Your Innovation Podcast. This is the 30th episode of the Driving Eureka! Podcast. This is a 3-part series in the first episode Doug and I will discuss the importance of story for your brand (Yellow Card).
Show Notes
[00:00:01]
Driving Eureka! Podcast
[00:00:39]
Special 3-Part Series on Starting a Business
[00:01:19]
Part 1 Was Building a Foundation to Build On
[00:01:31]
Writing a Storyline Using the Yellow Card
[00:01:37]
Who are Your Customers?
[00:03:49]
The Need for a Place to Learn
[00:05:35]
Craft Brings Opportunity
[00:08:51]
Trademark, Story and Names
[00:09:53]
Story Examples
[00:14:01]
What Trademarks?
[00:14:50]
Value of a Name
[00:18:49]
Get the Trademark at the Start
[00:19:59]
Make It Real with the Concept Prototype
[00:21:19]
Hyper Local Story
[00:25:59]
Crafting a Storyline
Transcript
Tripp: [00:00:01] Welcome to the Driving Eureka! podcast. We share ideas and advice for helping you find filter and. fast track. big ideas.
Tripp: [00:00:14] Hi I’m Tripp Babbitt advisor to global organizations on the Deming philosophy and host of the Deming Institute podcast and I’m Doug hope inventor speaker teacher and whisk(e)y maker. I’m also the founder of the Eureka ranch and author of the driving the reasonable 30th episode of the Driving Eureka! podcast and we’re doing a special series.
Tripp: [00:00:39] Right now it’s going to be a three part series. The first part we covered off Doug about the mission and the boundaries and we even got into some of the decisions that you need to make about what direction you want to head and making distillery are going to build a facility are you going to kind of outsource everything at the beginning and then maybe go to a facility.
Tripp: [00:01:01] There are some decisions to be made like that. When we talk quite a bit about also some of the state and local and federal challenges associated in my case with Indiana and is there anything I missed on kind of what we covered last time.
Doug: [00:01:19] Now know it was about the foundation it was laying a foundation for how we’re going to distillery now. In this episode we’re going to start to get into the fun stuff. So we’ve got that foundation and now we’re gonna get into.
Doug: [00:01:31] What’s our storyline. What’s the storyline for what we’re gonna be.
Tripp: [00:01:36] And where do we start?
Doug: [00:01:37] Well we call this the yellow card and this is we start off with who do we want to be our customers. Now you know whether we’re customers that we sell to because we sell them through bars and through stores or we’re gonna have a tasting room because even if you if you bring the whisk(e)y in or it’s finished or you do the finishing or whatever you might be doing gin vodka whatever you it’s in a local place it’s like Who do you want to have hang out at your tasting room.
Doug: [00:02:07] You know what are the kind of people do you want. Do you want old people. Do you want young people. Purple People green people spotted people. You know what. What is the vibe of this place. Is it hard rock is it country is it you know what is the spirit. The kind of place that you envision having you know and and and it’s really important to think this through because that then frames a lot of the rest of what becomes our brand and our storyline that we’re putting together.
Tripp: [00:02:40] Ok. And so one of the questions that I have so for instance I went out last night to dinner at a new place and it just opened a week before they have one of the big brands that they’re doing and order their mixed drinks. And so I looked at that and I said you know that would be an opportunity I could get with the owners there locally owned and say Hey want to carry this brand as opposed to the big brand because it’s going to be locally made. So that’s kind of one of the things I have going through my mind. There you’ve got a mix of people. And so I don’t really say I’m focusing in on this particular thing had all different type of people now was mostly a beer place I could tell. So I had that going through my head I got my friend at the at the liquor store the I that I could go to them. So what’s wrong with my thinking.
Doug: [00:03:35] There’s nothing wrong with the thinking you know and you can put that together. I do say that it’s going to be important to have some place I think to be a craft distiller.
Doug: [00:03:49] You can do it by just having a warehouse that does it but having a place. Where you stand behind the bar. Mm hmm. I think it’s really important as much for the feedback loop as anything else. And but that can be your bar or it can be you partner with somebody that has a restaurant and you work in the warehouse right beside it. You know and it’s you know you you you collaborate with them to do it. And and that’s fine too because it has a real attraction to people. You find somebody that’s in the restaurant business. And so they’re in the restaurant business you’re in the booze business and you work together growing traffic and sales and partner and collaborates out which is by the way the easiest way to do this is that you just need to work together with people. There’s plenty of restaurants that could use more sales and and you know craft distilleries are very very popular. Just like breweries.
