1 00:00:02,960 --> 00:00:04,960 Speaker 1: Silly. It's way up with Angela Yee. 2 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:07,960 Speaker 2: And today I am so excited because this woman is 3 00:00:08,119 --> 00:00:10,960 Speaker 2: literally like one of my best friends in the world, 4 00:00:11,400 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 2: but she's also an entrepreneur also somebody that I've been 5 00:00:14,600 --> 00:00:18,280 Speaker 2: like championing since even before you started your own business. 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:22,279 Speaker 2: Right ingrid Best is here with me aka miss I 7 00:00:22,680 --> 00:00:24,439 Speaker 2: Best Wines is in the building. 8 00:00:24,560 --> 00:00:26,880 Speaker 3: I'm in the building, and so is the wine. 9 00:00:26,680 --> 00:00:28,920 Speaker 2: And so is the wine. And today we are celebrating 10 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,840 Speaker 2: two years. October tenth has been two years since you 11 00:00:31,920 --> 00:00:32,760 Speaker 2: launched this brand. 12 00:00:32,880 --> 00:00:34,640 Speaker 3: Two years. How does that feel? 13 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:42,320 Speaker 4: It feels amazing, It feels surreal. It feels like time 14 00:00:42,479 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 4: is moving really really flat fast, but also moving slow right, 15 00:00:46,120 --> 00:00:49,199 Speaker 4: because it feels like we've done so much, but it 16 00:00:49,240 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 4: really has only been two years and there's so much 17 00:00:51,520 --> 00:00:52,239 Speaker 4: more of a gonna do. 18 00:00:52,880 --> 00:00:56,280 Speaker 2: Well as a founder. I have so many questions for 19 00:00:56,320 --> 00:00:58,480 Speaker 2: you because I feel like the landscape has changed so 20 00:00:58,640 --> 00:01:01,760 Speaker 2: much two years ago to where we are today, as far. 21 00:01:01,640 --> 00:01:05,960 Speaker 1: As even like funding. And here's one thing. 22 00:01:06,120 --> 00:01:09,479 Speaker 2: It's interesting because we went to a fashion week event 23 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,480 Speaker 2: like last month sometime. It was me, you and Melissa Butler. 24 00:01:13,560 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 2: She's the founder of the lip. 25 00:01:15,360 --> 00:01:17,600 Speaker 3: Bar Love Melissa and the. 26 00:01:17,560 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 2: Three of us were having this conversation and it was 27 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:22,679 Speaker 2: just so good because I think people don't understand that 28 00:01:22,840 --> 00:01:27,000 Speaker 2: seeing someone's product everywhere does not equate to she's really 29 00:01:27,080 --> 00:01:29,040 Speaker 2: bringing in the money. You have to lay down that 30 00:01:29,080 --> 00:01:32,800 Speaker 2: groundwork so your wine is everywhere. And that's what Melissa 31 00:01:32,800 --> 00:01:35,040 Speaker 2: and I were talking about. Even when we left the event, 32 00:01:35,800 --> 00:01:37,319 Speaker 2: we were having a conversation together. 33 00:01:37,959 --> 00:01:40,479 Speaker 1: But the accolades that you've managed to achieve in. 34 00:01:40,400 --> 00:01:42,920 Speaker 2: Two short years, because we have to also understand two 35 00:01:42,959 --> 00:01:46,200 Speaker 2: years is not a long time, right. You got the 36 00:01:46,240 --> 00:01:49,400 Speaker 2: gold medal for the New York International Wine Competition, yes, 37 00:01:49,600 --> 00:01:52,360 Speaker 2: for the White Blend, the silver medal for the Red Blend. 38 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 2: You've got the USA Wine Ratings Gold medal for the 39 00:01:56,480 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 2: Red Blend and the silver medal for the White Blend. 40 00:01:59,280 --> 00:02:03,000 Speaker 2: You have all kinds of like International Wine Challenge Awards, 41 00:02:03,200 --> 00:02:07,840 Speaker 2: International Wine and Spirits competitions, medals, so many different things 42 00:02:07,880 --> 00:02:08,760 Speaker 2: that you've achieved. 43 00:02:09,280 --> 00:02:12,200 Speaker 1: But do you feel like you made it yet? 44 00:02:12,639 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 3: No, far, far far from made it. 45 00:02:16,200 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 4: I tell people all the time, I'm a twenty year 46 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:23,320 Speaker 4: overnight success, but I'm just getting started. So for twenty 47 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,440 Speaker 4: years I worked, you know, from so many brands, did 48 00:02:26,520 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 4: so many things had this dream launched by best Wines, 49 00:02:32,520 --> 00:02:35,640 Speaker 4: and there's so much more that you need to be 50 00:02:35,720 --> 00:02:39,360 Speaker 4: able to do to really consider yourself I think successful. 51 00:02:39,560 --> 00:02:43,560 Speaker 4: So I'm happy with the early success. I'm grateful for 52 00:02:43,600 --> 00:02:46,480 Speaker 4: the support. Obviously, we have a great product. It is 53 00:02:46,520 --> 00:02:50,880 Speaker 4: an award winning product. But I think most founders would 54 00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 4: totally understand when I say, there's just so much more 55 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 4: to do. And the truth is, hitting the milestone of 56 00:02:57,280 --> 00:03:02,240 Speaker 4: turning two years old, we've already we've already been able 57 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:05,639 Speaker 4: to do with the data shows black and brown women 58 00:03:06,120 --> 00:03:09,520 Speaker 4: typically aren't able to do. The data shows between twelve 59 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:15,640 Speaker 4: a month and eighteen months black women founded businesses fold. 60 00:03:16,120 --> 00:03:18,960 Speaker 4: They just don't have the capital to keep going. And 61 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,000 Speaker 4: the truth is, there isn't a day that I'm not 62 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,560 Speaker 4: sitting there with Chanelle, who leads our finance and our 63 00:03:24,600 --> 00:03:27,560 Speaker 4: business modeling, and saying, how are we going to do this? 64 00:03:28,320 --> 00:03:31,560 Speaker 4: And so most people think we see you everywhere. You know, 65 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:35,440 Speaker 4: the brand is fun and we are we're all those things, 66 00:03:35,440 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 4: but we're also a brand that is a startup, and 67 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:42,360 Speaker 4: every single day we're trying to navigate the challenge of 68 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:45,560 Speaker 4: getting past what the data says We're not going to 69 00:03:45,600 --> 00:03:49,120 Speaker 4: be able to get passed, right, and it's not easy. 70 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,400 Speaker 3: With all of these accolades and places that you've shown up. 71 00:03:53,160 --> 00:03:55,520 Speaker 2: What has been some of the obstacles that you say 72 00:03:55,560 --> 00:03:56,800 Speaker 2: that you need to overcome. 73 00:03:57,280 --> 00:04:01,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, I think the biggest thing is, you know, raising capital. 