02:07.700]they're just things that have to be switched up,
[00:02:09.615]and I've definitely learned that,
[00:02:10.878]but it's been a great experience so far.
[00:02:12.306]It's been fun, there's always something new to do,
[00:02:14.924]a new challenge to conquer.
[00:02:16.381]What has been the highest moment
[00:02:17.945]of this whole process?
[00:02:19.602]I think the highest moment for me is having this idea,
[00:02:22.478]formulating it into a word,
[00:02:23.825]into a presentation that you can give to my target market,
[00:02:28.535]and them agreeing with me,
[00:02:29.960]like saying yes, this is a problem,
[00:02:32.000]yes, this is something I would love to have.
[00:02:34.171]So, basically, solidifying my idea
[00:02:36.191]and really showing that my idea is valuable
[00:02:39.477]to my target market
[00:02:40.422]and seeing the satisfaction on their face
[00:02:41.998]when they hear the idea.
[00:02:43.121]What is the low of starting a business during college?
[00:02:46.392]You know, I really haven't had too many lows.
[00:02:47.953]I've had a great experience with the Engler program
[00:02:50.392]and entrepreneurship as a whole.
[00:02:52.377]If I had to name one thing,
[00:02:53.477]it's probably just the everyday challenges.
[00:02:55.253]Some days you'll come in
[00:02:56.817]or you'll start working on the business
[00:02:58.138]and come across some new detail you didn't know about before
[00:03:00.886]that you have to figure out or solve,
[00:03:04.180]but really, that's the fun of entrepreneurship as well,
[00:03:06.186]so I really haven't had too many low experiences.
[00:03:08.760]What advice would you give to other student wanting
[00:03:11.146]to start a business in college?
[00:03:13.346]Just do it.
[00:03:15.328]Just go and give it a shot, make connections,
[00:03:18.604]ask for help.
[00:03:19.689]That's been the biggest thing for me,
[00:03:20.812]is there's no way I would've got to where I am today
[00:03:23.558]without the help and the support around me.
[00:03:26.062]If you try to do it yourself, it's gonna be tough,
[00:03:28.727]but if you come in the Engler program
[00:03:30.526]or wherever you're at,
[00:03:31.672]ask for help from the ones that are older
[00:03:33.286]and wiser than you are
[00:03:34.673]'cause they're gonna have connections
[00:03:35.668]to take that next step.
[00:03:37.416]I remember coming in to Dr. Field
[00:03:40.129]and soon as I met with him he says,
[00:03:42.378]"You need to meet with these three different people,
[00:03:44.300]"they're gonna know more than I do."
[00:03:46.015]And going and meeting with them
[00:03:47.045]and just creating a bigger network around yourself is huge.
[00:03:50.710]So, if there's a college entrepreneur that has an idea,
[00:03:54.109]one, ask for help and then actually do it.
[00:03:56.463]Does school happen to get in the way
[00:03:58.039]of your business and vice versa?
[00:04:00.741]For myself, it hasn't at all.
[00:04:02.409]You know, I think I'm big on priorities.
[00:04:05.007]I think in college we have a lot of free time,
[00:04:06.885]but a lot of the time, we don't prioritize things
[00:04:10.675]the way we should, so for me,
[00:04:12.672]the business has been up there with priorities lately
[00:04:15.455]and I've been able to get good grades,
[00:04:18.126]been able to be successful with the business.
[00:04:20.030]So, for me, I think if you prioritize correctly
[00:04:22.096]and spend your time wisely,
[00:04:26.427]very easy to start your own business in college.
[00:04:29.930]Would you start a business again in college?
[00:04:32.655]Oh, for sure.
[00:04:34.101]It's been a fun experience,
[00:04:35.180]being able to meet people twice your age
[00:04:38.105]that have so much more information, wiser than you are,
[00:04:40.881]and build that network around yourself
[00:04:42.878]has just been a great experience
[00:04:44.713]and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
[00:04:47.627]Now we are gonna hear from Thomas Kayton.
[00:04:51.919]What have you learned about yourself?
[00:04:54.334]I've learned that I can be a workaholic
[00:04:57.930]and I just have to make time, I guess,
[00:05:01.814]for the important people in my life.
[00:05:04.913]Welcome to Inspired by Engler,
[00:05:06.988]I'm Haley Ehrke, an agribusiness major
[00:05:09.249]at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.
[00:05:11.510]Today we'll hear from two Engler Entrepreneurs,
[00:05:14.064]Grant Suddarth and Thomas Kayton.
[00:05:16.340]So, Grant, what has made you jump start your business
[00:05:19.878]in the middle of your college career?
[00:05:21.434]To be honest, it's really been the Engler program.
