Founder Fundraising Journey: Victor Guardiola, Bawi
Victor Guardiola, Founder and CEO of Bawi, a sparkling agua fresca brand, details his journey from a UT Austin entrepreneurship practicum to scaling a beverage company in Texas and California. He explains how he overcame the lack of a 'rich uncle' by selling on tap at farmer's markets, cold-emailing hundreds of investors, and leveraging a 'golden follow-up' from a notable investor to unlock his first equity round from backers like Patrick Terry and Mike Rypka. Guardiola also discusses Bawi's strategic pivot to food service distribution to drive retail velocity, the challenges of early production contamination with breweries, and his mission to increase representation for Latino founders in CPG.