74 00:04:02,280 --> 00:04:06,240 Speaker 4: You know, black and brown women, we get less than 75 00:04:06,280 --> 00:04:09,760 Speaker 4: one percent of venture capital. And in the case of 76 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:13,800 Speaker 4: someone like myself who is an expert, I'm an expert 77 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,000 Speaker 4: in this business. The fact that I've built the brand, 78 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:22,080 Speaker 4: launched the brand, have a tremendous model, have wonderful business 79 00:04:22,080 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 4: women that are working alongside me, it is still been 80 00:04:25,480 --> 00:04:31,479 Speaker 4: very difficult to attract the investment. And it's not isolated 81 00:04:31,520 --> 00:04:34,520 Speaker 4: to me. That's the average black and brown woman's story 82 00:04:34,560 --> 00:04:37,360 Speaker 4: when it comes to raising capital. I think the difference 83 00:04:37,440 --> 00:04:41,400 Speaker 4: is that I refuse to stop right, I refuse to 84 00:04:41,440 --> 00:04:44,360 Speaker 4: not keep going, and I'm relentless when it comes to 85 00:04:44,400 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 4: my resources. I'm relentless when it comes to my network. 86 00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:51,680 Speaker 4: I've really mastered how to ask, and so even in 87 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:54,640 Speaker 4: conversations that you and I have, I'll call, I'll be like, Ange, 88 00:04:54,720 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 4: do you know such and such? 89 00:04:56,360 --> 00:04:56,560 Speaker 3: You know? 90 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,280 Speaker 4: And that's where not letting your ego get in the 91 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:02,680 Speaker 4: way understanding that like, if you want to win, you 92 00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:05,320 Speaker 4: have to do all the things that it takes, you know, 93 00:05:05,440 --> 00:05:07,839 Speaker 4: to win. But I would say the biggest obstacle is 94 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:10,960 Speaker 4: raising capitals and capital and I also think the other 95 00:05:11,080 --> 00:05:13,839 Speaker 4: obstacle is being put in a box. So to me, 96 00:05:14,680 --> 00:05:17,760 Speaker 4: it goes without saying it's a black owned brand, right, 97 00:05:18,839 --> 00:05:21,720 Speaker 4: I'm actually black and Latino, so we could say Afro 98 00:05:21,800 --> 00:05:25,640 Speaker 4: Latina own brand, but we get put in a box 99 00:05:25,680 --> 00:05:28,479 Speaker 4: often time, and so you know, at the end of 100 00:05:28,480 --> 00:05:30,080 Speaker 4: the day, this is a luxury wine. 101 00:05:29,839 --> 00:05:33,320 Speaker 3: Brand, right, hard period, you know, hard stop. 102 00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:37,440 Speaker 4: And so that's another I think obstacle because there is 103 00:05:37,520 --> 00:05:40,400 Speaker 4: this assumption that you're supposed to show up in only 104 00:05:40,480 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 4: certain kind of places, that the product may not be 105 00:05:44,360 --> 00:05:49,320 Speaker 4: you know, it may be inferior to other products. And 106 00:05:49,360 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 4: then the kind of funding that you would be looking 107 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:55,240 Speaker 4: for is somehow different, right than someone that doesn't look 108 00:05:55,279 --> 00:05:57,159 Speaker 4: like you. So I would say that those are the 109 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,080 Speaker 4: two obstacles, and then the third is distribution, right, and 110 00:06:01,160 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 4: a lot of people don't realize, you know, we are 111 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,040 Speaker 4: in a three tier system in the United States. So 112 00:06:06,080 --> 00:06:08,440 Speaker 4: there's the supplier, me, the person who owns the brand, 113 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,159 Speaker 4: the distributor who has the right to sell the brand 114 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:15,120 Speaker 4: and then the customer, which would be a restaurant or 115 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:20,240 Speaker 4: a liquor store. And so getting distributor partners for new 116 00:06:20,279 --> 00:06:22,240 Speaker 4: brands is very difficult. 117 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:22,600 Speaker 1: And it's a must. 118 00:06:22,839 --> 00:06:25,120 Speaker 2: It's a must, yeah, because it's not like you can 119 00:06:25,160 --> 00:06:27,320 Speaker 2: go directly to a restaurant and be like, hey, we 120 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:29,080 Speaker 2: want to be in the restaurant. 121 00:06:28,760 --> 00:06:32,520 Speaker 4: Right, No, you have to go through the distribution network. 122 00:06:32,600 --> 00:06:37,480 Speaker 4: And so even for someone like myself who has tremendous relationships, 123 00:06:38,520 --> 00:06:42,200 Speaker 4: who has been able to secure some big distributors. We 124 00:06:42,240 --> 00:06:45,920 Speaker 4: have Empire in Georgia, we have Regal in California, which 125 00:06:45,960 --> 00:06:50,719 Speaker 4: are big, reputable distributors with incredible portfolios, in some other markets, 126 00:06:50,720 --> 00:06:53,800 Speaker 4: it hasn't been as easy, right, and. 127 00:06:53,760 --> 00:06:55,159 Speaker 2: So a lot of people, so in every state you 128 00:06:55,200 --> 00:06:57,880 Speaker 2: have to get a distributor every state, every So that's 129 00:06:57,880 --> 00:07:01,120 Speaker 2: why sometimes you'll see things are only available in certain 130 00:07:01,120 --> 00:07:04,200 Speaker 2: places and you can't get it until you get a 131 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:05,440 Speaker 2: distributor exactly. 132 00:07:05,640 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 4: And you know, the other thing is there's a balancing act. 133 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:11,360 Speaker 4: And we talked about this actually the last time I 134 00:07:11,400 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 4: saw you when we went to the Harlan Fashion Row event. 135 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 4: Shout out to brandis Daniels. We talked about this. You know, 136 00:07:19,040 --> 00:07:21,400 Speaker 4: you don't want to go too fast. So where you 137 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:22,440 Speaker 4: want distributors? 138 00:07:22,560 --> 00:07:22,720 Speaker 3: Right? 139 00:07:22,840 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 4: Yes, I know that there are seven core markets that 140 00:07:25,760 --> 00:07:29,520 Speaker 4: we are ready to, you know, really accelerate ibest wines. 141 00:07:29,960 --> 00:07:34,000 Speaker 4: But what happens a lot of times with entrepreneurs and 142 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,920 Speaker 4: startups is they go too fast. You know, Pace is 143 00:07:36,960 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 4: your friend, Paces your friend, having a plan as your friend, 144 00:07:40,840 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 4: and I think oftentimes the idea of growing and scaling 145 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:46,920 Speaker 4: is romanticized. 146 00:07:47,000 --> 00:07:49,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, you don't want to overpromise and under deliver. You 147 00:07:49,640 --> 00:07:51,840 Speaker 2: want to make sure that you actually have products available 148 00:07:52,040 --> 00:07:55,720 Speaker 2: right when people are placing orders and wanting to do things, 149 00:07:55,800 --> 00:07:57,840 Speaker 2: and you want to make sure there's a demand. You 150 00:07:57,840 --> 00:07:59,600 Speaker 2: don't want to go to a place like say you 151 00:07:59,840 --> 00:08:02,560 Speaker 2: enter nationally, go to another country but there's no demand 152 00:08:02,560 --> 00:08:04,880 Speaker 2: and nobody knows it, and now quest you all this 153 00:08:05,000 --> 00:08:06,960 Speaker 2: money to try to market to get there, but no 154 00:08:06,960 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 2: one's buying it. 155 00:08:07,960 --> 00:08:08,520 Speaker 3: Exactly. 156 00:08:08,680 --> 00:08:12,200 Speaker 4: I think, you know, understanding what makes sense for your 157 00:08:12,240 --> 00:08:14,960 Speaker 4: business model and sticking to it is so important. And 158 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:19,000 Speaker 4: so for me celebrating two years today for my best wine. 159 00:08:18,760 --> 00:08:21,400 Speaker 3: I can't believe it's been two years. Two years. 