Winston Starts is delighted to announce the new partnership between Community Brewing Venture(CBV)and our cohort member UpDog Kombucha. This partnership will expand the UpDog Kombucha brand with the CBV investment of capital, marketing, and production resources. Olivia Wolff and Lauren Miller began their business at Wake Forest over a bond for yoga and kombucha. They started selling kombucha from their dorm rooms and using social media platforms like Instagram to market their product. What began as a dorm room business began to grow into a flourishing undergrad business. They were selling hundreds of bottles a week to their Wake Forest classmates.
Eventually, Startup Lab, an accelerator program run by the Center for Entrepreneurship at Wake Forest University accepted Lauren and Oliva into the program, and they received mentorship and resources to create the foundation for UpDog Kombucha. “The mentorship and resources we received from Wake Forest have been unparalleled. The Center for Entrepreneurship helped us lay the groundwork for UpDog’s success and continues to be incredibly supportive,” said Lauren.Winston Starts established a partnership with the Wake Forest Center for Entrepreneurship which allows Dan Cohen to choose a company out of his Startup Lab class that he feels is ready to scale and fits Winston Starts admission criteria. This selection then gives the company direct admittance into Winston Starts upon graduation. “We felt confident that UpDog would thrive as a participant in Winston Starts, and they would benefit greatly from the mentoring provided there. So it was a perfect fit between Wake Forest CFE and Winston Starts and this exciting outcome for UpDog shows the power of this partnership”. This program introduced UpDog Kombucha to Winston Starts, and they joined the cohort in February of 2018.
During their time at Winston Starts, we committed to nurturing the UpDog team, developing and scaling their business ideas to a level of sustainable success. We understand that startups need a network of nurturing, knowledgeable, and supportive people and mentors to help them take their business to the next level. “Lauren and Olivia have been an energetic, dynamic duo, and we have enjoyed being a part of their journey, and we are thrilled that they have reached this milestone. The cohort will miss their kombucha, but we will miss their smiling, positive energy the most. We know they have a vibrant future ahead of them, and we look forward to having them part of our growing alumni group here at Winston Starts”, said Besty Brown, Director Winston Starts.
“Being a part of Winston Starts helped me tremendously to be where I am today with UpDog Kombucha. The mentorship at Winston Starts is phenomenal. The connections I made with other cohort members allowed me to learn from them and share the experiences.” Lauren also mentioned how being in the space provided a feeling of community and support that she will never forget. “Being a part of Winston Starts and receiving expert mentorship from multiple individuals inspires me to become a mentor to someone, I just want to share all of the things I learned.”
Winston Starts is honored to have UpDog Kombucha join alumni status and continue to grow their brand with CBV. We’ve created an inspiring environment with a rich array of business resources at Winston Starts. This environment is dedicated to helping startups scale up their business to the next level. We are committed and purposeful with our “long runway” of programmed support, and we look forward to continuing our mission of economic development through entrepreneurship. Learn more about Winston Starts by visiting our website at www.winstonstarts.com
Winston Starts now open for enrollment for Spring 2021. Visit our website to apply now.