Tripp: [00:04:51] OK. So yeah. OK. I guess in my mind you know as as you’re asking this question it’s kind of I guess I’ve heard you talk about you really need to have a tasting room. You know I could have that. That would probably be as far as I don’t think I’d have a restaurant. I like the idea of leveraging other restaurants that are already in existence and kind of going in there and saying Yeah you’re using the big brand. How about a craft that’s locally made.
Doug: [00:05:20] Yeah. It’s the story I did the other day has flights I went to this farm to table restaurant and I said You craft whisk(e)y. And he pointed at the shelf. I said no that’s made by the Japanese conglomerate entree that’s made by Diageo from U.K..
Doug: [00:05:35] And he held up to sell the old brand I go. Now he’s been dead for 50 years now that’s owned the family sold out. They’ve sold out. So these are like Budweiser here. Guy looked at me in shock. He said What do you mean by craft? I said You mean like locally owned. You know small people doing it. He says No I guess I don’t.
Doug: [00:05:56] And then I thought it. I didn’t say it because at this point my wife is hitting me. I said I felt like saying it because I picked up his craft cocktail list. I felt like. So these art craft cocktails these are corporate cocktails that you’re making it cause you can’t make a craft cocktail without a craft whisk(e)y. No. No. Cut Me Some Slack some slack.
Tripp: [00:06:22] You know I think that and that’s actually you know that makes it a good story because I think people you know they’ve seen now with the beer you know everybody a nobody. I don’t know anybody anymore that goes out and buys their Lite Miller Lite in there you know Budweiser and those types of things they are all out doing you know wise and good. You know different things like that. So interesting.
Doug: [00:06:47] And by the way related to that what we’re gonna do and we’re opening up it in Windsor just outside of London. We just finalized terms on that and we’re working with the craft brewery Windsor Eton. They’re the people that make the the royal beer they’re the official brew of the Queen.
Doug: [00:07:04] And so they do they’ve got one a Royal Windsor baby coming for the new baby that’s coming. And they did the wedding you know like and stuff but special beers but one of the things we’re doing with them is we’re doing for the craft breweries we’re going to focus on breweries to start.
Doug: [00:07:21] And we’re working with the breweries and using some of the small ice stills where we can take their heavy beer and which is a grain and distill it so that we take it from 8 percent to 40 percent alcohol and and then add that into a whisk(e)y and make for them a custom whisk(e)y that has some of their beer in it.
Doug: [00:07:44] There is a very cool concept and so that would be something that we could work with you in Indiana and you and your son and daughter or whatever could literally you know we could work an arrangement where you just basically tell breweries Hey you saw craft beer you might sell your own craft whisk(e)y and we have to work the state. But like in Ohio we can figure it out so that we can sell it directly to that distillery.
Doug: [00:08:07] Just a beer for them put their name on it OK. They sell the tasting room. So it’s a you’re talking. That’s a cool business.
Tripp: [00:08:15] Oh yeah I know. I like that now. Especially like that. Again again I’m gonna have to do my my homework on the on the laws but Windsor Eton is sad actually in Windsor by the Windsor Castle.
Doug: [00:08:29] You can see the castle from their door.
Tripp: [00:08:31] Really. OK. I’ve been there multiple times. Yeah. Good. OK. Yeah I like that that idea left a to flesh that out.
Doug: [00:08:41] Ok. So you to figure out who you want to hang out with. OK. And then you’re going to work on brand name a storyline and I’m big on getting your trademark at the start or getting some trademarks.
Doug: [00:08:51] It’s really hard to get trademarks in the beer and spirits industry because there’s so many craft people but part of what you’re going to own is that trademark. And so I would start to look for what’s gonna be that name that you’re gonna have. And because that story that name then creates a story and it’s almost like it’s bizarre. Tripp in that if you know what your idea is the name’s obvious but you’ll have a hard time come to the name because you won’t know kind of what you want to be. And really it’s the storyline what’s going to be your storyline of this thing. A couple of thoughts that I have just some blurbs. And let’s talk then let’s talk about what you’ve been kind of thinking or just feeling OK you know one is is it can be historical You can take a name there there’s something called voodoo brands. If you go on the Internet and you look up pre prohibition there were way more brands in their art today because they were hyper local. Everybody had their own brand. And so we’ve done this with old Dexter Kentucky Club.