160 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:23,800 Speaker 2: I just think about when you first launched this brand 161 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 2: and look even the groundwork before this was available. I 162 00:08:27,680 --> 00:08:31,239 Speaker 2: just remember like putting together the logos, like which logo 163 00:08:31,320 --> 00:08:34,720 Speaker 2: do you like? And getting the glass where, the packaging 164 00:08:35,280 --> 00:08:37,080 Speaker 2: right and going and getting the liquid right. 165 00:08:37,160 --> 00:08:38,640 Speaker 1: That was one of the most important things. 166 00:08:38,640 --> 00:08:41,680 Speaker 2: And you really literally had to travel to South Africa 167 00:08:41,720 --> 00:08:42,559 Speaker 2: to get that done. 168 00:08:42,760 --> 00:08:42,960 Speaker 3: Yeah. 169 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:45,120 Speaker 4: No, it was so important to me. I didn't want 170 00:08:45,160 --> 00:08:48,199 Speaker 4: to just be someone that you know, kind of slapped 171 00:08:48,200 --> 00:08:50,920 Speaker 4: a country on my bottle and said, you know, this 172 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,120 Speaker 4: product is from South Africa. It was critical for me 173 00:08:54,320 --> 00:08:56,760 Speaker 4: to plant my roots in South Africa. Shout out to 174 00:08:56,800 --> 00:09:00,599 Speaker 4: all my South African family who have been tremendously supportive 175 00:09:00,800 --> 00:09:03,920 Speaker 4: of myself and I best wines and everything that we're doing. 176 00:09:04,559 --> 00:09:07,000 Speaker 4: And yeah, I spent a lot of time there. I 177 00:09:07,040 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 4: all but moved there. And for those that may not 178 00:09:10,440 --> 00:09:12,640 Speaker 4: have heard me say this before, Angela Yee is the 179 00:09:12,679 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 4: reason why I ever stepped foot on the continent. You 180 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 4: invited me to go to an event in Johannesburg. It 181 00:09:19,600 --> 00:09:22,000 Speaker 4: was the first time I had ever gone to Africa 182 00:09:22,000 --> 00:09:23,120 Speaker 4: and it changed my life. 183 00:09:23,240 --> 00:09:25,079 Speaker 2: Yeah, we had our time. We were like we are 184 00:09:25,120 --> 00:09:27,360 Speaker 2: coming back. I was we were ready to stay. 185 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 4: Yeah, you know, we went there and so from that 186 00:09:31,240 --> 00:09:36,680 Speaker 4: I got obsessed with just really understanding and researching the 187 00:09:36,720 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 4: South African wine region, which is a beautiful region that's 188 00:09:39,840 --> 00:09:42,760 Speaker 4: been producing wine for over three hundred years. There's a 189 00:09:42,800 --> 00:09:46,199 Speaker 4: lot of incredible South African wines, and so we hope 190 00:09:46,200 --> 00:09:48,800 Speaker 4: that I Best Wines can just be kind of a 191 00:09:48,840 --> 00:09:52,600 Speaker 4: bullhorn right to the region and to all the other 192 00:09:52,679 --> 00:09:54,880 Speaker 4: incredible wines and wine makers that are coming out of 193 00:09:54,880 --> 00:09:55,520 Speaker 4: South Africa. 194 00:09:55,640 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 2: I always say it's really important when you go someplace, 195 00:09:58,280 --> 00:10:01,200 Speaker 2: whether it's investing in real estate or a product like 196 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:04,080 Speaker 2: you have from South Africa I Best Wines, it is 197 00:10:04,120 --> 00:10:06,439 Speaker 2: important to make sure that you are really involved in 198 00:10:06,480 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 2: the community there, so we're not just taking from there. 199 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:12,240 Speaker 2: And to the point of that, it's respected enough that 200 00:10:12,320 --> 00:10:16,800 Speaker 2: even Rolling Stone Africa has I Best Wines literally in 201 00:10:16,840 --> 00:10:20,480 Speaker 2: the magazine and it was even like on the cover too, 202 00:10:20,760 --> 00:10:23,240 Speaker 2: just to be able to go in and read about it, 203 00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:26,679 Speaker 2: because you really did make sure that you were intentional 204 00:10:26,720 --> 00:10:27,960 Speaker 2: about how you showed up there. 205 00:10:28,160 --> 00:10:30,840 Speaker 4: Yeah, No, it was so important to me that you 206 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:35,360 Speaker 4: know that people in South Africa felt like this is 207 00:10:35,440 --> 00:10:38,800 Speaker 4: not just a marketing ploy, this is not just someone 208 00:10:38,920 --> 00:10:41,840 Speaker 4: who you know, got this big marketing idea, but this 209 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:44,840 Speaker 4: is a woman who is very passionate about the country, 210 00:10:44,960 --> 00:10:46,839 Speaker 4: very passionate about the creative community there. 211 00:10:46,880 --> 00:10:49,520 Speaker 3: They're so inspiring to me. They've been tremendous to me. 212 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:52,280 Speaker 4: And yeah, when we when we were mentioned on the 213 00:10:52,280 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 4: cover of the inaugural issue of Rolling Stone Africa was 214 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,360 Speaker 4: such a big deal. We also got a write up 215 00:10:59,520 --> 00:11:03,920 Speaker 4: in Report Africa, which also was just like huge. We're like, wow, 216 00:11:04,000 --> 00:11:08,040 Speaker 4: you know, to be recognized from an international standpoint with 217 00:11:08,120 --> 00:11:09,360 Speaker 4: media and press is huge. 218 00:11:09,400 --> 00:11:10,760 Speaker 3: But I think it does. 219 00:11:10,679 --> 00:11:13,800 Speaker 4: Speak to the fact that people absolutely see my commitment. 220 00:11:14,360 --> 00:11:18,360 Speaker 4: You know that that I'm passionate about it. And yes, 221 00:11:18,440 --> 00:11:20,720 Speaker 4: it's about I Best Wines, it's about my brand, but 222 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:23,760 Speaker 4: it's also about just the South African wine region as 223 00:11:23,760 --> 00:11:25,839 Speaker 4: a whole and the continent as a whole. We all 224 00:11:25,840 --> 00:11:28,680 Speaker 4: should be celebrating what's happening on the continent. 225 00:11:29,240 --> 00:11:31,080 Speaker 2: I also want to talk about it as we're celebrating, 226 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:33,720 Speaker 2: because this is a celebration of two years some of 227 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:37,080 Speaker 2: the major wins that I Best Wines has had so far, 228 00:11:37,520 --> 00:11:41,480 Speaker 2: and amongst those winds being distributed in Virgin hotels. Right, 229 00:11:41,600 --> 00:11:43,520 Speaker 2: we can go to a Virgin Hotel and order the wine. 230 00:11:43,520 --> 00:11:45,760 Speaker 2: It started off in New York, So tell me about 231 00:11:45,760 --> 00:11:46,320 Speaker 2: that journey. 232 00:11:46,480 --> 00:11:49,800 Speaker 4: Yeah, so you know, again the power of relationships and 233 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,440 Speaker 4: the power of a great product. The very first sales 234 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,920 Speaker 4: call Iver made as the founder of I Best Wines. Yes, 235 00:11:55,960 --> 00:12:02,319 Speaker 4: I go into restaurants, I pitch and I do everything. Yeah, 236 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:05,000 Speaker 4: I do it. And so I went in and I 237 00:12:05,080 --> 00:12:07,839 Speaker 4: met with the team at Virgin Hotels in New York 238 00:12:08,480 --> 00:12:09,800 Speaker 4: and tasted the wines. 239 00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:10,960 Speaker 3: They love the wines. 