Courteney Lowe and Laura Jorgensen Collaborate with UNCA Students to Connect with the Asheville Business Community
By Meg Hale Brunton
After years of competing as professional road-racing cyclists, Laura Jorgensen and Courteney Lowe definitely had a healthy sense of determination and drive. What they didn’t have was money. “Everyone is doing something to make a living,” Laura says of female competitive athletes. Laura and Courteney’s businesses, The RiderBox and The RunnerBox, began as a way to make their financial ends meet and keep racing. “It started as a thing to supplement our professional racing career, because women’s sports doesn’t even pay you enough to not have a second job.”
The idea for the RunnerBox came from Laura’s high school coach’s sister. She had started a small business out of her home, putting together a selection of products for her runner friends and shipping them through the mail. When the business became too much work, Laura took it over in 2013 and began running it out of her grandmother’s house in Cullowhee, North Carolina. “I had all the skills necessary to grow the business,” says Laura, who had previously been working a corporate job to pay her bills. Formerly a member of the U.S. National Pro Cycling Team, Laura admits she thought RunnerBox was something she could do on the side for a year, or two. “I never thought it would turn into something like this. The business was successful right away. It’s been an incredibly unexpected and fun journey. I’m so grateful for this business and that we started it.”
While Laura had a knack for finance and analytics, she says she could never have made the business work without Courteney’s skills in outreach. The two met in 2015 when they raced for the same team and became partners. As a former race team manager and 2013 New Zealand Road Race National Champion, Courteney brought onboard her skills in brand partnerships, sponsorships and product deals. She also brought a heap of international contacts, such as former racers, performance coaches and nutritionists. “What we do in the job is very different, but it comes together and we meet in the middle,” Courteney explains of their dynamic.
As the RunnerBox grew, racing became harder and harder, until the two turned the majority of their focus to the business. Shortly after, they expanded their business to include RiderBox. The RiderBox is full of the same types of products as the RunnerBox, but geared towards bicyclists. With products for pre-, post- and mid-workout, both boxes contain 10-11 internationally accredited nutrition products, including snacks, gear and accessories. Laura adds that the boxes are a great way to try new products and that the boxes make fabulous gifts for runners from non-runners, since picking out the best products can be challenging.
In 2016, they moved to Asheville, NC to establish a base for their business. Laura says the choice was based on the Asheville community as a whole: the cycling, the inclusivity, and the progressiveness of the area. “I wouldn’t want to build a business somewhere else. It’s just the most collaborative place I’ve ever been,” she explains, adding that it’s a great city for startups. “We want to pay that forward by growing a really strong business here that can give back to the community, hire people here and create jobs. We want to bring that all full circle and this is the very precipice of that journey.” Since the distribution center for the RunnerBox/RiderBox is in Michigan, Laura and Courteney wanted to do something to connect with the Asheville community.
Enter UNC Asheville Associate Professor of Business, Dr. Susan Clark Muntean. In this unique course, the Business Consulting Practicum, Susan finds the most promising teams of entrepreneurs and partners with them over the course of a semester, connecting the scaling startup with her class. This provides students with an immersive learning experience, while providing value to grow the business. “We’re building that bridge between ‘campus on a hill’ and the entrepreneurial ecosystem and business community,” Susan says. “There are no textbooks, lectures or exams; it’s very hands-on; students are providing tangible and valuable deliverables for the business. It’s a win/win/win for everyone.”
Susan started a similar program out of Ball State University in Indiana, but for the past eight years, has been teaching it at UNCA. This award-winning course she designed and teaches once a year provides students with the rare opportunity to shadow seasoned entrepreneurs and gain applied knowledge. Through the experience, the students also build confidence, gain professional experience, learn creative problem solving, and identify/execute opportunities. Susan stresses the importance of vetting the company to ensure they are a good fit for the students. “They’ve got to be dedicated mentors. They’ve got to want to work closely with undergraduates, and have projects that are challenging and provide multiple opportunities for applied learning,” she says. Laura and Courteney have been ideal leaders for her class in this regard.
Through the partnership, Laura and Courteney were able to focus on goals they had been putting off, such as growing their local presence, producing in a fulfillment center based in Asheville, and rapidly establishing their brand locally as well as nationally. “This class really opened our eyes to what is next for us in the future,” says Laura. “We believe we’ll be able to accelerate very quickly to become one of the biggest sports nutrition providers in the United States.”
The RiderBox and the RunnerBox is available on Amazon and Etsy.com, as well as at their website: https://www.therunnerbox.com/