How many students can say that they own their own business as a freshman in college? Better yet, how many can say that they have owned one since their senior year of High School? Paul Kaster, as a senior at Rockhurst High School developed his own company creating wooden bow ties. Yes, wooden bow ties.
Paul has always been passionate about woodworking, and has been doing it since he was only 12 years old. Something that started off as a hobby combined with his entrepreneurial spirit, and after launching a Kickstarter campaign to finance equipment, he opened an Etsy shop and began wholesaling to retailers. In 2016, his company Crooked Branch Studio made a $20,000 profit.
In an article published by Stacy Downs in the Kansas City Star Paul says, “The biggest compliment I receive is that the bow ties look just like fabric. I’ve worked hard at refining them so that they’re three-dimensional. Most wooden bow ties are either too thin or chunky like the one I received. These are somewhere in the middle.”
Downs writes “you can find Crooked Branch Studio bow ties at Made in Kansas City stores, Flying Pig Local Mercantile in the Crossroads Arts District and Varnish and Vine in the West Bottoms. The wooden ties — for people and pets — sell for between $35 and $50.”
Paul has tried many other products, from pet bow ties, to cutting boards, to coffee tables. He tests things on a small scale, and if they take off, he adds them in as a popular addition to his collection. He says that his failures have helped him learn more than his successes ever have. Paul is down to earth, and values when people chose his product over other more popular options. He has carved a niche for himself using a middleground between passion and professional experience.
I asked Paul what he values about his success. His answer reaffirmed that USC students are giving, driven, and dedicated to bringing people up around them when they have success in their endeavours.
“My business donates 10% of its profits to a local Kansas City food bank named Harvesters. It all started when my business was much smaller, but it’s a pledge that I’ve been committed to keeping as my business grows because I know that as I and my business do better so does my community. The food bank that I donate to has really embraced the social entrepreneurship approach to what they do and they work to leverage their limited resources to feed as many of the 300,000 hungry people in their service area as possible. It’s a great charity and I love supporting it with my business!”
Now, Paul is working on expanding his wholesale presence in wooden bow ties. In addition, his newest project is developing a bow tie made from carbon fiber. Stay tuned for the newest innovations in bow tie tech and checko ut his products here: crookedbranchstudio.com
