Movers and Shakers with April Wachtel – Details, episodes &amp; analysis

On Instagram @moverssshakers

Find April:

On Instagram @cheekycocktails

Find Cheeky

www.cheekycocktails.co

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Elayne Duff from the Beverage Brand Ambassador Academy

Episode 54

mercredi 26 octobre 2022 • Duration 35:44

Today’s interview is with Elayne Duff from the Beverage Brand Ambassador Academy.

Elayne Duff is a 20-year veteran of the spirits industry. She was Diageo U.S.A.’s first head mixologist and luxury spirits ambassador, has appeared on the T.V. show Bar Rescue numerous times as a beverage expert, and was a Global Manager of experiential events and education at Ab-InBev.

More recently Elayne founded “Duff on the Rocks,” an on and off-trade brand strategy consultancy, launched a YouTube show “Celebrating the Brand Ambassador” and created the “Beverage B.A. Academy,” the first online training academy for Brand Ambassadors.

In the podcast today we discuss:

Elayne’s extensive background in beverage
The origin stories behind Elayne’s various ventures
What to expect from the Beverage BA curriculum
…and so much more.

Without further ado, please enjoy my interview with Elayne Duff!

Find The Beverage Brand Ambassador Academy:

https://beveragebaacademy.teachable.com

Find Elayne:

On Instagram @duffontherocks

On Facebook @Elayneduff

On LinkedIn @ Elayne Duff

Find Movers and Shakers:

On Instagram @moverssshakers

Find April:

On Instagram @cheekycocktails

Find Cheeky

www.cheekycocktails.co

Enter code MOVERSANDSHAKERS at checkout for 10% off your first order

Allen Katz from the New York Distilling Company on the contemporary cocktail renaissance and what it takes to break through as a spirits brand

Episode 44

jeudi 7 octobre 2021 • Duration 54:27

Today’s guest is Allen Katz, Co Founder of the New York Distilling Company. Allen is one of the nation’s leading experts on distilled spirits and cocktails, Director of the Spirits Education & Mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and is at the forefront of industry training in New York and around the country. He is renowned for his public and professional seminars on topics of America’s food and cocktail heritage and was previously the host of The Cocktail Hour for Martha Stewart on SiriusXM. I interviewed Allen in February of 2020, just a couple of weeks before Covid landed in New York City. As we all know, the past year and a half have been strange to say the least, but I’ve missed making the pod and am hoping to be back on more of a regular schedule. The beauty of having brilliant guests, is their advice often stands the test of time, and that is certainly the case with Allen’s. In the podcast today we discuss:

The evolution of the contemporary cocktail renaissance
The founding of the NY Distilling company
What it takes to break through as a spirits brand, and
Allen’s advice to entrepreneurs just getting started

I can’t tell you how much I loved this conversation with Allen, and I think you’ll agree, he is a gifted storyteller as well as a fascinating and thoughtful business person. Without further ado, please enjoy my interview with Allen Katz Find Allen on most social media @nydistilleryman Find New York Distilling Company www.nydistilling.com @nydistilling Find Movers and Shakers: www.moverssshakers.com On Instagram as @moverssshakers Find April: On LinkedIn www.aprilwachtel.com www.cheekycocktails.co

Eugene Khabensky from Diageo on what level of detail you should present when pitching to investors, and which part of the pitch process is incredibly important, yet often overlooked.

Episode 43

mercredi 16 septembre 2020 • Duration 33:12

Today’s guest is Eugene Khabensky, Director of Business Development and Ventures at Diageo. Eugene specializes in finance, strategy, commercial insights, and business development, so I was excited to pick his brain on how he evaluates businesses for potential investment. In his tenure at Diageo, he has worked on many exciting projects and acquisitions including Diageo’s acquisition of Casamigos Tequila. In his current role, Eugene oversees the Diageo relationship with the Distill Ventures program in North America where he brings a comprehensive cross functional view to unlocking brand acceleration and building successful plans for growth.

In this interview, Eugene gives some great insights on what Diageo is looking for in potential investments, what level of detail you should present depending on the stage of your business, and which part of the pitch process is incredibly important, yet often overlooked.

I’m appreciative for Eugene’s time, and hope this interview helps founders prepare for the competition in November.

Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Eugene Khabensky.

Find Eugene on LinkedIn

Find Distill Ventures

www.distillventures.com/

Find Movers and Shakers:

On Instagram as @moverssshakers

Find April:

April Wachtel from Cheeky (and host of the Movers and Shakers podcast) on the Cheeky founding story, evolving as an entrepreneur, and building culture as a startup

mercredi 26 août 2020 • Duration 44:45

Movers and Shakers is back! In today's episode, I explain our absence, introduce my company Cheeky Cocktails, and my colleague Aaron Moses steps in as host. We discuss some of my background in the beverage and hospitality industry, how I became an entrepreneur, how I think about team and culture building, and much more.

A special thanks to Cheeky Aaron for doing a great job hosting!

