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The sleepless nights, the stress, the things that wake you up. It's like a baby. Like you can't stop thinking about it, caring about it, cuz you're the only one that's really responsible for it at the end of the day.- Nic Barisone  

Adventures and celebratory drinks are just one way to describe what this company, High Camp Flasks is all about. High Camp Flasks designs barware products for your favorite spirits for you to enjoy after a day of outdoor adventures. The gentlemen behind this innovative and exciting company are Whit Gautreaux and Nic Barisone.

The idea of High Camp Flasks initial product, "The Firelight Flask," came from Nic while he was on a camping trip with his brothers. As evening rolled around; it was time to pour some whiskey in his favorite whiskey cup. Upon doing this, one of his brothers who didn't have an extra cup asked Nic if he had another cup that he could use. He didn't want to use the only cup he had, which he uses for coffee. Unfortunately, Nic did not have an extra cup, and that's when he discovered the idea. He thought of creating a stainless steel canister that can secure a couple of tumblers for these type of adventures. His focus for the design aesthetic must have a "cool" look and marketed as an alcohol product.

After that, at a friend's wedding, Nic met Whit. They instantly hit it off as friends with both having that love for the outdoors. Whit happened to have an engineering background, and as Nic shared his idea, that's when Whit took his expertise and brought the idea to life. Whit strives for perfection and loves the idea of bringing something from paper to reality. The partnership was secure, and High Camp Flasks was born.

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(Everyday is different) You're never not learning something new and that's enjoyable too so there's no monotony to it.
- Whit Gautreaux

In this podcast, Nic and Whit talk about their experience with working with China manufacturers and how they almost had to throw in the towel, and how running a Kickstarter campaign is stressful but yet a fantastic tool to leverage. Both of these gentlemen are relentless. They believe in their vision, and they are on their way of building a lifestyle company that lets them be where they want to be...the outdoors.

High Camp Flasks is an innovative company that found a niche where the opportunity is robust. I am excited to see what is coming up next in their product line. I cheer to you, High Camp Flasks, for your tenaciousness and to be doing what you love.

Enjoy the podcast and do what you love.

In this episode, here are Some Questions I ask & what You will learn:

 Whit Introduces himself. (2:40)
Nic Introduces himself. (3:10)
Partnering up. (3:42)
Whit talks about Montana. (3:50)
Where did the Entrepreneurial mindset come from? (4:40)
Nic talks about his childhood entrepreneurial memories. (6:10)
Nic talks about his appreciation for quality. (6:45)
Nic’s finance background. (7:50)
When did High Camp Flasks start? (8:35)
Nic talks about the initial idea. (9:55)
Nic talks about his business in the future. (12:20)
How Whit and Nic met. (12:45)
What was the process of getting your design made? (13:10)
Looking for a factory to make the flask. (14:35)
Lessons when working with China manufacturers (16:20)
Dealing with the Second Factory. (18:00)
Their first Kickstarter campaign. (19:30)
 The agony of being an entrepreneur. (21:26)
 Receiving the first samples of their product. (22:50)
 Running a crowdfunding campaign. (25:10)
Whit talks about the benefits of the Kickstarter customer. (26:00)
Where did the name High Camp Flasks come from? (26:45)
What’s next for High Camp Flasks? (28:20)
Pricing Strategy (29:10)
Whit describes his vision of designing products for High Camp Flasks (30:45)
What do you wish you have known when you started out? (32:45)
Whit talks about being an entrepreneur. (35:05)
What do they do to keep a pulse on their business industry? (35:50)
Nic talks about being different and marketing to what he wants their business to be (36:45)
WIDWID For Nic (40:35)
WIDWID for Whit (42:50)
What’s a perfect day off? (45:40)
Whit talks about the grind… (47:00)
How do they stay motivated? (48:20)
 Nic talks about being Happy (49:05)
Favorite Cocktails (49:05)
 Whit talks about Scotch (50:20)
 The High Camp Flasks Newsletter (51:10)
 Whit talks about crafts alcohol brands and High Camp Flasks (51:45)
How does Nic want to define his legacy? (52:40)
How does Whit want to define his legacy? (53:30)
 (Answered by Whit) Nic is… (54:30)
(Answered by Nic) Whit is… (55:10)
Contact Info. (56:00)

Editor’s Note: This story was shared through a Scotch Parlor Podcast. Photography was done by Rick Scotch at Baker Beach in San Francisco, California.