240 00:12:11,360 --> 00:12:13,880 Speaker 4: Shout out to Sarah and the team at Virgin Hotels, 241 00:12:14,320 --> 00:12:18,439 Speaker 4: New York. The wine performed so well. It's across several 242 00:12:18,480 --> 00:12:22,080 Speaker 4: of their menus at the New York location. And then 243 00:12:22,280 --> 00:12:24,840 Speaker 4: they had something that's called an RFP where you have 244 00:12:24,880 --> 00:12:28,120 Speaker 4: to submit to it's a request for a proposal. You submit, 245 00:12:28,760 --> 00:12:32,560 Speaker 4: and we did, and we won the national business and 246 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,640 Speaker 4: so from New York we're now huge. Yeah, we're now 247 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:38,360 Speaker 4: at Virgin Hotels nationally, which is which is huge for 248 00:12:38,400 --> 00:12:39,240 Speaker 4: a startup brand. 249 00:12:39,320 --> 00:12:40,839 Speaker 3: Right, But again, I think it. 250 00:12:40,840 --> 00:12:45,600 Speaker 4: Speaks to the story my hard work, the team's hard work, 251 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:47,440 Speaker 4: and also the wine. 252 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:49,320 Speaker 1: Yeah. Now the wine is amazing. 253 00:12:49,360 --> 00:12:52,280 Speaker 2: Listen, every time I drink it, I'm like, first of all, 254 00:12:53,520 --> 00:12:55,640 Speaker 2: you know, I want to feel a little something too. 255 00:12:55,840 --> 00:12:58,000 Speaker 3: You're definitely don't feel it, and I'm floating when I have. 256 00:12:59,920 --> 00:12:59,959 Speaker 2: It. 257 00:13:00,000 --> 00:13:01,400 Speaker 1: It's a great float. Okay. 258 00:13:01,559 --> 00:13:05,000 Speaker 2: In addition to that, American Airlines tell me that story 259 00:13:05,160 --> 00:13:07,920 Speaker 2: and how our best minds is showing up on American 260 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:09,640 Speaker 2: Airlines international flights. 261 00:13:09,960 --> 00:13:13,400 Speaker 4: Yeah, this is also one of those like surreal moments. 262 00:13:14,600 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 4: You know, we submitted again to a request for a 263 00:13:18,400 --> 00:13:24,320 Speaker 4: proposal with American Airlines. These submissions typically have thousands of 264 00:13:24,440 --> 00:13:27,960 Speaker 4: brands that submit to them, and our white Blend was 265 00:13:28,160 --> 00:13:32,640 Speaker 4: selected to be served on American Airlines Flagship First, which 266 00:13:32,679 --> 00:13:34,480 Speaker 4: is their you know, cream of the crop. 267 00:13:35,120 --> 00:13:38,319 Speaker 3: The only way I fly, I'm kidding, I'm not rich. 268 00:13:38,480 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 4: It's the only way I used to fly before I 269 00:13:40,320 --> 00:13:48,240 Speaker 4: became an entrepreneur. But and so obviously getting the email 270 00:13:48,360 --> 00:13:53,800 Speaker 4: saying you've been awarded the business American Airlines Flagship First, 271 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:57,760 Speaker 4: I mean the tears of joy because you know that's 272 00:13:57,840 --> 00:14:02,640 Speaker 4: bucket lists achievements. You know, to see your brand served 273 00:14:03,000 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 4: on an airline is just out of this world. So 274 00:14:05,840 --> 00:14:09,160 Speaker 4: shout out to the American Airlines team. We're so grateful 275 00:14:09,480 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 4: to them for seeing us as a startup business as well, 276 00:14:12,760 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 4: and allowing new brands to submit to their tasting process right. 277 00:14:18,679 --> 00:14:20,800 Speaker 4: And I got a chance to visit the American Airlines 278 00:14:20,840 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 4: headquarters in Dallas. That was fantastic and meet the team, 279 00:14:24,560 --> 00:14:27,240 Speaker 4: and they were just really excited to see who is 280 00:14:27,280 --> 00:14:30,240 Speaker 4: this person behind this brand that people are so excited 281 00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 4: about seeing in flight. So huge win for us and 282 00:14:34,880 --> 00:14:38,600 Speaker 4: we intend to hopefully have more placements with American Airlines 283 00:14:38,640 --> 00:14:39,680 Speaker 4: across our portfolio. 284 00:14:40,040 --> 00:14:42,360 Speaker 2: I think it's really important when we think about how 285 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:44,840 Speaker 2: we show up to to the point of people want 286 00:14:44,840 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 2: to see who is this person behind this brand? And 287 00:14:47,640 --> 00:14:50,480 Speaker 2: anytime I've had the opportunity, if there's something that I'm like, oh, 288 00:14:50,480 --> 00:14:53,120 Speaker 2: this would be great for Ingrid and for ibest Wines, 289 00:14:53,160 --> 00:14:55,880 Speaker 2: I have no hesitation and knowing that I can pass 290 00:14:55,920 --> 00:14:58,080 Speaker 2: that relationship on because I know how you show up 291 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,680 Speaker 2: and I know that you know your business thoroughly inside out. 292 00:15:02,320 --> 00:15:04,040 Speaker 2: One thing that you and I both have talked about 293 00:15:04,040 --> 00:15:06,960 Speaker 2: struggling with when you discuss raising capital is even being 294 00:15:07,000 --> 00:15:11,200 Speaker 2: able to ask or being able to pitch ourselves, because 295 00:15:11,200 --> 00:15:13,480 Speaker 2: I don't think we're used to pitching ourselves. We're used 296 00:15:13,480 --> 00:15:17,280 Speaker 2: to pitching other products. You know, We're used to being 297 00:15:17,320 --> 00:15:20,760 Speaker 2: the connectors for making things happen. It's different when it's 298 00:15:20,760 --> 00:15:22,800 Speaker 2: for you. But for some reason, I feel like it's 299 00:15:22,840 --> 00:15:26,080 Speaker 2: also harder. Yeah, but it shouldn't be. It should actually 300 00:15:26,200 --> 00:15:28,240 Speaker 2: be easier. 301 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:29,640 Speaker 3: When we're doing things for ourselves. What do you think 302 00:15:29,680 --> 00:15:30,120 Speaker 3: about that? 303 00:15:30,640 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 4: You know, it's funny my dad. My dad is ninety 304 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:38,600 Speaker 4: two years old, and my dad often says to me, baby, 305 00:15:38,640 --> 00:15:41,160 Speaker 4: you put your name on it, go out there and 306 00:15:41,160 --> 00:15:44,440 Speaker 4: do what you gotta do. And I remember the first 307 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,000 Speaker 4: time that he said that to me, and I was like, whooh, yeah, 308 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,120 Speaker 4: you're right, my name is on this. And I do 309 00:15:50,160 --> 00:15:54,440 Speaker 4: think women specifically oftentimes it's like head down getting the 310 00:15:54,480 --> 00:15:58,880 Speaker 4: work done. And you know, when you are building a business, 311 00:15:59,240 --> 00:16:03,880 Speaker 4: people want to know who is the person behind the business. 312 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:08,400 Speaker 4: And so I've had to learn how to get more 313 00:16:08,440 --> 00:16:11,400 Speaker 4: comfortable being in front because for the most part, I 314 00:16:11,440 --> 00:16:14,760 Speaker 4: was always doing things behind the scenes, building everyone else's thing. 