This Side Hustle Q&A features Ryan Close, the company’s founder and CEO Bartesiana company producing cocktail making machines for home bars. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Photo credit: courtesy of Bartesiana. Ryan Close.
What was your day job or essential activity when you started working at Bartesian?
I grew up, went to varsity and started working in Canada. When I started my postgraduate profession, I worked for small and medium-sized firms where my role was to develop and redesign sales processes to maximise profit. My role was to look under the hood of the company, see what needed to be fixed to enhance KPIs and strategies, and help do the dirty work to rebuild the company. While I enjoyed the job, I used to be all the time drawn to entrepreneurship and had several small businesses that I developed and ran on the side. However, none of them delighted me as much as the idea for Bartesian. When this concept was born, I took a risk and devoted myself completely to developing the brand and running the business.
When did you begin creating Bartesian and where did you discover the inspiration for it?
Bartesian was built in 2014 to supply at-home cocktail enthusiasts an easy and streamlined method to prepare top-quality cocktails for themselves and their guests – without having to have a fully stocked bar with several spirits, liqueurs, mixers, bitters, etc. Even though I used to be skilled bartender in college, I used to be all the time nervous when customers ordered complicated drinks, because the perfect cocktail consists of a series of ingredients and stages and knowledge that takes time to develop and properly prepare. Bartesian solves these problems – you possibly can enjoy delicious mixology-quality drinks anytime, and it’s as easy as pressing a button.
Photo source: courtesy of Bartesian
What were the first steps you took to get Bartesian off the ground?
We really took our time to develop a quality product before bringing it to market. First, we conceptualized and started working from the ground up, talking to as many potential customers as possible – over 1000’s – to know what they were looking for in a product like ours. We desired to know what features are most vital to them, what problems they face when making cocktails, and what excites them when trying cocktails at home. Even though we had an idea of what to anticipate, we discovered useful feedback that we hadn’t considered that helped us bring the best product to market. For example, customers liked the ability to decide on alcohol and drink strength. Once we felt product development was on track, we strategically approached potential retailers and buyers, providing LOIs (letters of intent) to buy the product once it was available. With this ammunition from consumers and retailers/buyers, we could approach investment groups with complete confidence and proof. (If we succeed, they are going to buy it!)
What were the biggest challenges you faced while creating Bartesian and how did you overcome them?
One of the significant challenges we encountered at the starting of building the brand was the stability of the product during storage and faithfulness to its quality. From day one, we were adamant that we might stay true to our priority of making cocktails made only with high-quality ingredients. This required us to navigate many supply chain issues, ensuring quality was maintained without incurring too many costs or losing too much capital. Fortunately, I used to be capable of build a great team that was capable of solve this problem and allowed us to proceed to innovate and bring latest cocktails to customers without sacrificing our label. Another challenge we encountered while building the brand was the Kickstarter campaign. While this was a great success, our team then needed to determine the way to produce over 1,000 units ourselves – it felt like we were building an airplane while it was flying! It was great for brand exposure at launch, but it was outside our remit and required a lot of learning on the fly.
How long did it take for you to realize stable monthly income?
We’ve seen consistent revenues since day one because we actually took the time to develop the product and brand before launching. We spent 4 to 5 years preparing and building the product consumers would expect. For the launch, we also formed strategic partnerships, including with Hamilton Beach, and engaged a PR team that allowed us to generate a lot of buzz and interest straight away. For example, shortly after its 2019 premiere, we landed on Oprah’s Favorite Things list! It was necessary that we took off to make sure continued growth and we have continued to climb ever since.
Photo credit: courtesy of Bartesiana
What does growth and revenue appear like today?
We proceed to grow exponentially 12 months after 12 months. Since our launch in 2019, we have achieved over $100 million in D2C sales in less than three years. While our initial focus was e-commerce, as conversion rates increased, we modified our channel strategy and rolled out the service to 1000’s of brick-and-mortar stores, including Williams-Sonoma, Macy’s and others across the country. We have also leveraged online platforms comparable to HSN and QVC and have plans over the next 12 months to proceed expanding into latest markets around the world, including the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
What do you enjoy most about running this business?
This probably feels 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 photos of their cocktails on social media, toasting with family and friends, sharing amazing moments and having so much fun with the product never gets old and amazing. I like watching them make our holiday cocktails, enhance them with additions and make it an amazing experience. Customers will approach me on the street when they see me driving a truck with the Bartesiana logo and share their stories. I like hearing their joy and excitement!
What is your advice for others trying to start a successful side hustle or their very own full-time business?
My biggest piece of recommendation is to define what success looks prefer to you, because everyone defines success in a different way. Then consider the potential outcomes that could result from all possibilities – best, worst and in-between. Make sure you agree with all results and make decisions accordingly.
Also try to not go too high on the highs and too low on the lows. In a startup, all the pieces happens fast – sometimes it seems like the partitions are falling down, and other times you are feeling such as you’re on top of the world. For this reason, remember to maintain your emotions out of it. Everything will pass, whether it’s good or bad, so don’t let it change your approach or business strategy.