Beer School : Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery

What do you get when you cross a journalist and a banker' A brewery, of course. "A great city should have great beer. New York finally has, thanks to Brooklyn. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter provided it. Beer School explains how they did it: their mistakes as well as their triumphs. Steve writes with a journalist's skepticism-as though he has forgotten that he is reporting on himself. Tom is even less forgiving-he's a banker, after all. The inside story reads at times like a cautionary tale, but it is an account of a great and welcome achievement." 'Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter(r) "An accessible and insightful case study with terrific insight for aspiring entrepreneurs. And if that's not enough, it is all about beer!" 'Professor Murray Low, Executive Director, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School "Great lessons on what every first-time entrepreneur will experience. Being down the block from the Brooklyn Brewery, I had firsthand witness to their positive impact on our community. I give Steve and Tom's book an A++!" 'Norm Brodsky, Senior Contributing Editor, Inc. magazine "Beer School is a useful and entertaining book. In essence, this is the story of starting a beer business from scratch in New York City. The product is one readers can relate to, and the market is as tough as they get. What a fun challenge! The book can help not only those entrepreneurs who are starting a business but also those trying to grow one once it is established. Steve and Tom write with enthusiasm and insight about building their business. It is clear that they learned a lot along the way. Readers can learn from these lessons too." 'Michael Preston, Adjunct Professor, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, and coauthor, The Road to Success: How to Manage Growth "Although we (thankfully!) never had to deal with the Mob, being held up at gunpoint, or having our beer and equipment ripped off, we definitely identified with the challenges faced in those early days of cobbling a brewery together. The revealing story Steve and Tom tell about two partners entering a business out of passion, in an industry they knew little about, being seriously undercapitalized, with an overly naive business plan, and their ultimate success, is an inspiring tale." 'Ken Grossman, founder, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.;""Title Page""; ""Copyright Page""; ""Dedication""; ""Foreword""; ""Preface""; ""Acknowledgments""; ""CHAPTER 1 -- Steve Tells How Choosing a Partner Is Like a Second Marriage""; ""THE LIFE OF A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT""; ""MY LIFE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR""; ""THE ART OF HOMEBREW""; ""RETURNING HOME""; ""FRIENDS BEFORE PARTNERS""; ""FINDING THE HISTORY""; ""AN IDEA BECOMES A REALITY""; ""LESSON ONE EVEN A DOG CAN SHAKE HANDS""; ""CHAPTER 2 -- Steve Discusses the Importance of Building a Solid Team""; ""THE ENTREPRENEURâ€2S LOT""; ""IN THE BEGINNING, EVERYONE PITCHES IN""

we Faced Many Scary Moments Over The Years, Both Spiritual—staring At The Brink Of Bankruptcy—and Physical—staring Down The Barrel Of A 9mm Pistol. When You Start A Business, It Is Not Only Your Money And Your Investors' Money That Is On The Line, It Is Your Dream, Your Idea, And Sometimes Your Life.

—steve Hindy And Tom Potter

i S This A Book For Beer Aficionados Or Business Enthusiasts? Both, And It's As Refreshing As A Cold Brew. In Beer School, Authors And Entrepreneurs Steve Hindy And Tom Potter Share The Improbable Saga Of Brooklyn Brewery, The Company They Grew From A Home-brew Hobby Into A Multimillion-dollar Business—all In The Most Competitive Beer Market In The United States. If You Have A Thirst For Entrepreneurial Success, Drink Up. If You Are A Business Manager Or Owner And Want Fresh Ideas And Insight, Tap In. You'll Learn Entrepreneurial Basics, Plus Some Things Textbooks Don't Teach You, As You Follow The Company's Successes (and A Few Failures) And Find Out About:

