How Jack Bunker Built Blow It Gum — A Caffeine Gum Startup Story

Jack Bunker didn’t start a brand in college. He started one in high school — and not an easy one.In this episode of This Dude Started Something, we sit down with Jack Bunker, founder of Blow It Gum, a liquid-core caffeine gum built to do one thing: make a boring product loud again.Please note: This episode was recorded at 1:00 AM and may include some spontaneous tangents.Jack walks us through how a random moment at school turned into a real consumer brand, why he built the brand before the product, and how he spent months hunting for a chemist while most kids his age were playing Fortnite.“I wanted to find something boring that everyone uses every day and just try to make it cool.”From giving away 70% of his first shipment, to DM’ing athletes and artists nonstop, to literally running business meetings out of an 18-passenger van in his high school parking lot, Jack breaks down what it actually takes to go all-in early.“It was me and ChatGPT versus the world.”We also get into:Why Blow It Gum uses a liquid core for faster caffeine absorptionHow caffeine hits through your gums in 5–10 minutesBootstrapping vs. raising money (and why Jack held onto equity)Marketing through chaos, giveaways, and bold contentJumping out of helicopters… for brandingTurning learning curves into leverageAnd why Jack is stepping away for two years — on purpose“Even if it all goes to sh*t, I’ll never lose the learning experience.”This episode is part startup case study, part brand breakdown, part unfiltered founder brain. If you’re into consumer brands, DTC, marketing, or just hearing what it looks like when someone actually sends it early — this one’s for you.