[00:05:23.985]Kinda just backstory, this past summer I had an internship
[00:05:27.468]where I was working everyday in the summer
[00:05:29.488]and really came across a problem that I thought
[00:05:32.506]that could be exploited with a business idea,
[00:05:35.014]so I contacted Dr. Field,
[00:05:37.580]the director of the Engler program,
[00:05:39.693]and just kinda followed up with what I should do next.
[00:05:42.932]And really, the Engler program is the reason
[00:05:44.825]the idea I've had has turned into an actual business
[00:05:48.467]rather than just staying an idea for years.
[00:05:52.272]What have you learned about yourself?
[00:05:53.863]So, before I started my business,
[00:05:54.870]I was always considered myself a competitive
[00:05:57.668]and hard-working person,
[00:05:58.628]but besides the typical sports or academics,
[00:06:01.876]I really had nothing to test that in the real world.
[00:06:05.286]So, since starting the business,
[00:06:06.560]I've really learned that that really is who I am.
[00:06:09.344]Been able to come into work
[00:06:10.458]and really try to build the moat around my own business
[00:06:14.681]to separate myself from the competitors,
[00:06:16.829]and this has all come through in my competitive spirit,
[00:06:19.104]as well as my hard work and wanting
[00:06:21.342]to push myself in front of the other people
[00:06:23.513]in the open market.
[00:06:24.462]Before this, I had small ideas,
[00:06:26.491]but nothing I really acted upon
[00:06:28.848]or really went through the different stages
[00:06:30.984]of entrepreneurship.
[00:06:32.095]With this being new, have you found anything
[00:06:34.228]to be a challenge or an obstacle you weren't expecting?
[00:06:37.874]Every day is a challenge and an obstacle,
[00:06:39.859]I think, in entrepreneurship.
[00:06:41.133]That's something I learned awful quickly.
[00:06:43.804]Coming out of this past summer with the idea,
[00:06:45.429]I thought I had this idea set in stone,
[00:06:47.051]it was gonna come together,
[00:06:48.967]and it would be just like that, quick and easy,
[00:06:51.475]then make the big bucks, right?
[00:06:53.027]But at the same time, I learned very quickly
[00:06:55.776]that every day is a new obstacle.
[00:06:58.365]There's something that you didn't expect to come your way
[00:07:00.060]or a new piece of information you learned
[00:07:02.135]or something won't quite work out,
[00:07:04.933]so it's definitely rolling with the punches,
[00:07:08.474]having an audible, switching things up.
[00:07:10.343]And they're not always bad obstacles,
[00:07:12.302]they're just things that have to be switched up,
[00:07:14.206]and I've definitely learned that,
[00:07:15.495]but it's been a great experience so far.
[00:07:17.001]It's been fun, there's always something new to do,
[00:07:19.564]a new challenge to conquer.
[00:07:20.861]What has been the highest moment
[00:07:22.518]of this whole process?
[00:07:24.155]I think the highest moment for me is having this idea,
[00:07:27.078]formulating it into a word,
[00:07:28.367]into a presentation that you can give to my target market,
[00:07:33.150]and them agreeing with me,
[00:07:34.700]like saying yes, this is a problem,
[00:07:36.600]yes, this is something I would love to have.
[00:07:38.737]So, basically, solidifying my idea
[00:07:40.768]and really showing that my idea is valuable
[00:07:44.028]to my target market
[00:07:44.977]and seeing the satisfaction on their face
[00:07:46.645]when they hear the idea.
[00:07:47.745]What is the low of starting a business during college?
[00:07:50.958]You know, I really haven't had too many lows.
[00:07:52.580]I've had a great experience with the Engler program
[00:07:55.004]and entrepreneurship as a whole.
[00:07:56.931]If I had to name one thing,
[00:07:58.127]it's probably just the everyday challenges.
[00:07:59.880]Some days you'll come in
[00:08:01.444]or you'll start working on the business
[00:08:02.605]and come across some new detail you didn't know about before
[00:08:05.423]that you have to figure out or solve,
[00:08:08.756]but really, that's the fun of entrepreneurship as well,
[00:08:10.749]so I really haven't had too many low experiences.
[00:08:13.350]What advice would you give to other student wanting
[00:08:15.611]to start a business in college?
[00:08:17.828]Just do it.
[00:08:19.892]Just go and give it a shot, make connections,
[00:08:23.131]ask for help.
[00:08:24.126]That's been the biggest thing for me,
[00:08:25.462]is there's no way I would've got to where I am today
[00:08:28.036]without the help and the support around me.
