01:09
Ely Key Highlight
Show up. Show up, and do the work, and make yourself valuable.
About Ely
- Key originally heard about switchel from his father, who used to drink it when he worked the family farm in Vermont.
- He made a batch and introduced the beverage to his friend (and now co-founder) Garrett Riffle.
- The two were business and design-minded, so they decided they could team up and sell the beverage.
- They made their first batch and took it to the farmer's market, where they made a $200 dollar profit.
- In the early days of Up Mountain's history, the two spent a lot of time tweaking the recipe, and bottling and packaging by hand.
- Says if they cared only about making profits, there are ways they could compromise their product.
- However, they've chosen to put their core values-reusable bottles, for example-ahead of their need for money.
- Says the best thing a young person can do is to show up ready for the job and bring something new to the table.
