By Megan Rowe
For Falcon Media alumni Kurt Sima, craft beer is more than a drink. It’s a chance to travel around the United States and Europe and have fun. And that’s why Kurt decided to turn his passion for craft beer, travel, and fun into a full-time business called Epic Beer Trips.
Kurt will be the first to tell you he was not a strong student during his time at BGSU, but his love for reggae music and involvement with the college radio stations proved a life-changing experience. When Kurt first stepped onto campus, he was an industrialized education major with plans to be a shop teacher after graduation. After getting involved with radio stations WBGU and WFAL, he found a passion for advertising and sales.
“It’s a fun field because you can really get creative and help customers, create ads and campaigns, plus you could actually make a lovely amount of money,” said Kurt.
Kurt has worked in radio sales in cities such as Cleveland, Columbus and Boston. He has also held management positions. These positions eventually led him to become a consultant for Center for Sales Strategy, which at the time was the premier sales consultancy in the media space. After he retired from Center for Sales Strategy, Kurt decided it was time for a new adventure. This led to the creation of his company, Epic Beer Trips.
“I took my business expertise and my passions for travel, love for beer, and love for fun and I created Epic Beer Trips, and our slogan is ‘We travel the globe, drink beer and have fun’,” said Kurt.
Epic Beer Trips started in 2020 and so far they have gone to Scotland, England and Ireland. Before he begins promoting a trip, he travels to each brewery to meet with the brewers to tell them more about Epic Beer Trips and put together an event for his travelers.
“Anybody can send an email to a brewer but the game changes when I send an email and tell them that I will be in Belfast on Thursday and I want to sit down and tell them about my company,” says Kurt.
This semester, Kurt connected with Dr. Fei Weisstein, associate professor of marketing at BGSU, to use Epic Beer Trips as a case study with her MBA students. He asked that the students really dissect his company and come back with recommendations on how he can improve his marketing strategies. The students conducted an in-depth SWOT (strengths, opportunities, weaknesses, and threats), pricing, and competitive analysis to give Kurt recommendations on how to attract more prospects to Epic Beer Trips.
“It’s amazing how many times I have asked people for help or guidance, and they give it to me without any strings attached. It’s refreshing because it’s not always like that in the business world,” Kurt said.
Kurt’s biggest advice to those wanting to take his path and start their own company is to see the green light in life to be creative, take chances, and try new things.
“When you do things in life that are aligned with your strengths and natural talent, you’re going to be extremely productive and extremely happy,” Kurt said.
