This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian, a company that produces cocktail-making machines for home bars. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Courtesy of Bartesian. Ryan Close.
What was your day job or primary occupation when you started Bartesian?
I grew up, went to college and got my professional start in Canada. When I started my post-grad career, I worked for small to mid-sized companies where my role was to develop and re-engineer sales processes to maximize profit. My role was to get under the hood of the business, see what needed to be fixed to improve KPIs and strategies and help do the dirty work to build the business back up. Although I enjoyed this work, I always had an entrepreneurial itch and had a few small businesses I developed and ran on the side. None of them excited me like the idea for Bartesian did, though. Once this idea came about, I took the risk to dedicate myself fully to developing the brand and running the business.
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When did you start Bartesian, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Bartesian was built in 2014 to offer at-home cocktail enthusiasts an easy, streamlined way to make premium cocktails for themselves and their guests — without needing a fully stocked bar with several spirits, liqueurs, mixers, bitters, etc. Even though I was a professional bartender in college, I always got nervous when customers would order complicated drinks because the perfect cocktail includes a number of ingredients and steps and expertise that takes time to develop and get right. Bartesian solves these problems — you can enjoy delicious, mixologist-quality beverages anytime, and it’s as simple as pressing a button.
What were some of the first steps you took to get Bartesian off the ground?
We really took our time developing a quality product before launching into the market. First, we developed the concept and hit the ground running, talking to as many potential customers as possible — upwards of thousands — to understand what they’re looking for in a product like ours. We wanted to know what features were most important, what their pain points were when making cocktails and what would excite them about experiencing at-home cocktails. While we had an idea of what to expect, we uncovered valuable feedback we hadn’t thought of that helped bring the best product to market. For example, customers liked the ability to choose their spirit and beverage strength. Once we felt product development was in a good place, we strategically went to potential retailers and buyers, securing LOIs (letters of intent) to purchase the product once available. With this ammo from consumers and retailers/buyers, we could engage with investment groups with complete confidence and proof. (If we make it, they’ll buy it!)
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What were some of the biggest challenges you faced while building Bartesian, and how did you navigate them?
One of the significant challenges we encountered in our early days building the brand was the shelf stability of the product and staying true to product quality. From day one, we were adamant that we would stay true to our priority of crafting cocktails made with only high-quality ingredients. This required us to navigate many issues surrounding the supply chain, ensuring that the quality remained without incurring too many costs and losing too much capital. Luckily, I was able to curate a stellar team that was able to solve for this and allow us to continue innovating and bringing new cocktails to customers without sacrificing our label. Another challenge we encountered as we were building the brand was our Kickstarter campaign. Although it was a major success, our team then needed to figure out how to produce over 1,000 units ourselves — we felt like we were building the plane while flying it! It was great for brand exposure at launch but wasn’t our expertise and required a lot of on-the-fly learning.
How long did it take you to see consistent monthly revenue?
We saw consistent revenue right out of the gate, and that’s because we truly took our time developing the product and brand before launching. We spent four to five years preparing and building a product consumers would want. We also developed strategic partnerships for launch, including Hamilton Beach, and engaged a PR team that allowed us to generate major buzz and interest right away. For example, shortly after launch in 2019, we landed on Oprah’s Favorite Things! It was important that we nailed the launch to ensure consistent growth, and we’ve continued climbing since.
What does growth and revenue look like now?
We continue to grow exponentially year after year. Since our launch in 2019, we have reached over $100 million in D2C sales in under three years. Although we initially focused on ecommerce, as our conversion rates increased, we shifted our channel strategy and launched in thousands of brick-and-mortar stores, including Williams-Sonoma, Macy’s and more nationwide. We also have leveraged online platforms, such as HSN and QVC, and have plans through next year to continue scaling into new markets globally, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
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What do you enjoy most about running this business?
This probably sounds like a cliche answer, but one of my favorite things about running Bartesian is interacting with customers and hearing their love for the product and brand. Seeing customers sharing images on social media of their cocktails, toasting with family and friends, sharing incredible moments and having so much fun with the product never gets old and is amazing to see. I love seeing them making our Christmas cocktails, leveling them up with garnishes and making an experience out of it. Customers will come up to me on the street when they see me drive my truck with the Bartesian logo and share their stories, and I love hearing their joy and excitement!
What’s your advice for others hoping to start successful side hustles or full-time businesses of their own?
My biggest advice is to map out what success looks like for you because everyone defines success differently. Then, consider the potential outcomes that could arise from all possibilities — the best, worst and in between. Make sure you’re okay with all of those outcomes and make decisions accordingly.
Also, try not to get too high on the highs and too low on the lows. Things in a startup happen quickly — sometimes, it can feel like the walls are caving in, and other times, you feel on top of the world. Because of that, make sure you keep emotions out of it. Things will pass, whether good or bad, so don’t let it change your approach or business strategy.