• creating That All-important First Business Plan
• getting Financing And/or Recruiting Investors
• using Guerilla Marketing, Publicity, And Community Involvement To Attract Attention
• keeping Employees Educated And Motivated
• partnering On Events And Networking For Opportunities
• keeping Your Cool When The Mafia Comes Calling
• hiring Virgins—why Veteran Salespeople Can Have Problems In Start-ups
• managing People, Finances, Expectations, And Growth
• surviving A Vociferous Attack In Las Vegas When The Odds Against You Are 8-to-1

from The Beginning, The Odds Were Against Steve And Tom. It's Estimated That Eight Out Of Ten Businesses Fail In Their First Year. Yet These Entrepreneurs Succeeded In A Competitive Arena Dominated By Mega-corporations And Mega-money. The Brew They Began Making In A Brooklyn Brownstone Over Twenty Years Ago Is Now Sold Around The World. Their Story, Recounting The Fears And Obstacles They Faced And The Decisions And Successes They Shared, Will Inspire You. Like Discovering The Perfect Brew Or Starting A Business, Reading This Book Is A Heady Experience. Cheers!

publishers Weekly

this Winning Tale Of The Rise Of The Brooklyn Brewery Follows The Basic Pattern Of Every Entrepreneur's Memoir: A Restless Visionary Sets Out To Accomplish A Dream, Barely Survives A Series Of Setbacks, Emerges Victorious-and Ready To Tell Readers How They Can Do The Same. But This Account Serves Up More Than The Usual Suds And Foam-its Counsel Is Sound And Its Prose Lively, And It Should Appeal To Both Wannabe Industrialists And Beer Drinkers, Not That Those Categories Are Mutually Exclusive. In Fact, The Authors, Foreign Correspondent Hindy And Banker Potter, Decided To Found Their New York Brewery, Now 17 Years In Business And Among The Top 40 In The U.s. In Sales, After Consuming Many Bottles Of Hindy's Homebrew. The Longtime Partners Tell Their Story In Engaging, Candid Voices, Delivering Cautionary Anecdotes, Reflections On Longstanding Disagreements And Lingering Resentments, And Brutally Frank Self-assessments. It Helps The Story Immeasurably That Beer Is A More Colorful Subject Than, Say, Spreadsheet Software, A Fact That Gets The Reader Past The Inevitable Chapter On Financing. Though Hindy And Potter May Not Help The Aspiring Entrepreneur Strike Gold, They Offer A Compelling Model And A Heartening Story. (oct.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