[00:08:30.671]If you try to do it yourself, it's gonna be tough,
[00:08:33.237]but if you come in the Engler program
[00:08:35.095]or wherever you're at,
[00:08:36.279]ask for help from the ones that are older
[00:08:37.893]and wiser than you are
[00:08:39.135]'cause they're gonna have connections
[00:08:40.215]to take that next step.
[00:08:41.976]I remember coming in to Dr. Field
[00:08:44.670]and soon as I met with him he says,
[00:08:46.951]"You need to meet with these three different people,
[00:08:48.809]"they're gonna know more than I do."
[00:08:50.512]And going and meeting with them
[00:08:51.650]and just creating a bigger network around yourself is huge.
[00:08:55.292]So, if there's a college entrepreneur that has an idea,
[00:08:58.764]one, ask for help and then actually do it.
[00:09:01.086]Does school happen to get in the way
[00:09:02.604]of your business and vice versa?
[00:09:05.285]For myself, it hasn't at all.
[00:09:06.969]You know, I think I'm big on priorities.
[00:09:09.546]I think in college we have a lot of free time,
[00:09:11.497]but a lot of the time, we don't prioritize things
[00:09:15.212]the way we should, so for me,
[00:09:17.229]the business has been up there with priorities lately
[00:09:20.073]and I've been able to get good grades,
[00:09:22.706]been able to be successful with the business.
[00:09:24.610]So, for me, I think if you prioritize correctly
[00:09:26.688]and spend your time wisely,
[00:09:30.989]very easy to start your own business in college.
[00:09:34.516]Would you start a business again in college?
[00:09:37.255]Oh, for sure.
[00:09:38.599]It's been a fun experience,
[00:09:39.551]being able to meet people twice your age
[00:09:42.602]that have so much more information, wiser than you are,
[00:09:45.458]and build that network around yourself
[00:09:47.478]has just been a great experience
[00:09:49.274]and I would do it again in a heartbeat.
[00:09:52.177]Now we are gonna hear from Thomas Kayton.
[00:09:56.481]What have you learned about yourself?
[00:09:58.896]I've learned that I can be a workaholic
[00:10:02.503]and I just have to make time, I guess,
[00:10:06.250]for the important people in my life,
[00:10:09.756]and I just need, I guess, balance in my life
[00:10:13.355]'cause sometimes I get carried away
[00:10:15.511]with almost just working too much
[00:10:16.936]and so, you just need to find that good balance.
[00:10:19.856]And then also,
[00:10:23.223]sometimes you just gotta have faith.
[00:10:27.907]I'm a big believer in that, I guess,
[00:10:29.614]that everything happens for a reason.
[00:10:32.362]Have you found challenges or obstacles
[00:10:34.388]you were not expecting?
[00:10:37.081]Oh, absolutely.
[00:10:40.564]You know, everyday there's different challenges
[00:10:43.118]and obstacles that we run into as a company
[00:10:46.555]and you know, some are minor,
[00:10:48.897]some are pretty large obstacles
[00:10:51.204]and you just either have to figure a way
[00:10:54.499]to get through them or around them,
[00:10:56.875]but persistence is key to do that.
[00:11:01.011]When I first got going in the summer of 2016,
[00:11:04.726]I mean, I was on the road.
[00:11:07.730]In two and a half months I put on over 18,000 miles
[00:11:11.271]and so I wasn't home that much,
[00:11:13.581]and so, I mean obviously, the relationships
[00:11:15.453]with your friends and whatever
[00:11:17.145]kinda goes down a little bit, I guess.
[00:11:21.786]And you know, your social life definitely goes down,
[00:11:26.291]and now, like this year, this school year,
[00:11:30.270]my grades have definitely gone down.
[00:11:32.267]What has been the lowest point of being an entrepreneur?
[00:11:36.072]Lowest point, I mean, I...
[00:11:38.835]I can't really point to
[00:11:41.759]a single most
[00:11:44.008]low point.
[00:11:44.841]I think everyday there's low points.
[00:11:49.624]There's times where you're probably struggling
[00:11:53.455]more than other.
[00:11:55.391]You know, like I said before, I mean,
[00:11:57.504]you just have countless different obstacles
[00:12:01.971]and just the adversity that you go
[00:12:03.717]through on a daily basis
[00:12:06.269]that obviously brings you to probably a low point,
[00:12:11.841]but you just, I mean, you gotta figure a way
[00:12:14.288]to get out of it.
[00:12:16.851]A big thing for me, especially as I grow my company
[00:12:20.113]and hire more employees, is just positivity.
[00:12:26.580]Negativity is just a cancer
[00:12:29.958]to your culture
[00:12:30.791]and to your company, so no matter how,
[00:12:34.529]you know, low or no matter how tough things are getting,
[00:12:38.262]you always gotta remain positive,
[00:12:39.689]and that's what I've always found, I guess,
[00:12:41.788]to get me out of that, and then again, faith,
[00:12:44.873]you know, to just kinda get out of that low point,
[00:12:48.411]but definitely, we have low points all the time.
