Marketing & Media

Moonshot, a new Milwaukee-based venture studio, aims to foster early-stage companies

By Ashley Smart

Sep 12, 2023 1:08 pm

Ryan Chuckel (resized) — Ryan Chuckel. Submitted photo.

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Bodhi Gunpowder Inc.Moonshot Orea Rockhouse Agency Aaron Hitchins Ryan Chuckel Tihomir Liptak

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Three advertising and marketing professionals with decades of experience at varying lifestyle agencies have joined forces to launch Moonshot, a new venture studio concept, here in southeastern Wisconsin. Ryan Chuckel, founder and chief executive officer of Delafield-based Gunpowder Inc., helped spearhead the effort to make Moonshot a reality. Described as a venture studio designed to

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Three advertising and marketing professionals with decades of experience at varying lifestyle agencies have joined forces to launch Moonshot, a new venture studio concept, here in southeastern Wisconsin. Ryan Chuckel, founder and chief executive officer of Delafield-based Gunpowder Inc., helped spearhead the effort to make Moonshot a reality. Described as a venture studio designed to invest in purpose-driven bands and help early-stage companies accelerate growth, Moonshot says it is looking to shake up the standard relationship ad agencies have with clients. Chuckel has been in the marketing/advertising business for 25 years working at firms like Milwaukee-based BVK and STIR Advertising. He also helped start a Chicago-based agency, called Olson Engage, where he worked with large consumer brands including GoPro, Cabela’s and Kraft Foods. “Our clients were participating in categories where they had to buy things,” said Chuckel. “It was consumer packaged goods where you were just fighting for share of wallet. What I realized was I enjoyed the times I got to work with brands where you’re asking people to consider share of heart. Thinking about things they don’t need to spend money on but want to.” After founding Gunpowder in 2015, Chuckel was able to continue building connections with well-known brands in the outdoor industry. One of Gunpowder’s largest clients is THOR industries, the largest manufacturer of RVs in the world. The firm also does work for Racine-based Johnson Outdoors. Through his work at Gunpowder, Chuckel became connected with his Moonshot co-founders: Tihomir Liptak, founder and CEO of Bodhi, and Aaron Hitchins, founder of Rockhouse Agency. [caption id="attachment_576224" align="alignleft" width="300"]

Aaron Hitchins[/caption] As a firm, Gunpowder specializes in public relations, brand strategy and digital marketing. While working with clients, Gunpwoder often works alongside other agencies that have complimentary services. Bodhi is based in Fairfield, Iowa and is a digital growth agency. Rockhouse is headquartered in Alberta, Canada and specializes in high-end video production and other creative work. “The three of us have had a few years’ track record of working alongside one another, especially with clients that have been early-stage companies or startups, and helping them scale to have massive success,” said Chuckel. The formation of Moonshot is making that informal partnership official. Moonshot provides an infrastructure for the trio to invest in early-stage companies without risking the resources at their respective agencies. Through Moonshot, each founder will also provide mentorship and marketing guidance to the companies they invest in. [caption id="attachment_576225" align="alignleft" width="300"]

Tihomir Liptak[/caption] “We’re coming in as active investors and in some cases we’re buying into an equity position in the company,” said Chuckel. “In some cases, we’re putting in place a gain sharing model, where instead of getting paid for our time as agencies, we basically take a percentage of their margin after sale. In certain scenarios we’ll say whatever your revenue is, minus what you spend on your marketing, we’ll take a percentage of that. They’re paying us to help them grow the company.” Moonshot leadership is not only looking for early-stage companies to support but trying to start new companies in underserved categories. Moonshot’s first newly formed company is a startup called Orea. Orea will offer a line of products that help families with young children more comfortably take part in outdoor recreational activities. Orea’s first product is a lightweight, portable pack-and-play. A crowdfunding campaign to help support the launch of the product will open this fall with hopes of having a finished product next spring. Moonshot is currently working with three clients. Chuckel said the firm will likely remain completely virtual, but Orea will eventually need its own physical office. In Moonshot’s first year of business, he hopes the agency will be able to add one to two partners to its portfolio of clients. “I really believe that agencies are going to have to think about how they structure their relationships with clients to accommodate this idea that they’re going to get paid for growth instead of peoples’ time,” said Chuckel. “Over the last 25 years, I’ve heard people talk about this, but I think the time is now.”