116 | Everyone Agrees Bottom-Up, Few Execute It: Eric Franco on Why Funding Pressure Makes You Skip What You Know Works

The MAFFEO DRINKS Podcast is a leading drinks business podcast, listened to in 120 countries worldwide with 125+ episodes. Honest conversations about how the industry actually works, from the bar and what it means for the boardroom.This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS.Eric Franco, a former SABMiller colleague, recently Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Brewdog USA and entrepreneur who started as a bar owner, joins for a discussion validating core bottom-up principles through battlefield experience.Working long days running his own bar before selling for global brands, the conversation confirms what becomes clear through market observation: everyone agrees on bottom-up methodology in theory, but execution fails when immediate gratification culture, social media distortion, and funding pressure collide with foundational discipline.The discussion explores patterns visible across markets: brands hiring VPs before mastering founder-led selling, Target distribution forcing unsustainable multi-state expansion, and burning retail relationships in concentrated markets.Eric's owner-operator perspective adds depth to the systematic approach to channel selection, geographic expansion, and the three-year foundation period required before authentic scaling becomes possible. ​Timestamps00:00 Introduction and Catching Up01:11 Defining 'Bottom Up' in Brand Building04:36 Challenges in Brand Growth and Market Expectations09:41 The Importance of Local Market Mastery15:16 Balancing Big Opportunities with Realistic Growth32:02 Final Thoughts and Wrap-Up Wanna know what the conversation above means for your team? It's in the paid section.For €100 a year you get access to Maffeo Confidential (Private Podcast) and get this analysis and access to the full archive of 125 episodes, each one translated from industry conversation into the commercial decisions underneath it. Find out more at maffeodrinks.com