315 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,920 Speaker 3: And so now this is really like. 316 00:16:17,880 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 4: A microscope on me, you know, And there are times 317 00:16:20,800 --> 00:16:24,080 Speaker 4: where I'm still adjusting to that. You know, whether it's 318 00:16:24,120 --> 00:16:26,320 Speaker 4: someone walks up to me and is like, oh my god, 319 00:16:26,360 --> 00:16:29,160 Speaker 4: I love your wines, or I'm like, wow, these people 320 00:16:29,200 --> 00:16:29,880 Speaker 4: know who I am. 321 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:31,960 Speaker 2: They'll be like, should you look familiar? Where do I 322 00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 2: know you're from? And then they're like, oh my gosh, 323 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:37,000 Speaker 2: your I Best Wines. And that's amazing for them though, 324 00:16:37,040 --> 00:16:40,080 Speaker 2: because the product already speaks for itself. There's times we're 325 00:16:40,120 --> 00:16:41,800 Speaker 2: friends and you'll tell me, like if you have something 326 00:16:41,840 --> 00:16:43,920 Speaker 2: going on. There's times that I've gone to event and 327 00:16:43,920 --> 00:16:46,560 Speaker 2: not even known that this was an I Best Wine 328 00:16:46,640 --> 00:16:48,560 Speaker 2: sponsored event, and I get there and I'm like, oh, 329 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:49,760 Speaker 2: look they're hereport. 330 00:16:49,480 --> 00:16:50,200 Speaker 1: I Best Wines. 331 00:16:50,680 --> 00:16:52,600 Speaker 2: And the other thing that I feel like you've been 332 00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:55,880 Speaker 2: very intentional about is being in the art space. And 333 00:16:55,960 --> 00:16:59,480 Speaker 2: you love collecting art I do, and curating art shows 334 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,240 Speaker 2: and assists in that way. So talk to me about 335 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:04,600 Speaker 2: that space for you and some other partnerships that you 336 00:17:04,640 --> 00:17:05,800 Speaker 2: have when it comes to art. 337 00:17:06,040 --> 00:17:10,280 Speaker 4: Yeah, honestly, I fell in love with art collecting not 338 00:17:10,440 --> 00:17:13,399 Speaker 4: that long ago. I tell people my journey as a 339 00:17:13,480 --> 00:17:16,600 Speaker 4: collector is a fairly new one. But I realized quickly 340 00:17:16,640 --> 00:17:19,439 Speaker 4: I was like, I like seeing the money hanging on 341 00:17:19,520 --> 00:17:23,720 Speaker 4: my walls, right, I like investing in art. I love 342 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:28,200 Speaker 4: getting to know artists, and especially the emerging artists right, 343 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:33,080 Speaker 4: who oftentimes don't necessarily have a huge platform. Are trying 344 00:17:33,119 --> 00:17:36,680 Speaker 4: to figure out how to get more exposure. Like I 345 00:17:36,760 --> 00:17:40,400 Speaker 4: love that, I love connecting the dots for them. I 346 00:17:40,480 --> 00:17:44,960 Speaker 4: love seeing the wine at shows obviously exhibits, you know. 347 00:17:45,080 --> 00:17:47,800 Speaker 4: Shout out to the folks who have tapped us early 348 00:17:47,880 --> 00:17:51,440 Speaker 4: on the mckeleeen, Thomas's The Swizz and Alisha's. 349 00:17:50,680 --> 00:17:53,760 Speaker 3: For their show that was at the Brooklyn Museum. 350 00:17:53,760 --> 00:17:56,240 Speaker 4: It was at the Brooklyn Museum. Michelleen's was in LA. 351 00:17:56,760 --> 00:18:00,399 Speaker 4: We've also done, honestly over like a hundred and twenty 352 00:18:00,680 --> 00:18:04,080 Speaker 4: art events. Shout out to Ashley, who leads all of 353 00:18:04,119 --> 00:18:07,920 Speaker 4: our events and partnerships. And for me, it's just critical 354 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,680 Speaker 4: that we're showing up in spaces that represent the places 355 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:15,159 Speaker 4: that I want to support. Oftentimes, once the galerius or 356 00:18:15,160 --> 00:18:19,159 Speaker 4: the curator or even the artists themselves has done everything 357 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:21,040 Speaker 4: they need to do to produce the show, they don't 358 00:18:21,040 --> 00:18:24,960 Speaker 4: necessarily have money for wine, right you know. And and 359 00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:29,120 Speaker 4: they haven't necessarily had wine that they feel good about 360 00:18:29,400 --> 00:18:32,159 Speaker 4: serving right of the wine. 361 00:18:32,600 --> 00:18:35,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, no jugs of wine, but you know what I mean. 362 00:18:35,840 --> 00:18:40,040 Speaker 4: Like now there's a through the line connection with not 363 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:43,040 Speaker 4: only the artists, but the wine that's being served there too. 364 00:18:43,160 --> 00:18:46,800 Speaker 4: So we've gotten tremendous support from the art community. We 365 00:18:46,880 --> 00:18:48,720 Speaker 4: would not have been able to do what we've done 366 00:18:48,760 --> 00:18:53,600 Speaker 4: in these two years without artists saying we love that wine, 367 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:58,240 Speaker 4: we support that wine, and for them saying that's the 368 00:18:58,320 --> 00:19:01,560 Speaker 4: wine we want poored adjacent to our art, right, that's 369 00:19:01,600 --> 00:19:06,560 Speaker 4: a huge, huge compliment. And so I absolutely just love 370 00:19:06,600 --> 00:19:11,600 Speaker 4: the art community. It's therapeutic to me. And it's also 371 00:19:11,640 --> 00:19:14,399 Speaker 4: the things that you don't see, the collector's dinners and 372 00:19:14,480 --> 00:19:18,040 Speaker 4: their homes, the fundraisers that the art community does. 373 00:19:19,600 --> 00:19:22,600 Speaker 3: I just I love it. It has my heart. Yeah. 374 00:19:22,760 --> 00:19:25,240 Speaker 2: Now, earlier we've been talking about expanding and I know 375 00:19:25,280 --> 00:19:28,280 Speaker 2: you launched in South Africa last year, so you have 376 00:19:28,480 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 2: plans to also launch internationally in other places. 377 00:19:31,720 --> 00:19:34,359 Speaker 3: Yeah, correct, Yes, give us a lot the brand. 378 00:19:34,880 --> 00:19:37,480 Speaker 4: The brand is a global brand, which I have to 379 00:19:37,520 --> 00:19:40,639 Speaker 4: pinch myself when I hear myself say that. So we 380 00:19:40,720 --> 00:19:44,719 Speaker 4: are available in South Africa. We are also available in Ghana. 381 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:47,440 Speaker 4: So we were able to secure one of the largest 382 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:50,960 Speaker 4: distributors in Ghana, which is a huge deal and we're 383 00:19:51,119 --> 00:19:54,080 Speaker 4: very excited about that. And initially we were hoping to 384 00:19:54,160 --> 00:19:56,720 Speaker 4: launch last year in Ghana, but there were some things 385 00:19:56,720 --> 00:19:59,480 Speaker 4: that got hung hung up but we are officially now 386 00:19:59,560 --> 00:19:59,960 Speaker 4: in Ghana. 387 00:20:00,200 --> 00:20:06,560 Speaker 3: We're excited, congratulates. It's a huge one. Where's the wine, Dan, Yeah, 388 00:20:08,240 --> 00:20:13,760 Speaker 3: like you're putting by the way, but yeah, we're in Ghana. 389 00:20:14,080 --> 00:20:17,320 Speaker 4: We are working on launching in Paris and London again 390 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:20,800 Speaker 4: because those are big, right, art community, art hub community. 391 00:20:20,920 --> 00:20:23,080 Speaker 1: If you need me to travel like as an assistant 392 00:20:23,160 --> 00:20:23,480 Speaker 1: on an. 393 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:26,879 Speaker 4: Signing you up very soon. But yeah, so we have 394 00:20:26,960 --> 00:20:29,320 Speaker 4: our eyes on some markets that we know makes sense. 395 00:20:29,359 --> 00:20:32,200 Speaker 4: There's also some additional markets in Africa that we're looking at, 396 00:20:32,320 --> 00:20:36,679 Speaker 4: Nigeria being one, Kenya being another, will wand up being another. 