Episodes

In this episode, we’re joined by Francesco Amodeo, the president and co-founder of Don Ciccio & Figli, an acclaimed distiller of handcrafted Italian herbal liqueurs and ready-to-drink cocktails based in Washington, D.C. Within our expansive interview, Amodeo explained why obsession has been key to the company’s success and how brands can adopt a modern approach to a legacy category.

The co-founders of next-generation beverage company Future/Proof, spoke about why naiveté, scrappiness and business school connections were critical to the early development of their flagship brand, BeatBox Beverages. They also explained why over-preparation is key to fundraising and how the convergence of lifestyle and liquid play into the company’s trade and consumer marketing strategies.

Stu Aaron and Martin Janousek, co-founders of Bespoken Spirits, a modern distilling company which claims that it can precisely tailor spirits to a desired aroma, color and taste, spoke about they are attempting to win over stakeholders and gatekeepers, how they validated their process and products and why they described Bespoken as an enabler of change, rather than a change itself.

Filipp Chebotarev, co-founder of venture capital firm Cambridge SPG, spoke about what he learned from developing an unsuccessful food brand, effective strategies for initiating and cultivating relationships with investors, why he’ll review a 70-page pitch deck under the right circumstances and the general rules that predict success in food and beverage.

Jing Gao, founder & CEO of Sichuan-inspired sauce and seasoning brand Fly By Jing, discussed the origins of her passion for Chinese food culture and why she set out to create a brand that could elevate consumers’ expectations for the cuisine’s flavors. She also spoke about how she managed a surge in demand in 2020 and how she addressed racist comments posted on the brand’s Instagram page.

Nick Desai, founder & CEO of pea-based snack brand Peatos, spoke about why he’s taking direct aim at legacy junk food brands, how to achieve meaningful scale amid consumer skepticism about better-for-you snacking, why he believes that he’s doing the right thing regardless of the brand’s chances for success and his perspective that the American dream “is still very much alive.”