Profile: Tim Simokonis, Clark Student, '07
CAPSTONE PROJECT
Clark senior Tim Simokonis used to pass the time he spent working
summers at a pool in his hometown of Worcester by discussing business
ideas with a friend of his. One idea they would toss around was to start
up a brewing company, and possibly revive the old Worcester Brewing
Company. When Simokonis needed a capstone project for his Innovation &
Entrepreneurship minor, he turned to this idea. Now, he and two friends
who are currently at Cornell University are in the early stages of
starting up their own brewery. Due to the competitive nature of this
field, the name of the brewery and marketing details are still under
wraps, but they plan to go public with the business in the next year.
Simokonis will say that they have a unique marketing plan, and he is
confident it will catch some attention.
Right now, the three are focusing on product development. To date they have brewed one hard cider and two beers, and are working to expand the offerings of brews. Currently effort is going into developing labels, producing products on a larger scale, securing an apple supplier for the cider, and creating a distribution plan. Simokonis recently had the chance to sit down with Joe Salois, President of Atlas Distributing, Inc, who he was introduced to by George Gendron. He said he was able to learn so much about the business from this one meeting, and mentioned that Atlas was one of the first distributors to carry Sam Adams beers. He hopes to follow in those footsteps with his brewery.
Simokonis, a Government & International Relations major, feels that college was the right time to start his brewery. “For me, I think college is the perfect, most opportune time to start up a business,” adding that both Harpoon and Wachusett breweries were started by college students. He will be pursuing his Master’s in Public Administration following graduation in May as part of Clark’s accelerated master’s degree program, but plans on continuing developing the brewery. “This whole experience has been a blast. Which is what I believe to be the most important thing about the I&E program”-having fun while creating something new.