[00:12:53.098]The positivity is probably just the number one thing
[00:12:55.289]to get out of that rut.
[00:12:57.155]What advice would you give other students
[00:12:58.554]that wanna start a business?
[00:13:00.911]I'd say the number one thing for anyone,
[00:13:04.150]students or anyone that wants to start a business is
[00:13:08.875]they gotta know how to deal with adversity,
[00:13:11.279]and just honestly the number one thing is that persistence
[00:13:14.820]and just keep chugging along.
[00:13:16.190]You know, college is kinda unique
[00:13:18.497]'cause you're kind of a full-time,
[00:13:20.656]I mean, it's kind of a full-time job
[00:13:22.441]and then, starting your own business
[00:13:27.256]is more than a full-time job once you get out of college,
[00:13:30.426]so to be able to balance those things
[00:13:33.073]can be tough sometimes,
[00:13:34.161]but along with being able to deal with adversity
[00:13:38.863]and persistence is just time management.
[00:13:41.638]That's what I've found,
[00:13:43.571]if you can manage your time well,
[00:13:44.569]you can do about anything.
[00:13:46.040]No matter if you're in college or what you're doing,
[00:13:48.351]that's kinda how I was able to do this in college,
[00:13:50.603]was kinda start things.
[00:13:54.092]I came up with the idea last semester.
[00:13:56.367]I was working
[00:13:58.314]20 hours a week as an intern for a company
[00:14:01.852]and then as a full-time student,
[00:14:03.970]and then, also trying to start this business,
[00:14:07.090]and so, time management was key.
[00:14:09.714]Obviously you have to sacrifice things,
[00:14:12.393]like your social life, to be able to do that,
[00:14:14.436]but you gotta, I guess you gotta keep in mind
[00:14:17.813]what's worth it and what's not.
[00:14:22.287]And I guess another thing, as a college student,
[00:14:24.944]is you gotta really...
[00:14:28.731]I mean, like what Paul Engler says,
[00:14:31.704]is you gotta have that fire in your belly.
[00:14:34.406]You gotta be willing to wake up at six o'clock everyday
[00:14:37.990]and some nights don't go to bed 'til
[00:14:41.916]12 or one o'clock.
[00:14:43.783]You just gotta have that fire in your belly.
[00:14:47.289]You need supportive people,
[00:14:48.656]but you also need people that are very honest with you
[00:14:53.346]when you're starting a business.
[00:14:56.791]My dad,
[00:14:59.537]I have to give him a lot of credit.
[00:15:00.834]I kinda disliked him at the time for always
[00:15:08.099]just kinda ripping apart my ideas and stuff,
[00:15:10.766]but you gotta have someone in your life.
[00:15:14.153]If you're wanting to start a business,
[00:15:15.276]you gotta have someone like that
[00:15:17.403]'cause if you don't, you're gonna put a lot of time
[00:15:20.561]and effort into something that's probably not,
[00:15:23.092]is probably not gonna survive, it's not gonna last,
[00:15:25.983]and so, I guess you gotta have those supportive people
[00:15:28.990]and you gotta have people that, you know,
[00:15:31.149]no matter what are always there for you,
[00:15:32.458]but you also gotta have those people
[00:15:33.747]that are willing to tell you the truth
[00:15:36.100]and tell you what, you know, what it's really like,
[00:15:39.582]and are able to rip apart your ideas.
[00:15:42.208]Does the business get in the way
[00:15:43.537]of school and vice versa?
[00:15:45.984]Oh, absolutely.
[00:15:49.069]You know, I'm a full-time student,
[00:15:50.238]but I really, I mean, I'm never really in school.
[00:15:54.937]I'm very fortunate that Tom has,
[00:15:59.401]oh, and Dave Lambe, have allowed me to take some classes
[00:16:04.445]and get credit for it with my business and stuff.
[00:16:08.058]Without that, I'd probably, it'd be pretty tough
[00:16:10.578]to be graduating on time or graduating at all.
[00:16:15.129]Would you do this again?
[00:16:16.089]Yeah, I mean, like I said,
[00:16:18.849]it's kinda in my blood.
[00:16:20.980]I've always wanted to start my own business
[00:16:24.720]and I'm sure this isn't the first business I'll start.
[00:16:28.879]It's kind of a disease almost
[00:16:30.768]and I'll always have it,
[00:16:32.309]and so, absolutely.
[00:16:35.023]Thank you for tuning in to Inspired by Engler.

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Thomas Kayton & Grant Suddarth with Haley Ehrke

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