As always, if you have questions, comments, or feedback, it's always greatly appreciated, and please feel free to reach out anywhere below.

Find Cheeky:

www.cheekycocktails.co

@cheekycocktails across social media

Find Movers and Shakers:

On Instagram as @moverssshakers

Find April:

Chris Lowder and Micaela Piccolo on life in Shanghai under quarantine

mardi 17 mars 2020 • Duration 01:11:07

In today's special episode of Movers and Shakers, I speak to friends in industry icons, Chris Lowder and Micaela Piccolo about life in Shanghai during Coronavirus. They share what they're doing to stay positive and productive under quarantine, what you should expect if your market is not yet adapted for the virus, and what bars and restaurants are doing across China to persevere.

Please note, this was also the first video interview for Movers and Shakers. The video is available here.

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Follow Chris and Micaela's updates on Instagram

@getlowdernow

@micaelapiccolo

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Connect with April on LinkedIn

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Shoot us questions, comments, or requests for specific content at [email protected]

Special Announcement regarding Coronavirus

lundi 16 mars 2020 • Duration 01:11

Dearest listeners, In light of the impact Coronavirus is having on our industry, we will be adding coverage, interviews, and professional development opportunities to our regular programming, intended to help our community get through these next few months. Please stay tuned for tomorrow's interview with Chris Lowder, the General Manager of Proof & Company in China, on how bars and restaurants have been coping during the quarantine. Also, if you have more time on your hands than usual, and are looking for ways to build your professional online presence I created a video tutorial on building your personal brand through LinkedIn, creating a website, buying a url, and setting up a professional email account. Please shoot us a note at [email protected] with any questions, comments, or requests for specific content, and stay safe out there.

Jen Batchelor from Kin Euphorics on the brand founding story, the evolution of wellness in hospitality, and the pros and cons of creating a new category

Episode 39

mardi 3 mars 2020 • Duration 38:40

Today’s guest is Jen Batchelor. Jen is the co-founder and CEO of Kin Euphorics, an alternative beverage company intent on revolutionizing the future of social drinking. Launched in December of 2018, Kin has sold over 1 million servings of their three products- High Rhode, Dream Light, and Kin Spritz. Raised in Saudia Arabia, Jen built a decade long career in strategic innovation at the intersection of tech, wellness, and hospitality, and now brings her unique perspective to her work with Kin.

Find Jen

On Instagram as @jenofkin

Find Kin Euphorics

On Instagram as @kineuphorics

www.kineuphorics.com

Find Movers and Shakers:

On Instagram as @moverssshakers

Find April:

Hugh Thomas from Ugly Drinks on the Ugly founding story, what makes a truly sticky consumer brand, and how he defines success as a founder

Episode 38

mardi 18 février 2020 • Duration 01:01:01

Today's guest is Hugh Thomas. Hugh is the CEO and co-founder of Ugly Drinks, a flavored sparkling water brand founded in the U.K. Hugh and his co-founder, Joe met while working for Vita Coco coconut water before deciding to start their own business, disrupting the soft drinks industry.

In the podcast today, we discuss:

How Hugh and Joe went from Googling how to build a business in their apartment in London, to having distribution in nearly 10,000 stores across Europe and the United States
What makes a truly sticky consumer brand
How Hugh defines success as a founder, and so much more

Hugh was such a wonderful guest and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did.

If you do enjoy the interview, please share the podcast and we'd really appreciate if you can leave us a review in Apple podcasts. It really does help. Without further ado, please enjoy my interview with Hugh Thomas.

Find Ugly Drinks

Find Hugh

Find April:

Paul Gabie from The Proof Collective on the forces shaping the beverage industry in Asia Pacific, the "Hendrick’s moment" as a sign of market maturity, and cross-pollination as an accelerant

Episode 37

mardi 4 février 2020 • Duration 01:10:25

Image Credit

Today’s guest is Paul Gabie. Paul is an investor, former lawyer, and co-founder and CEO of The Proof Collective, a portfolio of companies dedicated to spreading fine drinking around the globe. If you’re in the cocktail world and you don’t know their name, you definitely know their work. Their companies include:

Proof & Company; a leading independent spirits distributor and consultancy with offices in five countries across Asia Pacific
28 HongKong Street, JERRY, EC Proof, True Believers, Junior, and ecoSPIRITS
And last year alone, six of their projects were included on the list of Asia’s 50 Best Bars, including Manhattan, ATLAS, 28 HongKong Street, Charles H, Bar Trigona, and The Pontiac.

In the podcast today we discuss

The forces shaping the industry in Asia Pacific
The "Hendrick’s moment" as a sign of market maturity
Cross-pollination as an accelerant
The challenges of managing growth, and so much more

Paul was such a wonderful guest, and I hope you enjoy the interview as much as I did. If you do enjoy the interview, please share the podcast- and we would really appreciate if you can leave us a review in apple podcasts- it really does help.

Find Proof and Company:

On Instagram

www.proofandcompany.com

Find April: