From Sonoma State to startup success: GUY FOX founders give back
Liam Eriksson and Grant Pearce met more than a decade ago as students at Sonoma State University. Today, the friends are co-founders of GUY FOX, a men’s fragrance brand — and recently decided to give back to the place where their partnership began by establishing the GUY FOX Aspiring Entrepreneur Scholarship for SSU business majors.
Eriksson grew up in Gilroy, California, and graduated from Gilroy High School. While many of his classmates headed to San José State or Chico State, Eriksson landed at Sonoma State and quickly realized it was a great fit.
Sonoma State, Eriksson said, was “far enough from home, (but still) close enough to drive” — an appealing balance from his 17-year-old perspective. The campus also was familiar: Eriksson had participated in a leadership conference at SSU as a middle-school student.
At Sonoma State, Eriksson found mentors and coursework that shaped his career path. He credits marketing professors Liz Thach and Rich Campbell with having a lasting impact, as well as an introductory psychology course that helped illuminate for him how human psychology is foundational to the science of marketing.
After graduating in 2014 with a degree in business administration with a concentration in management, he worked in recruiting, in the solar industry, and in software sales. Upon leaving a sales role at a software company that ultimately closed its doors, Eriksson found himself with the time and the confidence to make the leap into entrepreneurship.
That path led him back to an idea he and Pearce had been mulling since their undergraduate days. The spark for GUY FOX, Eriksson said, was a trip to Macy’s in Santa Rosa to buy cologne -– an unsatisfying customer experience that Eriksson said drained his wallet.
The experience inspired the pair to figure out how to “democratize the world of fragrance.” After two years of research and development, GUY FOX launched in November 2018 with six original colognes. The brand later expanded to include candles and home fragrances. Eriksson is the company’s CEO, and Pearce, who is based in Austin, Texas, is the GUY FOX chief marketing officer.
The video below gives a glimpse into a day in the life of a GUY FOX founder.
Now, through their recently established scholarship, Eriksson and Pearce hope to inspire future Seawolf entrepreneurs to turn their own bold ideas into entrepreneurial success and impact.
To learn more about the GUY FOX founders’ story, SSU students and alumni are invited to attend the March 17 Industry Insights webinar featuring Eriksson.