How Entrepreneur Jack Wren ’26 Balances Academics, Ice Hockey and Business
The entrepreneurial seeds that Jack Wren ’26 planted as a 5-year-old would eventually grow into a full-fledged career running his own small business producing hats.
Even at that young age, Wren possessed a savvy business acumen. He would purchase seed packets for growing assorted plants and flowers in bulk for 10 cents apiece and would sell them to his green thumb-inclined neighbors for $2 a pack.
It would come as no surprise to anyone who knew Wren growing up in Saratoga, New York, that, as he pursues a dual degree in finance and business analytics from the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, he’s successfully launched his own hat company, Happy Duck Co.
“I’ve always had entrepreneurial endeavors and aspirations. This summer, after two good externships with BNY Mellon and Fenimore Asset Management, I realized I wanted to launch a company based on something I’m passionate about,” Wren says. “And I’m definitely passionate about athletics and hats, so out of those passions I started Happy Duck, which is marketed as a brand for athletes.”
The idea for the brand: “When I was little, I was rambunctious, and my mom used to tell me that I would quack a lot and she would call me a happy duck,” Wren says. “I’m very close with my parents and I thought that would be a great name for the brand.”
Wren, a lifelong hockey player and member of the University’s club men’s ice hockey team, has built the company from the ground up, including setting up as a limited liability company (LLC), designing his website, creating a comprehensive social media strategy, hiring employees and taking out a personal loan to cover the startup costs.
The business venture has all been worth it for Wren, who is currently working with Rachel Duffy, director of the Office of Trademark Licensing, on an official licensing agreement between Happy Duck and the University.
“I’m focusing on being an athletic brand and I’ve brought on former Syracuse University student-athletes to help run social media, set up photoshoots with our product models and streamline the process with the athletes we’re targeting,” Wren says. “Our goal is to get people to see themselves wearing our brand and our hats while they workout.”
Wren sat down with SU News to reflect on his journey to Syracuse University, reminisce about his Orange hockey career and discuss his career ambitions once he graduates.
Involvement on campus: Member of the club men’s ice hockey team, the Blackstone LaunchPad at Syracuse University Libraries and Delta Sigma Pi, an international business fraternity.
What made Syracuse University the right school for you?
I knew the Whitman School was ranked as one of the best business schools in the country, and I knew I wanted to study business and finance. After I got in, I met the guys on the hockey team, came for my accepted students’ day tour and got to hang out with and skate with the team and meet the coach. They offered me a position, and after seeing everything in person and getting a feel for the campus, the academics and the club hockey team, I knew that Syracuse was home for me. I’ve been eternally grateful to be here.
What has that experience been like, playing for the club hockey team?
People often hear club sports, and they have this misconception that a club sport isn’t that serious of an activity. But club hockey is intense.
We start skating in late August, begin practicing in September and have our first games in the middle of September, and if we qualify for nationals, we’re playing into the middle of March. It’s a grueling schedule. We have games every weekend. The competition level is extremely high.
But if I had everything to do all over again, coming off of playing junior hockey and transitioning to college life, I would 100% go this route and be a student-athlete at Syracuse.
Favorite memory from the hockey team?
I’ve had a lot of great memories on and off the ice. My favorite memory would probably be when we went to go play Liberty University down in Lynchburg, Virginia [Jan. 19-20, 2024]. We played in front of a sold-out crowd of 6,000-plus people and our games were televised nationally on ESPN+. It was a really cool experience that I’ll never forget.
What are your career ambitions?
One of my friends told me that the journey is the destination, and I’ve really embraced that mentality. A lot of people get concerned with where they’re going or where they need to be, but you need to have that ability to pivot and change course.
My whole reason for starting Happy Duck was to understand how to start and grow a company. My goal is to be a stock trader once I graduate, and I would like to eventually run my own finance company. But as of right now, my goal is to take this company as far as I can. We’re trying to make a name for ourselves in a niche market and then expand from there. But having that ability and vision to be able to pivot and change on a dime for whatever may come my way is important. I’ve learned to embrace the unexpected.
