Startups can be incubated in a variety of places, but for Joshua Ellis and Bradley Ryan, the founders of WithCo, a backyard party turned a last-minute solution into a company projected by its owners to generate $3.5 million in revenue this year, in part due to a newly minted deal with the Tennessee Titans.
Ellis, then a real estate agent, called on Ryan, a craft cocktail bartender, to pour drinks at his birthday party. Since the reservation came in with less than a day’s notice, Ryan couldn’t serve the party, but he came up with a clever alternative.
“There was this whole seltzer bar cart in the backyard with all these mason jars of batch cocktails without the liquor,” Ellis said. “I bought the liquor and put it out, and the entire night, we’re all making cocktails.”
With Ryan’s prepackaged mixes, Ellis and his guests could pour their own drinks without having to outsource other ingredients.
Ellis remembered three things that encouraged him to turn Ryan’s idea into an entrepreneurial concept: the hands-on experience, the consistency of each cocktail and the ease of use.
“I spun up an LLC, called him and said, ‘Hey, I know we’ve only met each other once, but I think we should figure out how to take your cocktails and deliver them to people’s doorstep,’” said Ellis. “We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into.”
From there, WithCo started with a $1,000 investment from Ellis’ pocket and launched its official product in 2019.
At the time, Ellis and Ryan had to compete with other mixers, but what made WithCo different was a cocktail mix with no additives or preservatives, offering the customer the ability to craft a premium quality cocktail at home in 10 to 15 seconds, Ellis said.
And the concept worked.
A primary reason for the company’s rocketing success was its proactivity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Everybody was locked in their homes, and what I realized is they were all on creature comforts. And they were willing … to spend money on something because we weren’t out spending it elsewhere.” Ellis said.
The founders of WithCo ended 2020 with their most successful year of growth, going from just over $100,000 in revenue to over $1 million.
“We just had a hockey stick effect, and in 2020 we grew from myself and my wife in my living room to ending the year with 1,100% growth,” said Ellis. “We had a business that was growing at a rate that was probably almost not sustainable, but we figured out how to do it.”
Since its founding, WithCo has seen exponential growth. Ellis and Ryan have expanded their business to include 13 employees and are distributing to multiple markets including Florida and California.
A stadium-sized gamble
WithCo’s biggest test comes with a marketing deal with the Tennessee Titans.
The company was approached by Nissan Stadium with an offer to help elevate the stadium’s premium cocktail space.
But with the sponsorship opportunity came a price. The title of, “official cocktail partner of the Tennessee Titans,” doesn’t come for free.
“Being a smaller brand, not having large fundraising up to this point, this decision was based off of ROI projections,” Ellis said. “It’s important that the partnership makes sense, and we can project a success out of it otherwise it can actually have significant financial hardship for us to be paying this.”
WithCo took an educated leap into its deal with Nissan Stadium. For the small startup, the potential reward outweighed the cost.
“There’s no growth in the comfort zone, and there’s no comfort in the growth zone,” said Ellis. “The best thing to do is jump out of the nest and grow your wings on the way down. I think that’s how you build a really great brand and live a really fulfilling life.”
To sustain the marketing agreement, WithCo pays a monthly sponsorship fee for three years, but it gets an array of benefits. Ellis declined to disclose the monthly payment amount.
By the time the NFL season starts, WithCo cocktails will be served at four club bars and two carts around the stadium, marketed as a locally owned, premium cocktail company.
The sponsorship deal also means the startup can serve its product at any event in the stadium, from concerts to other sporting events.
The cocktail service got its first taste of Nissan Stadium at CMA fest and found immediate success.
WithCo sold 40 cases to the stadium for the festival and sold out, generating $4,500 in gross sales, Ellis said. He projects the company will make “somewhere between $15,000 to $20,000 a month” through the stadium.
“We’ll see how the season goes because everybody loves to drink when they’re at the game,” Ellis said. “Probably 200 to 300 cases a month is what I would expect to go through … so that’s close to 72,000 cocktails a month.”
Although WithCo will be competing with other alcoholic beverages in the stadium, Ellis believes it will find its place among the right audience.
“At the end of the day, people that want a premium experience generally are willing to pay for it,” Ellis said. “What we realized through CMA is people are willing to reach up two more dollars to get something because I think it aligns with their decisions and their values outside of the stadium."
The future of WithCo is in the stands of Nissan Stadium, an opportunity Ellis is motivated to pursue despite the risk of the unknown.
“I’m excited to build it as big as I can,” said Ellis. “I like growing it not knowing what’s around the corner. As stressful as it is, I find joy in coming in every day and rallying the team, continuing to push the needle.”
