The co-founders of Three Jerks Jerky are celebrating the launch of a new Kickstarter campaign for its newest flavor, Veri Veri Teriyaki.
It’s a collaboration with Asian sauce and marinade brand Soy Vay.
The new flavor will join the regular roster of unique flavors produced by Three Jerks Jerky: Original, Memphis BBQ, Chipotle Adobo, Maple Bourbon Churro and I Can’t Believe It’s Not Hamburger. They also recently launched Filet Mignon and Pork Belly Blend premium burgers.
Daniel Fogelson and Jordan Barracos began making jerky in a home kitchen before launching their company in the summer of 2013. They set up a Kickstarter campaign with a goal of $20,000 in 30 days. The campaign ended with almost $46,000, making it the highest grossing jerky on Kickstarter at the time. Now they are setting a goal of $10,000 to raise capital to launch their new flavor.
“People always ask us, ‘Did you start because you love jerky?’ The answer is no. We started because we didn’t like jerky and thought it could be much better,” said Daniel.
They discovered the secret to making great jerky was using filet mignon. “When you look at filet mignon, it’s a holy grail food item,” said Jordan. “It’s put on a pedestal and people serve it for special occasions. We said to hell with that. It shouldn’t be a 1% food. It should be an everybody food, so we decided to figure out a way to enjoy it every day.” The jerky is also gluten-free, nitrate-free, and doesn’t contain artificial ingredients.
Friends loved it and that encouraged them to launch a business. They also felt the love when they appeared on the ABC show “Shark Tank” in 2015. They had four sharks fighting to invest in their product and ultimately they signed a deal on the show with Daymond John, CEO of Fubu. He gave them $100,000 for 15% of their company, which was the exact terms they sought when they entered the Shark Tank. That appearance propelled them into explosive growth. “We grew 650%,” said Jordan, “The majority occurred in a a month and a half. It’s challenging to maintain stability. We continue to grow really fast and it’s hard getting the scale we need to match demand.”
The college roommates say going back to Kickstarter for the new flavor is a cool experience. “We’re also doing something that’s never been done before,” said Jordan. “We’ll match 5% of everything we raise and give back to other young entrepreneurs working to start to their own business.”
“Through this process of going back to Kickstarter, I watched our original campaign. We started this business from nothing,” Jordan continued. “We’ve come a long way in a short amount of time. It’s possible if you put your mind to something to pull it off. We’re not the only story around that can talk to that, but it brought me back to realizing what we’ve accomplished. If you have a dream and there’s a business you want to do, just do it. If we were able to pull it off, anybody can.”
Following the campaign, Veri Veri Teriyaki will be available on the company website for $9.99 and at retailers across the U.S.
