Virtual PROFIT MATTERS - July
Launching an Artisanal Tequila Company
DURING A PANDEMIC
WEDNESDAY July 15th, 6:00-7:00
VIA ZOOM
Meeting Login Details are included in your meeting confirmation
No hassles, no parking. BYOB and appetizer to a comfy desk, chair or patio
Our Presenter:
Our presenter, Karen Ashworth-Macfarlane is an experienced Chief Executive Officer and founding entrepreneur with a demonstrated history of working in the professional financial planning field , Social start ups, social impact investing , leadership, training & coaching. She cares deeply about women’s empowerment has served on the board of several non-profits. She has recently engaged on a new venture – Dígame.
Company Description:
Dígame (which means “talk to me” in Spanish) is a woman co-founded certified B corporation making, branding and selling Tequila and Mezcal. Their products are 100% Agave Organic/Wild, artisanally, and ancestrally made with families that have been making the liquid for many generations. Karen plans to start the Dígame Foundation to support nonprofits in the Mexican communities where we work, as well as women in the US.
The Business Challenge
Dígame’s new line of Mezcal and Tequila (Dona Loca for the company's co-founder) is being launched during the pandemic. Brand Ambassador launch parties are the typical launch approach, are very difficult to conduct at a time when most restaurants and bars operate in restricted environments. Customers are hesitant to go to public places, and retail liquor stores are prohibited from promotional sampling. Karen needs our help to be super creative – focusing on digital marketing and restricted physical launch ideas.
This Month's Reviewers
Dana Ferrero Spaulding: Talk about walking a mile in her shoes… Or is that stomping a mile in her agave, I’m mean grapes. Dana is a former Profit Matters presenter. She is the founder and CEO of Wander and Ivy single, serve organic wines. Dana brings her “been there and done that” perspective to marketing and launching specialty beverages here in the Front Range. As a Vice President for JP Morgan Private Bank she specialized in building investment strategies in the food and beverage industry. Dana is smart, driven and knows our presenter’s pain, as sampling is off the table for all types of food and beverage businesses.
The Dynamic Duo of Betsy Lay and Alison Winseki from Lady Justice Brewing, another Profit Matters alum who is feeling the pain of limited in-person marketing and promotion during the current pandemic.
Betsy is the co-founder of Lady Justice Brewing Company. She brings another founder’s perspective to launching a specialty beverage company with social enterprise and non-profit roots. Like our presenter, she is responsible for her company’s philanthropic efforts to empower Denver’s women and girls
Alison is the creative genius behind Lady Justice’s strategic marketing efforts, which include (but are not limited to) the organization’s social media, content creation, storytelling, and influencer management campaigns. Huh?! That sounds like many of the same approaches Dígame is likely to employ during their launch.
Karen O-Toole: Karen heads up the Social Media Practice for local Digital Marketing firm Two Octobers where she guides a variety of clients in building out their digital marketing strategies – including several non-profit entities. While Karen is currently focused on social media, she is well versed in SEO, content creation, graphic design and influencer marketing – all backed by cutting edge analytics - because you can’t manage what you can’t measure. And guess what?! It turns out, that she too has applied her skills to marketing alcoholic beverages.
As always, please forward along this invitation to anyone you think may be interested in this space or thinking about presenting in the future. While Profit Matters supports front-range women entrepreneurs, we welcome the support and attendance of all our female and male colleagues. Please help us spread the word!
