First-year MBA student, Collin Straka, has spent the last year working for tech companies in the Bay Area, living the “Tiny House” life in a modified van. He says, with a laugh, that the most common question he received was, “Where do you shower?!”
“I would go to the gym every day before work to shower,” Straka said. “That doesn’t mean I ever actually worked out — but I was at the gym every day.”
Straka soon discovered one of the problems living in a van is that there is no place to dry a wet washcloth. “Initially, that is what motivated me to look for solutions. I couldn’t dry anything in the van, so I had to figure out a way to get clean without a loofa or washcloth. A friend mentioned this scrub thing, and she had me intrigued.”
Body scrubs are scented mixtures of sugar, salt, coffee or other ingredients, typically marketed towards women, used to exfoliate and get clean. Because the scrub itself is mildly abrasive, no laundry is required.
“After stumbling across body scrubs, I started working with my friend and cofounder that had 20 years of experience in the soapmaking business,” Straka said. “We brainstormed some scents and ingredients that would make a scrub more masculine smelling than what was on the market.”
And with that, Dirty Man Scrubs was born. Straka shared the product with several friends, and soon requests for body scrubs started to come in.
Dirty Man Scrubs uses coffee grounds sourced sustainably from cafes in Salt Lake City.
“I realized that we had a great idea, that filled a need in the market,” he said. “The U and the Lassonde Institute have been absolutely instrumental in helping me launch this product. From Troy D’Ambrosio giving us market and legal mentorship, to Get Seeded providing a grant that allowed us to release two new scents, to the faculty and students in the MBA program that tried every new iteration of the scrub. They say that it takes a village, and that is definitely true for Dirty Man Scrubs.”
When asked what advice he would give to other aspiring entrepreneurs, Straka said, “The biggest thing you have to overcome is yourself. Your mind makes excuses that keep you from action. You are the only thing in your own way. Lassonde has helped me by pushing product development, marketing, and sales faster than I could have ever done on my own.”
Learn more at www.dirtymanscrubs.com.
