Jake Miller of Becker has always had an imaginative mind but little did he know that a class project in a design school would lead to him becoming an entrepreneur, an inventor, a designer and a company owner in  a few short years.

 

Jake, a 2002 graduate of Becker High School, has a “thing” for coffee and that “thing” has brought him to own a start-up company (called Fellow) with three employees, three products, four future products in development and an office in San Francisco.

 

Not bad for a guy who calls himself a coffee nerd whose original goal was to create a ridiculously good cup of coffee.

 

After graduating from BHS, Jake went on to study marketing at St. Thomas in which he gained an undergraduate degree. He then set his sights on the west coast and was accepted to college at Stanford where he acquired his MBA. It was during his second year of grad school where he designed and developed a device much like a French press, eventually called the Duo Coffee Steeper.

 

“I really didn’t know if what I had was what other people wanted, so I decided to take the idea to the next step,” said Jake.

 

That next step was getting his product launched on Kickstarter.

 

Kickstarter is a website that helps artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers and other creators find the resources and support they need to make their ideas a reality. In other words, someone with an idea for something special can advertise it on Kickstarter and ask others to help fund the initial startup.

 

 

In six days, that money was easily raised and by the end of his kickstarter campaign — his project raised $193,402 from over 2,700 supporters.

 

“Kickstarter was great and it gave me the confidence that this product was something people wanted,” said Jake. “It was pretty cool when the product went into production and the first shipment showed up at my door.”

 

Miller says the money raised through the Kickstarter program covered the cost of research and development, inventory, tooling and applying for patents.

 

“It proved there was demand,” he said.

 

So Jake took to the streets of San Francisco and visited over 100 company heads to ask for investors.

 

“I approached high-net-worth individuals, looking for executives who like to invest,” he said.

 

Out of the 100 execs he visited, eight bought into his idea and signed on to invest in his company.

 

Jake came up with a name for his company that he says “represents the idea of a friend in pursuit of great coffee.” That name became Fellow and he designed the logo to include a little bow tie beneath the “o” in fellow to give the company a brand image.

 

With the investments from the eight financiers, Jake was able to hire employees, buy more inventory and start work on new products.

 

Jake hired Molly McNeil as his engineering project manager and Hanna McPhee, his brand manager. The trio found office space on a street called Minnesota (ironically) and set up shop to make the company viable.

 

Jake’s company has risen to such high status that he has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, FastCompany Magazine, Cool Hunting Magazine, Roast Magazine, Uncrate, Daily Coffee News, Cool Material, Gizmag and Design Boom. He has consultants spend anywhere from two-to-10 hours a week providing domain expertise, product design and concepts.

 

Through Jake’s website alone, his direct sales were astounding and he was especially pleased with his international orders. One of his goals for 2016 is to produce wholesale accounts and is currently in the process of getting his product in 250 Williams-Sonoma stores and a test run of 20 stores for Sur La Table.

 

Jake and his team designed the first Duo Coffee Steeper and have done numerous redesigns to get the product just right. The Duo is a dual chamber “twist” on the French Press coffee maker that creates a perfect cup of coffee in a matter of minutes with little to no grounds residue. 

 

 

The Pour-Over Kettle has a built-in brew range thermometer and a precision pour spout that can boil over one liter of water in just a few minutes. The kettle also features a counterbalance handle that shifts the center of the mass closer to one’s hand for an easy pour.

 

The Joey Mug is handle-less and has a double ceramic wall that keeps the outside of the mug cool. It is complemented by a sleek copper bottom and the mug is tapered so spilling the cup of Joe is nearly impossible, making the Joey Mug just about the coolest thing in ones kitchen cabinet.

 

Jake says his team of designers and engineers are working hard to grow the product line and have four additional products in production for the 2016 year.

 

“This whole first year and a half it’s been just me getting this company off the ground,” said Jake. “That was tough and challenging.”

 

Jake, who considers himself an aggressive, motivated person, says he will never stop working to make the products he develops into something great.

 

“We will always be a work-in-progress company,” he said. “We won’t stand on our laurels but keep striving to improve.”

 

Jake says Fellow is expected to hit seven figures in sales sometime in 2016.

 

“I’m really happy with how this all came about and I’m really excited for 2016.”