Doug: [00:09:53] We’ve taken old brands that were years ago the trademarks have been abandoned. We filed refiled the trademarks. We now own the trademarks These are all long abandoned. And it gives us kind of an instant pedigree in history. So that’s a way to do it. OK. Sometimes you can do it with a cause. You know our Noble Oak product that we partner with Edmonton on you know for every bottle bought they planetary. And so that’s part of the element of this. You can. You could turn around and take your whisk(e)y. And like if you’re working with us you could turn around take local wood so we’ve got a guy in Windsor up in Canada who is who’s coming to us and he’s talking to us about using. He wants to use local wood wood from his area. He wants to have in his whisk(e)y. So he’s got a story of the local oak in Winnipeg is where he is. And he went to Winnipeg oak in it. That’s cool. I can do that for him. That’s not a problem. You know. So you start to think about you know what’s the name.
Doug: [00:10:53] And I would think not just. OK. This is how we’re gonna start. But I would imagine yourself ten years into the future. What might the line look like. You know it’s just line going to end up having gin and vodka in it. Is there going to be a you know you talked about the family is it gonna be a white spirits line and a dark spirits line that they’re going to be like two things that they’re gonna be together. Are you going to add rum Brandy tequila or are you going to stay it as a whisk(e)y. I mean I’ve chosen whisk(e)y but that’s up to people to decide.
Doug: [00:11:22] And then as you think about that storyline I would think about how do they play in cocktails so for example we’ve got this lying old old Dexter’s part of our riverboat series and we changed Q about old Dexter which was Edmund Dexter was a big whiskey maker pre prohibition in Cincinnati. He had moved from London to Cincinnati the future king of England stayed with him. Lots of storyline lots of stories Charles Dickens stayed with him.
Doug: [00:11:52] And so this and now that we’re opening at Windsor Eton you know we’ve got this English story and as the English thing came that gives me a storyline to it.
Doug: [00:12:01] And we found we looked up some photos and we found a photo of a painting in the Smithsonian which is in the public domain now and I had a guy redraw it and as it turned out there’s a riverboat in the photo from 1855 or the drawing that has a revote called the embassy in it. And so I filed a trademark on embassy and so old Dexter is our brand and embassy it is our trademark cocktail. We’ve done it on the show here. And so Embassy’s going to be my feature cocktail for old Dexter.
Doug: [00:12:37] And so you can see I’m starting to play out see I’m putting the thing together. Now my riverboat series I’ve got a series I’ve got an easy drinking which is Dexter which I’m going to sell in one leader bottles because it’s using for cocktails and then it’s 750 1750 M.L. bottles I’ve got paddle wheel which is my hardy in the 200 days of wood bourbon. I’ve got deckhand which is my five rye and I’ve got tall stacks like the tall stacks of the riverboats. Therefore for my smoked to whisk(e)y. So I’ve developed a riverboat series that has four products in it and then there’s cocktails that they play with that I’ve got smoke storm as my Tall Stacks you see where I’m going Yeah yeah yeah I. So I’ve got basically got I’ve got my set of products I have the purpose for them I know what they are. And the whole thing now we’re further along and we’re making a lot of products so we can do for you might turn around and just do old Dexter as an example to start but you you’ve roughed out and it may be firm and it may be light. Here’s what my set’s gonna look like and you notice what’s not in my set is I could have just as easily done.
Doug: [00:13:44] A whisk(e)y a rum a brandy you know or a rye and a bourbon. You know just as you know again it’s what you what fits your storyline. In my case it’s it’s pre prohibition. Cincinnati is what we’re celebrating where Cincinnati was kind of the heart of whisk(e)y.
Tripp: [00:14:01] So OK let’s back up a little bit here. As you were talking these things that I have I’ve obviously thought about but. So when you’re talking trademark I’m almost thinking that there’s kind of the broader name. So for instance you know the company name. Yeah.
Tripp: [00:14:23] You know that that would have something to do with with the family with with my family. This is where my brain’s going and then you would have your individual things like you’re talking about with that hand and so. So I guess my question is Is it my trademarking my the family name part or am I doing trademarks on each of the the labels that I have to come up with of the different types of whisk(e)y or or vodka or gin.
