Be Your Brand’s First Salesman, Then Fire Yourself | Paul Hletko | Few Spirits | Bottom-Up Cut #006

Join The Maffeo Drinks Substack for Episode Analysis!Paul Hletko is Founder & Distiller at Few Spirits“You will always be the best salesman for your product,” says Hletko. “Your job is to be so good at it that you have to hire three people to replace you.”00:00 Why does a founder have to be the brand’s first salesman?00:41 What makes a founder more credible than any brand ambassador?02:50 How do you create demand before your team can even capture it?03:16 Why do things that don’t scale still matter?05:24 What does it mean to fire yourself when you hire someone?07:35 How is a brand built bottom up while the business runs top down?08:38 How do you segment the trade between Italian restaurants and college bars?11:12 Why do you lose a customer the moment you forget your own occasion?12:43 What does a distributor actually need before saying yes?15:30 What’s the one question that actually gets you picked up by a distributor?Find all episodes featuring Paul Hletko at themaffeodrinkspodcast.com.Bottom up. This Episode is hosted by Chris Maffeo and brought to you by MAFFEO DRINKS.MAFFEO DRINKS is a leading drinks business podcast, listened to in 120 countries with 130+ episodes. How the industry actually works, from the bar and what it means for the boardroom.Wanna know what the conversation above means for your team? It's in the paid section.You get access to Maffeo Confidential (Private Podcast), this analysis, and the full catalog of 130+ episodes, each one translating industry conversation into the commercial decisions underneath it. Find out more at maffeodrinks.com or on Substack.