Journey to the Sunnyside cover image

Journey to the Sunnyside

How Bill Shufelt Built a Non-Alcoholic Movement with Athletic Brewing pt. 1

Jan 2, 2025
In this engaging chat, Bill Shufelt, Co-founder and CEO of Athletic Brewing Company, shares his inspiring journey from a stable career to creating a movement around non-alcoholic beer. He discusses the initial challenges he faced while carving out a niche in the beverage industry and the innovative strategies that helped reshape perceptions of non-alcoholic options. Bill emphasizes the importance of community support and his mission to normalize moderation, making social drinking healthier and more enjoyable for everyone.
21:19

Episode guests

Podcast summary created with Snipd AI

Quick takeaways

  • Bill Shufelt's personal transformation regarding alcohol led him to identify a significant market gap for quality non-alcoholic beer options.
  • Despite facing investor skepticism and initial challenges, Bill's persistence and hands-on marketing approach successfully established Athletic Brewing as a leader in the non-alcoholic sector.

Deep dives

The Birth of Athletic Brewing

Bill Schufelt's journey to founding Athletic Brewing Company stemmed from a personal transformation regarding his relationship with alcohol. Realizing that drinking was negatively impacting various aspects of his life, including sleep, productivity, and fitness, he decided to stop drinking for a month, which led to significant improvements. This experience revealed a gap in the market for non-alcoholic options that allowed him to socialize without alcohol, creating a compelling motivation to address this unmet need. Encouraged by his wife, Bill began to explore non-alcoholic beers, discovering a lack of quality choices available, sparking the idea to innovate within this category.

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