Hardware Podcasts

Founder Fundraising Journey: Victor Guardiola, Bawi

The Startup CPG Podcast · 1 Aug 2026 · 45m · Episode 346

What this episode covers

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.

Most relevant to

companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
P. Terry's Burger Stand, Torchy's Tacos, Siete Foods, Golden Ratio, Vital Farms, Central Market, Cosmic Coffee, Spindrift, H-E-B
Products
Bawi, C4 Pre Workout

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