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Alex Schultz and George Keeler make high-end backpacks for the upwardly mobile

By Christopher Muther

WHO: Alex Schultz and George Keeler

WHAT: The two Wayland 20-somethings, who grew up playing soccer together, are now producing high-end canvas backpacks with their company George Guest. The backpacks, which sell for $265, are constructed of waxed canvas with leather details. They’re available locally in stores such as Drinkwater’s Cambridge. More recently, their bags have been picked up by stores in Italy and Australia.

Q. How did this all start? Why high-end backpacks?

George: We went to school together in Wayland. Alex went to Vanderbilt. I went to Lehigh. Definitely I’m an inventor. I love to make things and design things. I started out always knowing that I wanted to be in the business field, and then I minored in product design. I actually came up with the idea for the backpack the summer of my sophomore year. I entered a business contest. I wrote up a five-page business plan. I had a physical sample of the backpack at that point, and won the business contest with a $5,000 grant to get me started. We started the company after I graduated in 2009.

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