Jared Drinkwater shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Jared, a huge thanks to you for investing the time to share your wisdom with those who are seeking it. We think it’s so important for us to share stories with our neighbors, friends and community because knowledge multiples when we share with each other. Let’s jump in: What are you most proud of building — that nobody sees?
One of the most underrated parts of starting a business (with a young family) are the life lessons it teaches your kids. I have four kids who were 18, 13, 13 and 9 when I launched Low and Slow three years ago and they have been fully engaged since day one. They’ve seen the highs, the lows, and everything in between and now understand nothing special in life comes without a ton of challenges and hard work. Most importantly, they all believe it’s not impossible to take an idea from your backyard to shelves at Walmart if you put your mind to it. So no matter how my journey unfolds, I feel like I’ve won.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I smoke cheese puffs for a living. No seriously, that’s my job.
Low and Slow is the first ever authentically smoked, craft BBQ cheese puff company. Took us almost two years to figure out a way to create a manufacturing process to smoke snacks as scale and we are now making our way around the country, including some stores across the great state of Colorado.
Appreciate your sharing that. Let’s talk about your life, growing up and some of topics and learnings around that. What’s a moment that really shaped how you see the world?
Growing up my stepfather worked for Reebok and as a result, I got to meet some pretty cool athletes growing up including Len Bias, the #2 pick in the 1986 NBA draft. The same night I met Len at a Reebok event in Boston, MA, he flew to his alma mater (University of Maryland) where he did drugs for the first time, had a lethal reaction, and passed away. I remember vividly shaking his hand just a few hours before and when learning of the tragic news, couldn’t believe someone so strong and full of life could be gone so quickly. Was a powerful lesson about just how fragile life can be, and taught me to appreciate every day.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t worry about not being the smartest person in the room. Your ability to connect with people will end up being way more important than what you get on your History exam.
I think our readers would appreciate hearing more about your values and what you think matters in life and career, etc. So our next question is along those lines. What would your closest friends say really matters to you?
Laughter. Might sound silly, but I was taught at an early age laughing makes for a happier life. As such, even though I’m extremely competitive I try not to take life too seriously. Any day I can make someone else chuckle (even if it embarrasses my family), is a win.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. Are you doing what you were born to do—or what you were told to do?
Definitely doing something I was born to do. Entrepreneurship has been in my blood forever, just took me 49 years to make the leap. I truly feel like everything in my life and career led me to this point – to launch this exact company. I’m leveraging everything I’ve learned about creativity, storytelling, management, relationships, sales, etc. to create a powerful brand that helps people connect through the power of BBQ.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lowandslow.com
- Instagram: @lowandslowsnacks
- Linkedin: https://linkedin.com/in/jdrink
- Facebook: @lowandslowsnacks
- Youtube: @lowandslowsnacks
Image Credits
Ben Yanto
