Andy Tyink and Dan Weber are two ordinary twenty-year olds, with one small exception: they own their own business called DANDY’s frozen treats.
The two La Crosse natives met in high school during an art class and soon decided to open a frozen treats business when they found an ice cream bike online.
“We kind of did it in reverse order, we saw this cool bike and then everything started,” Tyink said.
The pair began manufacturing their own products and selling in Madison in summer 2013. They make their frozen popsicles using fresh organic fruits. Currently, they have three flavors—Pineapple Lemonade, Strawberry Banana and Mango Chili Pepper—but they hope to unveil more as the summer continues.
Tyink, a University of Wisconsin-Madison junior majoring in Management and Human Resources in the business school, said it has been challenging opening and operating the business.
“Starting a business is such a rollercoaster,” Tyink said. “But I’ve kind of learned to take everything as it goes, and at the end it’s all going to work out, you just have to have faith … and keep rolling with the punches.”
Weber, who is taking a semester off from technical school in La Crosse, said he eventually hopes to make a career out of his work at DANDY’s.
“We go by day,” Weber said. “It would be awesome to have a storefront, to be in stores and have employees, to get all of our foods from the local region, but right now we’re just focusing on getting started.”
The two said they plan to update their Twitter @DandysFT daily with the location of DANDY’s cart around Madison.
