Reflecting on purple cork 8 months in—Part 2
Tanner Scheer, Red Car’s winemaker (and his best friend, Button!)
Part 2: People
In Part 1, I reflected on wine entrepreneurship and learnings from the last 8 months running purple cork. This week, I dive into one of my favorite topics—people. You are nothing without amazing people around you.
Here are four things I’ve learned along the way…
Find early supporters
New businesses need a few key people to get off the ground. Kenny and Carla from Blue Rock Vineyard & Winery were those people for purple cork (that’s Carla below). I joined a virtual tasting in May 2020 hosted by Blue Rock and immediately fell in love with the wines and story of this special winery. When I put together a purple cork proof of concept a few months later, I pitched Kenny/Carla and they said, let’s do it! How cool is that. In July 2020, Blue Rock became purple cork’s first winery partner and it’s been an incredible almost yearlong journey together with countless Zooms, brainstorming sessions, and laughs. Cheers, friends!
Invest in an amazing designer
Do this early. I’m so fortunate to have an A+ design partner/contractor, Doug, who has been working with me for many years. He’s a storyteller via design—always pushing to better articulate the vision, messaging, and emotions we’re trying to evoke. When you’re selling an experience like purple cork, it has to ooze everywhere—on your website, in your pitch deck, and ultimately in the product itself.
Doug and I came up with purple cork’s brand identity well before the first virtual wine tasting. And yep, purple cork is lowercase, to match the hip and fresh vibe we’re going for. Wine is fun! My advice is to be thoughtful about what you stand for and don’t cut corners on design.
Tip: I recommend a tool like Frontify to keep your logos, colors, and other assets all together in one place.
Embrace your partners
Another winery that has been game-changing in purple cork’s growth is Skipstone. My favorite tasting with Skipstone was 6sense’s Customer Conference in December 2020, where we sent 250 wine kits all over the world (3% of Skipstone’s annual production!). When a client wants to host hundreds of people virtually, or ship wine internationally without hiccups, Brian at Skipstone is my first call. Work with like-minded partners who share your big ideas and execute to make it happen. Brian, Jason, Patricia—thanks for being awesome!
Three other special shoutouts:
Red Car Wine was another early winery partner and we’ve done countless Zooms with their rockstar winemaker, Tanner. They always go the extra mile.
Charles Heidsieck brings some of the world’s best Champagne (proper French Champagne) to purple cork, and their US Ambassador, Philippe, is a ton of fun on our tastings. Check it out.
I knew purple cork needed stunning Napa Cab—enter Azur Wines. Azur is some of the best Cab coming out of Napa, with the lovely owner Elan always hanging out and sharing her story on our tastings. Elan, you rock!
Other incredible partners include Littorai, Roy Estate, Aperture Cellars, Amista Vineyards, La Follette & Quivira, Massican, Croix Estate, Point Reyes Farmstead Cheese Company, AQV Caviar, and Riva Cucina. purple cork wouldn’t be purple cork without access to these special, private wineries and purveyors—it all starts with the best wine and food! And for my corporate clients, your customers are in for a treat with this sort of access only available via purple cork.
Hire an A+ squad
And give them the credit! They deserve all of it. Anna Wintour says, “You are nothing without a great team.” 100%.
Like Amanda! Amanda has been my “Tech Wiz” since the beginning. Anyone who has joined a purple cork experience knows that we strive for flawless tech—from the first video to breakout rooms to polls and everything in between. Hosting virtual conferences for 100+ people would be nerve wracking for most people, but not Amanda and her IT team!
I’m also so fortunate to have two other contractors, Maggie and Colin, who wear many hats (startup life!). More on them next week when we dive into go-to-market—our amazing customers and lean marketing & sales motion. Until then, drink something delicious!
