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Alex Pratt, founder of fast-growing Good Boy Vodka, shared his story Sept. 16 with Southwestern Michigan College Business Club, which packed the Student Activity Center theatre.

President Cole Kilboy presented Pratt with a Business Club shirt members autographed.

At 30, Pratt is starting to see dividends from five years of long, anxiety-drenched hours carving a 1-percent niche in a tremendously competitive $350 billion industry.

His Facebook profile photo pictures Pratt in a Good Boy Vodka cap with President Trump.

“The ceiling of our market is endless,” Pratt said. “There’s so much opportunity. Think of all the golf courses and concert venues.”

Though frenetic, the pace befits his interests as a former professional motorcycle racer and 200-mph powerboat fan. He pursues his love of motorsports by racing in the Porsche Sprint and Endurance Challenge.

No wonder Pratt, who divides his time between Benton Harbor and Tampa, launched the spirit in 2020 during powerboating at the Lake of the Ozarks in central Missouri.

Good Boy and its ready-to-drink seltzer and cocktail brand is distributed in 45 states and focused on selling 6 million cases next year.

It was a leap from the family trailer manufacturing business in Bridgman, Pratt Industries, when it sold to private equity, to a partnership with the bad boy of professional golf, John Daly, known for swigging Arnold Palmers (lemonade and iced tea) laced with vodka.

Good Boy, with its dog logo, has grown to 70 employees and is in the process of hiring 60 more.

Another partner, Travis Pastrana: Citrus Circus, is a stunt performer known for freestyle motocross, rally racing and NASCAR. His product is based on his favorite drink, the Maryland Orange Crush, where he’s from.

“Our company’s culture is very high-energy and fast-paced,” said the man who has compared building a business from the ground up to jumping off a cliff and building a plane on the way down.

“People speak loudly to get their points across. That doesn’t work for everybody, so we try to hire people who align with our culture. We also look for individuals with entrepreneurial spirit.

“When we started, we wanted to hire aggressive young people right out of college until we realized the beverage industry is built on relationships, so we went through a transition to hiring older people who really understand the markets. We offer positions in sales, HR and state and area managers.”

COO Siva Masetty worked for Pratt’s father for 15 years before joining Good Dog three years ago.

Incentive bonuses are one way to motivate employees, Pratt said, “but I like to motivate people outside of monetary considerations, like the good our brand does giving back through our foundation, because a lot of people can pay more than we can, and we don’t want to lose our people.”

Just as his SMC talk was a way of giving back, the Good Boy Foundation supports military veterans, retired service dogs and animal shelters nationwide.

Slogans “premium cocktails with a purpose” and “every pour helps a pup” is expanding their reach to include women’s causes, such as breast cancer recovery and empowerment programs. Pratt’s mother is a breast cancer survivor.

“My dad always instilled in us (he has two sisters) to give back, even if the karma doesn’t come back around tomorrow, the next day or even next year, it will eventually,” said Pratt, a graduate of Siena Heights University in Adrian.

Pratt said a big challenge cracking the beverage industry was navigating regulatory mechanisms and licensing which vary from state to state.

“You’d hate to have a good idea go bad because you broke a law you didn’t know existed,” Pratt said.

“We use social media and celebrity partnerships to spread our brand. I was the marketing team when we started. Now we have both males and females for a broader perspective.”

Pratt said Good Boy relies on co-packers, companies that manufacture and package products for other brands to their specifications.

New businesses hire co-packers to leverage their specialized equipment, expertise and facilities, allowing them to scale operations while reducing infrastructure costs, getting products to market without massive initial investments in production and packaging.

Pratt suggested a few steps back can actually set you up to leap forward if you learn quickly from mistakes and apply those lessons to future decisions.

“It’s important to start when you’re young,” Pratt said. “When you’re married, have kids and a stable job, it’s way harder to risk everything to try something new. If you guys have ideas, start immediately.”