GARY: Next on Start Up, we head to Pickerington, Ohio to meet up with Logan Cuvo, the founder of Best Dam Tape, a company that specializes in performance hockey tape that caters to both players and teams.

All of this and more is next on Start Up.

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♪ GARY: My name is Gary Bredow.

I'm a documentary filmmaker and an entrepreneur.

As the country faces significant challenges, small business owners are navigating their way through a changing global marketplace while continuing to push the economy forward.

We've set out for our 14th consecutive season, talking to small business owners about how they started, how things are going, and what matters most to entrepreneurs in modern day America.

This is Start Up.

♪ Hockey tape has been used since the early days of organized hockey to improve grip strength, protect stick blades, and shape the feel of the puck.

Early players wrapped cloth and adhesive to reinforce wooden sticks and control wear.

Over time, materials and techniques have evolved from simple cloth strips to specialized cloth, friction, and goaltender tapes to enhance handling, shot accuracy, and durability while reflecting personal style and team identity.

Today I'm heading to Pickerington, Ohio to meet up with Logan Cuvo, founder of Best Dam Tape, a company that specializes in performance hockey tape that caters to both players and teams.

I'm excited to meet Logan and his family, maybe even lace up some skates and give this tape a try for myself.

♪ ♪ Tell me what it is that you love most about hockey.

LOGAN: It's taught me so much about myself, being a person, entrepreneurship, discipline, time commitment, and really understanding who you are on a deeper level beyond the surface.

GARY: Let's start when you, when you first laced up your skates.

LOGAN: Gary, I mean, I feel like it was my whole life.

Like, when I came, as soon as I was born, I mean, I was kind of born into it.

My father and my uncle both played, uh, at pretty high levels.

And at 2 years old was when I first laced it up.

You know, kind of growing up through it it just became really, really serious, um, you know, trying to be a high-level athlete.

And I actually was drafted to the OHL after that.

GARY: Wow.

LOGAN: Um, in Ontario, the big junior league up there.

And that's where, you know, hockey really, you know, it was serious for those younger ages, but like, that's where it into it, I was like, "Wow, this could actually be, you know, a profession."

GARY: How long did you play the sport?

How high did you get?

LOGAN: So from basically 2 years old to 18, I was on skates every day.

And I was actually climbing up through the ranks, played AAA, was drafted into a bunch of different junior leagues, and actually, you know, recruited by a few different colleges.

Nothing too crazy, but moved into this level that you play, it's called Juniors, and you play in Juniors before you go and develop at Division I college.

And was playing there, and that's where everything really flipped for me.

I was really feeling burnt out.

GARY: Oh.

LOGAN: Um, and you know, that was where, you know, Best Dam Tape kind of came to life after I left that team, uh, and that experience.

GARY: Talk about the feeling of burnout.

LOGAN: I think as an 18-year-old kid, it was really hard for me to, you know, put my finger on what it was at that time.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: Um, I feel like it was, you know, not necessarily burnout from training and doing all these things, just the external factors of sports, of politics, and, and all of that, whatever it may be.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: I didn't want to be treated like another, just a name on a sheet.

I really wanted to be able to, uh, to do something impactful in that sport.

And you know, it was tough.

It really was as an 18-year-old kid, especially having your whole identity ripped out of your chest of just being an athlete your whole life.

GARY: When you came to terms with the fact that you were burnt out, was that one of the fears with sort of admitting that to yourself or your parents to say, you know, "They're gonna be so disappointed in me"?

LOGAN: You can't help but feel like you let them down a little bit.

You know, they spent all this time, they spent all this money.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: And it's something that is, you know, it weighs on me a little bit.

GARY: Sure.

LOGAN: Especially at that point.

And, you know, everything that I do is, is, you know, for them, to create a beautiful life for, for my family.

And, you know, that's them included.

And it's, uh, definitely as an 18-year-old kid, it was just very, very tough, uh, in that.

And that's why I went so hard into Best Dam Tape.

♪ GARY: Take me back to the, to the time that he called you and started to kind of talk about not wanting to play hockey anymore.

LINDSAY: My husband and I have always told Logan, "When you find that time that you lose that passion, that love..." GARY: Yep.

LINDSAY: "You just let us know.

If this is what you want, then let's figure it out."

GARY: Yeah.

LINDSAY: So life is about figuring things out, and he just makes me so proud.

Like, in every step of the way, I just, if there's a bigger word for proud, that's what I am.

Every moment has been a proud moment.

GARY: Tell me about the very first time the idea of Best Dam Tape came into your mind.

LOGAN: I get on the phone with my dad.

