Peter van Stolk, president and founder of Jones Soda Co., discussed his company's unorthodox approach to business and marketing strategy Thursday at the Business College Complex.
About 125 students came to see van Stolk speak at the "Meet a Pop Star" event organized by human resource management freshman Adam Finkel.
Finkel began planning at the beginning of the year, when his proposal to have van Stolk speak originally was rejected by Jones.
"A lot of schools have programs where they bring in speakers talk to students, and I thought we should have a similar program, with unique entrepreneurs," Finkel said.
With help from the Lear Career Service Center, which provides career planning for business students, Finkel was able to complete his project.
In his speech, van Stolk discussed his story - a professional skier who decided to start a beverage distributor instead of going to college.
Van Stolk also told Jones' success story, a small, underground company with unconventional marketing strategies that is becoming one of the fastest growing soda companies in North America.
"People think we're good marketers, but we're not ... we just listen," van Stolk said during his speech.
In fact, van Stolk donates all the money he receives for speaking to charity, with most of it going to build schools in disadvantaged areas.
Discussing the future of Jones Soda, van Stolk emphasized a shift away from extreme sports and toward music.
Myjonesmusic.com is the company's newest project, which allows visitors to the site to upload, download and share music from independent and unsigned artists.
"When you're real, you get to be yourself," van Stolk said of Jones' attitude toward its marketing strategies.
By driving around the country in painted RVs, Jones has elevated to making deals with companies such as BMG Music Entertainment, Microsoft Corp., Target and Starbucks.
To thank van Stolk for speaking and donating Jones Soda to those in attendance, more than 20 student business organizations, including the Student Investment Association and the Supply Chain Management Association, donated money to an MSU tsunami relief fund.
