Grip’n’Strip offers versatile water-bottle sleeves in many different sizes with a magnetic attachment and key-chain clasps. This water-bottle sleeve allows you to attach your phone, your wallet, and your keys. The product makes it easy to carry your belongings whether you are at the gym, at school or on an adventure.
Grip’n’Strip is one of the many student startups in the Company Launch program at the Lassonde Entrepreneur Institute for summer 2019. This program provides office space and in-kind resources to grow their business. Grip’n’Strip also competed in Opportunity Quest at the University of Utah and advanced to the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge where they found success by scoring in the top 8 of the competition.
The founders of Grip’n’Strip, Kathy Nguyen and Pia Bingham graduated this year with business degrees from Salt Lake Community College. Nguyen and Bingham both met in their marketing class and realized after working on an entrepreneurial project they would make a great team.
Bingham and Nguyen discussed the importance of getting out of your comfort zone and being willing to learn new things. Pia Bingham said, “We are learning as much as we can every single day.” Nguyen added, “Get yourself out there; the more you talk to people the more you get connected to them.”
The founders of Grip’n’Strip, Kathy Nguyen and Pia Bingham, met in a marketing class.
The inspiration for this water-bottle sleeve started 5 years ago. “I was really unhealthy and unhappy with my body,” Bingham said. “I decided to change this. I went to the gym, and am a whole new person now because of it.” Throughout this whole new process, she watched people at the gym to see what people brought. This then led to her next question: “Where are they putting their keys, and their phone, and how do they carry all of these items at once?”
This is where Grip’n’Strip began.
This company’s target audience is the fitness industry, with expansion to recreational sports and activities. Grip’n’Strip is currently in the prototyping phase perfecting and enhancing their product to be best suitable for users.
Their next step will be getting their product into the market for mass production. These unique water-bottle sleeves will be available to consumers within the year. They plan to sell on social media, to retailers and local gyms.
Grip’n’Strip offers versatile water-bottle sleeves in many different sizes with a magnetic attachment and key-chain clasps.