Doug: [00:14:50] The answer is yes and yes I am. In my mind sometimes people just put their company name. They trademark that and then that’s the name and then they go this is our gin our vodka doing it. I am a big believer. So to increase the value of what you own is to create. That is the parent name. So if you used food you know how products say Nabisco and then it’s you know ultra lights or you know goodies or whatever but there’s a Nabisco brand that’s a company name. And then a brand name I like to have that because I also increased the valuation of my company because now I’ve got brands as opposed to one brand. You know when you put your company name on it and you just have flavor names you really are one brand and there is a benefit to that some people like to do it that way. And many craft do it that way and I’m good with it if that’s what floats your boat. That’s great. Myself personally I like to have a company name our company name is brain brew. Mm hmm. And then our products have different names. And then our cocktails ever name. So we have three levels of names. Some people just have a company name and a generic descriptor bourbon or rye. And it’s one name I like to have the said. It gives me more value it gives me you know I can generate news I can create fans of those with my riverboat series. I’ve got four T-shirts. You can buy. They can be a fan of this one versus this one now. Now you got to recognize if I was distilling from grain I can’t do this because I can’t do these other permutations because of the way I work with with high compression finishing process I can have as many products as I want. That’s one of the benefits of working with brain brew. If we’re working with you you know you want another product. It’s no problem.
Tripp: [00:16:39] Some things are going through my head so I have already have I am I have a company that I have incorporated 25 years ago. Yep. What are you should could should I leverage that or do I need a whole new one for this venture because.
Doug: [00:16:53] It doesn’t matter. Ok Cause as you can file a CBA so we’re brain brew ventures 3.0 ego corporate name. OK but we filed a DBA doing business as Brain Brew Custom Whisk(e)y. OK. And so the registered corporate name has not. Doesn’t have to be the the name that you trade under.
Tripp: [00:17:13] Okay. All right. So I don’t have to incorporate a new company I can just do a DBA.
Doug: [00:17:19] Yep.
Tripp: [00:17:20] I call it whatever the family name and then debate. But you’re kind of what I’m hearing is that that trademark associated with the label with with the individual product. So in other words.
Doug: [00:17:34] And the company and the family name you got to make sure that you can get your family name.
Tripp: [00:17:39] Ok so so though the incorporated name or the family they’re doing business as OK. The DBA.
Doug: [00:17:47] TradeMark. That’s going to be on the on the package.
Tripp: [00:17:49] OK. All right. So I’ve got to look that up. And do we have a process for doing that. I do. I’ve not done that before.
Doug: [00:17:56] There are apps that you can get. You have to look in the beer wine and spirits classes and look up the numbers of those. And there’s ways to do those on online. You can search at the TTB site but there’s also apps for your phone that you can buy for searching them. The key is to look inside those things but at the end of the day you’re going to need an attorney to look at it. Okay. And in your case Tripp we’re friends do the initial search to see if you find it and then let me know. And you know I’ve got David Lafkas who’s a patent and trademark attorney on here so I’ll just do that for you as a favor. OK.
Tripp: [00:18:32] Appreciate that. What is the. OK so am I need to do that. The DBA name and do I need to come up with a trademark then for one of the initial labels I feel like I’m way too early.
Doug: [00:18:46] No yes no do it at the start.
Tripp: [00:18:48] Do it at the start.
Doug: [00:18:49] Yeah. Because the big mistake people make is they spend a whole lot of time with a kind of a working name then they can’t get it and no name is ever as good as that one.
Tripp: [00:18:56] Ok.
Doug: [00:18:58] I get the names at the at the start and if and when you fight and cause you’re going to find that you’re going to go through 50 names to find one you can own.
Tripp: [00:19:06] Ok.
Doug: [00:19:08] And if you don’t own it it’s worthless.
Tripp: [00:19:10] I got you.
Doug: [00:19:11] OK. Remember we talked about what you own.
Doug: [00:19:13] Yes. This name is a key thing that you’re going to own. Now in my case I started out with Paddle Wheel and then I love that. And then I could get Tall Stacks. And then that became we didn’t start with this Cincinnati 80 percent of the whisk(e)y came from Cincinnati pre prohibition. So this whole storyline we’re talking about that evolved over time and it was not where I started but then it just got cool and then my buddy Toby did packaging for me because the next thing you’re going to get a package done and your first package will be one where you cut and paste on the Internet.
