From College Hobby to McMinnville Storefront

A few short years ago, Grant Blodgette ‘19 wanted to pursue college athletics which drew him to Linfield. 

“I specifically had my eyes on playing soccer,” he said. “I also fell in love with the McMinnville campus and the balance between academics, athletics and social life that Linfield seemed to offer.”

Grant initially started his studies in kinesiology, before quickly determining it was not the path for him. He became a marketing major in the second semester of his first year. He also chose to compete in cross country and track and field instead of soccer. 

“I’ve always been quick with the decision-making,” he said. “I sometimes regret those decisions, but I’ve never been slow to make them.”

Grant’s interest in marketing, along with a family full of entrepreneurs, pushed him toward a career in the business world.

He already had a history of collecting vintage pieces. And in the fall of his sophomore year, Grant created an online website to monetize his hobby. 

Grant was able to continue building his brand and online platform through independent study courses and guidance from his faculty advisor, Gayatree Sarma. This opportunity gave him the ability to confidently commit to even larger real-world applications his senior year.

By the spring of 2019, while most other seniors were likely facing a losing battle with senioritis, Grant was juggling classes and making weekly trips to Portland to make his dream of an in-person store a reality. With Portland being the closest city, hosting a larger hub of commerce than McMinnville or the Oregon coast, it seemed like the perfect place to launch a new business. 

Grant signed the building lease on his birthday in February and got to work building the store from the inside out.

He opened G.O.A.T. in Portland a week after graduation.

However, the transition wasn’t seamless.

“I got there and, on a personal level, it was immediately clear that it just wasn’t what made me happy,” he said. “I think we were at an early point of the growth curve of having an independent vintage clothing store. I feel like it was a really great learning point that’s become hugely valuable to where I am now, but the learning curve was really steep.”

Almost a year later, as it did worldwide, COVID-19 disrupted the business and G.O.A.T was forced to return to its roots as a fully online store. Grant recognized that sales performed well on the online storefront, but it wasn’t enough for him.

“I really missed the life that the in-person experience really breathed into the business and added to the soul of it,” he said. “I had the opportunity to come back to McMinnville and I realized that I really want my business in communities and towns like this. That's the world I want to live in.” 

Returning to McMinnville and reopening G.O.A.T. is one of the best decisions Grant made for his business, and he has not regretted making it.

The only thing Grant regrets: not doing it sooner.

“I just wish that I had taken McMinnville more seriously for the first store,” he said. “I would have skipped the Portland chapter and just built here in McMinnville the whole time.”

Plenty of opportunities have been presented to G.O.A.T. since the relocation to McMinnville, including a marketing and promotional campaign for the store delivered by current Linfield marketing students.

When presented with the campaign, Grant was impressed by their work. “They dug their teeth into the whole project in a way that I was really kind of blown away by.”

Grant has since implemented a few of the students' campaign ideas into G.O.A.T.

He especially appreciated their lens on social media engagement and outreach.

Reflecting on his time here at Linfield, Grant highlighted that his marketing courses focused on critical thinking, which in turn sharpened his exceptional problem-solving skills and the ability to keep improving his business.

The marketing courses at Linfield continue to emphasize these skills, and luckily for Grant, he still benefits from them in his life as a Linfield alumnus.