Operations
Research and Development
Our R&D lab will develop a minimum of two products or line items a week for the first quarter,
three products or line items the second, and four to five products or line items from the first year
onward. Many of these may never make it to production but the process is necessary to maintain
an innovative brewing culture, gain, and then maintain the market lead.
Initially, we will invest a fairly low amount of capital into our R&D laboratory.
The first
purchase will be two Zymatic automated brewing systems from PicoBrew. These systems are
fairly inexpensive at $2000 a piece but enable the user to brew small batches, five gallons, in
four hours by loading the system with ingredients and entering the recipe. Then the brewer can
walk away and complete other tasks.
This will enable us to scale up only those recipes which show the most promise; minimizing our
input cost since we wont brew full or even half batches which uses more raw materials.
Since
our brewers wont need to stand over the machines to monitor the process, it will reduce the
labor requirement for them and free them up to focus on revenue generating functions.
Production
The process of producing beer takes, on average, two weeks from raw material input to final
product packaging. We have agreements with an Atlanta Based Brewery to utilize their contacts
and size to purchase raw materials at their price rates. Utilizing their influence within the
industry, we will be able to mitigate obstacles associated with crop shortages, price increases,
and shipping costs.
This will ensure we stay on schedule as demand increases so that we can keep to the two week
production schedule. As we increase our operations, we will add in the specialty products which
take longer to produce such as a barrel aged program, which increases time to packaging by
approximately 3-6 months. A Sours program would fall into the same production schedule as a
barrel aged program.
Personnel Needed
As of now, we are still looking for brewers. We have one candidate identified but have yet to
make a final decision. Our primary candidate is a retired Navy officer who has been brewing, at
home, large batches of 50 gallons or more, however, lacks training at the commercial level. We
believe he would make a fantastic assistant brewer where he can hone his skills. If we are unable
to identify a head brewer in the coming months, we will begin operations with our current
candidate.
Management
Founders
GCB has four founders filling various roles within the venture. Marc Howle, an Active Duty
Army Officer, will maintain a silent ownership role within the company. His role will be
minimized, so as not to impact his military career, to strategic level planning in support of the
CEO. Upon retirement from the Army, he will assume the role of President of GCB.
He has nine years of leadership experience, from the Army, ranging from offices of six personnel
to organizations of over 300. He received his Undergraduate degree from the University of West
Florida in Engineering Technology and his Masters in Business Administration from the Scheller
College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He received his industry training at
Scofflaw Brewing Company in Atlanta Georgia while earning his MBA.
Samuel Jerome will serve as GCBs head of Logistics given his extensive training on supply
chain operations. As a former Active Duty Non-Commissioned Officer, and now in the Army
Reserves, he has 12 years of leadership experience ranging from teams of three to teams of nine.
He has experience in field consulting through various roles within the military and in school. He
received his Undergraduate degree from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in Computer
Management Information Systems and his Masters in Business Administration from the Scheller
College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Michael Taasan will serve as the CEO of GCB because of his previous experience with
entrepreneurial start-ups. He is a co-founder for the biomedical device company Clinical
Decision Support Systems. He has seven years of leadership experience within the Health
Services industry with degrees in Environmental Engineering and a Masters of Public Health
Epidemiology from the University of Florida and a Masters in Business Administration from the
Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
Omoregie Uzzi will serve as GCBs Marketing Manager; leveraging his experience in data
analysis. He has five years experience with an Executive Search firm, he will also serve to
identify and bring in additional personnel to support the venture; his first priority will be
identifying and acquiring a head brewer. He is business trained with degrees in Marketing and a
Masters in Economics from the Scheller College of Business at the Georgia Institute of
Technology.
Additional Staff
Bucky Howle will serve as GCBs COO, utilizing his expertise in operations planning and
leading organizations. He is a retired Senior Army Officer with 26 years of leadership
experience ranging from staffs of six to a training battalion with upwards of 1000 Soldiers. For
the past 12 years, he has served as Co-Founder and Vice President of Operations at HDH
General Contractors. He received his Undergraduate degree from Spring Hill College in
Commerce and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from Troy University and Strategic
Studies from the United States Army War College.
Nancy Howle will serve as GCBs Office Administrator responsible for accounting and day to
day office support. She has served in roles including Bar Manager, Office Manager for Pentagon
Federal Credit Union, and for the past 12 years, has served as the Office Administrator for HDH
General Contractors. She received her Associates Degree from Spring Hill College.
Advisors
Matthew Shirah is the Co-Founder and CEO of Scofflaw Brewing Company in Atlanta, GA. He
is an Army Veteran himself, serving in Korea, achieving the rank of Sergeant before leaving.
Prior to Scofflaw, he served as a Forensic Accountant, reaching the position of Managing
Director for Mesirow Financial Consulting, LLC. He received his Undergraduate degree from
Appalachian State University in Finance and his Masters in Business Administration from the
Goizueta Business School at Emory University. Matt will serve as the advisor to the CEO and
President.
Travis Herman is the Co-Founder and Brewmaster at Scofflaw Brewing Company in Atlanta,
GA. He received his formal education in Microbiology and held a career in the Pharmaceutical
Industry prior to attending the Brewing School at the University of California-Davis. Following
his education, he received on the job training at The Lost Abby and Russian River Brewing.
Travis will serve as an advisor to the GCB Brewers and the COO.