# Samuel Adams: Jim Koch

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2016-10-31
- Length: 33m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch

## Summary

Jim Koch, founder of Samuel Adams, explains how he left a lucrative career at Boston Consulting Group to launch a craft brewery in 1984, reviving a 150-year-old family recipe. He details the 'ultimate lean startup' approach, hiring Dr. Joseph Awtz to perfect the Boston Lager and selling the product directly to bars in Boston to avoid distributor rejection. Koch describes winning 'Best Beer in America' at the Great American Beer Festival, which triggered massive demand and forced a rapid scaling of production. He also outlines his unconventional IPO strategy, allowing consumers to buy shares via coupons, and his aggressive marketing against imported beers to establish a distinct American craft identity.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=0) Introduction: Jim Koch and the birth of Samuel Adams
- [2:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=160) Family brewing history and leaving Boston Consulting Group
- [6:48](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=408) Finding the recipe and hiring Dr. Joseph Awtz
- [12:30](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=750) The lean startup: no office, payphones, and direct sales
- [17:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=1066) Cold calling bars and the first sale in Boston
- [21:15](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=1275) Winning Great American Beer Festival and scaling production
- [25:49](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=1549) Aggressive marketing against imports and the IPO
- [29:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2016-10-31-samuel-adams-jim-koch#t=1748) Current market share, employee compensation, and legacy

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Marketing & brand](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/marketing-and-brand)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Samuel Adams (product)
- Boston Consulting Group (company)
- Great American Beer Festival (other)
- Dr. Joseph Awtz (other)
- Heineken (product)
- Beck's (product)
- Boston Beer Company (company)

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