You know, I called him.

I was like, I want to leave Boston when I was playing Juniors.

I leave real late at night.

It's a 13-hour drive.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: And we're just talking, you know, I'm still upset and he's just being a good dad.

He's just chopping with me, talking about random things, sports, just keeping passing time.

And he's like, "You know, You never liked any tape when you were playing."

He's like, "You're always trying to find something else.

You never liked any of the big brands.

Just start a tape company."

And I'm like, "Really?"

And he's like, "Yeah," he's like, "Do it."

And I'm like, "Okay, uh, what would I call it?"

He's like, "Just call it The Best Dam Tape and we'll be done with it."

And I'm like, "Okay, sounds good."

And I like, you know... GARY: Like, "Wait, that makes sense."

LOGAN: I'm like, "Wait a second."

Started sourcing our products right away, got a logo made right away, and then started to get to work on our little rinky-dinky website that we had at the beginning stages.

And it's just been where we are.

Here we are now.

♪ ♪ CHAD: I was like, there's a market.

And essentially after it didn't take long, after 7 to 8 minutes, he's like, I'll look into it.

And he came back in about a month and he said, "I figured out how much I need and what I need to do to get started."

And it was about, it was about 9 or 10 grand, somewhere in there.

GARY: Yeah.

CHAD: And I couldn't believe what he came back to me with.

And I was like, "Whoa, this is like an actual business plan."

GARY: Wow.

CHAD: That tells me how much it is, where it's coming from, when it'll be here, everything.

And I was like, "You know what, let's do it."

And he was like, "Really?"

And I'm like, "Yeah, we're doing it."

And that's really- I mean, it's- I know he says it all the time.

It's like, you just got to go.

And that's what happened.

All that energy that was in hockey and everything that it took every day and everything went out towards this, which is pretty cool to see.

♪ ♪ GARY: Walk me through a list of what the problems were.

What was wrong?

What could be wrong with tape?

LOGAN: It's used for around the shin guards right here to keep your shin guards on tight and your socks up.

And then it's also used, as you can kind of see around here, it's also used on the sticks.

When I was playing, really, really solid within the Shin Guard tape.

It was falling off and it was falling off in third period moments when it shouldn't be falling off and I need to go run to the locker room or have someone run to the locker room and grab another roll of tape so I can retape my leg.

And that was the big thing that kind of stuck with me.

And I was like, you know, people play in the NHL and they use these products.

I'm like, they shouldn't have to be worrying about their tape falling off of their legs.

GARY: It throws your mental focus.

LOGAN: Absolutely.

GARY: How do you even go about sourcing tape?

LOGAN: Google.

GARY: Okay.

LOGAN: You know, that's where you start.

And you know, a lot of, there's a lot of tape manufacturers out there, adhesive, tape, a lot.

Just a little tweak to a formula.

And it's a lot of trade secrets in our business 'cause you know, these things were patented forever ago.

GARY: But that's a lot of hurdles and obstacles you need to get around.

LOGAN: It is, you know, it's amazing because I was able to test it.

I was able to test it with my friends who are high-level hockey players.

"Is this good?

Is this good?

Let me know."

And they're like, iteration.

"Not that great, need to change this, this, and this."

Okay, we'll go back, tell the manufacturer, "Do this."

And we just started to kind of get into a flow of, you know, that sourcing, of reaching out to these different people, putting the pieces together, and then, you know, having the- what I think absolutely wonderful product we have today.

GARY: What did you Google first?

LOGAN: "Tape manufacturers."

GARY: Okay.

LOGAN: "For cheap."

GARY: Got it.

Awesome.

LOGAN: "For cheap."

And at that point it was just because it was, it was $9,000 and it was more of the low MOQ.

That was what we started from.

We started from $9 grand that my parents gave me.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: And we've been bootstrapped.

So they gave me that and I paid them back within the first 7 months of our business.

♪ GARY: It seems like it's a critical element of gear for players.

LOGAN: It is.

GARY: Why is that?

Help the non-hockey people understand.

CAMDEN: Yes, pretty much 100% of people in the hockey community use clear tape on their shin pads, elbow pads to help keep it up and stuff like that.

And everybody has loved it more than any other tape company we've tried.

GARY: Why?

CAMDEN: Just kind of with this clear tape especially, it has that stretchy feel with the nice clear coat that kind of makes it look more presentable than others.

It stays on a lot longer.

GARY: What does it mean to you seeing what Logan's done, what he's built as a fellow hockey player?

CAMDEN: It's awesome.

It's awesome.

I mean, I was one of the first people that he was kind of showing the tape to.

