Student Spotlight: Wyatt Callahan - Grandpas Trunk

Meet Wyatt Callahan, a soon-to-be Senior in the Leeds School of Business and Founder of Grampas Trunk!

Wyatt is studying business with an emphasis in marketing and strategic entrepreneurship with a certificate in global business. He is also a founding father and the Rush Chair of the Kappa Alpha Order CU Boulder fraternity.

In addition to Wyatt's academic accomplishments, he is an avid outdoorsman who spends his free time skiing the Colorado Mountains. When he's not shredding, Wyatt pursues his other passions: thrifting and photography. By combining his photography skills and thrifting habits, he started Grampas Trunk! Wyatt says,

“In everything I do, I try my best to minimize my carbon footprint and have a positive impact on the environment when possible. After discovering not only the positive impact it has on the environment, but the cheap and unique nature of the items sold, I began to fall in love with thrift shopping.”

About Grampas Trunk

Grampas Trunk is a vintage e-commerce resale business present on both Etsy and Depop. Wyatt originally began Grampas Trunk on Etsy, but is in the process of transferring to Depop as the distribution primary channel.

Wyatt has dedicated countless hours to thrift shopping. Through this, he has developed an intuition for determining any item’s value. He has extensive knowledge of age identification and pricing, which aids him in recognizing items to resell.

Wyatt Comments,

“I found a rush from flipping whatever I could possibly find for profit. This same rush is what motivates me to succeed with Grampas Trunk, and is what will motivate me to continue working as an entrepreneur in the future.”

He adds,

“My customers are essentially paying for the utility of ease of purchase, as acquiring rare vintage items like the items I sell often takes knowledge, time, patience, and persistence that many individuals in my target market don’t have.”

Many of the items at Grampas Trunk are sourced from thrift outlets such as Goodwill, local boutique thrift ships, and other vintage resellers. Each item is then photographed and listed on Etsy and Depop. On average, Grampas Trunk sells items priced around $20-$30.

Grampas Trunk Pop-Ups

Wyatt hosts semi-frequent pop-ups within Boulder and will attend the Mile High Flea Market in Denver every Sunday for the next three weeks. On May 28th, Wyatt will also pop-up at Thrift-Con’s Thrift Pop Outdoor Market!

To stay up to date on upcoming events, be sure to follow Grampas Trunk on Instagram!

Challenges Faced

When starting Grampas Trunk, Wyatt struggled to identify target customers and create an inventory. He comments,

“In a highly concentrated market like the thrift resale market, differentiating yourself, the way you present your products, and the way you interact with your customers is instrumental in finding success.”

Wyatt sustains a competitive advantage over other resellers through Grampas Trunk’s unique aesthetic, bundle and discount options, negotiable prices, and quality customer service.

Advice for Current Students

Wyatt provides the following advice to current students and aspiring entrepreneurs,

“Take a fearless approach to failure and the unknown. It took me years from having the idea to get the business operating. Looking back, it was fear of failure as well as intimidation from the fact that I had no idea where to start that held me back. Bottom line, if you have an idea for a venture you believe could succeed, find the courage to just pull the trigger, take the first step, and go from there.”