EP 106: How Bill Shufelt (CEO, Athletic Brewing) Built Athletic Brewing - Every Plot Twist Along The Way

Since 2017, Bill Shufelt (CEO, Athletic Brewing) went from hedge fund trader to the CEO of the leading producer of non-alcoholic craft beer. Unlike the typical tech-focused chats, this one centers around a product many have fallen in love with. In the conversation, Bill tells stories of the unscalable but crucial strategies he used to build a brand, push past rejection, and redefine the non-alcoholic beer industry.   (00:00) Introduction to Athletic Brewing (00:52) The Early Days and Breakthrough Moments (01:15) Celebrity Partnerships and Brand Building (03:16) The Philosophy of Brand and Movement (07:33) The Non-Alcoholic Beer Market (10:46) The Entrepreneurial Journey and Personal Sacrifices (18:22) Scaling the Business and Marketing Strategies (28:20) Navigating Regulations and Health Trends (39:07) The Importance of a Tech Co-Founder (39:31) Home Brewing Beginnings (40:13) Innovative Brewing Process (41:13) Food Safety Challenges (43:24) Raising Funds and Building a Brewery (44:24) Vertical Integration Benefits (45:33) Early Sales Efforts (46:56) Investor Relations and Accountability (51:14) Long-Term Vision and Focus (01:00:10) Cultural Differences in Non-Alcoholic Beer (01:02:35) Health Considerations and Alcohol (01:10:38) The Sensation of Drinking (01:12:50) Reflections on the Entrepreneurial Journey (01:14:46) Conclusion and Final Thoughts Executive Producer: Rashad Assir Producer: Leah Clapper Mixing and editing: Justin Hrabovsky   Check out Unsupervised Learning, Redpoint's AI Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/@UCUl-s_Vp-Kkk_XVyDylNwLA   🎙 Listen to the show   Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-logan-bartlett-show/id1606770839 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1 Google Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5zaW1wbGVjYXN0LmNvbS9zb0hJZkhWbg   🎥 Subscribe on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCugS0jD5IAdoqzjaNYzns7w?sub_confirmation=1   Follow on Socials   📸 Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/theloganbartlettshow 🐦 Twitter - https://twitter.com/loganbartshow 🎬 Clips on TikTok - https://www.tiktok.com/@theloganbartlettshow   About the Show   Logan Bartlett is a Software Investor at Redpoint Ventures - a Silicon Valley-based VC with $6B AUM and investments in Snowflake, DraftKings, Twilio, and Netflix. In each episode, Logan goes behind the scenes with world-class entrepreneurs and investors. If you're interested in the real inside baseball of tech, entrepreneurship, and start-up investing, tune in every Friday for new episodes.