The more you get into the world of entrepreneurship, the more you are able to compartmentalize the members of the ecosystem. At the end of the day, it all boils down to two segments. Those who love what businesses can do for them, and those who love what they can do for others with a business. First impressions are easy, but stick around long enough and the sheep’s clothing act will reveal itself. 

It’s easy to be discouraged by that reality, but I like to take the optimist view by looking at the other side of the coin. The folks I’m proud to know and proud to support. The trip the curation team and I took to Nashville last month provided another example of the best kinds of partnerships by introducing us to a company I’ll be proud to patronize for years to come.

We met Josh Ellis at his workspace downtown and hit it off right away. We heard all about the history of Withco Cocktails and the time and energy that has gone into perfecting the ingredients that go into each of their cocktail recipes. His conviction toward perfecting all things Withco had me ready for an Old Fashioned right there at 11AM. Sadly we had a full work day ahead of us so we pushed our first drink to after dinner. It completely knocked our socks off. Being able to put my full and complete confidence in the people and products we create is hands down one of the best pieces of getting to work for Manner.