Here comes the ... Groom?

Two University of St. Thomas alumni recently launched a new magazine, Today's Groom, dedicated to providing men the tools to successfully become engaged, married, and begin married life. William Easton ('05), an UST undergraduate alumnus with a degree in Entrepreneurship and Operations Management, and Jacob Schraufnagel ('05), also an UST graduate in Entrepreneurship, placed the first issue of their quarterly publication on newsstands throughout Minnesota in January of 2006.

Inspiration struck Easton at his sister's wedding. Watching the wedding process up close, Easton realized that while brides have a wealth of helpful magazines and services, there were no resources for grooms. Easton and Schraufnagel collaborated to develop the concept through their undergraduate capstone course, Entrepreneurship 450. After their graduation in May of 2005 they launched the business.

Even beyond their time as undergraduates, support from the University of St. Thomas has been an integral part of their success. The Schulze School of Entrepreneurship has provided valuable resources for the duo. "From the start, the University of St. Thomas provided us the opportunity to develop a viable business plan along with resources (database, professors, networking, other people in the field) to get the information we needed," explained Schraufngael. "In addition, UST has given us free office space in Schulze Hall, in 1 of 7 Small Business Development Offices. We get free rent, internet access, use of a number of conference rooms, a copy machine, fax and access to faculty that are willing to help. That frees us up anywhere from $1000 - $2000 a month in overhead. Without this support it would have been extremely difficult for us to still be in business!"

The magazine's most recent issue features a celebrity cover and interview with Minnesota Twins player Michael Cuddyer. Grooms can find helpful ideas about everything from budgeting for the wedding and honeymoon to making the right decision about bachelor party transportation.

Today's Groom can be found throughout the Twin Cities area at Lunds, Byerley's, Shinders, Festival Foods, the St. Thomas bookstore, Buttercream Cakes, Knights Formal Wear, Savvi Formalwear, select Kowalski's markets, select Cub Foods, and various other wedding retailers. But Easton and Schraufnagel are thinking beyond just the local market.

"We want to make Today's Groom a successful magazine in our current Minnesota market as well as other markets across the U.S.," Schraufnagel commented. "Throughout the month of October we are meeting with various investors to get Today's Groom into another market next year. We are currently exploring the option of franchising Today's Groom into other markets as well."

You can subscribe online or learn more about Today's Groom by visiting them online at www.todaysgroom.com.

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