Forty Under 40: K. Bryan Griggs

From an executive position at the corporate offices of Nike in Portland, Ore., to founding his own athletic and outdoors equipment company, Bryan Griggs made a serious leap of faith.

Stock Manufacturing Inc. has grown to 22 employees, with offices in Northwest Arkansas, Minneapolis and Ontario.

Walking away from a job where it wasn’t uncommon to see Tiger Woods walking down the hall wasn’t easy, but Griggs had confidence and trusted his instincts even when friends and co-workers told him he was crazy.
“That was the turning point,” he said of his decision. “You can’t fake it.”
Since starting his own company in 2007, he has built several brands to address what he saw as holes in the marketplace, including Mud River, a line of hunting products, brands for female lacrosse players and a line of pet products.

Northwest Arkansas was a natural choice for starting a company, he said, because the area has a lower cost of living than the west coast, and is also home to the world’s largest retailer.

“It’s been a year now, and it’s great,” he said. “It’s better than I thought it would be.”

Griggs, 31, feels that he has built the perfect job for himself, and said he wakes up every day thinking of how to grow his brands and reach underserved markets.