Get Giddy.
That’s the catchy marketing message behind Giddy Organics, a business begun by a recent School of Business graduate who’s selling a line of Giddy clothing and Giddy skin care products.
The Giddy message of Tyler Ward BBA ’10 is pumped into cyberspace via social media such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and through his blog and website, too.
“Giddy is a movement more than a business,” said Ward, of Tampa. “It’s a lifestyle.” He calls it “urban hippy,” rooted in health and eco-consciousness.
The business was a focus of a recent Tampa Tribune article about how young Bay Area entrepreneurs are using friends and social networks in their ventures. Ward says he develops communities of Gen Y users to interact directly with his company, a natural progression since he started the company while a student and friends were its customers.
Tyler Ward
“Social media helps give the company a voice,” he said. “It’s a more personable form of advertising that reaches a relevant audience. It makes more sense for a Gen Y brand.”
Ward’s career goals changed from law after an entrepreneurship course with Dr. Bill Andrews showed him another way to wealth and success.
“I realized it’s all about owning a business, not working for one,” he said.
Ward saw examples in two of his business teachers – Dr. K.C. Ma, Finance Department chair, who started a successful hedge fund instead of working for one; and Daryl Scott, BS ’80, MBA ’82, who started a lucrative apparel business while a Stetson business student.
Both men, said Ward, remain his mentors.
The Giddy business evolved along a “hand to mouth” route. Money for Giddy came from a Charles Schwab job, hat sales on eBay and “eating beans and rice,” said Ward.
“Tyler is very enthusiastic and putting everything he has into his new business,” said Scott, who retired after selling his multimillion-dollar business, Venus, a few years ago. “The challenges he faces are similar to the ones I faced in the early days of my own company and similar to what most entrepreneurs face during the start-up phase.”
The Prince Entrepreneurship Program in the Business School is directed by Andrews, chair of Management and International Business. Students gain theoretical and practical understandings of creating a new business venture, managing a growing entrepreneurial organization and attempting to secure venture capital.
“Tyler is a great example of the importance of getting started and seeing what works,” said Andrews. “Often, would-be entrepreneurs try to see around corners before they actually start selling. Tyler’s plan morphed quite a bit from his initial idea to what it is today, but his story is a great example of how most start-ups find their niche.”
Sound business principles guide Ward. Cash flow is “Numero Uno,” he said, something he learned in Finance courses, and the second most important thing is the customer, something he learned in Marketing courses.
“Don’t let the noise get in the way of those two most important aspects of all businesses,” he said. “You don’t learn how to run a business in class, but class points you in the right direction. If class made millionaires, then all the kids who make straight A’s would be millionaires – it’s what you do with it that counts.”
The business name is rooted in function.
“I was making liquor bottle lamps in the dorm to sell around campus, and I called it Giddy Glassware because when you drink you get giddy,” said Ward.
Giddy skin care products
He began mixing skin care products to avoid unnatural and even dangerous ingredients in products he used to treat acne. His face and body scrub, for instance, contains raw unfiltered buckwheat honey, natural baking soda, raw organic apple cider vinegar, organic lavender oil, neem, turmeric, cinnamon and aloe vera gel.
“I studied the industry like crazy, and I never stop reading and researching. It consumes my life,” he said.
The apparel line began because friends suggested that organic clothing made from bamboo and hemp fabrics are a natural match for his other eco-conscious products.
Ward says the poor job market, particularly for his age group, keeps him focused on Giddy. If he could get a high-paying job, he would take it, he said, but his salary would go to Giddy.
“Overall as a generation, I think we are becoming entrepreneurs out of necessity and lack of good jobs,” he said, and “I think good things will come of it.”
At this point, Ward said, he is “in survival mode and planning the next step” for his business. He wants to open a shop within the next year and within five years have shops in half a dozen U.S. cities with high market potential for his brand.
As my term as Dean of the School of Business Administration comes to a close, it’s fulfilling to reflect on what we’ve accomplished over the past three years.
Thank you for writing this article and supporting my business. It is truly appreciated. I am proud to be a Stetson Alumni.
Tyler Ward