KLUTCHclub is a new monthly subscription service that sends a hand-picked and “themed” box of holistic health, fitness and wellness products – organic protein bars, workout wear, skincare products, teas, etc. – right to your doorstep every month, making it a no brainer to incorporate healthier choices with ease. Members learn about new, niche brands and products that suit their lifestyles, and get access to exclusive deals and offers from companies that share their values. Each box is full of $50+ of products, but only costs subscribers around $17 apiece.

JULIE BASHKIN, CEO
Her goal was simple: to produce a box of curated, healthy products that would magically appear right at your door.

Julie Bashkin founded KLUTCHclub in 2012 to solve a problem. While working a demanding 75hr +/ week with a heavy travel schedule, she was on a perpetual quest to find products that would make eating healthy, nutritious food and exercising on the go more convenient. Confused by all the options out there, not knowing which brands to trust, and unwilling to invest hundreds of dollars on products that she couldn’t distinguish from the latest gimmicks vs. something that was holistically good for her…KLUTCHclub was born.

As Founder and CEO of KLUTCHclub, Bashkin is responsible for strategic vision for the company, brand ambassadorship, marketing and customer acquisition, brand partner relationships and capability building, investor relations and fundraising, to name just a few.

Prior to founding KLUTCHclub, Bashkin was an Engagement Manager at McKinsey & Company, where she helped large corporations grow their businesses in new markets in the consumer packaged goods, retail and hospitality sectors. The experience solidified her problem solving and leadership skills, principles and philosophy. It also taught her that her core leadership philosophy was to pursue only what she is personally passionate about, to figure out her own struggles and then help others figure out theirs, and to build a team of people who share the same passions and are inspired to work every day on something that challenges them.

With a passion for helping others succeed, after college, Bashkin served as a Fulbright Scholar with the United States Department of State in Belarus, where she helped women entrepreneurs in Eastern Europe start and grow their businesses.

Bashkin holds a B.A. in Social Relations from Michigan State University and an M.A. from the University of Chicago in Russian History. She is an avid traveler, foodie, reader, and exerciser. She lives in Chicago with her husband, Matt, and their 6 lbs. Pomeranian, Cortez.

LISA BARTOLUCCI, COO
Lisa Bartolucci serves as KLUTCHclub’s Co-Founder & COO and focuses on building and refining the company’s e-commerce capabilities. As KLUTCHclub’s second employee, Bartolucci has been involved with the company from the very beginning and has been integral in laying the groundwork for all of the company’s systems & processes.

Bartolucci teamed up with CEO Julie Bashkin in March 2012 because she believes wholeheartedly in Bashkin’s vision. While weight loss has not been her primary health challenge, chronic allergies have been and Bartolucci realizes that everyone has some type of health challenge that can be addressed and supported by an innovative product on the market that is often “hidden” behind the noise in traditional sales & marketing channels.

As a former McKinsey & Company consultant working closely with Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) & Retail brands, Bartolucci has first-hand experience with the challenges in bringing an innovative product to market, particularly with respect to distributing the product effectively and quickly in its early stages. Because of this, Bartolucci is committed to filling a current gap in the market by providing meaningful distribution services through KLUTCHclub’s subscription box and e-commerce platforms to the best health products in the market in the hopes of accelerating success. In short, Bartolucci is passionate about getting the right health products into the right hands (and many of them!) at the right time and in the right (cost effective) manner.

Prior to KLUTCHclub, Bartolucci co-launched four start-ups in Chicago, all in the consumer product space, including City Trolley, a company that sought to re-invent the “old lady shopping cart” into a product to be used by today’s fashion-forward urban dweller.

Bartolucci holds a B.A. in Economics & Political Science from the University of Notre Dame and an M.B.A. (with High Honors) from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. She is an avid yogi of all sorts and has a keen passion for city walks, country music, wine, crossword puzzles, and college football. She lives in Chicago with her husband Casey.

CHRIS GROVE, CTO

Chris Grove is thrilled to be on the KLUTCHclub team as CTO and all around go-to geek. A passion for technology combined with a love of running, endurance sports, and general fitness and nutrition make Chris a perfect fit for KLUTCHclub.

Chris has worked as a software developer in many industries at companies small and large. Most recently he was the CTO of KeyLimeTie, a Chicago-area custom software development firm. At KeyLimeTie Chris spearheaded efforts in cloud computing, mobile application development, agile methodologies, and DevOps. Chris has also been active in the Chicago technology community, giving presentations and participating in panel discussions on a variety of technical topics.

Originally from Ohio, Chris is a second-generation programmer who followed in his father’s footsteps and has been programming since elementary school. He’s always been a science buff, and studied Physics at the University of Toledo before computers completely took over his life. Chris is also an aviation geek with a private pilot license, and likes to see the world from above. When not running or generally nerding out, Chris loves to travel and enjoys good meals and wine. He lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife Stephanie and a couple of needy yet loveable cats.

KATIE CONSTANTINE, VP DEVELOPMENT
An avid adventure sport junkie with a focus on health and wellness, Katie is right at home with KLUTCHclub. She summited Mt Kilimanjaro in 2011 and is hoping to tackle Everest Base Camp in 2013. During the three months leading up to Kilimanjaro, Katie had the opportunity to live alongside the Appalachian Trail in New Hampshire. She went on long hikes every single day and began to focus on incorporating more raw and local foods into her diet. The combination of fresh air and pure food made noticeable differences to her energy levels and overall happiness.

