Banking on KC – Devon and Darrin Griesemer
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Kelly Scanlon:
Welcome to Banking on KC. I'm your host, Kelly Scanlon. Thank you for joining us. With us on this episode are Devon and Darrin Griesemer, the son-and-father duo behind Devon's Autism Driven. Welcome to both of you.
Devon Griesemer:
Thank you.
Darrin Griesemer:
Thank you.
Kelly Scanlon:
Glad to have you here. Devon, I'm going to start with you. Tell us about yourself and why you started Devon's Autism Driven.
Devon Griesemer:
Well, after high school, Dad and I had to find out the hard way that the services for young adults are unfortunately lacking, to say the least. Everyone that we talked to promised a lot, but just couldn't deliver. We realized, after a year of dealing with that, putting out over 100 resumes and only having two interviews, we figured out it was time to do something different if I wanted to truly get ahead in life. That is why we started Devon's Autism Driven.
Last year, myself and another autism-based business were keynote speakers at the Richard L. Simpson Conference, where we got to speak in front of 200 special ed teachers and professors from across the country. We have opened a lot of eyes to the potential that is out there, and we hope to inspire and promote young adults on the spectrum as well.
Kelly Scanlon:
It's to create jobs and it's also to create awareness, a dual mission there. Why was a franchise like Sweet Daddy Corn such a good match for you, Devon?
Devon Griesemer:
I really enjoyed cooking and I loved socializing with people. My uncle had the opportunity with a business partner to buy out the original owner of the Sweet Daddy Corn company when they retired. I had the opportunity to go with my dad to my uncle's one weekend, to help pop in his trailer for an event. I got to get in the trailer with him and help out. I realized pretty quick how much fun that was for me and what a great opportunity it might be to start my own business, and show everyone that told me and my father my whole life that I couldn't do something or won't be able to do something just how wrong they were. Here we are three years later, and I'm thriving.
Kelly Scanlon:
What exactly is Sweet Daddy Corn, the product that you sell?
Darrin Griesemer:
Sweet Daddy Corn was a gourmet kettle corn that a couple over in Tulsa, Oklahoma, started years ago. He used to pop it for friends and family. My brother's business partner convinced them to start selling it, and it took off so fast. The guy actually quit his job, and they traveled around and did that solidly for seven or eight years before they decided to go ahead and retire, and then gave my brother and his business partner, since they talked him into selling it, the first option to buy them out, so they had the opportunity to buy them out.
That particular kettle corn, which is the original flavor that we carry, is one of the most addictive-tasting kettle corns that anybody's really ever had, and it shows, just in the short time and the growth in the few years that we've had it up here in Kansas City, just how rapidly it's become a massive hit from a kettle corn perspective. It's a little different than most of your kettle corns, because most of them are just oils and sugars. This one has a multitude of ingredients in it, and it just gives it a deeper, richer, bolder flavor than most of your traditional kettle corns, and it catches a lot of people off guard because it is just truly amazing.
Kelly Scanlon:
When you talked about the original owners traveling throughout the United States selling it, how is it sold?
Darrin Griesemer:
Yeah, so we have a portable vending trailer. They had two when they had done the buyout and we brought one of those trailers here for Devon, and it's an electric-based system. It's a stainless steel system. It's not your traditional cast iron, like what you see guys out there stirring at these traditional markets. It's all enclosed. We basically have a very cyclical program, that goes from the freezer to the popper to the sifter to the bagger, and then it goes into storage tubs. We either sell it live or we take those tubs to our other locations throughout the market, and distribute as we move forward.
Kelly Scanlon:
How do you decide where to be? Do people hire you like they hire food trucks to come to events? How does that work?
Darrin Griesemer:
Yeah. We've had multiple requests to be at different locations, to set up for pop-up events or charity events or fundraisers for schools or churches. We work with quite a few companies that are autism-based, so when they have a fundraiser at a charity, either take those bags to those locations, but our trailer is presently at the Kansas City Zoo. We're at the River Market every weekend from eight to three, down here in Kansas City.
We were fortunate enough to get set up there initially, and then the chefs happened to be out there from the zoo one day and grabbed a handful and walked about five feet, and they turned around and came back and said, "Buddy, we've been all over the world, but we've never had kettle corn like this." They invited us to the zoo to come down and have a conversation. Next thing you know, we're popping live seven days a week at the Kansas City Zoo.
Kelly Scanlon:
You stay busy then, it sounds like.
Devon Griesemer:
Yep, except for the rainy days and really hot summer days, and most definitely the winter. Too cold for me to pop.
Kelly Scanlon:
You sell at the zoo, you sell down on the riverfront. Are there any other places that you sell this, Devon?