397 00:20:37,320 --> 00:20:40,159 Speaker 4: But you know, again back to the scale, right, you 398 00:20:40,240 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 4: don't want to go too fast. And so this this 399 00:20:43,960 --> 00:20:46,960 Speaker 4: leading up to this two year anniversary, I've actually spent 400 00:20:47,040 --> 00:20:49,359 Speaker 4: more time in the US because I've had to just 401 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,720 Speaker 4: do the work, you know. You know, Virgin Hotels and 402 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:57,440 Speaker 4: American Airlines and Total Wine don't open up by being 403 00:20:57,440 --> 00:20:59,680 Speaker 4: at events. They open up because you're doing the work 404 00:20:59,720 --> 00:21:02,199 Speaker 4: to make sure that you're positioning yourself and you're answering 405 00:21:02,280 --> 00:21:05,280 Speaker 4: those RFPs and doing I think the work that people 406 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:07,199 Speaker 4: a lot of times don't know about. 407 00:21:07,560 --> 00:21:09,719 Speaker 2: When you think also about the fact that you do 408 00:21:09,800 --> 00:21:10,640 Speaker 2: have investors? 409 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:10,960 Speaker 1: Right? 410 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:14,320 Speaker 2: What type of responsibility do you have to your investors? 411 00:21:14,800 --> 00:21:17,919 Speaker 2: As a founder of I best wines because there are 412 00:21:17,960 --> 00:21:21,080 Speaker 2: people who are entrusting you with their money. They're investing 413 00:21:21,119 --> 00:21:23,840 Speaker 2: in you, but then what do they get back? And 414 00:21:23,880 --> 00:21:25,880 Speaker 2: like how does that process work? Because I know people 415 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:27,840 Speaker 2: all the time can be a proach like, oh, I 416 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,200 Speaker 2: want you to invest in whatever I'm launching. What are 417 00:21:30,200 --> 00:21:32,800 Speaker 2: some things that people as investors should look for and 418 00:21:32,840 --> 00:21:35,919 Speaker 2: what type of responsibility do you have to your investors? 419 00:21:36,680 --> 00:21:39,560 Speaker 4: Listen, I think the first thing is transparency. You know, 420 00:21:39,640 --> 00:21:43,080 Speaker 4: this is a startup and as a startup, my investors 421 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:45,639 Speaker 4: have invested in me. They've invested in me as a 422 00:21:45,680 --> 00:21:49,680 Speaker 4: founder and as a CEO. So what I'm sharing with 423 00:21:49,720 --> 00:21:52,760 Speaker 4: them needs to always be coming from a place of 424 00:21:52,800 --> 00:21:55,760 Speaker 4: honesty and oftentimes. 425 00:21:56,400 --> 00:21:57,480 Speaker 3: Being very vulnerable. 426 00:21:57,720 --> 00:22:00,080 Speaker 4: You know, there have been times where we've had to 427 00:22:00,440 --> 00:22:01,440 Speaker 4: fill the gap. 428 00:22:01,240 --> 00:22:02,160 Speaker 3: In certain areas. 429 00:22:02,280 --> 00:22:04,159 Speaker 4: Right We're waiting for a PO to come in, and 430 00:22:04,200 --> 00:22:06,440 Speaker 4: I've gone to investors and said, hey, there's a PO 431 00:22:06,520 --> 00:22:08,840 Speaker 4: coming in. Can you float the business this until this 432 00:22:08,880 --> 00:22:13,000 Speaker 4: PO comes in? And what you gain from that level 433 00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:16,320 Speaker 4: of transparency with your investors is that the investor understands 434 00:22:16,320 --> 00:22:18,200 Speaker 4: that you're willing to not just tell them when everything's 435 00:22:18,240 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 4: going great. 436 00:22:19,119 --> 00:22:19,840 Speaker 3: You got to tell them. 437 00:22:19,880 --> 00:22:22,359 Speaker 4: You got to tell them when hey, this thirty days 438 00:22:22,440 --> 00:22:24,720 Speaker 4: is feeling testy for us, you know what I'm saying, 439 00:22:25,160 --> 00:22:26,280 Speaker 4: and we need some help. 440 00:22:26,320 --> 00:22:28,400 Speaker 3: And so I think for me, it's. 441 00:22:28,280 --> 00:22:31,320 Speaker 4: Like the transparency piece is critical and understanding that in 442 00:22:31,359 --> 00:22:35,119 Speaker 4: a business everything is not going to always be all good. 443 00:22:35,560 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: It comes outlier. 444 00:22:38,400 --> 00:22:43,520 Speaker 4: And Dan got the fancy glass wear. Okay, Okay, make 445 00:22:43,520 --> 00:22:44,760 Speaker 4: sure you pour yourself. 446 00:22:44,960 --> 00:22:45,840 Speaker 1: Look, it's two. 447 00:22:45,720 --> 00:22:49,159 Speaker 2: Years you know for IVS Wines, and shout out to 448 00:22:49,200 --> 00:22:52,560 Speaker 2: you and the team. Because what I also know is 449 00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:56,360 Speaker 2: that without the right team, nothing moves. And so tell 450 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:58,920 Speaker 2: me about the team that you've had. And it's also 451 00:22:59,040 --> 00:23:01,120 Speaker 2: not easy to be a member of a team that's 452 00:23:01,119 --> 00:23:04,480 Speaker 2: a startup. It's very rewarding when it works out and 453 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:08,080 Speaker 2: when you believe in the product, but it is also like, okay, 454 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:11,000 Speaker 2: you guys, we're really like strapping in and getting this 455 00:23:11,119 --> 00:23:12,080 Speaker 2: done from the ground up. 456 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:14,359 Speaker 3: So talk to me about the I Best Winds team. Yeah, 457 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:16,600 Speaker 3: the I Best Wines team. Ashley. 458 00:23:17,160 --> 00:23:23,760 Speaker 4: Listen, whenever someone says we see iye Best Wines everywhere, Ashley, Yeah, 459 00:23:24,359 --> 00:23:27,120 Speaker 4: she she is a one woman show who's leading all 460 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:30,520 Speaker 4: the events and partnerships for this brand. I like to 461 00:23:30,560 --> 00:23:33,600 Speaker 4: tell people it's kind of like a street team, you know, 462 00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:35,160 Speaker 4: old school street team where. 463 00:23:35,000 --> 00:23:39,040 Speaker 2: You you know, she said street you know, we see 464 00:23:39,040 --> 00:23:40,000 Speaker 2: the error we come from. 465 00:23:40,000 --> 00:23:42,879 Speaker 4: We're real surgical with how we're doing it. But it 466 00:23:43,280 --> 00:23:46,840 Speaker 4: really is the leadership of Ashley. So shout out to Ashley. 467 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:48,879 Speaker 1: Actually so great. I like lightweight poster. 468 00:23:49,280 --> 00:23:52,160 Speaker 2: You did it, and so I borrow her from the 469 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:54,359 Speaker 2: But but I think that speaks to like the work 470 00:23:54,400 --> 00:23:58,080 Speaker 2: that Ashley does. You know, she's been amazing and incredible 471 00:23:58,119 --> 00:23:59,440 Speaker 2: to the point where you and I are such a 472 00:23:59,480 --> 00:24:01,680 Speaker 2: good friends that you have somebody great. 473 00:24:01,760 --> 00:24:04,199 Speaker 3: I was like, yeah, we also we share her. 474 00:24:04,280 --> 00:24:07,200 Speaker 2: Yeah, and we share her. This sounds awful, but it's 475 00:24:07,280 --> 00:24:10,720 Speaker 2: it is a compliment. We should compliment she's actually here girl. 476 00:24:11,840 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 4: But yeah, So so Ashley, you know Chanel, you know 477 00:24:14,920 --> 00:24:18,160 Speaker 4: finance and modeling, you know, at the end of the day, 478 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,679 Speaker 4: boils down, boils down to we're building this to make money. 479 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,720 Speaker 4: We're building this to sell it one day and have 480 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:27,240 Speaker 4: an historical acquisition. And that is only done if you 481 00:24:27,359 --> 00:24:31,080 Speaker 4: have tremendous leadership with from a finance and a modeling perspective. 