I fell in love with it.

I was always asking him to get me more and more and more.

And it's just so cool to see him pursuing what he loved.

It pushes me every day to see how far he's going with it.

And, you know, those are the kind of people you want to surround yourself that try to better themselves in the world.

♪ GARY: The first company that you emailed this to or request, were they domestic or overseas?

LOGAN: We started out sourcing from Alibaba.com and we sourced someone in China.

That process was crazy.

Probably one of the craziest things in my life because I have to get this over the border and deal with border agents and pay.

And little do they know, for people out there, they messed up my HTS codes and they gave me 35% tax on my products, they classified it as glass and it was a wrong classification.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: I had to type a letter out to Homeland Security and send them at 18 years old to be like, "Hey, this is gonna kill my margin.

I kind of need this money back."

And that was, you know, one of the, I still say it all the time, it's one of the craziest things I've ever done, especially at 18 years old.

GARY: They changed the code and gave you your money?

LOGAN: Yes, they did.

They ended up giving us the refund.

GARY: Sometimes all you have to do is ask, right?

LOGAN: Sometimes all you have to do is ask.

GARY: Talk to me about that first manufacturer all the way through to the present.

LOGAN: You know, it starts with getting those samples and like I said, testing it with my pro guys.

And I think we went about, I think we went through about 3, 4 iterations with the product and then I believe another 2 to 3 with the packaging and it was good.

And then we got into the cloth tape.

So the cloth tape was our second product that we came out and we were all good through those iterations in the product.

And then we got to that and just quality and supply chain, you know, I started to search for somewhere else.

And then that's where I was like, you know, I really want an agile supply chain.

We're going, we're a scrappy young company.

I want to be able to take advantage of all these opportunities right away, not have to wait for it.

GARY: Sure.

LOGAN: And, you know, just such a pleasure to work with my manufacturer in Massachusetts.

I work directly with the CEO.

GARY: How'd you find him?

LOGAN: It was a cold email.

And he said, you know, "Logan, I'd love to chat."

And, you know, we've developed an amazing, relation- he's one of my greatest mentors.

GARY: And were they making hockey tape?

LOGAN: So they were, they were making it, but they were private labeling it.

And it wasn't a big, it wasn't a big line of theirs.

They were really, really big inside of the athletic and medical space.

So really big in there, kind of a side gig for the, for the hockey tape.

And that's where I brought it in.

He was like, "Absolutely.

Trying to keep expanding that.

And we've been able to grow it through with them.

♪ GARY: Talk about that first big sale.

LOGAN: Anaheim Ducks in the NHL, the National Hockey League, were our first big customer, our first big... GARY: How?

LOGAN: That came from some prior relationships that I've had, and just through the hockey space, and sending an email out to the equipment manager.

That's who we deal with on most of these team sides, the equipment manager.

GARY: Gotcha.

"Will you try this?"

Yeah.

LOGAN: And it's, "Hey, can we send some samples?

Can we send some samples?"

"Sure, you can send some samples, but it has to be 4 boxes."

That's what they said to me.

"It has to be 4 boxes.

And we are doing this, we're going to put it in for our rookie camp."

And I'm like, "Okay, sounds good."

"If they like it, you're in."

And I'm just anxiously waiting until the end of rookie camp.

And then they, you know, sent us a text and said, "Order about 25 boxes."

I had to figure out how to pack a pallet, Gary.

I had to figure out how to wrap my own pallet.

I was like, uh, I have to- I pulled the pallet from the trash.

I was like, "Is this going to work?"

GARY: Oh my gosh.

LOGAN: And I had to wrap it and put it all on there.

It was so- it was such a crazy time in my life.

And I'll never forget sending out that first order to them.

My first like palleted order.

I was like, "Wow, this is really happening right now."

GARY: I love that and I love the way that you express it because it shows people you don't have to have anything figured out.

You just have to take the steps, just do it.

LOGAN: 100%.

GARY: Just take an action.

LOGAN: Nobody knows what they're doing.

We're all trying to figure out what we're doing.

I'm still trying to figure out what I'm doing.

GARY: After you got the Ducks, what happened then?

LOGAN: Social media went out and we had a big hit.

We had a big pump on the social media.

A lot of people saw it.

I was like, you know, we had a big 50 followers at the time and literally nothing.

And then, you know, like, I think it was like 50,000 people saw it or hits.

And I'm like, "Oh, okay, this is nice.

Let's see.

This is going to keep working.

We just need to keep chasing these teams."

And fortunate enough to have Ohio State do the same thing.

GARY: Awesome.

LOGAN: To have Ohio State come on board was amazing.