""Title Page"" ""Copyright Page"" ""Dedication"" ""Foreword"" ""Preface"" ""Acknowledgments"" ""CHAPTER 1 -- Steve Tells How Choosing a Partner Is Like a Second Marriage"" ""THE LIFE OF A FOREIGN CORRESPONDENT"" ""MY LIFE AS AN ENTREPRENEUR"" ""THE ART OF HOMEBREW"" ""RETURNING HOME"" ""FRIENDS BEFORE PARTNERS"" ""FINDING THE HISTORY"" ""AN IDEA BECOMES A REALITY"" ""LESSON ONE EVEN A DOG CAN SHAKE HANDS"" ""CHAPTER 2 -- Steve Discusses the Importance of Building a Solid Team"" ""THE ENTREPRENEURâ€2S LOT"" ""IN THE BEGINNING, EVERYONE PITCHES IN"" ""LESSON TWO IS IT A BUSINESS OR A FAMILY BUSINESS?""""CHAPTER 3 -- Tom Talks About Creating the Business Plan: A Money-Raising Tool ... "" ""WHAT KIND OF BUSINESS IS THIS PLAN FOR?"" ""PROWLING THE CONFERENCE"" ""VISITING THE COMPETITION"" ""THE GREAT AMERICAN BUSINESS PLAN (CIRCA 1987)"" ""PRIMER FOR PLAN WRITERS"" ""IS IT TIME TO QUIT YOUR DAY JOB?"" ""MONEY: WHERE, HOW, AND HOW MUCH"" ""LESSON THREE THE BUSINESS PLAN WONâ€"! BE GRADED ON A CURVE"" ""CHAPTER 4 -- Tom Asks, “Whatâ€"! the True Mission of the Business?â€ýÿ" ""FACING A QUIET CRISIS"" ""DISTRIBUTION: GREAT DETOUR OR GREAT OPPORTUNITY?""""DISTRIBUTING FOR OURSELVES"" ""DISTRIBUTING FOR OTHERS: STICKING OUR TOE IN THE WATER"" ""1991, THE LONGEST YEAR OF MY LIFE"" ""THE DILEMMA OF THE BIG SUPPLIER"" ""AMBASSADORS OF BETTER BEER"" ""LESSON FOUR BEING FLEXIBLE IF THE MISSION STATEMENT BECOMES â€3MISSION IMPOSSIBLEâ€3"" ""CHAPTER 5 -- Steve Discusses the Keys to Successfully Motivating Employees"" ""IT STARTS WITH THE PRODUCT"" ""SOME PEOPLE GET IT, AND SOME DONâ€2T"" ""ENTERING BEER SCHOOL"" ""LESSON FIVE FEELING GOOD IS NO SUBSTITUTE FOR PRUDENT CONTROLS"" ""CHAPTER 6 -- Tom Tells the Story of Their Dot-Com Revolution: Fishing for ... """"RAISING MONEY IS A FULL-TIME JOB"" ""THEREâ€2S EQUITY, AND THEN THEREâ€2S VENTURE CAPITAL"" ""FOUR SOURCES OF FINANCING FOR START-UPS"" ""WHEN VENTURE FINANCING ISâ€"OR IS NOTâ€"APPROPRIATE FOR YOU"" ""THE BREWERY BUBBLE OF 1995-1996"" ""SELLING BROOKLYN BEER BEYOND NEW YORK"" ""THE DANGEROUS LURE OF FINANCING"" ""ENTER: TOTALBEER.COM!"" ""LESSON SIX CHASING MONEY IS NOT A BUSINESS STRATEGY"" ""CHAPTER 7 -- Steve Talks about Building a Brewery in Brooklyn"" ""LEARNING FROM THE PAST"" ""THE DRIVE TO BUILD""""LESSON SEVEN SOMETIMES YOU STAND ALONE"" ""CHAPTER 8 -- Steve Discusses Publicity: The Press Wants You!"" ""THE AMERICAN DREAM"" ""PEOPLE WANT WHAT THEY KNOW"" ""GUERRILLA MARKETING"" ""PUBLICITY AND GROWTH"" ""A PLACE TO CALL OUR OWN"" ""A COMMUNITY-MINDED BUSINESS"" ""LESSON EIGHT A NEWS RELEASE CAN GO A LONG WAY"" ""CHAPTER 9 -- Steve Reveals How the Revolution Kills Its Leaders First"" ""THE PIONEER (WITH THE ARROWS IN HIS BACK)"" ""THE ONE-MAN BAND"" ""HIGH ANXIETY AND A FORCED LESSON"" ""PROMISES, PROMISES"" ""SO WHAT DO I DO BESIDES MANAGE?"" BEER SCHOOL Beer School Bottling Success at the Brooklyn Brewery What do you get when you cross a journalist and a banker? A brewery, of course. "A great city should have great beer. New York finally has, thanks to Brooklyn. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter provided it. Beer School explains how they did it: their mistakes as well as their triumphs. Steve writes with a journalist's skepticism—as though he has forgotten that he is reporting on himself. Tom is even less forgiving—he's a banker, after all. The inside story reads at times like a cautionary tale, but it is an account of a great and welcome achievement." —Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter "An accessible and insightful case study with terrific insight for aspiring entrepreneurs. And if that's not enough, it is all about beer!" —Professor Murray Low, Executive Director, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School "Great lessons on what every first-time entrepreneur will experience. Being down the block from the Brooklyn Brewery, I had firsthand witness to their positive impact on our community. I give Steve and Tom's book an A++!" —Norm Brodsky, Senior Contributing Editor, Inc. magazine " Beer School is a useful and entertaining book. In essence, this is the story of starting a beer business from scratch in New York City. The product is one readers can relate to, and the market is as tough as they get. What a fun challenge! The book can help not only those entrepreneurs who are starting a business but also those trying to grow one once it is established. Steve and Tom write with enthusiasm and insight about building their business. It is clear that they learned a lot along the way. Readers can learn from these lessons too." —Michael Preston, Adjunct Professor, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, and coauthor, The Road to Success: How to Manage Growth "Although we (thankfully!) never had to deal with the Mob, being held up at gunpoint, or having our beer and equipment ripped off, we definitely identified with the challenges faced in those early days of cobbling a brewery together. The revealing story Steve and Tom tell about two partners entering a business out of passion, in an industry they knew little about, being seriously undercapitalized, with an overly naive business plan, and their ultimate success, is an inspiring tale." —Ken Grossman, founder, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

What do you get when you cross a journalist and a banker? A brewery, of course.

