Getting into more doors is not the same as building a scalable drinks business. As brands move beyond founder-led sales, the burden of proof changes. Early on, strong velocity and repeat purchase may be enough to attract investment.
But by $3M-$7M in revenue, investors want to see rising same-store sales, faster reorders, and evidence that the team understands exactly what is driving growth. And before raising a $10M+ round, experimentation is no longer a strategy: Founders need a repeatable playbook showing how each new dollar will translate into accounts, reorders, and sustainable expansion.
Few investors have seen that transition from as many sides as Jason Sherman, co-founder and managing partner of Top Shelf Ventures. At AB InBev’s ZX Ventures, he was part of a team that completed about 200 deals and nearly $1B in investments and acquisitions. He later founded TapRm, an e-commerce platform and beer distributor serving close to 5K New York City accounts. Today, he backs early-stage companies across beverage and other “vice” categories.
We discuss:
🔸 Why Top Shelf uses roughly $1K in annual sales per retail door as an initial benchmark -- and points to their portfolio company Gratsi at $4K-$5K as an outlier
🔸 Why a 5K-account footprint means little if 4K accounts sell only $50-$100 annually
🔸 What investors expect at different stages, from sub-$1M brands to companies preparing for major growth rounds
🔸 How to turn founder-led selling into a repeatable market-expansion playbook
🔸 Why brands should move beyond self-distribution early -- and choose distributors based on attention rather than size
🔸 Why financial fluency around inventory, working capital, and cash flow becomes essential as a company scales
This episode is a practical guide to the moment when founder hustle must become a system. For drinks entrepreneurs preparing to raise capital, enter new markets, or build a larger sales organization, Jason lays out how to prove that growth is repeatable -- and that the business is ready to support it.
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Erica Duecy, co-host: Erica Duecy is founder and co-host of Business of Drinks and one of the drinks industry’s most accomplished digital and content strategists. She runs the consultancy and advisory arm of Business of Drinks and has built publishing and marketing programs for Drizly, VinePair, SevenFifty, and other hospitality and drinks tech companies.
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Instagram @ericaduecy
Scott Rosenbaum, co-host: Scott Rosenbaum is co-host of Business of Drinks and a veteran strategist and analyst with deep experience building drinks portfolios. Most recently, he was the Portfolio Development Director at Distill Ventures. Prior to that, he was the Vice President of T. Edward Wines & Spirits, a New York-based importer and distributor.
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