# Athletic Brewing Company: Bill Shufelt

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2024-11-18
- Length: 1h 04m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt

## Summary

Bill Shufelt, founder of Athletic Brewing Company, explains how he pivoted from a finance career to reinvent non-alcoholic beer after quitting alcohol to improve his health. He details the struggle to find a brewer, eventually partnering with John Walker, and the decision to build a capital-intensive brewery rather than using contract manufacturers. Shufelt describes his grassroots marketing strategy of sampling at athletic events and his wife's critical support during early funding rejections, leading to a company now valued at $800 million.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=0) Introduction: Bill Shufelt and Athletic Brewing Company
- [4:13](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=253) Personal Motivation: Losing his mother and quitting alcohol
- [17:42](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=1062) Market Validation: Researching the non-alcoholic beer gap
- [28:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=1684) Finding a Brewer: Recruiting John Walker and building the team
- [40:40](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=2440) Fundraising Struggles: Raising capital without a product
- [51:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=3118) Go-to-Market: Sampling at races and securing Whole Foods
- [56:20](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2024-11-18-athletic-brewing-company-bill-shufelt#t=3380) Scaling: From stock-outs to Series A and national expansion

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Direct-to-consumer & e-commerce](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/direct-to-consumer)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)

## Most relevant to

early-stage companies

## Mentioned

- Athletic Brewing Company (company)
- John Walker (other)
- Whole Foods (company)
- Total Wine (company)
- Arsenal (other)

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