Community and Cocktails: Building Spirited Hive with Jack Espy

Spirited Hive: Jack Espy's Success Recipe

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Welcome back to The Daily Mastermind, George Wright III, with your daily dose of inspiration, motivation, and education. We're joined today by an awesome CEO. I've had a chance to get to meet him, Jack Espy, and he's the CEO of Spirited Hive. We're going to talk about some things because I really wanted to have him on the show because I was excited about how he put his vision into reality and then also talk about some leadership things and stuff.

So, Jack, welcome to the show, man.

Yeah, thank you so much for having me on. Excited to be here.

Yeah, this is great because I think a lot of people sometimes that I interview have these big success stories, and people think, "Oh man, where did they start? Where are they coming from?" And you really have been able to create something amazing in the last little while. It's like the perfect entrepreneurial story of having an idea in a really rough, difficult time—the pandemic—and pulling something to action.

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The Birth of Spirited Hive

So the whole idea started at the beginning of the pandemic.

So I was actually in college. I was at USC in LA, and my whole background was real estate finance, real estate development. I graduated in 2020, so straight into the pandemic. I was supposed to accept a job in capital markets in Los Angeles. Unfortunately, that job fell through because it was right at the beginning, and they were like, "Hey, look, we're not hiring anyone right now." I totally understood. Nonetheless, that left me jobless right out of college.

Like everyone else at this point in time, I was at home mixing up one too many quarantine cocktails. I was making two drinks for my buddies, which were my two favorite drinks: Moscow Mules and Mexican Mules—or they were at the time. I was making these drinks for all my friends during the pandemic, and they were like, "Jack, these drinks are really good. You should can them."

That was right at the beginning of the whole canned cocktail boom. There was pretty much a new canned cocktail coming out every single week. I'm sitting there thinking, "I've got nothing else better going on. Why not? It would be cool to create my own brand." At this point in time, no one knew how long the pandemic was really going to last. I thought, "This would be fun to pass the time, and once COVID is over, I'll go back to real estate finance. It would just be a fun kind of thing to do—a passion project."

We were all sitting there thinking about different names for this brand. I said, "Wait, guys, what about the name Mint Bee?" They were like, "First of all, that's the stupidest name I've ever heard of, but why Mint Bee?" I was like, "Oh, because there's mint in a Moscow Mule and bee because they're both sweetened with honey."

They were like, "Dude, what are you talking about? There's no honey in either of those drinks."

I was just going to say, I don’t get that, so you’re catching me there.

Yeah, so it's funny because I'm not a mixologist. It's funny now because everyone's like, "Oh, you created this canned cocktail. You must be a mixologist." I'm like, "No, I just fell into this." I never knew that there wasn’t honey in a Moscow Mule.

So I'm sitting there with my buddies, and I'm like, "What if I took a different approach to this whole canned cocktail category and made a better-for-you canned cocktail that was only sweetened with honey—no cane sugar, no sucralose, no artificial sugars at all, just sweetened with honey?" I don’t know; I'm really big into health and fitness. I really care about achieving my goals in the gym, but I also don’t like waking up and feeling crappy in the morning after having a couple of drinks. A lot of that comes from sugar and the ingredients that are used.

So I thought, "I want to take a different approach and create a better-for-you canned cocktail." That’s what sparked this whole idea for Hive.

We went down the road of creating one that was our tequila—our take on a Mexican Mule—and then I was bringing that to parties during the pandemic. My friends who were girls were like, “Hey, I love this idea, but does it work with vodka?” So I made one with vodka. Then my bourbon-loving buddies were like, “Hey, does it work with bourbon?” And then a gin.

It became a culmination of this whole idea of "Who’s your hive? Who’s your community? Who are the people that you love to spend time with?" Toast to a life that is sweet with your hive.

Not everyone in your hive likes tequila; they might like bourbon, gin, or vodka. But now we have all the alcohol bases, so anyone in your hive—if they like the idea of a better-for-you canned cocktail—we have one for them.

That was all teased out, and then it took me about two years to get the product to market. I was very naive to this industry. It took me about two years, and we launched in May of 2022 in Nashville, Tennessee. So we’ve been in the market for just about two years now.

