(FE) Creative solutions
Unlocking success through creative solutions — that’s the tagline that greets visitors to the Flyer Enterprise Creative website — and exactly what Ryan Mifsud ’96 and Craig Kohrs ’00, founders of We Are The Ripple, were searching for last fall.
WATR is a Cleveland-based customizable drinkware line that donates 10% of its proceeds to support humanitarian aid in East African villages. Partnering with Drink Local Drink Tap — a nonprofit that advocates for and creates affordable, clean water solutions and sanitation facilities – WATR directly addresses children and families, helping them stay in school and healthy.
Mifsud and Kohrs, who are brothers-in-law and both graduated from UD with degrees in marketing, trace their desire to create a socially conscious business back to their time at the University of Dayton, where they said the mission of the Marianists stuck with them.
“When we were there, it was ‘learn, lead, serve,’” said Mifsud.
“When we had this opportunity to start a new business, one of the things we looked for was an opportunity to give back and do more than just sell a product.”
The pair hoped to turn their passion into purpose-driven giving, directly connecting their influences at UD to the change created by WATR.
That’s where FE Creative came in. Kohrs and Mifsud reached out to the student team directly, hoping to partner with current UD students to help expand their drinkware audience to college-aged individuals.
FE Enterprises, which is a student-run corporation, generates $2.5 million across 13 divisions each year and employs approximately 200 students a year. FE Creative is the newest branch and operates as a student-run marketing agency.
Senior Lauren Crum is the 2024-25 president of e-commerce and oversees the marketing division. Her team works with clients to offer services like photography, website design, content creation and graphic design.
Working with clients offers experiential learning opportunities that students can put on a résumé. Working specifically with alumni clients creates meaningful opportunities for the FE Creative team.
“[Mifsud and Kohrs] are invested in FE and the University,” said Crum. “They’re excited and wanting to learn more about what work we’re doing.”
Mifsud and Kohrs enlisted the FE Creative team for content creation, giving them the freedom to snap lifestyle shots that would resonate with their targeted consumers. The team produced photographs of the WATR bottles all around campus, highlighting the versatility of the product.
Mifsud and Kohrs said they don’t see the partnership ending anytime soon. Pleased with the insight Crum and the FE Creative team brought to the project, they will work closely with the students as they continue to grow WATR. And they want to encourage other alumni to do the same.
“I would love to have alumni from around the country understand the resources that are available and the experiences that they can provide to UD students,” said Kohrs. “I don’t know a single business owner who is not looking for content.”
Crum said FE Creative is particularly interested in partnering with more businesses run by Flyer alumni, bridging the gap between students, past and present.
“There’s something unique about learning your professional skills in a Marianist community,” said Kohrs.
The partners hope more alumni will tap into the unlimited potential of current students and continue to advance UD’s call to learn, lead and serve for years to come.
Images provided by FE Creative