Movers and Shakers with April Wachtel

John deBary from Proteau and RWCF on building a career in F&B and how overnight success is rarely "overnight"

Jan 16, 2022

Today’s guest is John deBary, the creator of Proteau, a line of zero-proof botanical drinks, a co-founder of Restaurant Workers’ Community Foundation, author of Drink What You Want: The Subjective Guide to Making Objectively Delicious Cocktails, Food52’s first Resident Drink Expert, and a freelance journalist...

Allen Katz from the New York Distilling Company on the contemporary cocktail renaissance and what it takes to break through as a spirits brand

Oct 7, 2021

Today’s guest is Allen Katz, Co Founder of the New York Distilling Company. Allen is one of the nation’s leading experts on distilled spirits and cocktails, Director of the Spirits Education & Mixology for Southern Wine & Spirits of New York and is at the forefront of industry training in New York and around...

Eugene Khabensky from Diageo on what level of detail you should present when pitching to investors, and which part of the pitch process is incredibly important, yet often overlooked.

Sep 16, 2020

Today’s guest is Eugene Khabensky, Director of Business Development and Ventures at Diageo. Eugene specializes in finance, strategy, commercial insights, and business development, so I was excited to pick his brain on how he evaluates businesses for potential investment. In his tenure at Diageo, he has worked on many...

April Wachtel from Cheeky (and host of the Movers and Shakers podcast) on the Cheeky founding story, evolving as an entrepreneur, and building culture as a startup

Aug 26, 2020

Movers and Shakers is back! In today's episode, I explain our absence, introduce my company Cheeky Cocktails, and my colleague Aaron Moses steps in as host. We discuss some of my background in the beverage and hospitality industry, how I became an entrepreneur, how I think about team and culture building, and...

Chris Lowder and Micaela Piccolo on life in Shanghai under quarantine

Mar 17, 2020

In today's special episode of Movers and Shakers, I speak to friends in industry icons, Chris Lowder and Micaela Piccolo about life in Shanghai during Coronavirus. They share what they're doing to stay positive and productive under quarantine, what you should expect if your market is not yet adapted for the virus, and...