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 AssirProducer: Leah ClapperMixing 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/id1606770839Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5WqBqDb4br3LlyVrdqOYYb?si=3076e6c1b5c94d63&nd=1Google 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.