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Challenges and Lessons Learned

Wow, man. Guys, listen, there are so many freaking lessons in what he just said, and we’re going to break them down. First of all, congrats. That’s a great story, and you’ve really been able to bring your vision to reality, which is great. I always tell people when they’re getting started—because they try to figure everything out ahead of time—that some of the most successful entrepreneurs I know (you’re definitely included in that) just have an idea, say yes, and then figure it out.

Not only did you figure it out as you went along, but it sounds like the idea developed as you went along. In other words, you were starting with the idea and moving down the road when you perfected the name, the other products, and everything else. What do you say to people that generally think, "I have an idea, but I don’t really know"? You went out and got the feedback you needed to move forward. Is that something you thought about, or did you just start doing it, and it all came together?

Yeah. I literally just started doing it. It was interesting because I was asked on a podcast not too long ago what the scariest part was at that point. The scariest part was actually when we got recognition, and people were like, “Yeah, this is great. Let’s get this thing going.”

Then I thought, "Wow, this is legit," because for so long during the pandemic, I didn’t really know what was going on. I had this idea; I was going for it. I was working with a formulator, producing it on a small scale, and got a distributor. Very cool—I can sell into retail.

Then people were actually buying it, and we sold out. I thought, "Oh, wait. This is scary now. This is real. This is legit. This is a full-time company that I have to give my all to."

For anyone out there who has an idea they’re passionate about, that’s the biggest thing. If you have an idea you’re passionate about, you don’t need to have everything figured out.

So many people will tell you differently, but I didn’t. It’s something that you can learn as you go. You also figure things out as you go.

We didn’t have this whole idea of the hive community until months—almost probably a year—down the road. That’s a big thing behind our marketing. A lot of that gets teased out as you develop the brand.

You don’t need to have everything figured out to launch a company. I think the biggest thing—and the biggest hurdle—that it takes for a lot of entrepreneurs is they think they have to have everything figured out before they can start, and that’s just not the case, I don’t think.

Yeah. You definitely had two ingredients that I think are very common to people who really follow. You said it: Number one, if it’s something you’re passionate about—if not, you’re constantly thinking, "Man, is this going to work or not?" Having the passion is key. Your company has done a phenomenal job of adding the people part—meaning if you’re passionate about something, that’s great, but if you also have the right people around you, it helps you stay focused. Both of those are very key principles, and you’re a great example of that.

Let me ask you this: When you started, you said, "I was going down finance. I’m in college. I graduated and lost my job." Obviously, great that you overcame that. You said a comment: "As I was going, I knew I could always go back to real estate." So you probably started the company with the idea that you had a backup. At what point do you feel like that changed, where you thought, "I’m not interested in the backup," or, "I’m all in"?

I find that a common element with entrepreneurs who really create success like you have. There’s a point where you just go all in, and there isn’t really a backup anymore. What point was that for you?

Yeah. It was actually... I think a lot of people have that idea of maybe having a backup, but it wasn’t a defined moment in time. This was for me.

I didn’t say this, but I was at NYU. I graduated from USC, lost the job I was supposed to get. While I came up with this idea, I was also at NYU getting my master’s in real estate finance, which was completely online. So I was doing that master’s program, really wanting, like I was saying, to be in finance and real estate finance, while coming up with the idea for Hive and doing both.

It got to the point where I was missing homework assignments with NYU, and I was missing deadlines I put in place for myself with Hive because I was juggling too many things.

I literally had a moment in time where I thought, "I need to just focus on Hive completely. I can’t be doing both these things."

It really came down to the idea that NYU grad school will always be around—it’s never going away. I can always come back to that whenever I want, whereas Hive is a specific moment in time. This industry is moving so quickly, and it’s becoming so saturated that I only have a finite amount of time to actually give it my all, get after it, and go for it.

It was very scary. I remember talking to my parents about it. My stepdad is a founder of a company, and he understands, but he was also like, “No, you’re not doing this. You have to focus on school. You have to finish what you started.”

I’m a big proponent of finishing what I’ve started, but I said, “No, I’m doing it. I’m going after this dream that I have, and I’m going to chase it.”

It was super scary because there was no safety net at that point in time. It was like, "Wow, this is legit." When we sold out for the first time and people loved the brand, it was that "Oh, wow" moment—like, this is real.