482 00:24:31,119 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 4: So shout out to Chanelle. All the press that you 483 00:24:34,080 --> 00:24:37,120 Speaker 4: see happening, that's Anna and I tag teaming. Anna does 484 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:40,560 Speaker 4: all of our internal comms. Anna's also was with me 485 00:24:40,680 --> 00:24:43,000 Speaker 4: at the start, like she was the person that I 486 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:45,400 Speaker 4: was ide eating and figuring it all out with. So 487 00:24:45,840 --> 00:24:49,760 Speaker 4: shout out to Anna. Shout out to Grace Maharry. She 488 00:24:50,000 --> 00:24:52,000 Speaker 4: is our sooner. She's our secret weapon. 489 00:24:52,080 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 3: I like say that for me again because I don't 490 00:24:53,600 --> 00:24:54,120 Speaker 3: say it right. 491 00:24:55,680 --> 00:24:59,920 Speaker 4: Yes, okay, Grace ma Harry just the just a tremendous force. 492 00:25:00,680 --> 00:25:04,640 Speaker 4: She is an incredible force, and she's really my partner 493 00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:08,040 Speaker 4: in as we're looking at new vintages and launching new things. 494 00:25:08,720 --> 00:25:12,080 Speaker 4: She's she's my she's my set of you know, tasting. 495 00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,000 Speaker 4: You know, she's not tasting buddy, you know, she's the 496 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:17,960 Speaker 4: person that's helping me make those those those decisions on 497 00:25:18,320 --> 00:25:20,240 Speaker 4: you know, is the liquid right and do we feel 498 00:25:20,280 --> 00:25:22,840 Speaker 4: good about it? So shout out to Grace. There's Kathlyn, 499 00:25:22,840 --> 00:25:28,360 Speaker 4: who's actually one of our strategic advisors. I recommend entrepreneurs 500 00:25:28,440 --> 00:25:31,680 Speaker 4: have advisors. You're one of them as well. You need 501 00:25:31,720 --> 00:25:34,320 Speaker 4: people that you can bounce ideas off of you need 502 00:25:34,320 --> 00:25:36,760 Speaker 4: people that can tell you when you're not doing it right, 503 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:38,560 Speaker 4: when you are doing it right, when you need to 504 00:25:38,560 --> 00:25:43,200 Speaker 4: consider something. So, Kathlyn, who am I forgetting Chanelle Grace Anna? 505 00:25:43,680 --> 00:25:44,400 Speaker 3: Oh, Rachel. 506 00:25:44,800 --> 00:25:47,080 Speaker 4: Rachel's been on maternity leave. We got a new baby 507 00:25:47,119 --> 00:25:47,680 Speaker 4: on the team. 508 00:25:48,040 --> 00:25:49,320 Speaker 1: The baby's on the team. 509 00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:51,720 Speaker 3: The baby's on the team too. The baby does not drink. 510 00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,399 Speaker 1: We need be baby formula. Yeah, but Rachel. 511 00:25:55,160 --> 00:25:59,760 Speaker 4: Is our brand manager and she's really the glue. But 512 00:25:59,760 --> 00:26:02,280 Speaker 4: what I will tell you is that this last year 513 00:26:02,440 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 4: was her obviously taking time for maternity. You know, I 514 00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:10,520 Speaker 4: had to step up quite a bit as a founder because. 515 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:13,280 Speaker 3: I was so used to having Rachel right there with me. 516 00:26:14,040 --> 00:26:17,520 Speaker 4: And I'm grateful for that time because it reminds you 517 00:26:17,520 --> 00:26:19,159 Speaker 4: you got to know how to do this stuff. 518 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,720 Speaker 2: Yeah yeah, And also it makes you have a different 519 00:26:21,720 --> 00:26:24,280 Speaker 2: type of appreciation when you have to do it yourself. 520 00:26:24,520 --> 00:26:27,040 Speaker 4: It really you're like, please come back. Yeah, but I 521 00:26:27,080 --> 00:26:28,879 Speaker 4: can't do any of this without the team. Thank you 522 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,240 Speaker 4: for bringing that up. I'm so grateful for them. And 523 00:26:33,960 --> 00:26:36,480 Speaker 4: we're building this thing brick by brick, and it takes 524 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:38,560 Speaker 4: a lot of work and they're doing it with me, and. 525 00:26:38,520 --> 00:26:39,200 Speaker 1: It's very key. 526 00:26:39,240 --> 00:26:41,680 Speaker 2: What you said about you're building this to sell, yes, 527 00:26:41,840 --> 00:26:46,159 Speaker 2: because sometimes people don't want to admit that publicly. And 528 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:49,000 Speaker 2: so when you think about building this brand and knowing 529 00:26:49,040 --> 00:26:51,760 Speaker 2: that at some point you know that is the goal, 530 00:26:52,080 --> 00:26:54,000 Speaker 2: right And that also helps the investors be able to 531 00:26:54,040 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 2: cash out as well, because you made a commitment to 532 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:58,840 Speaker 2: them and they know they're investing because they're knowing at 533 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,000 Speaker 2: some point, you know, we will be able to get 534 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:03,440 Speaker 2: a return, like a nice return on our investment. 535 00:27:03,560 --> 00:27:04,119 Speaker 3: Absolutely. 536 00:27:04,680 --> 00:27:06,640 Speaker 2: Why do you think people are so hesitant to say 537 00:27:06,680 --> 00:27:09,000 Speaker 2: that if they know in their head. I've always heard 538 00:27:09,040 --> 00:27:11,239 Speaker 2: you should be building your business like you want to 539 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:13,320 Speaker 2: sell it because that's how you do have to structure 540 00:27:13,320 --> 00:27:17,560 Speaker 2: your business. Everything has to be in order. And you 541 00:27:17,640 --> 00:27:19,399 Speaker 2: also never know. You can think at first I'm going 542 00:27:19,480 --> 00:27:21,080 Speaker 2: to keep this forever and then later on be like 543 00:27:21,320 --> 00:27:25,239 Speaker 2: m I actually have the opportunity to sell and do that. 544 00:27:25,440 --> 00:27:27,920 Speaker 1: So discuss that with me because people. 545 00:27:27,960 --> 00:27:31,280 Speaker 2: I think people need to understand why one would build 546 00:27:31,400 --> 00:27:34,240 Speaker 2: a business that's their baby and you love this business 547 00:27:34,240 --> 00:27:36,359 Speaker 2: so much, but with the intent to sell. 548 00:27:36,840 --> 00:27:37,800 Speaker 3: Yeah, you know. Listen. 549 00:27:38,400 --> 00:27:40,960 Speaker 4: Over my twenty year career, I had an opportunity to 550 00:27:41,040 --> 00:27:43,440 Speaker 4: really see things at a high level when you work 551 00:27:43,480 --> 00:27:46,919 Speaker 4: for organizations like Diagio and ALVMH and Paccardi, when you 552 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:51,840 Speaker 4: run joint ventures, your exposure to business is just really heightened. 553 00:27:52,320 --> 00:27:57,000 Speaker 4: And so I think for me understanding that one of 554 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,679 Speaker 4: the beautiful things about creating something is that you should 555 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:02,280 Speaker 4: be wanting to create. 