Devon Griesemer:
We sell at Starlight Theater, like every show that they do. It started when they were getting emails from their season ticket holders requesting my kettle corn to be sold at their location. We soon became a permanent fixture for all of their events as well.
Kelly Scanlon:
That's incredible. These are people who had experienced eating your kettle corn from other places and they wanted Starlight to bring it in house? That's impressive.
Devon Griesemer:
We have retail bags that are also sold at Powell Gardens in Kingsville, Missouri, and we are working on multiple other large venues as well. NASCAR is the most recent addition. We have been to a couple of races so far and have quite a few more in the works. Keep your eye out. You may see us at a couple large stadiums coming soon as well.
Kelly Scanlon:
Oh, we will have to watch out for that. Talk to us about each of your roles in the company. You're here as a father-son team, so what do you handle, Devon, and what do you handle, Darrin?
Devon Griesemer:
What do I handle? Well, I handle popping, the sequence that I memorized, with the right amount of the ingredients, how long it takes for it to pop, and then I dump it out onto a sifting table.
Kelly Scanlon:
You are responsible for making this delicious product that everybody seems to be raving about?
Devon Griesemer:
Yes.
Darrin Griesemer:
Well, I've been a business coach for years, and generally what I would do for a company is if they're starting a new division, I would go in and basically set the platform division, work with their individuals from a consultative level and build that department up. On average, spend two to three years there, build the department up, and then move on to another company and do the same thing for them.
As we transitioned and Covid was coming around, I just put it in my head, I'm going to commit two years solid to really building this up for him so he basically would be set up full-time. Recently I just became the chief operations officer for the company, and I literally have no other companies that I'm working with right now, so I can put 100% of my focus right here. It obviously makes all the difference in the world. I try to take care of all the contacts and structuring everything for him so he can focus on popping and selling every day, but I include him in all of that too.
Any decision that is made, him and I sit down, we go over it, make sure it's the right fit for him, what his thoughts are. I never take 100% responsibility of anything that this company does without his input, because I think that's key in him learning as much about running a business himself, and I think that's what's going to truly benefit him. I'm not going to be here forever, and so knowing that he can run this business without me is the ultimate goal at the end of the day.
Kelly Scanlon:
These other flavors that you have, did you come up with the recipes for those? Did you create those?
Devon Griesemer:
Well, there was a point that I thought, well, if we can do alternate flavors instead of just the usual original. The one flavor I came up with was lemon, because of my taste for lemon. This is a spring and summer flavor, and if you put it in a freezer for some time and take it out later and you get it while it's nice and cold, it tastes like a Popsicle.
Kelly Scanlon:
Really?
Devon Griesemer:
Yep.
Kelly Scanlon:
You have seasonal flavors like lemon. What are some of the other flavors that you offer?
Devon Griesemer:
When fall comes, I switch from lemon to a pumpkin spice flavor.
Kelly Scanlon:
You're giving Starbucks a run for their money there?
Darrin Griesemer:
Exactly.
Devon Griesemer:
I have that flavor out up 'til Thanksgiving, because after that I switch over to an apple pie and gingerbread and I make that up 'til Christmas. We're working on making other flavors.
Darrin Griesemer:
A couple of our more popular flavors right now, we have a vanilla rum and a cinnamon habanero. That's our spicy one. Beer drinkers and wine drinkers love that one.
Kelly Scanlon:
What do you think is your most popular?
Devon Griesemer:
I'd say the vanilla rum is most popular. Depending on where we sell it, we just sell out of it in a day or two.
Kelly Scanlon:
Do you have this all pre-popped before you get to your location?
Devon Griesemer:
I have it pre-popped.
Darrin Griesemer:
He pops live every day at the zoo, so anything that we take to other locations is generally always popped that day or the day before. We generally try not to let product sit very long before it moves, and fortunately enough, it moves fast enough that we don't have to worry about it.
Kelly Scanlon:
It sounds like it. We talked a little bit about your vision at the beginning of our conversation, but let's take a little bit deeper dive on that. It's more than a job to you. You're trying to create awareness. Just recently you spoke to 200 people, for example. What's your long-term vision for Devon's Autism Driven? What would you like to see happen because of the fact that it exists?
Devon Griesemer:
Our vision is simple, to prove to the world that those on the spectrum are more than just basic task performers. Companies, schools and government programs continue to put these kids in a box that the books try to get you to lock into.
As we continue to scale upwards, our hopes are that we continue to coach families to focus on the passion and the strength of each child and put their focus through. We have had four other families that have met me and started businesses for their young adult on the spectrum, and all have found so much joy and pride in what they do. One day we hope to say 4,000 families have done this.
