Springfield College Alumnus Named Massachusetts Young Entrepreneur of the Year
Jonathan Katz ’19.
By: Damon Markiewicz
Springfield College alumnus Jonathan Katz ’19 was recently named Massachusetts Young Entrepreneur of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Katz was recognized for his work with BLENDi, a powered portable blender bottle that has the ability to blend protein shakes and smoothies on the go. The BLENDi idea was hatched during Katz’s time as a student at Springfield College.
During a workout in the Physical Education complex in the fall of 2016, Katz was trying to enjoy the perfect protein drink, but he continued to grow frustrated that his current shaker bottle wasn’t getting the job done. The protein shake was clumpy and wasn’t what Katz wanted after his workout. After that moment, Katz realized he wanted to find a solution.
“It was around that moment that the early stages of the BLENDi idea started to gain momentum, and it just kept growing,” explained Katz. “It was around this same time that I was able to change my major to the Business Management program, with a focus in Marketing. I also started to get some amazing support from Springfield College faculty who gave me even more inspiration to keep moving forward with this innovative idea.”
As Katz continued to process the plans to try and make the idea a reality, he would end up having a conversation with Business Management Professor Pam Baran that led him down a very important path. Baran encouraged Katz to pitch his idea as part of the Grinspoon Entrepreneurship Initiative (EI), which at the time was a consortium of 14 colleges promoting and supporting entrepreneurship among college students. The mission of EI was to encourage entrepreneurial activity in the Pioneer Valley. Baran was co-advisor to the Grinspoon EI on campus, and she convinced Katz to take a chance on submitting the BLENDi idea to the judges.
“Having Professor Baran’s support was such an important moment because I ended up winning the Grinspoon Award in back-to-back years thanks to the support I received from Pam (Baran),” explained Katz. “Opportunities like the Grinspoon Award allowed students to pitch their ideas in a very supportive setting. As a result of the Grinspoon experience, I also had the opportunity to connect with Valley Venture Mentors, and joined their mentorship program. All of this success just kept me going, and gave me confirmation to keep going. It was the framework I needed as I started to think about how to do a start-up business.”
By 2017, Katz had developed his first prototype, and the first cordless blenders were produced in the summer of 2018. Following graduation from Springfield College in May 2019, BLENDi was still growing strong. Katz was balancing his time working on BLENDi, while also working full-time in sales for a company called Data Dog, a Boston company that sells software.
“The opportunity with Data Dog was perfect for me at the time because it taught me how to do sales work,” explained Katz. “It was challenging, but it was probably one of the best things for me. BLENDi was growing while I was working, but I was also learning it was tough to work full-time, while also trying to grow BLENDi.”
By the winter of 2020, Katz had started a new wealth management position with Raymond James Financial, Inc., and he was able to work from home while also maintaining his focus on BLENDi. During this time, BLENDi sales started to grow by 200%, and this allowed Katz to contemplate leaving his position with Raymond James and devote his full-time energy to his passion.
“BLENDi sales started to grow and I had to make another decision on whether to stay with Raymond James, or put all of my time into growing BLENDi,” explained Katz. “At the time, we were going through COVID-19, and the world was a bit unsettled, but the growth kept going.”
Now based in Needham, Mass., Katz continues to lead BLENDi mostly by himself, coupled with a lot of per diem partners and freelancers. Katz also maintains a staff of sales associates working on a commission basis. At one point, BLENDi had about 87 small business sales representatives, and now there is a dedicated national rep team.
“I am an unconventional consumer company in the sense that I haven’t had to run a lot of advertisements,” explained Katz. “It’s a lot of business-to-business work, selling to retailers and the promo industry. Last year we hit the seven-figure mark in sales, so we keep moving forward.”
And as Katz gets the opportunity to take a victory lap when receiving the Massachusetts Young Entrepreneur of the Year honor, he continues to appreciate how it all began at Springfield College. Building BLENDi from the ground up has been an incredible journey, and he stresses that he couldn’t have done it without the support of his team, customers, community, and Springfield College.
“Springfield College has been a driving force behind my professional success,” said Katz. “It has provided me with the skills, knowledge, and support necessary to become a successful professional. It’s a place where I have gained invaluable experience and friendships that have helped me to grow and thrive in my career. To me, Springfield College is more than just a college, it is a family of individuals that have helped me to become the person I am today.”
Katz continues to stay connected with the College, exchanging emails with Baran, as well as Springfield College Emeritus Professor of Business Robert N. Lussier, PhD. Katz stresses that he wouldn’t have had success without the help of all of the faculty members he learned from during his time as a student.
“Springfield College was a great choice for me, and a lot of that is attributed to the faculty members,” explained Katz. “I enjoyed getting involved on campus, serving as a residence assistant for three years. I enjoyed serving as the Business Club president, working at the rock wall and meeting a diverse crowd of people. The College was just a great fit for me.”