It’s really cool to see that if I had made a different decision, my life would have been completely different, and I would have always been kicking myself thinking, "I wish I had gone after the idea."

Yeah. I’m curious because I do feel like there are multiple points of inflection for a really successful entrepreneur. One is, you said, "I’m going to do this," and you just started going. You had it around your purpose and passion and figured it out. But then there’s that point of, "Alright, I’ve got to go all in." When you made that decision... Those are the hard decisions for most because even a great idea is going nowhere unless you go all in. What do you think was the real difference-maker for you? Was it that you talked with your parents? Did you feel... because I feel like sometimes people feel like they’re forced into it. You had enough opportunity; you just had to. Or was it that you had some good support network? What really helped you to kick over that edge of, "I’m in"? Or was it just a combination of all those things?

I think it’s a combination of a lot of those things, but also my passion behind it. Something really drove me to say, "Hey, I love this idea. I love the product. I love the vision I have for this."

It was right at the beginning, right at the start, and I saw this vision of what it could be. That first step over the starting line was, "Let’s go see. Let’s go see what it is." This is a fleeting moment in time. Especially because I was so young, it was really scary.

I think the scariest part of that hesitation was that I had never worked for someone ever before in my entire life. I knew nothing about the industry. I had to learn so much, and I was very naive. But all those things are a culmination of creating great success too because, for me, I thought, “What’s the worst that can happen?” The worst thing I could do was fail. So I thought, “Just go and see.”

Making that first jump was a scary jump. It involved a lot of learning along the way in an industry that’s probably one of the most difficult, most complex, and most saturated industries in the world. You learn as you go.

Yeah. It’s a testament to the fact that you figure out all those details. I think that common denominator—something you’re passionate about and also something you love—because if you think about the people, the health, the fitness, all those components just make it easier for you to move forward.

So you’ve had probably a million different challenges along the way, and you’re still growing. Did you have a point in time where you had, or maybe a specific example of, a moment when you questioned whether you should keep doing this? Or you had to really overcome something where you thought, “Bro, I don’t know what I’m doing. This is not going to go the direction I want unless I get some help”? Were there any of those kinds of moments where you were pretty much questioning whether you were going forward or not?

Yeah. For any entrepreneur or founder out there listening to this, they’re probably laughing because those speed bumps in the road—at the beginning—may feel like massive potholes. It’s, “Oh my gosh, I just totaled the car. I don’t know if I can do this anymore.”

But five, ten years down the road, it’s, “Oh yeah, that was like a pebble in the road. That was nothing.”

The bigger you are, the bigger the problems you have.

Exactly. It’s just another chink in the armor. It’s, “Okay, whatever. Brush it off the shoulder, keep going.”

But I remember the first one that I ever had. We were taking our stab at a variety pack. The industry is very seasonal. For spring and summer, that’s when we sell the product like crazy, and then it falls off in the fall and winter because not that many people are drinking cocktails.

We were a little bit behind the gun on getting a variety pack done for summer, so we were pushing it pretty quickly to market. That was something we shouldn’t have done. We should have pumped the brakes and waited for the next summer because it was way too quick to get that to market.

We pushed the designs, pushed everything, got it done, and sent the carton off to be printed.

I remember vividly, I was flying back on a red-eye from a USC tailgate with all my fraternity brothers. I wasn’t feeling that great the next morning on that red-eye back to New York. I landed in New York and got a call from my designer. He goes, “Hey, we just printed 35,000 cartons of the variety pack.”

I was like, “Yes! Let’s go.”

He said, “There’s a small issue.”

I said, “What’s the issue?”

He goes, “There’s a typo.”

I was like, “Wait, hold on.” There I am, on the plane, just landed, tired, hungover, out of it. I’m like, “Wait, what do you mean there’s a typo?”

He goes, “Yeah, we spelled ‘tequila’ without the ‘i.’” So it was spelled “teqila.”

My mind is just racing. For us, that was a lot of money at the time—so much money. At the end of the day, the buck stops with me. That was my mistake. Yes, we’re paying people to make all those edits and decisions to ensure everything is revised and done, but at the end of the day, everything stops with me as the leader of the company.

