tequila
(6)
Lobos 1707’s big bet comes at the finish
A Spanish sherry barrel gives this Mexican spirits brand its calling card. LeBron James helped bring the audience; a 2025 deal with Diageo gave the business a much bigger route to market.
They Started With $35,000 and 89 Recipes. Tequila Enemigo Turned Patience Into Shelf Space.
A mocked business plan, four years of product work and a refusal to sell tequila as a dare built a small luxury brand with unusually sharp positioning. The useful lesson is not the bottle - it is how constraints became the marketing.
The People Who Turn Famous Names Into Whiskey You Can Actually Buy
SIP built the machine that takes a rare barrel and a famous name and puts a bottle on the shelf. Bob Dylan whiskey, Playboy cognac, a $100 million inventory - all run out of a Chicago office and a Memphis bottling line.
Proximo Spirits
Proximo Spirits is only 19 years old, but it carries a 268-year inheritance. Its real product is the system that turns agave fields, old stills and sharply drawn brands into bottles people can find almost anywhere.
Kevin Hart
Kevin Hart is a Philadelphia-born comedian, actor, and entrepreneur who turned a rough start - booed off stage as 'Lil Kev' - into a $450 million empire. One of the most followed entertainers on the planet, he has sold out arenas worldwide, headlined Hollywood blockbusters, received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor in 2024, and built a portfolio of businesses including tequila brand Gran Coramino (which crossed $200 million in lifetime retail sales), Fabletics Men, and media company HartBeat. In 2026, he struck a brand partnership with Authentic Brands Group and was the subject of a Netflix live roast featuring The Rock, Katt Williams, and Tom Brady.
Jay Baer
Jay Baer is a 7th-generation entrepreneur, Hall of Fame keynote speaker, and the author of seven business books including the New York Times bestseller Youtility. Founder of Convince & Convert - once home to the world's #1 content marketing blog - he has advised 700+ brands including Nike, Oracle, IBM, and Salesforce. After selling his marketing empire during COVID, he pivoted to become the world's #2 tequila influencer (non-celebrity division), a certified tequila sommelier, and a co-founder of The Tequila Report. He currently keynotes 50-70 times a year in 12+ countries on customer experience, speed, and human connection in the AI era.