In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Massiello interviews JoAnn Elardo, founder and owner of Wicked Dolphin Distillery.

JoAnn shares the unconventional entrepreneurial journey that took her from building an international footwear and apparel business across 11 countries to creating a craft rum brand rooted in Florida agriculture. They explore how spotting an overlooked market opportunity led to the creation of Wicked Dolphin, the challenges of entering an industry with restrictive regulations, and how JoAnn helped push for changes to Florida’s craft distilling laws.

The conversation also covers building a differentiated product through local ingredients and quality, growing organically through distribution, and deciding when to pursue expansion through new markets, partnerships, or acquisitions.

Wicked Dolphin website: https://wickeddolphin.com

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There are a lot of "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll.

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