We love to give back to organizations that do so much for the young adults on the spectrum. We take all of my tips and donate them to multiple organizations across the metro, in hopes that what money we bring to the table will help other families look for answers as well. We are also a great resource for different programs if we ever needed them.
Kelly Scanlon:
What types of programs are you thinking about here?
Devon Griesemer:
Well, there's a SOAR Special Needs group, that I donate to them every second Tuesday of the month, because there's activities for a couple of hours that we do.
Darrin Griesemer:
They focus on young adults outside of high school, similar to the other program that you were talking about. We've worked with Paws 4 Autism before in the past, which they provide service dogs for individuals on the spectrum. Hope Outdoors is another one, where they bring in young adults that are either on the spectrum or disabilities or handicaps, and they provide equipment and take these kids on fishing and hunting trips too as well. An absolutely amazing organization.
Of course, SOAR, obviously, but Owl Hollow out to the east of us, over near Grain Valley, they have an equestrian-based program out there for kids on the spectrum, and that's another group that we love to go out to. We go out on onsite and actually sell bags there for their deals, and then donate back to them so they can continue their programs as well.
Kelly Scanlon:
You do much more than sell kettle corn. You are so engaged in the community and you work with other groups as well, and so you're touching lots of different lives with what you do. Devon, what would be your message to other young adults with autism? Obviously you speak with them, so what's your message to them?
Devon Griesemer:
It's a very simple message. Think outside the box. Don't ever let anyone put you in one.
Kelly Scanlon:
[Inaudible 00:11:09] for you personally?
Devon Griesemer:
As we continue to work on a licensing program, we are focusing on families with young adults on the spectrum in different states to run tables at multiple events across the country. This will give families more opportunities to explore their children's passion, and see the joy in their faces every time they make someone else smile with an amazing sweet treat, because in all reality, it has brought me the most joy in my life by doing the same thing.
Kelly Scanlon:
You obviously work with some of the other organizations in the community. Is that a formal alliance, or are you just always seeking new relationships with others in the community that work in this area?
Darrin Griesemer:
We continually try to look for more and more companies that are not only autism-based but actually owned by autistic individuals. That tends to be a little bit of a struggle, because you can't traditionally find that just by Googling it. We are constantly putting the feelers out there and inviting people to give us those references. If there's anybody that basically has the same platform similar to what we're doing that is an autistic-owned company, those are the type of people that we'd love to reach out to.
I think as I mentioned before, we'd love to start a co-op employee share program with quite a few of these companies, because from time to time you may only be able to pull these individuals in part-time, but it may not always be the thing they want to do too, either. Many people tried to tell Devon, working at grocery stores. Hey, you'll be able to push a cart and sack, but you may never be able to be a cashier, and he's just too intelligent and too social, and a lot of these kids are like computers. You show them how to do something one time, and they will do it a million times until you tell them to do it differently.
The outreach to the businesses, the communities, to open their eyes a little bit and make them understand, all of these kids have a passion. They are not solely about just coming to work and doing a fixed job that everybody else on the spectrum is doing. It doesn't fit everybody. We spend a lot of time coaching businesses, managers, and families as well, to focus on the passion of that individual and find a way to make that happen for them, because truly that's where the joy comes from with all of these families and the individuals themselves.
That ultimately, at the end of the day, is our goal. To be able to reach out like this to other organizations, to have them reach out and contact us, that's something that we look for every day. If we can get it out there and get some more information from people and have more resources to provide other families, that's our ultimate goal at the end of the day.
Kelly Scanlon:
Devon, selling the popcorn, making the popcorn, is obviously something that brings you great joy. It seems to have struck a nerve with you and, no pun intended, you found your sweet spot there. We wish you the best of luck and thank you both for coming on today to share your story, and we are very proud to be able to be a part of expanding your message. Thank you.
Joe Close:
This is Joe Close, President of Country Club Bank. Thank you to Darrin and Devon Griesemer for being our guests on this episode of Banking on KC. Devon has a very simple message. Think outside the box. Don't ever let anyone put you in one. After graduating high school and working various jobs that weren't a fit for him, Devon made the decision he wasn't going to let autism limit his opportunities. He took the entrepreneurial plunge and created his own path making and selling popcorn, earning contracts from some of Kansas City's largest venues.
His bigger purpose is to inspire young adults who are on the autism spectrum that opportunity exists. Think outside the box. Don't ever let anyone put you in one. Remember those words when you find yourself separated from your goals. If we don't let our restraints limit us, we can accomplish so much more. Thanks for tuning in this week. We're banking on you, Kansas City. Country Club Bank, member FDIC.