556 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:03,800 Speaker 3: Things all the time. 557 00:28:03,960 --> 00:28:06,080 Speaker 4: I know I am I'm always thinking about what I 558 00:28:06,080 --> 00:28:08,439 Speaker 4: want to create next, and so here I am with 559 00:28:08,480 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 4: ibust wines, but there's a lot of other things that 560 00:28:11,400 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 4: I want to contribute to this industry, whether it be 561 00:28:13,880 --> 00:28:16,840 Speaker 4: Nana low out, There's a lot of different directions that 562 00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,639 Speaker 4: this industry is going in and I want to be 563 00:28:18,680 --> 00:28:20,840 Speaker 4: a part of that. And in order to do that, 564 00:28:20,920 --> 00:28:24,280 Speaker 4: you do have to unlock a level of wealth. The 565 00:28:24,320 --> 00:28:26,240 Speaker 4: only way that we're going to close the wealth gap 566 00:28:26,320 --> 00:28:29,119 Speaker 4: for us in this country is if we are building 567 00:28:29,160 --> 00:28:32,560 Speaker 4: billion dollar companies. And so for me, in my mind, 568 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,479 Speaker 4: I've known from the start what the endgame is, and 569 00:28:37,520 --> 00:28:40,719 Speaker 4: the endgame is acquisition. And I think a lot of 570 00:28:40,960 --> 00:28:44,400 Speaker 4: entrepreneurs are only thinking about the start and in the 571 00:28:44,440 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 4: middle they forget about the end. And if you have 572 00:28:47,360 --> 00:28:49,480 Speaker 4: a strong ending, if you know that you know this 573 00:28:49,520 --> 00:28:52,640 Speaker 4: is going to be a blockbuster, then what you're doing 574 00:28:52,680 --> 00:28:55,320 Speaker 4: at the start in the middle is different. What you're 575 00:28:55,360 --> 00:28:58,360 Speaker 4: building at the start to actually build something that a 576 00:28:58,400 --> 00:29:02,120 Speaker 4: company would acquire is different, and so I'm very bullish 577 00:29:02,440 --> 00:29:06,480 Speaker 4: about that. I also think that no one is going 578 00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:09,920 Speaker 4: to be able to build a brand with the things 579 00:29:10,320 --> 00:29:13,040 Speaker 4: that are important to me like me, And I do 580 00:29:13,080 --> 00:29:16,800 Speaker 4: think that some of these bigger companies can benefit from 581 00:29:16,840 --> 00:29:22,000 Speaker 4: working with founders like myself, buying or doing joint ventures 582 00:29:22,040 --> 00:29:25,200 Speaker 4: with founders like myself, because there is something unique that 583 00:29:25,240 --> 00:29:25,680 Speaker 4: we bring. 584 00:29:25,720 --> 00:29:29,120 Speaker 3: We bring the equity of culture, you know. 585 00:29:29,400 --> 00:29:29,600 Speaker 1: You know. 586 00:29:29,720 --> 00:29:31,080 Speaker 3: Lastly, these tariffs. 587 00:29:31,480 --> 00:29:32,200 Speaker 1: Yea, how is that? 588 00:29:33,400 --> 00:29:34,640 Speaker 3: Sorry, I need a drink. 589 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:36,720 Speaker 2: I know we are trying to celebrate here, but I 590 00:29:36,760 --> 00:29:38,800 Speaker 2: do want to make that a reality for people to 591 00:29:38,880 --> 00:29:42,920 Speaker 2: understand what the impact of these tariffs will have. 592 00:29:43,160 --> 00:29:44,440 Speaker 3: Yeah, it's a real thing. 593 00:29:45,240 --> 00:29:47,840 Speaker 4: And what I will tell you is that as a founder, 594 00:29:49,160 --> 00:29:52,600 Speaker 4: I have had to quiet the noise just a little 595 00:29:52,600 --> 00:29:56,760 Speaker 4: bit because it can be so daunting that some people 596 00:29:56,760 --> 00:29:58,600 Speaker 4: are just like, how am I going to do this? 597 00:29:59,000 --> 00:29:59,440 Speaker 3: For us? 598 00:29:59,480 --> 00:30:02,360 Speaker 4: We quit got into the mode of what do we 599 00:30:02,440 --> 00:30:08,120 Speaker 4: need to do to mitigate the fact that in some instances, 600 00:30:08,200 --> 00:30:10,720 Speaker 4: this tear, these tariffs are putting us in a situation 601 00:30:10,760 --> 00:30:13,840 Speaker 4: where we can't afford to do this anymore, right, and 602 00:30:13,960 --> 00:30:16,680 Speaker 4: so things like, you know, can we lower the cost 603 00:30:16,960 --> 00:30:19,800 Speaker 4: when it comes to our packaging. So we just actually 604 00:30:19,920 --> 00:30:23,760 Speaker 4: landed on a new bottle for IBS Wines. It's lighter weight, 605 00:30:24,160 --> 00:30:27,640 Speaker 4: it's a little shorter, but it's absolutely beautiful and so we're. 606 00:30:27,440 --> 00:30:30,040 Speaker 3: Really excited what you see on the market. Now, this 607 00:30:30,200 --> 00:30:30,480 Speaker 3: is it. 608 00:30:30,920 --> 00:30:32,880 Speaker 4: We're moving to a new pack and some of that 609 00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,880 Speaker 4: is being driven by the fact that we need to 610 00:30:34,880 --> 00:30:37,920 Speaker 4: figure out where we can cut costs. Still a beautiful pack, 611 00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:42,240 Speaker 4: still luxury, but you know, we've had to look really 612 00:30:42,400 --> 00:30:44,560 Speaker 4: tangibly at like what are the things are going to 613 00:30:44,600 --> 00:30:47,520 Speaker 4: help us navigate the terraffs because it is very difficult 614 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:50,920 Speaker 4: and depending on what country you're talking about, the tariff 615 00:30:50,960 --> 00:30:54,600 Speaker 4: may be higher or lower, and so we're just having 616 00:30:54,600 --> 00:30:57,040 Speaker 4: to mitigate the best way we know how. I think 617 00:30:57,080 --> 00:30:59,760 Speaker 4: the main thing that we're doing though is protecting the 618 00:31:00,400 --> 00:31:02,880 Speaker 4: so the wine, the quality of the wine, the process. 619 00:31:03,480 --> 00:31:06,160 Speaker 4: You know, our winery partner, that does not change, but 620 00:31:06,200 --> 00:31:08,240 Speaker 4: what are all the things around it that could help 621 00:31:08,320 --> 00:31:11,240 Speaker 4: us potentially lower some costs so that we're also not 622 00:31:11,320 --> 00:31:13,360 Speaker 4: having a pass that on to the consumer. Who is 623 00:31:13,400 --> 00:31:16,960 Speaker 4: also already going through they're, you know, reeling a lot 624 00:31:17,000 --> 00:31:19,520 Speaker 4: of things that are happening in this economy right now. 625 00:31:19,640 --> 00:31:23,360 Speaker 4: So the tariffs are real. They're disappointing. We don't have 626 00:31:23,440 --> 00:31:25,960 Speaker 4: to be in this situation. I will leave that, will 627 00:31:26,160 --> 00:31:27,640 Speaker 4: save that for another day. 628 00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:28,240 Speaker 3: But we are. 629 00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:31,760 Speaker 4: And I think my message to entrepreneurs and people who 630 00:31:31,800 --> 00:31:35,200 Speaker 4: are on businesses, you know, find a way to keep going. 631 00:31:35,800 --> 00:31:38,640 Speaker 3: Yeah, find a way to keep absolutely yeah. 632 00:31:38,680 --> 00:31:42,280 Speaker 2: Well listen, my last final thought is get you an 633 00:31:42,320 --> 00:31:44,400 Speaker 2: angry best in your life if you don't have one. 634 00:31:44,880 --> 00:31:47,760 Speaker 2: This is a person who has, you know, aside from 635 00:31:47,800 --> 00:31:51,440 Speaker 2: as you've heard in this interview, has amazing business acumen 636 00:31:51,600 --> 00:31:55,800 Speaker 2: and I think just brilliant, but also just a good person. 637 00:31:56,320 --> 00:31:58,320 Speaker 2: And that's what I think people should be investing in 638 00:31:58,360 --> 00:32:01,280 Speaker 2: brands that are amazing to start with people who are brilliant, 639 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:03,360 Speaker 2: but people who are also just damn good people, because 640 00:32:03,400 --> 00:32:04,480 Speaker 2: that's not easy to come by. 641 00:32:04,600 --> 00:32:07,000 Speaker 3: So you got it, our girl, congratulations. 642 00:32:07,400 --> 00:32:10,800 Speaker 2: We're two years old years old, and she's a good time. 643 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:12,200 Speaker 3: I have a good time. 644 00:32:12,280 --> 00:32:14,360 Speaker 1: Aside from I'm a good time, I'm a good time. 645 00:32:14,360 --> 00:32:16,360 Speaker 2: But thank you, and I cannot wait till we're celebrating 646 00:32:16,440 --> 00:32:20,400 Speaker 2: the when you actually the business gets acquired. We're gonna 647 00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:23,040 Speaker 2: be right up here and we're gonna be we're gonna 648 00:32:23,080 --> 00:32:24,400 Speaker 2: spill some wine on each other. 649 00:32:24,920 --> 00:32:26,480 Speaker 3: We're gonna pour them out for the homies. 650 00:32:26,960 --> 00:32:27,560 Speaker 1: It's a way up