Since returning to Chicago, it is Katie’s mission to continue this healthy lifestyle despite city living. Now instead of hiking through a backyard filled with wilderness and dropping by the nearest farm stand, she jogs along the lakefront, swims at the beach and spends way too much time at Whole Foods. Katie loves that KLUTCHclub provides professionally curated health and fitness products direct to the doorstep, so that she can easily identify and test out brands that align with her mission.

Katie was most recently the VP of Sales for Noblivity, an online B2B marketplace for the specialty retail industry. Her primary responsibilities at KLUTCHclub are to provide meaningful partnerships for brands and to provide great products/ services for KLUTCHclub’s members. She is passionate about being able to help people make smarter decisions when it comes to their health.

Katie holds a BBA from the University of Michigan Ross School of Business and is the Executive Vice President for the Ross Alumni Club of Chicago. Her interests include traveling, working out, reading, and Michigan football. In her spare time, she is usually outdoors with her husband and their tiger striped pit-bull mix, Bindi.

GREG WELKER, DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS

Greg is an former Iowa football receiver and all-around athlete, so working as the Director of Ops at KLUTCHclub was a natural fit.  Not to mention, he’s our token fitness dude.

He grew up in a very health and fitness-conscious family, which helped him to stay in shape and continue to evolve his healthy journey. He plays in a slow-pitch softball, flag football, basketball and soccer league in Chicago and when he’s not playing sports, he’s watching them or going out for a long run outdoors.

Greg holds a BA in Health and Sports Studies, with a Minor in Entrepreneurial Management from the University of Iowa.

CLAIRE REUSS, DIRECTOR OF BRAND PARTNERSHIPS
Claire is our resident Aussie with a passion for unconvering the latest and greatest in health and wellness products. She loves researching the market to discover which ones will inspire, encourage and challenge members of the KLUTCHclub community. Not only has Claire traveled the globe, but she’s lived across it — temporarily settling in Melbourne, New York City, Sydney and Singapore before planting roots in San Francisco two years ago.

Claire holds a B.S in Multimedia Technology from Deakin University in Melbourne and is also a certified yoga teacher and Reiki practitioner. When she isn’t unearthing health innovation, you can find Claire downward-dogging at a hot yoga class or sipping lattes at a local San Fran café.

SIERRA GULLAN, DIRECTOR OF HEALTH PARTNERSHIPS & HEALTHY LIVING EDITOR
Raised in California by two health conscious parents, Sierra was eating nutritional yeast and fighting colds with Echinacea far before the masses. This early exposure to health and holistic wellness was the foundation for Sierra’s lifelong enthusiasm for healthy eating and keeping active.

Sierra has always been a gym-junkie, but started running in 2010. After her first 10K race, she was hooked. This love affair with running introduced her to the world of blogging, where she was inspired to share her love for food and fitness with a community of like-minded individuals.

Before joining the KLUTCHclub team, Sierra worked in both Marketing and Operations departments at a leading direct marketing firm before launching her own small business. In 2010, Sierra co-founded a small firm, which provided direct response marketing, print, and consulting services. After receiving an offer that was too good to resist, Sierra sold her interest in the firm, and began looking for another great opportunity. She is now excited to be apart of KLUTCHclub’s marketing team, and hopes to make healthy living easier than ever through this innovative monthly subscription.

Sierra holds of B.A in Management from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and is a certified group exercise instructor. Outside of the office, Sierra can be found running on the Lakefront trail, cooking without a recipe, exploring Chicago’s restaurants, or planning her next travel adventure.

AMEENA PAYNE, MARKETING MANAGER & CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE
Ameena has always believed in walking to the beat of her own drum and expressing herself in that fashion. She is passionate about encouraging the health of the body and mind. Being a free-spirit, she embraces the irregularities in life, immersing herself in nature and new surroundings. She was always given the confidence to use her mind and align her thoughts with her actions; the activities she involves herself in are always an expression of the essential part of the person she is – connected, positive, creative, and adventurous — which is why she’s joined KLUTCHclub.

She is currently pursuing her Bachelor of Science in Business Administration at Illinois Institute in Technology where she has served on the Student Government Association and President of the student organization, TEDxIIT.  Recently, she spent two weeks in Doha, Qatar, where she was invited by the TED organization, to attend the inaugural summit.

BRANDON FELD, LEAD DIGITAL MARKETING & ANALYTICS
Brandon translates stats and numbers into powerful insights for the KLUTCHclub team as a multifaceted, cross-departmental, tech-savvy employee. Brandon can be found studying the stats of marketing and website analytics and aggregating data from customer feedback, SEO, and front/back-end web work.

Although he’s constantly being tugged in multitudes of directions in the dynamic environment of KLUTCHclub, Brandon still finds time to enjoy his favorite activities like traveling, hiking and camping. If he is not doing one of these activities you can likely find him behind a computer screen, at the beach, or a combo of the two!

Brandon is currently pursuing his Bachelors of Science in Management Information Systems at University of Illinois in Chicago. He is also a member of the UIC organization called BITS, Business Information Technology Society and volunteers as a note taker at the University’s disability center.