And then the year after was Philadelphia Flyers, Winnipeg Jets, Sacred Heart, Bemidji State, Bowling Green, you know, a big, big jump in the teams that we worked with.

Syracuse Crunch, Allen Americans, they're all just kind of coming to my mind.

But... GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: And we work with both the women's program and the men's program at Princeton and Ohio State both.

So it's awesome to be with these teams.

And that's why I said it fulfills my dream of being a pro player.

♪ GARY: Let's talk about the accessibility when it comes to hockey.

LOGAN: It's such a barred-off sport.

You know, there's, you know, we talked about it, but the skates, just for the highest-end skates, you're paying, you know, $2,000 just to get those on your feet.

And not even before you get the blades and then molded to your feet and all of that.

And then like just the fee to play for most youth teams at the highest level, AAA, it's about like $15,000 to $20,000 just to get, just to get the jersey and the gear.

We support many things that make hockey more affordable, accessible to veterans, accessible to first responders, accessible to people who are blind, accessible to people with special needs.

GARY: How about to low-income kids?

LOGAN: Low-income kids.

We actually work with 43 Oak.

Um, they are, they're an agency in, in, in NYC and they provide, you know, an amazing experience for all inner city NYC kids.

GARY: Incredible.

LOGAN: To come and try hockey and we provide them with their tape.

So it's like, that's a really big thing for me.

And I hope to one day be able to run one of those things, be able to run one of those platforms to have a safe space for kids who just wanna try the game out.

And we have the gear, we have the access to it.

So why not be able to do it?

GARY: And you may discover that diamond in the rough, that kid that, that's just incredible.

Instinctually really great at the sport, but just has no access to it.

And here we are, we are at the rink.

Uh, you know, I'm not expecting much out of me.

It's been a few years, so if I just don't fall, I think I'll be super happy.

So... ♪ GARY: Time to, uh, put this tape to use.

LOGAN: It's time.

GARY: Let's do it.

Okay, so start with the shin pad.

LOGAN: So you put it on just like this.

So you just pull it out like this.

GARY: Yep.

LOGAN: You apply right here and you're around, around, and around.

GARY: It makes it feel already so much more secure.

You know, it makes me ask the question, why don't the pad companies make the pads not need tape?

LOGAN: It's a funny question.

I wish I could answer that for you.

GARY: Yeah.

I mean, not to put you out of business.

LOGAN: No.

So this stick right here is my other stick.

It already has some tape on it.

Basically, the big thing is you want to have like a little, like half of the tape.

You see right there?

GARY: Yep.

LOGAN: Half of the tape showing.

And then you keep going.

GARY: The way they always have.

LOGAN: I usually just do like a few strips in the middle.

GARY: Okay.

LOGAN: And I give it a nice rip.

GARY: Well, the time has come to lace up my skates, tape up my shin guards and stick, and hit the ice.

Now, I grew up playing backyard pond hockey, but it's been quite a few years.

So hopefully it comes back to me quickly.

And I make it out of this in one piece.

♪ ♪ ♪ GARY: Where's the company sitting today?

LOGAN: It's so crazy.

We're actually rolling out with big retail here soon.

You know, they have a big event, Walmart Open Call.

We were able to pitch down there and get a golden ticket, which is... GARY: What?

LOGAN: You know, their big event.

GARY: Which means you are going to be in Walmart stores.

LOGAN: Yes, which we've been going through that process for a little while now, but it's creeping up on the date here soon.

GARY: Oh my gosh.

LOGAN: Definitely amazing.

And also with that, we have, you know, sport expansion right now, demos going on with WVU and Ohio State for, you know, their sports outside of hockey.

I'm graduating college and going full-time with the company here.

GARY: You haven't graduated college yet?

LOGAN: No, I graduate next week.

GARY: Oh my gosh.

Congratulations.

LOGAN: Thank you.

I, you know, at 4 PM I graduate, 5 PM my full-time job starts.

GARY: Amazing.

LOGAN: Through college, I was able to do a bunch of pitch competitions, a bunch of fun, fun, fun, fun events.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: Able to pitch to people like Damon John, Lori Greiner.

All those awesome people, and it's just been a dream come true.

CHAD: One thing that's helped us immensely is Logan and the pitch competitions and things like that, and raising money with no investor.

That's helped immensely.

It's helped us be able to put a few pallets of each tape, especially when it comes from overseas, it takes 2, 3 months to get here.

So your supply chain and planning is based on that, and it makes it harder.

Especially being bootstrapped.

