Adam Millman and Danny Neeson are co-founders at DE-NADA Tequila. Enterprise Radio is joined by Adam Millman.
Enterprise Radio has teamed up with Beverage Industry Channel for this episode.
Hear to host Eric Dye & guests Danny Neeson and Adam Millman discuss the following:
- We would love to hear about your life and the journey that brought you here.
- Could you tell us a little bit more about how to choose the right distillery for your company?
- You know that it is very difficult to get additive-free tequila. Can you give me some insight into that?
- What are your goals for DE-NADA’s future?
- Please tell us the best place to buy DE-NADA Tequila
Summary: Danny and Adam’s story is a larger lesson about brand transparency and building a company on authenticity. It’s about two young entrepreneurs successfully challenging multi-national brands in an effort to elevate the category. Many brands are reluctant to use additive-free tequila in the face of a booming market for tequila. They prefer the original spirit, and will not accept it in high volume production. Danny and Adam are bringing this “original” tequila back into the hands of consumers, educating the public on additive-free tequila, and encouraging consumers to demand labeling transparency from brands.
Daniel Neeson is the Co-Founder & President of DE-NADA Additive Free Tequila. Danny Neeson was born and raised in Millbrook in New York. He graduated from Tulane University with a degree both in Theater and Digital Media. This time, his entrepreneurial instincts were evident as well as a constant theme of sustainability.
During Neeson’s freshman year, he opened Willowglen Landscaping, as well as established Pine Outfitters, an active-wear clothing line which focused on shirts made from recycled plastic water bottles. Following its mission “to promote the environment as both a playground and a priority,” for every product purchased a tree was planted through the National Forest Foundation. This brand wasn’t built through traditional advertising or bricks-and-mortar, but was instead fueled via ecommerce and social media.
Also during his freshman year, Neeson met Adam Millman – tellingly in a class called “Introduction to Creative Industries.” The two became fast friends, and in their sophomore year, Millman joined Pine Outfitters as Co-Owner and CFO. Between sophomore and junior years, Neeson worked for Silo Ridge Field Club, “part of an international group of luxury communities designed to capture the spirit of the land while providing an exceptional lifestyle and recreational options.”
The duo decided to focus their entrepreneurial efforts on Tequila in their junior years. Three years later, DE-NADA Additive Free Tequila was a reality. Coming full-circle, all-natural and additive free DE-NADA reflects Neeson’s love of the outdoors; its early success was driven by e-commerce and social media channels; and it certainly provides exceptional lifestyle and recreational opportunities.
Neeson is a New York City native and enjoys being outside, cooking, watching movies and playing sports. He also loves to travel and spend time with his family and Silver Lab Winnie.
Adam Millman is the Co-Founder & CEO, DE-NADA Additive Free Tequila. Adam Millman, a New Yorker born and raised, is an accomplished musician who graduated Tulane University in New Orleans with a B.S. He studied Management and went on to work at American record label 300 Entertainment. Then he joined Electric Feel Management. Adam was attracted to businesses that shared his values. the core of 300 Entertainment is independence, very much based on “the freedom to create. Freedom to create. Freedom to write [one’s] own future,” while Electric Feel positions itself “at the epicenter” of music, brands, and culture.
As so often in life, Adam’s formative years and early career set him on is entrepreneurial path, to co-found DE-NADA Additive Free Tequila with his good friend Danny Neeson. The two met during their freshman year at Tulane, in a class called “Introduction to Creative Industries.” By sophomore year, Millman became Co-Owner and CFO of Neeson’s active-wear clothing line, Pine Outfitters, which focused on selling shirts made from recycled plastic water bottles. Following its mission “to promote the environment as both a playground and a priority,” for every product purchased a tree was planted through the National Forest Foundation.
In their junior year, the duo set their sights on Tequila, and just three years later Adam left the music industry to focus on DE-NADA, which reflects every strand of Millman’s professional life. Clearly the freedom to create, the freedom to be an entrepreneur, and the freedom to write one’s own future are central to DE-NADA, a privately-owned brand competing successfully against multi-nationals. Freedom is also reflected by DE-NADA’s freedom from artifice, as it is one of only 61 Confirmed Additive Free Tequilas on the U.S. market. Referring to Electric Feel’s positioning, DE-NADA is at the intersection of brand and native Mexican culture, as it was crafted at 5Th generation Vivanco family distillery in Jalisco), and music, as master distiller César Vivanco blasts classical music to optimize sugar conversion during fermentation. Sustainability is another unifying thread: for example, the paper for DE-NADA’s labels is made of recycled agave fibers.
Millman, a New York City resident, enjoys spending his free time playing tennis and piano.
Website: https://denadatequila.com
Social Media Links:
Facebook: @denadatequila
Instagram: @denadatequila
Tweet @denadatequila
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Enterprise Podcast Network (EPN) published The Post DE-NADA Additive Free Tequila : An Entrepreneurial brand that is changing the status quo