I thought, “Okay, what can we do to figure this out?” I spent multiple days thinking, “I don’t know if we’re going to come back from this. I don’t know what to do.”

We just figured it out. We ended up using them as gift boxes to send to influencers. It worked out great because it was a perfect way to send something to an influencer, with all our flavors right there. It worked, and we were fine.

Yes, we took a hit on it a little bit. We’ve had so many other, much bigger speed bumps in the road since then. That one feels so small now.

You figure it out. You learn as you go. We’re not perfect. We learn from our failures. Now, I personally look at everything—every single word on any can, point-of-sale material, all of it.

Man, I tell you, that is such a great story. I’m sure you’ve been able to use that because it goes straight to the point of so many things. Success leaves clues. Failure is a gateway to success. Now it’s going to help you do more. You took responsibility as a leader, which I think probably inspired your team as well because it would have been very easy to blame someone else for that. Yet, you found a solution and moved forward.

I love that. Entrepreneurs’ journeys are riddled with dozens of those examples. Looking back, most would see bad experiences, but you’re stacking those up as things that help you move forward into other areas. That’s awesome.

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The Importance of Community

Your company is based really heavily around this idea of community. Why do you—in addition to fitness and things like this—focus so much on community? Why is that so important, do you feel, to your company and maybe even to most companies? How do you distinguish between community and culture? Or is it the same thing for you? Talk to me about your thoughts around community and why it’s such a big deal for Spirited Hive.

Totally. This company was really built off community. That first night I was making drinks with my buddies, it was built for friends, with friends. I wouldn’t have had this company if it wasn’t for my buddies during the pandemic, just mixing up these cocktails.

The funny thing is that I was never meant to be behind the bar making cocktails. I was just the least lazy one out of my friends to do it. If I hadn’t been with my friends, I wouldn’t have created this company.

So this company is all derived around community. It’s something I think is so precious in life—creating those connections with people. At the end of the day, drinking is an occasion that brings people together. I think everything in moderation is great. If you’re drinking safely with your friends, that brings people together and creates connections.

Something we’re doing that’s big behind this program—or the company—is our ambassador program. That’s something we’re really trying to hit home in all the markets we’re selling in.

This ambassador program includes multiple influencers in different states, and they bring people together through activations or events. It’s not just for people to try Hive but to bring people together around the idea of “Who’s your hive? Who’s your community? Who are the people you love to spend time with?”

A lot of that has to do with working out or events. We do events usually on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday nights—like a Barry’s class, a GoRuck event, a run class, or something like that.

Something I like to call “type two fun,” which is my favorite type of fun. It’s the kind of fun where you’re like, “Oh, this sucks,” but afterward, you think, “That was a great workout.” When you get to enjoy it with your friends, it makes it even better. Type two fun is never as much fun unless you’re with your friends.

Then we enjoy a couple of Hives afterward, toast to a life that is sweet, and all of those kinds of things.

Community is such a big pillar of this company. I think a lot of these brands aren’t focusing on bringing people together. It means so much more when you’re spending time with your friends.

Developing this company during COVID—when a lot of people weren’t spending time together—highlighted that. Once we launched right after COVID, people loved that we were bringing people back together and creating that sense of community. That’s something that means so much to me and to Spirited Hive.

Yeah, man, I love it. Your success really does give some great ideas for people out there. I loved your idea of “type two fun”—combining stuff that sucks, that you don’t want to do, with friends and lifestyle. It reminds me also of what I find really good, successful companies have: People chasing success right now but doing it for lifestyle. If you can have both—which I believe you can—you create the things and the emotions that bring fulfillment.

The whole reason I started The Daily Mastermind is this concept of the mastermind, which is two or more people coming together in the spirit of harmony to create an end goal. Much like the hive, right? The hive works together—“Who’s your hive?” So I really love that.

I think people need to realize that a lot of people in success, entrepreneurs, look for strategies and techniques, but sometimes the underlying message—like you’re saying, community, friendship—really is the secret sauce that helps people move forward with the strategies they’re trying to use. I’m going to really recommend that if you’re listening to this, you follow Jack and find out more. Read between the lines because the way you’re structuring your company and the mission and purpose you have is more than just a success story.

