Grind Goods Launches Annual Grant With Warrior Rising in Honor of Fallen Soldier Captain Tyler Feehan

When retired Army Special Operations veteran Roger Gindlesperger Jr. was building Grind Goods out of his garage, Warrior Rising was one of the first organizations to stand behind him. This Veterans Day season, Grind Goods is giving that support back, and doing it in the name of someone the company lost.

Grind Goods, the Utah-based, veteran-owned oral care brand now in more than 800 Walmart stores nationwide, is establishing an ongoing annual grant for Warrior Rising. The grant will be unveiled at Warrior Rising’s Stand Up for Startups on Thursday, November 19, at Capitol Theatre in Salt Lake City. It is awarded in honor of Captain Tyler James Feehan, U.S. Army, the son of Grind Goods co-owner Stephen Feehan.

Honoring Captain Tyler Feehan

Captain Feehan was killed in action this past summer while serving in an air defense role in Jordan. He was Stephen Feehan’s only child, and because Grind Goods is family-owned and operated, Tyler had worked for the company at times behind the scenes. His loss reshaped the company’s mission.

“Tyler would always fight for the underdog. He lived to help other people, and we will carry that forward. We wouldn’t be where we are without Warrior Rising. They helped us, as an underdog, get into Walmart, they helped us find our first major investor, and they helped us grow from one product to a full line. Now we get to give back to the organization that had our back, in Tyler’s name.”

Roger Gindlesperger Jr., Founder and CEO of Grind Goods

Stephen Feehan and Gindlesperger are brothers in arms in the truest sense. The two went through Army training together in the 1990s and closed out their service together years later in Utah. For Gindlesperger, honoring Tyler is personal.

A grant built for the way veteran founders actually grow

The Grind Goods grant is designed to do more than write a check. Each year, a member of the Grind Goods team will sit as a judge at Warrior Rising’s event, hear the veteran founders pitch, and select a recipient in the consumer packaged goods (CPG) space whose values reflect the brand’s own. The award includes $10,000 in grant funding and a full year of mentorship from Gindlesperger, who has navigated the exact road many of these founders are on: retail buyers, co-packers, capital and shelf space.

The choice to focus on CPG founders is deliberate. Grind Goods knows firsthand how difficult that path is, and the company wants to shorten it for the founder who comes next.

“Warrior Rising exists so veterans don’t have to build alone. What Roger and the Grind Goods team are doing is exactly what this community is supposed to do. A founder we backed years ago is now turning around to back the next one, and doing it to honor a soldier who gave everything. Purpose never dies. This grant is proof of that.”

Jason B.A. Van Camp, Founder of Warrior Rising

From garage to Walmart shelves

Grind Goods first connected with Warrior Rising in 2021, working through the organization’s business-planning coursework and pitch process before landing an invitation to Walmart’s Open Call in 2022 and earning shelf space on the spot. Warrior Rising’s logo appears on all Grind Goods packaging today. The company sees this grant as the beginning of a long-term commitment, not a one-time gesture.

Join us at Stand Up for Startups

Stand Up for Startups pairs a live veteran founder pitch competition with a headline performance by comedian Brian Regan. It takes place Thursday, November 19, at Capitol Theatre, 50 W 200 S, Salt Lake City. Doors open at 6:00 p.m., with the program beginning at 7:00 p.m. General admission is free and open to all ages, but seating is limited. Reserve your seats at warriorrising.org/6cslc.

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