Doug: [00:19:47] You just make up something then you get an artist friend to sketch something for you but you want to get to a name and package as soon as you possibly can because now you’ve taken your idea and you’ve made it real.
Tripp: [00:19:59] Remember we talked about that. OK so now we’re into concept prototype type of that mindset.
Doug: [00:20:02] That’s right. You’re gonna you’re gonna get it.
Tripp: [00:20:05] So even if I change it later like you did with cool boat to old Dexter I at least some starting with something that’s concept like a conceptual prototype fits your foundation that we talked about last week.
Doug: [00:20:16] Ok. It’s your foundation. So what I so I own like 50 trademarks for whisk(e)y the spirits and they’re at different stages OK because I started wine and then I got into another direction and so you’ll get a system for doing this and then you’ll get to your thing and it starts to become real. And as it becomes real. Because when.
Doug: [00:20:34] Because as we get into next week starting to deal with investors they’re gonna want to see it feel it touch it and it and it can be ugly but they they they just you know can’t be. Give me money and I’ll go figure it out. You know you’ve got to get it a little bit further. And and so you need that concept prototype of what it is and then what I would do is write the copy for the back of the package. The back of the bottle. Okay.
Doug: [00:21:00] So I’d like beers that don’t have any space. Whisk(e)y is about stories. And so what’s the story of you know. You know in our story on the back of the riverboats. You know this celebrates when Cincinnati was the heart was the birthplace of American whisk(e)y blah blah blah blah blah. You know and the great time of the riverboats.
Tripp: [00:21:19] Yeah.
Doug: [00:21:19] And see I’ve got a natural story that is hyper local because I really believe in hyper local because that really sets you up because you can’t compete against the people with billions of dollars but they can’t compete against your hyper local story.
Tripp: [00:21:35] Ok yeah I’m going to have to offer to a little tickets that I’m not sure. I haven’t really thought about that. That part I guess in depth of trying to get the local story I know the importance of narrative associated with you know doing a blue car that we talked about in the last episode.
Tripp: [00:21:55] And I actually did a podcast with one of my new podcast which is on Mind Your Noodles about having a storyteller and the importance from a brain standpoint of how story actually helps people understand and remember your product is such a such a big deal. And I don’t have a story at this point and I’m going to have to I guess do some digging if I’m going to be more what you would call the local legend which is I think more the idea of what what I’m trying to be you know.
Doug: [00:22:26] That’s right. And that’s what area yellow cards are stories. The Justice Story who’s the customer problem promised proof and it’s just that you know and it’s just it’s telling the story of what makes us think.
Doug: [00:22:39] So let me give you another example. So with Jarrett and I were doing a partnership this summer for fun and to learn a bunch and so we’re doing a maritime whisk(e)y collaboration with the Maritimes of Canada. Okay. It are out there.
Doug: [00:22:53] And what we’ve decided to do is to create a we’re going to create two and we think to do this it’s a maritime whisk(e)y collaboration.
Doug: [00:23:03] And in it it combines the farm to glass richness of Nova Scotia whisk(e)y make a Jared steward of Caldera with the luxury smoothness of Cincinnati whisk(e)y maker Doug Hall Brain Brew custom whisk(e)y. Okay. And so that’s that’s what brings us together. And then we have two products. One is the Nellie Jay Banks which was a boat which was the last great maritime bootlegger that was arrested off Nova Scotia. They create story. They were there two or three miles out. There’s supposed to be they changed the laws to 12 miles and the next morning when the law changed police the Mounties came and arrested him.
Doug: [00:23:38] He’s like Dude I’m okay. I’m like No. It used to be basically a floating bar here. Was fishing. They were glad to have a drink on a boat during Prohibition. They tell it they tow the boat in Charlottetown. They hold a trial 8-4. The captain’s acquitted. The federal government decides to give up because they say they can’t catch islanders who will convict a bootlegger. The banks and Eddie. For me it’s cool because Nelly Banks used to be right offshore. My house is in Prince Edward Island but this is a Nova Scotia. It’s a legend.
Doug: [00:24:12] And then. So that’s gonna be our easy drinking product. And it’s a Canadian whisk(e)y so we’re gonna use U.S. and Canadian we put them together and it becomes a Canadian whisk(e)y.