And, you know, one of the funny parts is Logan and I have, probably some of the- I wouldn't say arguments, but some of our craziest conversations are when he has somebody that wants to invest because people want to invest every day in him.

And it's not the tape, it's him.

They're investing in him.

GARY: Yeah.

CHAD: And he comes to me and he's like, "Hey, they want to do this."

And I'm like, "As your chief, as your captain of strategy, we're not- it's not the right time.

You got to realize what taking on somebody else is.

We're a family."

Like, well, I- and that's one of the greatest things I can take out of all this is working, is talking to him every day.

I mean, there's not a lot of people that say that.

GARY: As a father, I got to say, like, that's the ultimate dream is to have a business where I'm spending time with my kids because that's the, that's the value.

CHAD: That's the best thing out of all of it for me.

GARY: That to me is the success.

CHAD: If it failed tomorrow, my 9 or 10 grand that started this whole thing, it was well worth every dollar.

I would do it 50 times over.

GARY: Talk about your family and their involvement.

What's it like working with your mom and dad with this business?

LOGAN: Yeah, I mean, it's, as you can imagine, we definitely bash heads, you know, with any business partner you have, it's trust.

And, you know, it's a little hard to, to get that trust completely when they just look at you as, you know, the little, little tyke running around when I'm still a little kid.

But it's just been the greatest joy of my life.

They are the best, and I have such a great support system with, you know, not only them, but, you know, all the other people who help out with the company.

You know, my girlfriend, my, my parents, my sister, they're all just, you know, so instrumental to, to me and not only company, but myself.

Number one sports company in the world.

GARY: It seems like the sky is the limit.

This is a, I feel like we're meeting you at a crazy trajectory point.

LOGAN: It really is.

And I appreciate that, Gary.

Thank you.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: It's exciting.

It really, really is.

And I'm excited for these next stages.

GARY: What would you say have been the biggest challenges, hurdles, setbacks, either personally or professionally from the inception to present day?

LOGAN: My whole life playing hockey, every, every decision that you make is made within 0.5 seconds.

Hit somebody.

Skate this way.

Move your head this way.

Shoot the puck.

One thing that I, I've kind of struggled with, um, at the beginning stages and since changed, or trying to change, um, you know, is really trying to separate my ego from the decisions that I make.

You know, as an athlete, your ego is so involved with every one of those split-second decisions, and take my time making decisions and stepping back from it and really evaluating where things can go and what your reaction's gonna be was really hard at the start, but it's turned out to be like a superpower.

It's something that I found very profound throughout this whole journey.

GARY: Yeah.

In 5 years, where is Best Dam Tape as a company?

Where are you?

LOGAN: Best Dam Tape as a company, simple, number 1 sports tape company in the world.

I think 5 years we have that.

GARY: Yeah, yeah.

LOGAN: And that's expanding, being a big player in the NFL, being a big player in the MLS, being a big player in the NBA.

GARY: Yeah.

LOGAN: We really wanna be able to do to do that and, you know, also being able to sell through and be, you know, efficient with all of our retail partners.

I know, you know, taking up shelf- getting shelf space is one thing, but, you know, really executing sell-through and high-level sales is a whole different ballgame.

So we're really trying to, you know, do that and wanna be successful.

I know that's gonna drive a lot.

GARY: What a day we had with Logan and his family, full of laughter, stories, and that electric feeling when someone has rediscovered their purpose.

Logan grew up laser-like focused on a hockey career, but dreams change.

And although he may not be personally lacing 'em up every day, you can still find him on the ice with his tape wrapped around the sticks and pads for hundreds of players.

He didn't lose his love for the game, he just found a new way to live it.

And that's a beautiful thing, that dreams can bend and take on new shapes.

And when they do, it can ignite a new fire that you never knew you had, opening up an entirely new adventure in life.

And this is a story about people who refuse to let you fall.

Family in its richest form.

It's the crowd that shows up, the friends, the neighbors, that first customer who believed long before anyone else.

And the Cuvo family is a great example of how important that support really is.

Because that's what helps push you through the hardest stretches of this journey and reminds you of why you started in the first place.

If your dream feels faded or the world has changed around it, find the strength to allow your dream to transform.

It might lead you to an entirely new place that you never imagined was possible.

For more information, visit our website and search episodes for Best Dam Tape.

Next time on Start Up, we head to downtown Columbus, Ohio to meet up with Nathan and David, the owners of Restalgic, a vibrant pottery studio and boutique offering immersive classes and unique creations.

Be sure to join us next time on Start Up.

Do you want to learn more about the show?

Or maybe nominate a business?

Visit us at StartUp-usa.com and connect with us on social media.

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