When Jake Margis launched Cold Plunge Caddy, it was supposed to be his big breakthrough with a clever home invention for fitness lovers. But as sales rolled in, he felt something off. Every pitch, every demo, every conversation felt forced.
“It didn’t feel natural,” he admitted. “I was pushing, not flowing.”
That subtle difference between forcing something and feeling aligned became his first major entrepreneurial lesson: you can’t fake passion.
The pivot began quietly. Jake stopped forcing sales and started asking deeper questions: Why am I really doing this?
The answer wasn’t ice baths. It was joy. Creativity. Art.
Jake had been an artist since he was seven. His drawing of Knuckles from Sonic the Hedgehog was published in Sonic Comics #21, and his murals still brighten hospital walls today. He realized the feeling he got from drawing — that effortless creative flow — was missing in his business life.
Then one day, at a holiday potluck, he brought a cookie cake. Not just any cake — it was colorful, hand-piped, and demolished within minutes. Friends begged him to start a business. For months he said no. Then, one day, he said yes.
