Meet Chris Gronkowski | CEO Ice Shaker Inc.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Chris Gronkowski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Chris, what do you attribute your success to?
Playing sports at the pro level taught me a lot. I was in some amazing organizations that function at the highest level. When I went into business, It took me a while to realize that the business is the same thing as playing on a team. The only difference was that my role had now changed. I was no longer the player, I was now the coach. My job wasn’t to perform, it was to organize and build the coaches, the systems, the processes to allow us to win.

For the first 4 years of the business I tried to do everything myself. I didn’t delegate responsibilities and I felt like I was doing something wrong when I passed off responsibilities to my team. After talking to a few mentors, I realized that by giving my team more responsibilities and giving them the abilities to make their own decisions, it made them more apart of the team and just helped build the culture.

If you want to be successful in business and scale up significantly, then you have to put processes in place, and build an amazing team.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Ice Shaker was started as a product that I wanted for myself. After a trip to the gym during a hot Texas summer day, I came home looking for shaker bottle that would mix my drinks but would also keep them cold. After searching everywhere, I realized that there was nothing like it on the market and that day the idea for Ice Shaker was born.

I took all the things I loved about a shaker bottle and then fixed all the things I didn’t like. Ice Shaker was made of a kitchen grade stainless steel that wouldn’t absorb odor. It was insulated to keep my drinks cold for 30+ hours. It had an easy to hold handle and fits into all cup holders. And has a patented twist in agitator that will break up powders and is silent when you shake it.

Started anything from the ground up is extremely hard. I was lucky to get on ABC’s Shark Tank just 6 months into the business and landed a deal with Mark Cuban and Alex Rodriguez. This definitely jump started the business.

I had so many mistakes along the way and learned so much. One thing I learned is that you can’t do it all yourself. You have to build an amazing team, you have to form some great partnerships and with your partnerships everyone has to win or they won’t last.

Customer service is huge, stand behind your product and service and it will eventually pay off. Give the best service that you can and people won’t just come back, but they will tell their friends about you and your product as well.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
If a friend was in town, I would take them to the warehouse. I would show them everything we have going on with the business. I would then have to take them to grab some Texas BBQ. We would definitely have to get a workout in, and I would have to show them what a Texas high school football feild looks like. Last but not least we would have to go to a Mavs game, stars game or to a cowboys game.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My Dad has been in business for 32 years. I grew up working in his warehouse and delivering fitness equipment for him. What he has accomplished is amazing, and I am constantly asking him for advice.

Website: www.iceshaker.com

Instagram: @iceshaker

Twitter: @iceshaker.com

Facebook: Facebook.com/IceShakerbottle