While Athletic Brewing may today be known as one of the fastest-growing breweries the craft beer industry has ever seen, its origins were more deliberate and intentional, with a rollout strategy that stayed local for as long as possible. Bill Shufelt's founder story goes back nearly a decade, and in those early years he carefully constructed a foundation that would serve the company well as it emerged as one of the faces of a new mindset around adult drinking.
In this episode we talk with Bill on a variety of topics, including:

• Athletic Brewing's role in today's evolving drinking habits, and how quality and culture are table stakes for the company.
• The 18-24 month process they went through to come up with the brand name (including what the backup name would have been had "Athletic" not been available).
• The importance of Dry January in getting in front of a new audience, regardless of how consumers may choose to interact with the category.
• Which Athletic brews and seasonals Bill enjoys the most, and what's in his refrigerator at home.
• Advice for fellow NA entrepreneurs on the best way to achieve scale, balancing the need to learn from mistakes with a desire to grow quickly.

Mentioned in this episode:
Athletic Brewing
How I Built This Podcast (Bill Shufelt episode)
Adult Non-Alcoholic Beverage Association (ANBA)

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