“It started with a sticker. That was the birth of the whole thing.”
Austin Holsinger, ’11, founded Great Lakes Proud, a bumper sticker brand, in March after graduating from Hillsdale College.
This was not Holsinger’s first experience in entrepreneurship. While studying business and marketing management, Holsinger ran a golf club repair business and started a project with three friends, National Parks Tour, that encouraged conservation efforts in American national parks. After graduation, Holsinger continued to pursue the National Parks Tour project. The idea launched, but failed shortly after.
“That failure spurred me on to start something new,” he said. “The biggest motivator was the failure.”
After spending time in California and Montana, Holsinger itched to return to Michigan, specifically the Great Lakes region.
“I felt I had a story to tell about Michigan community and culture and wanted to tell it,” he said.
Holsinger bought a 1,000 stickers with the classic blue Great Lakes logo and pursued his business experiment.
“He had an idea, and people thought it was silly, but he saw the big picture and took a risk,” said sophomore Erin Holsinger, Austin’s sister.
By the end of 2011, Holsinger sold not only the 1,000 original stickers, but also an additional 4,000 stickers. In 2012, he sold over 50,000 stickers, and sales doubled again last year. Sold in over 200 retail locations, Holsinger has taken the simple logo and created brand loyalty with character.
Josh Baker, owner of The Outfitter sporting goods store in Harbor Springs, Michigan, has sold Great Lakes Proud merchandise for three years. He recognizes his customers’ familiarity with the logo and Great Lakes Proud’s environmental practices.
“The logo is great; it’s ingenious,” Baker said. “The people love the colors and are really starting to understand the name. We are very interested in that here in Michigan: living local, buying local, shopping local.”
From the beginning, Holsinger wanted to support Great Lakes conservation efforts. He initially left it up to his customers to suggest where the company should donate. But this year, Great Lakes Proud began a working relationship with the Great Lakes Program at Shedd Aquarium Center for Conservation and Research in Chicago. Great Lakes Proud is a sponsor of Shedd Aquarium’s multi-million dollar conservation initiative, tackling problems like pollution and the invasion of non-native species.
“I think it starts with that he’s very caring,” Erin said of her impressive philanthropy. His company has always given at least 15 percent of profits back to the Great Lakes, totaling over $50 thousand.
The idea originated locally from a love of the Great Lakes, but now the logo can be found globally. Great Lakes Proud has sold stickers to all 50 states, Australia, Japan, Korea, and parts of Europe. Hollywood celebrities like Ryan Gosling and Kristen Bell have also bought into the craze.
Holsinger often receives pictures of the logo from loved ones all across the country. The Holsinger family makes a game of spotting stickers on road trips and vacations.
“It’s an awesome reminder to pull up next to one, and I’ll have a conversation with some of them,” Holsinger said.
He remembers one time when the family did not realize he was the founder, and began telling him about the company.
“I said the sticker was cool and they started telling me the story of Great Lakes Proud and how it was started by a guy who grew up in northern Michigan and wanted to do something good.They said that it said in a simple image what everyone wanted to say in words.”
