No Sweat for SCORE to Help Backpack Ventilation Biz

Brice Sokolowski doesn’t like sweating when he’s wearing a backpack.

“I just sweat profusely no matter what I do,” Sokolowski, owner of Vaucluse Gear LLC, said. “I found that I’m not alone.”

Instead of grinning and bearing it, Sokolowski, two and a half years ago, launched his Scottsdale-based, predominantly e-commerce business, and began creating attachable ventilation backpack frames and related gear to keep the backpacking community cooler while their bags are in tow.

“This is great: I get to keep my backpack and upgrade the ventilation system,” Sokolowski said. “It really is a match made in heaven.”

Judges for SCORE’s 60th Anniversary Pitch Competition in Los Angeles seemed to agree. Sokolowski’s business won third place in the competition, which drew interest from more than 2,200 small businesses. Ultimately contestants were pared down to 60 contenders who presented their pitch live before panels of judges at the five events, with three winners recognized at each event. Leading up to the competition, participants were paired with a SCORE mentor to help refine their pitch, strengthen their presentation and hone their business plan.

Sokolowski teamed with SCORE mentor Andrew Flippo, who helped him tweak and strengthen the pitch over several versions.

“He’s running a successful business already,” Flippo said, adding that Sokolowski is “on the right track” for scaling his business. “He’s continually iterating over the product. He’s aware that there’s always ways to make it better.”

While Sokolowski initially targeted the backpacking community in his marketing, he has since expanded to focus on a broader audience.

“Every adult human being has worn a backpack at some point,” he said of the estimated $100 million market. “The target is quite big. I’ve seen exponential growth with my sales.”

To zero in on his target, Sokolowski used his $5,000 prize to run Facebook ads, which he said had the biggest return on investment, yielding $15,000 or more in sales.

He is in the process of obtaining a license with Arizona State University, which would allow him to sell his gear at student stores.

Looking ahead to the company’s third year, Sokolowski plans to focus on product improvements and manufacturing on a much larger scale.

Sokolowski, who first connected with a SCORE mentor a decade ago while working as a nonprofit fundraising consultant, credits SCORE with keeping him informed through business-focused webinars and really serving as a “network of interesting people with interesting ideas.”

Being selected to participate in the pitch competition opened his eyes to “a whole different side of SCORE.” In his most recent experience, SCORE provided small business owners and entrepreneurs with an inside-look at “Shark Tank.”

While he thought the probability of winning was “finite,” SCORE’s no-cost mentoring and knowledge base have always been more definitive.

“The probability of getting some really good advice or resources is extremely high,” he said. “They’re always reinventing or inventing something new or providing some new type of information. You need to understand how the wheel of biz operates. SCORE helps you operate that efficiently.”

To learn more about SCORE, request a mentor or volunteer to be one, visit score.org.

About SCORE

Since 1964, SCORE has helped more than 17 million entrepreneurs start, grow, or successfully exit a business. SCORE's 10,000 volunteers provide free, expert mentoring, resources and education in all 50 U.S. states and territories. Visit SCORE at score.org.