Doug: [00:24:22] Okay so simple story. Yeah right. And then we’re doing a luxury product which is gonna be the Marco Polo which was the fastest ship in the world in 1852 its set of records traveling from England to Australia in 68 days. And it was built in St. John New Brunswick which is where my great grandfather was from. And it sank off Cavendish beach Prince Edward Island about two miles from my house and I saw it as a kid when it was down there and it’s a very famous ship. And these are these are two products we’ve got a Canadian whisk(e)y and we’ve got a bourbon whisk(e)y. And you know and once a shipping product and once a cocktail product but you can see how this is. And then after we did them we just did them.
Doug: [00:25:05] I said I guess I’m into boats but you know it’s here. I mean now I’ve got a story I’ve got richness I’ve got cool factor I got great T-shirts I got legend I’ve got this renegade and and in art unlike Cincinnati rum is huge up there. The Nelly Banks carried whisk(e)y rum vodka gin and but rum was over half of what would be in its hold that they would smuggle in.
Doug: [00:25:36] And so with success this year next year we’ll do rum you know and we’ll have a nice little business that is it’s got a cool factor. It could go across Canada you know it because maritime there’s literally a song that Nelly banks. There are songs that they sing and. OK so let me just give you some thought.
Doug: [00:25:59] Just some stimulus for what this storyline is because I’m I’m laying this out and I’m realizing that maybe you need a little bit more just to help. And people listening because it’s like where do I start. I don’t have a boat. You don’t need it but you need to think something that’s kind of cool that’s got some story to it. You know what a local legends.
Doug: [00:26:21] Read the history. Read the history. I mean I didn’t start by knowing all the history of Cincinnati with distilling that distilling was twice the size of beer. I learned that as I got into it. So look up the history of your region your area look up famous people from the area look up legends.
Doug: [00:26:43] Ghost stories I mean. I mean it can be anything that that resonates or some it could be a native flower bird animal. It can be the history of the early pioneers that came in and and what they did or something that that is that the people are proud of. I mean that’s it. That day what you want is something that people are proud of. Because they’re going to wear it literally.
Doug: [00:27:17] They’re gonna wear it with their shirt. You know putting the Nelly Banks last great bootlegger. That’s kind of cool to wear you know the you know the paddle wheel on deck and you know when Cincinnati that’s that’s a piece of pride for the local space you know. What is that thing that that creates that. That is authentic but that creates a bit of an emotion to it. You know and I’m not gonna overplay the emotional thing because but there is emotion that comes from that when you plant a tree for Noble Oak. You feel good about by the way noble Oaks in Indiana now by the way.
Tripp: [00:27:59] Oh yeah. Yeah!
Doug: [00:28:00] After look at it and it’s actually one of the hot markets right now. Cool it took off much faster than anybody expected. So I just learned I thought.
Tripp: [00:28:08] I told you we’re thirsty for good product
Doug: [00:28:12] We’re getting there we’re getting there.
Tripp: [00:28:14] So Doug as other stimulus you know I know you’ve gotten into the whole wood thing I can tell you. You know the two. Two symbols for Indiana. The tulip tree and the are the tulip and the peony. Those are the two. Something about peony. Doesn’t doesn’t resonate with me but anyway should i be looking for wood.
Tripp: [00:28:37] Would that be something you know around here.
Doug: [00:28:39] It could be if there was you know if there’s an old estate if there’s a type of wood this famous it’s like I’ve got a guy who I’m going to meet and just a little bit.
Doug: [00:28:47] He’s created big ash Brewery the ash trees were big here bugs came through or something disease and killed them all he say he when the trees went down he saved a bunch of them in his breweries making a whole bunch of the furniture from Ashwood and we’re gonna make him a big ash whisk(e)y with ash in it.
Tripp: [00:29:08] Cool. Okay.
Doug: [00:29:10] So you know what it is. Now if I float my boat. But yeah. Well yeah but whatever excites them is excites them. And it’s got a genuine link to the story so you know just. I mean I. This is gonna be terrible especially for me an engineer. You got to feel it. You know you got to feel it like that’s cool. But you know the Internet’s a wonderful place.