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Advice for Aspiring Entrepreneurs

You started your business in one of the most difficult times you could—a global pandemic. What advice would you give in today’s market? It’s very competitive. If someone is looking to get their idea out there or grow to the next level, do you have anything you would recommend to young entrepreneurs or entrepreneurs that are growing? How can they get the courage to take their business to fruition or their ideas to the next level? What’s some practical advice you’d give today?

Yeah. Something that’s been so successful for us is developing your brand—making it very easy for people to follow and creating a story brand that tells a story.

Consumers love to invest in products that are not only good and have good packaging but also have a brand with a story behind it—a real meaning.

For us, it’s obviously community, but also the founder’s story of how it came to be. It’s very organic and easy. I’m not saying you should fabricate something like that, but put time, effort, and thought into how this idea, brand, or vision differs from another brand or vision. How does it make you unique?

Then figure out how to develop a story around that or bring that story to life for the consumer to understand and buy into.

Yeah, I think that’s a great recommendation because I see that myself in the marketplace. Really, your unique selling proposition nowadays needs to be your brand and story. It’s not just about features and benefits. You could be heavily promoting all-natural ingredients and honey—and not that you don’t—but your brand, story, community, and people really make the brand. That’s what separates you. All the other things layer in. That’s great advice, man. I love that advice.

Where can people follow you? Where can they connect with you? I’ll put links in the show notes, but where’s the best place for them to connect with you?

Yeah. If you want to reach out to me, I’m very active on social. If you guys shoot me a DM or have any questions, just reach out to me. My Instagram is @jackespy.

If you want to purchase Spirited Hive, we ship to almost any state in the U.S.—around 40 states. That’s at spiritedhive.com.

If you want to follow us for any new merch dropping or new flavors coming out, you can follow us at @spiritedhive on Instagram and Facebook.

Yeah. Like I said, guys, I highly recommend you check this out because even just following the model he’s got is inspiring. But more importantly, you’ve got to sometimes not just take strategies people give you but see the meaning behind them. The way you’re orchestrating things is a testament to community, friendship, following your passion, and all those things. So I appreciate you spending time with us today, man. I look forward to more conversations in the future.

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Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Guys, listen, if you’re tuning into this show, do me a favor: share this episode. I think it’s going to help a lot of people feel more inspired to follow their dreams, turn them into reality, and maybe even give them some specifics they can use in their situation. Like I said, it’s never too late to start living the life you were meant to live. But the key is, you’ve got to take action. Don’t try to have it all figured out—like Jack said, just get going down the road.

With that said, I appreciate you being here and look forward to talking with you more tomorrow. Once again, my name is George Wright III. You’ve been here with Jack Espy, and this has been The Daily Mastermind. Have a great day.

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About Jack Espy:

Meet Nashville’s Rising Stars: Jack Espy of Spirited Hive. Born in Denver, Colorado and raised in Santa Barbara, Jack Espy currently splits his time between Nashville and New York City, the first two markets Spirited Hive has entered. Inspired by his love of creating quarantine cocktails for his “hive,” Jack embarked on a new career, leaving behind the world of real estate finance to start Spirited Hive. When not spending time with his hive, Jack has an active lifestyle and spends his time at the gym, exploring the outdoors, and listening to his favorite country music artists.
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Guest Resources:‍

Website: https://www.spiritedhive.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/spiritedhive

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About George Wright III:

George Wright is a Proven, Successful Entrepreneur- and he knows how to inspire entrepreneurs, companies, and individuals to achieve Massive Results. With more than 20 years of Executive Management experience and 25 years of Direct Marketing and Sales experience, George is responsible for starting and building several successful multimillion-dollar companies. He started at a very young age to network and build his experience and knowledge of what it takes to become a driven and well-known entrepreneur. George built a multi-million-dollar seminar business, promoting some of the biggest stars and brands in the world. He has accelerated the success and cash flow in each of his ventures through his network of resources and results driven strategies. George is now dedicated to teaching and sharing his Prosperity Principles and Strategies to every Driven and Passionate Entrepreneur he meets. His mission is to Empower Entrepreneurs Globally to create Massive Change and LIVE their Ultimate Destiny.

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