Spike is a bootstrapped, entrepreneurial company through and through. It was started about 15 years ago in Ben’s (our owner) college basement. Originally, he was buying and selling used beer kegs but that has organically grown into the homebrewing category leader since the days of working out of a basement. Currently, Spike works out of a 25,000 sqft facility in Milwaukee, WI, and employs about 20 employees. The team is very strong, however young, and could use an authoritative figure to lead the company. Ben retains 100% ownership of the company; we have no debt and our primary goal is to maintain a strong cash-flowing business.

However, after 15 years Ben is looking to take a large step back and hand over the keys to a high-performing COO to take over the business from an executional level. There is a solid 5 year plan in place which has opportunities for growth depending on how the economy holds up over the next couple of years. Ben will continue to act as Chairman/CEO and point out opportunities and landmines in the market however wishes to remain out of the day-to-day. The ideal candidate for this role is a driven, roll-up-your-sleeves, no-nonsense style COO.

Spike’s Core Values:

• Entrepreneurial; Think Big, Act Small
• Hungry; Move the Needle
• QC (Quality and Customers); Champion the Mission
• Accountability; Bring Solutions, Not Problems
• Balance; Work Hard, Play Hard