"A great city should have great beer. New York finally has, thanks to Brooklyn. Steve Hindy and Tom Potter provided it. Beer School explains how they did it: their mistakes as well as their triumphs. Steve writes with a journalist's skepticism-as though he has forgotten that he is reporting on himself. Tom is even less forgiving-he's a banker, after all. The inside story reads at times like a cautionary tale, but it is an account of a great and welcome achievement."
—Michael Jackson, The Beer Hunter(r)

"An accessible and insightful case study with terrific insight for aspiring entrepreneurs. And if that's not enough, it is all about beer!"
—Professor Murray Low, Executive Director, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School

"Great lessons on what every first-time entrepreneur will experience. Being down the block from the Brooklyn Brewery, I had firsthand witness to their positive impact on our community. I give Steve and Tom's book an A++!"
—Norm Brodsky, Senior Contributing Editor, Inc. magazine

"Beer School is a useful and entertaining book. In essence, this is the story of starting a beer business from scratch in New York City. The product is one readers can relate to, and the market is as tough as they get. What a fun challenge! The book can help not only those entrepreneurs who are starting a business but also those trying to grow one once it is established. Steve and Tom write with enthusiasm and insight about building their business. It is clear that they learned a lot along the way. Readers can learn from these lessons too."
—Michael Preston, Adjunct Professor, Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, Columbia Business School, and coauthor, The Road to Success: How to Manage Growth

"Although we (thankfully!) never had to deal with the Mob, being held up at gunpoint, or having our beer and equipment ripped off, we definitely identified with the challenges faced in those early days of cobbling a brewery together. The revealing story Steve and Tom tell about two partners entering a business out of passion, in an industry they knew little about, being seriously undercapitalized, with an overly naive business plan, and their ultimate success, is an inspiring tale."
—Ken Grossman, founder, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co.

Is this a book for beer aficionados or business enthusiasts? Both, and it's as refreshing as a cold brew. In Beer School, authors and entrepreneurs Steve Hindy and Tom Potter share the improbable saga of Brooklyn Brewery, the company they grew from a home-brew hobby into a multimillion-dollar business - all in the most competitive beer market in the United States. If you have a thirst for entrepreneurial success, drink up. If you are a business manager or owner and want fresh ideas and insight, tap in. You'll learn entrepreneurial basics, plus some things textbooks don't teach you, as you follow the company's successes (and a few failures) and find out about: Creating that all-important first business plan, Getting financing and/or recruiting investors, Using guerilla marketing, publicity, and community involvement to attract attention, Keeping employees educated and motivated, Partnering on events and networking for opportunities, Keeping your cool when the Mafia comes calling, Hiring "virgins" - why veteran salespeople can have problems in start-ups, Managing people, finances, expectations, and growth, Surviving a vociferous attack in Las Vegas when the odds against you are 8-to-1.From the beginning, the odds were against Steve and Tom. It's estimated that eight out of ten businesses fail in their first year. Yet these entrepreneurs succeeded in a competitive arena dominated by mega-corporations and mega-money. The brew they began making in a Brooklyn brownstone over twenty years ago is now sold around the world. Their story, recounting the fears and obstacles they faced and the decisions and successes they shared, will inspire you. Like discovering the perfect brew or starting a business, reading this book is a heady experience. Cheers! "In Beer School, authors and entrepreneurs Steve Hindy and Tom Potter share the improbable saga of Brooklyn Brewery, the company they grew from a home-brew hobby into a multimillion-dollar business - all in the most competitive beer market in the United States. If you have a thirst for entrepreneurial success, drink up. If you are a business manager or owner and want fresh ideas and insight, tap in. You'll learn entrepreneurial basics, plus some things textbooks don't teach you, as you follow the company's successes (and a few failures)."--Jacket. My head was thumping and I was drenched in sweat when I was jolted awake on a fresh sunny morning in May 1984 by the blasts of two mortar shells in the parking lot outside my second-floor room at the Alexander Hotel in East Beirut.