Mason Wettengel, a graduating senior in finance at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Haslam College of Business, has a penchant for recognizing problems. However, the Hendersonville, Tennessee, native doesn’t stop there — he solves the problems through both volunteerism and entrepreneurialism.
Helping Houseless Veterans
In 2020, as a high schooler working toward his Eagle Scout rank, Wettengel led and ambitious effort to raise $22,000 — without any state or federal funding — to renovate deteriorating apartments in Gallatin, Tennessee’s Sumner County Veterans Home. The units had become nearly unlivable, and his project fully restored them to a safe, comfortable condition for the veterans. Wettengel’s successful project also attracted media attention.
“It got to the point where I had nonprofits reaching out, and they were acting as sponsors for these different units,” Wettengel explains. “They would routinely come back and make sure everything was up to date, and they would bring service workers to the project. It was my first experience with managing a budget and leading a team, but it was so rewarding getting to see these veterans finally find a permanent place to live.”
Marketing Cures for Common College-Life Ills
Now, Wettengel is applying what he has learned at UT and Haslam to a different project: developing and selling a product to help students struggling with low sleep, poor energy levels and associated complaints. He knew any product he created couldn’t compete with major pharmaceutical companies or products like Red Bull.
“I had to look in a new direction, and I thought that oral strips were fast-acting, portable solutions that would directly apply to the very demographic where I saw a need — people on the go in my age group,” he says.
Wettengel found a manufacturer that specialized in oral strips, which had similar products, but not exactly what he wanted to offer. That was the beginning of UTOPIA Strips, a natural wellness solution for energy and sleep.
“I knew the company was capable of helping develop a product that would solve this need,” Wettengel says. “I went back and forth with them on the flavors and made a few tweaks to the ingredients along the way.”
The business is doing well on e-commerce platforms like Amazon, but with the connections Wettengel has made, he believes he will eventually move the strips onto retail shelves.
“Our UTOPIA pre-party strips have been performing very well, and we are working on revamping the design to boost margins,” he says.
Applying Knowledge and Skills from Haslam
Wettengel credits Haslam for equipping him with the tools he needed to build his enterprise, providing him training, opportunities and connections.
“I had very good marketing professors,” he says. “Having those connections, and ultimately, those professors and the Haslam business training has allowed me to scale this business to where I am now.”
Additionally, pursuing his entrepreneurial vision with UTOPIA Strips has served as a proxy for an internship in multiple different business categories.
“I applied the knowledge I’ve gotten from Haslam through supply chain and negotiation with manufacturers, in addition to marketing,” Wettengel says. “Working on UTOPIA Strips has been the most enriching internship experience that I could ever ask for.”
According to Neeraj Bharadwaj, Charlie & Carolyn Newcomer Faculty Fellow and Neel Corporate Governance Center Research Fellow, Wettengel’s natural aptitudes coupled with his preparation at Haslam have readied him to tackle future business challenges.
“Mason is already putting into practice the concepts, tools and analytical frameworks he’s learning in brand management and his other courses here at Haslam,” Bharadwaj says. “His inquisitiveness, resourcefulness and solid communication skills, combined with this knowledge, will undoubtedly serve him well in his entrepreneurial ventures.”
Coming Full-Circle
As someone who exercised the Volunteer Spirit before becoming a UT Vol, Wettengel was a natural fit to be in the inaugural Volunteer Impact Academy cohort, an immersive four-year experience created for students that personify being a Volunteer. The academy provides students a platform to benefit the community through leadership and service that supports sustainable change.
“We started off with about 100 members, and we specialize in service around campus and Knoxville, making an impact as a group,” Wettengel explains.
In that spirit, he offers encouragement for current and incoming students aspiring to entrepreneurialism.
“If there are students considering having their own business venture, they should go for it,” Wettengel says. “There are wonderful resources and professors at Haslam that will help you along the way. If you have an idea, go for it.”
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CONTACT:
Scott McNutt, business writer/publicist, rmcnutt4@utk.edu
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