Craftlab: The Podcast Episode 3 With Doug Constantiner, Societe Brewing
Societe Brewing was the seventh fastest-growing brewery in the country in 2020.
In a year pockmarked by the pandemic, that’s pretty impressive. For founder Doug Constantiner, that’s always been the goal. From launch, he has always treated Societe as a business first and a brewery second.
“We really just want to be a great company,” Doug says in this week’s episode.
Doug launched Societe in San Diego back in 2012, after a career as an investment banker.
“The goal was to make a bunch of money so I can retire early and have a second career,” Doug says.
In the end, he didn’t want to wait even for an early retirement to start brewing. So instead of business school and a hedge fund job, he pursued craft beer, and he approached it the only way he knew how: like a business. He decided to launch a production brewery with serious growth potential.
In this episode, Doug recounts his journey from New York City investment banker to successful brewer. He also explains his recent decision to appoint a chairman of the board and offers his advice to others in the industry on how to treat your brewery like a business.
Cheers! And thank you for listening.
Show Notes:
About Societe Brewing: Societe was founded in 2012 on the idea that beer is the world’s greatest social uniter. This mindset inspired our name, and it keeps us focused on every ounce we brew. We see our brewery as a vehicle for bringing people together from all walks of life. Beer by beer, we’re working hard to build our community, starting with our rally cry: BEER FOLK UNITE!
For more information, visit the Societe Brewing website here.
Doug’s book recommendations:
- The Road Less Stupid: Advice from the Chairman of the Board by Keith J. Cunningham
- The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What To Do About It by Michael Gerber
- Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap, and Other Don’t by Jim Collins
