Gary Green's Business CounterSpike Has a Simple Yet Powerful Mission
Gary Green’s career has never followed a straight line. From real estate to professional sports to technology, he’s built businesses that thrive on vision and purpose. Now, with his latest venture, CounterSpike, he’s turning his entrepreneurial drive toward one of society’s most overlooked dangers — drink spiking.
Co-founded by his wife, Amy Green, and their partner, Mark Ackred, CounterSpike is a safety-tech company with a simple yet powerful mission: to prevent drink tampering and educate the public about its prevalence. Their first product, SpikeStixx, can detect if a drink has been spiked — but for Gary Green, the goal goes far beyond selling a testing tool.
“A great product isn’t enough,” he says. “We need to change the culture. We need education.”
The idea for CounterSpike came from a deeply personal place. Ackred was spiked at a family event in the U.K. while out with his two children. “He was unconscious for six hours,” Green recalls. “It wasn’t theft or assault — it was done for sport. When he looked into it, he found that millions of people have been spiked, and about 90 percent never report it.”
That statistic, coupled with a lack of public awareness, inspired Green and his wife to act. “When you see someone at a concert or club who can’t stand up, people assume they drank too much,” he says. “But there’s a good chance that person was spiked. We want to change how people think about that.”
Green’s approach is a blend of business and advocacy. CounterSpike is starting with an education campaign in the U.K. before launching in the U.S. “We’re lecturing at colleges, holding seminars, and even using goggles that simulate what it feels like to be spiked,” he explains. “We’re not saying we’re the only product out there — but we will be the best, the most accurate, and the most well-marketed. Most importantly, we’ll be the most educational.”
To build awareness, the company is launching an ambassador program that will include DJs, musicians, and social media influencers who can reach young audiences where they are. “Music is such a huge part of our social culture,” Green says. “We’re partnering with artists and DJs who want to protect their fans. They’ll promote drink safety at their concerts and on social media, and we’ll donate funds in their names to charities they choose.”
Green hopes this grassroots approach will help normalize safety without stigma. “There’s this belief that acknowledging the issue will scare people away,” he says. “But transparency is the only way forward. The forward-thinking bars and alcohol brands — especially the ones led by women — are already stepping up.”
CounterSpike also plans to work closely with lawmakers. “We’re going to Washington in February to start lobbying,” Green says. “California has a law requiring bars to carry testing kits, but many are inaccurate or slow. You can’t wait five minutes to test your drink. Our product will be fast, reliable, and scientifically backed.”
He adds that the problem affects everyone. “It’s not just women. Just last week, two men in London were spiked and had £20,000 stolen from their accounts. I even had an employee who woke up in his front yard on Long Island with an $80,000 charge from a strip club he doesn’t remember going to. It happens to both sexes.”
For Green, this is more than another startup — it’s a mission rooted in what is known as conscious capitalism. “This is impact investing,” he says. “It’s about building a business that does good. If we can stop even one person from being spiked, that’s worth everything.”
He credits his wife, Amy, as an equal force behind the company. Together, they are launching a podcast to raise awareness about drink safety and related social issues. “I love working with Amy,” he says. “She’s got unbelievable energy. We feed off each other’s ideas. It’s fun, but it’s also meaningful.”
That sense of purpose has been a driving force throughout Gary Green’s career. Before CounterSpike, he developed Alliance Building Services into a leading privately held facilities management company in North America, overseeing iconic buildings such as the Empire State Building and Citi Field. In sports, he has brought the same spirit of innovation, co-founding Alliance Sports LLC and acquiring the Richmond Flying Squirrels and the Omaha Storm Chasers, before launching Union Omaha, Nebraska’s first professional soccer team.
Union Omaha has achieved success in its competitions and is currently developing a new stadium with a large-scale seating capacity on a significant site. “I love startup mode,” he says. “It keeps me going.”
But it’s CounterSpike that seems to represent Green’s heart as much as his business instincts. “You close your eyes and think about the positive impact this can have,” he says. “From a mental health standpoint, from a safety standpoint, it’s enormous. We’re not just hoping to catch people who spike drinks — we want to stop it from happening altogether. When someone sees a testing kit on the table, maybe they’ll think twice.”
For Gary Green, success has always been about building — whether it’s buildings, teams, or solutions that make people safer. “Business should make people better,” he says. “That’s the point of conscious capitalism. It’s not just about profit. It’s about protection. And it’s about people.”