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Jacob Walter worked from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 the next morning, slept a few hours, and did it again. Then he left for the College World Series, where he was about to work 12-hour days for ten straight days, and had a mental breakdown on the way. That's when he knew the garage model was done.
Jacob Walter is the founder of JAW Bats, a custom wood bat company that turns competition-ready bats into painted art. He started making bats at 15 or 16, made it official in 2012, and now at 33 has partners, a new building, new machinery, and new products on the way. Stu met him at the College World Series in Omaha, bought one of his limited edition bats, and in this episode they trade lessons on scaling, selling, and standing out.
What he covers:
→ Working 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 a.m. several days in a row before the College World Series, then a mental breakdown on the way to Omaha
→ Starting JAW Bats officially in 2012 after making bats since he was 15 or 16
→ A shoulder injury, being 150 pounds "soaking wet," and the year off school that ended his baseball career and started his business
→ Custom "special request" bats: his creative director Braden Hopper has to make artwork work on a constantly tapering cylinder, and painting takes hours and days
→ Why "you have to do things that are not scalable to be scalable"
→ Leaving the garage model behind: partners, a new building, new machinery, and new products including batting gloves
→ Two years of reinvesting almost everything, and why social media and word of mouth alone don't work like they used to
→ Hiring all his friends ("they say don't do that") and why he owes them everything
→ Stu's two-week vacation test from "Walk Away Wealthy": find out where your business still needs you
→ Stu chartering a private jet to bring The Sandlot's Patrick Renna (Ham Porter) to National Parks Baseball Resort, after sponsoring all nine episodes of Dugout Dads as the last name in the credits
→ A billionaire's real reason for putting his logo on BYU sports: it's a recruiting tool for athletes
→ Why Qualtrics sold for $8 billion and an SAP investor still said he'd never heard of it
🔗 CONNECT WITH STU
Instagram: @stu
Website: https://startupswithstu.com
📌 CHAPTERS
00:00 – Intro: Stu's love of baseball and Jacob's "to the moon"
03:00 – Meeting at the College World Series and the limited edition Bomber bat
06:00 – Gift idea: custom bats for coaches and corporate gifts
08:00 – Special requests and creative director Braden Hopper
11:00 – Victus, the "bat king," and friendly competition
12:30 – Making bats at 15 and starting the company at 17
15:00 – Shoulder injury, a year off school, and learning to fail faster
18:00 – Stu's billionaire mentor and why he sponsors BYU athletics
22:00 – "The Obstacle Is the Way" and why a problem-free business is failing
24:00 – The 3:30 a.m. grind and the breakdown on the way to Omaha
28:00 – Partners, a new building, new machinery, and new products
31:00 – Betting on yourself when the spending is scary
34:00 – Hiring friends and carrying the team
36:00 – Forever business or exit? A legacy brand beyond baseball
38:00 – "Walk Away Wealthy" and the two-week vacation test
42:00 – Building a business and a family; Jacob's dad works with him every day
44:00 – A founder who turns worn baseballs into art, and moons that aren't exits
46:00 – Stu's marketing ideas: influencer tours and gifts to CEOs
49:00 – Dugout Dads, the chartered jet, and Patrick Renna at the resort
55:00 – Purple Cow, Shoe Dog, and Qualtrics' $8B anonymity
58:00 – Closing and what's next for JAW Bats
⚠️ Note: Timestamps are estimated from transcript flow. Swap to actual timecodes before publishing.
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