Taking a Family Business to $500M with Brian Rosen - Chairman of InvestBev

Brian Rosen is the founder of the Growth Beverage collective of brands, which includes Sprout Beverage, InvestBev, BevStrat, and Algoma Capital. The Growth Beverage ecosystem serves independent beverage brands at every stage of their growth journey - from inception through exit.

On this episode, Jake and Brian discuss:

- Growing the family business to over $100M

- The reality of Private Equity

- Advice to early career folks

- The 101 of what makes a great alcohol brand

Links:

Brian on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/briandavidrosen/

InvestBev - https://www.investbev.com/

Connect & Invest with Jake:

Follow Jake on Twitter: https://twitter.com/jwurzak

Take the Hospitality Investing Masterclass: https://learn.jakewurzak.com/

Learn How to Invest with DoveHill: https://bit.ly/3yg8Pwo

Topics:

(00:00:00) - Intro

(00:04:25) - Brian’s family legacy in the beverage business

(00:08:15) - Taking the business to $100 million

(00:10:39) - The struggles of joining a family business as the 3rd generation

(00:24:20) - Selling the business to Private Equity and buying out the rest of the family

(00:25:28) - Operating in a highly regulated environment

(00:26:23) - Life under PE

(00:30:47) - Advice to early career folks

(00:32:47) - How the liquor business has changed

(00:36:55) - Buying back the business

(00:39:45) - InvestBev

(00:41:16) - Titos: How does an overnight success take 20 years?

(00:43:27) - The power of celebrity marketing in new beverage brands

(00:49:10) - How do you approach investing in brands?

(00:52:52) - Do you consider incubating your own brands?

(00:57:00) - The distillery world

(01:01:11) - Optimal hold periods of brands

(01:02:34) - Raising a fund

(01:12:48) - Advice for those looking to overcome a challenge in their track record

(01:15:43) - How has your fund structure changed now that you’re on your fifth?

(01:17:34) - What’s your competitive edge?

(01:20:33) - How big is the cannabis-beverage market?

(01:22:32) - What would you have preferred to do more or less of in your career?

(01:25:00) - 3 year goals

(01:28:48) - What’s your favorite hotel?