Doug: [00:29:37] The History Museum local history museum even I know you’re outside but you know go to Indianapolis with the local historical society. You’d be amazed the stuff. I mean I got into this Nelly Banks and then the beautiful thing about the Internet is I find a book written about the Nelly banks by a couple you know it’s probably you know not a big book but you know fascinating to read the history of it all you know. And so it’s it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun.
Tripp: [00:30:01] OK.
Doug: [00:30:01] But you see there’s a whole story and richness is a tapestry. That’s what you’ve got to get next after you’ve got your foundation you need your storyline and then you need to make it real with a concept prototype which is the label front and back and badly I don’t care badly just make it and then make a functional prototype and you can the first way I do this is mixing by a bunch of vodkas gins whatever you’re making and just do mixology to get it’s going to be kind of like this. OK. That’s a way to do it the other way for you to do it is just come on over here to Cincinnati and will you show me the package of what it is. And then I’ll get up who’s are you know incredible taste. Whisk(e)y maker and Joe who’s just like ridiculously good and these expert whisk(e)y makers and and myself who does the best I can. And the three of us will sit with you and we’ll start crafting you know Hoosier whisk(e)y you know celebration or what it is and and start to make some. And then the last two parts of this is go out and we’ll start running a concept in product test in Indianapolis or wherever. OK. And start to see what people think of it. OK. And then do some rough math on it just to make sure that the math works.
Tripp: [00:31:20] But typically just for clarity though I’ve got to get all these state and federal and all that stuff before you even get to that point.
Doug: [00:31:29] No. No. I’ll do that currently. Now you just need to understand the rules from the beginning you need to know the rules but but you probably aren’t starting that work yet until you’ve got this rough thing. OK you’ve got to have it. You’ve got why you were doing it and now you’ve got blue card first yellow card next. And then. And the yellow card has some very rough math.
Doug: [00:31:53] So we just know so if you know if you pick you for instance if you want to Japanese would because the Japanese were big in Indiana probably heritage wise or something or you know people came from Mongolia there and we find out that the cost to get wood from Mongolia here is going to add four dollars a bottle. If we’re not going to do that that’s why it’s a feasibility math is all we’re talking about.
Tripp: [00:32:17] Yeah. The only clean clothes I got to both Doug is one time. I remember in history class back in like third grade that there was a paddle wheel that tried to navigate the White River that runs through Indianapolis and there’s not a lot of water dried out and the paddle the paddle wheel boat got stuck there for like three years before they were able to get it out. That’s the closest I’m going to come to a boat. So maybe it’s the stuck paddle wheel.
Doug: [00:32:48] My great grandfather was a great sail maker and I am I’m a boat person so I’ve just I’ve just subconsciously created boat whisk(e)y. Ok but that’s me. You gonna be you.
Tripp: [00:33:02] All right. So OK so we’ve gone through this. We’ve got the trademarks we’ve got a functional prototype that we’d be working on trying to come up with something doing trials and things of that sort. And is there anything more we need to do on that or what’s the next step. Well
Doug: [00:33:20] I mean that’s why I said we’re gonna do some testing. We’re gonna we’re gonna probably come up with three versions of the label. You might have two or three different name options we’ll come up with two or three prototypes the beautiful thing with us is we can just quickly make your prototypes and we can sell you a bottle is one of our limited edition things that you can even do a concept and taste test with it or we can run it for you. Although we’d want to run it in the market so see if people react to it. And from that you know we’ve got some data that says Yeah this thing hits the success standards. We’ve got a good chance with the concept we get a good chance with the product and we do some rough math. And and you’ve done this phase you’ve done this phase you now having it haven’t you.
Doug: [00:34:02] You’ve got in “it” and maybe a couple of “it’s” depending upon which how you decide to do it. Now you’re ready to start the process which is what we’ll deal with next week which is the whole investment package. But you’ve you’ve defined why you’re doing it and what you’re doing.
Doug: [00:34:18] And we really you know this is this is really really important thinking. Even though they’re going to still change that’s the foundation on which companies are built on.
Tripp: [00:34:34] Whether you are an entrepreneur aspiring entrepreneur or part of an organization the Eureka ranch can teach you to startup innovate and grow your business. The yellow card discussed in this episode is available to download at go.Driving Eureka.com/yellowcard or click the link in the show knows. we’ll send you what you need to start a company build a product or service or grow your company. Eureka ranch. will create a path for you to follow.