Dry January, Anyone? He Started A Side Hustle After A 'scary' Night Of Drinking — And It's Exceeded $50 Million Revenue With 0 Outside Investment.

This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features JW Wiseman, laminitis of non-alcoholic waste and acquisition cocktail institution Curious Elixirs.

Image Credit: Nick Kova. JW Wiseman, laminitis of Curious Elixirs.

Launched successful 2015, Curious Elixirs generated $2.2 cardinal successful its first 5 years — and skyrocketed past $50 cardinal successful nan past 5 years. The marque has served millions of customers successful immoderate of nan champion restaurants successful nan world, including Daniel and The French Laundry; astatine nightclubs for illustration House of Yes; and successful their ain homes done its direct-to-consumer business. The marque is projected to do $176 cardinal successful gross by 2030.

Responses personification been edited for magnitude and clarity.

What was your clip business aliases superior business erstwhile you started your broadside hustle?
Helping cleanable nutrient startups for illustration Daily Harvest and Chomps get their first cardinal customers done my trading diligent Good Business, connected pinch opening a barroom called The Whiskey Brooklyn and nan nightclub OUTPUT. It took astir 5 years earlier we had tin dependable cashflow for maine to perpetrate full-time to Curious Elixirs.

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When did you commencement your broadside hustle, and wherever did you find nan inspiration for it?
Working successful nightlife and being a immense cocktail nerd successful New York City, I've loved hospitality for ages…and ended up drinking excessively much. One winter's nighttime successful 2012, I had complete 20 drinks, and nan adjacent clip I didn't moreover personification a hangover — that was truthful scary. I changed my narration pinch intoxicant and started drinking less. But I still wanted to beryllium societal and personification an elevated cocktail acquisition — it virtually did not beryllium astatine that time. So I group retired to create it.

What we did was waste and acquisition analyzable cocktails without intoxicant utilizing nan world's champion ingredients pinch inspiration from cocktails caller and old. We collaborated pinch bartenders, nutrient scientists and herbalists. And Curious Elixirs was born.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Curious Elixirs

What were immoderate of nan first steps you took to get your broadside hustle disconnected nan ground?
Tinkering successful nan kitchen, reference books connected herbs and taking a chance to make point that had ne'er existed: a booze-free waste and acquisition cocktail pinch herbs and adaptogens to thief you unwind.

While moving connected an early hibiscus negroni look 1 Sunday morning, nan punishment conscionable struck maine retired of obscurity — Curious Elixirs — and I kept moving connected it until it was yet caller for testing astatine parties successful Brooklyn and Queens.

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Back then, we had a edifice successful Rockaway Beach called Playland Motel, and for opening weekend, I made a Curious Elixir. I didn't moreover mentation it arsenic non-alcoholic, but group kept drinking that acold overmuch than nan booze. I knew I was connected to something.

To overmuch astir nan non-alcoholic space, I sought connection from hospitality pros, while too apprenticing pinch nutrient scientists. I learned really to accommodate bartending waste and acquisition mocktails to past scaling beverage production, pinch clean-label ingredients of nan highest worth from astir nan world.

Related: Has Dry January Really Lifted Non-Alcoholic Beverage Makers' Spirits?

What were immoderate of nan biggest challenges you faced while building your broadside hustle, and really did you navigate them?
When Curious began arsenic a business successful 2015, galore of nan alcohol-free constituent extracts that make a information bitter aliases spicy — for illustration gentian successful our Curious No. 1 aliases ancho chili successful Curious No. 2 — didn't beryllium yet. Creating these extracts and blending them to make blase non-alcoholic cocktails takes years of effort and experimentation.

Another business was filming Shark Tank successful 2018, and having nan conception not make nan show. Curious Elixirs was up of its time, and nan sharks conscionable didn't understand what a monolithic opportunity nan non-alcoholic conception was going to become. It's still early moreover though we're 10 years in. At nan time, we were often moving retired of merchandise to sell, truthful it's a blessing successful disguise that it didn't air.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Curious Elixirs

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How agelong did it return you to spot accordant monthly revenue? How overmuch did nan broadside hustle earn?
Because of my acquisition taking Daily Harvest national, we launched Curious Elixirs pinch a monthly subscription called The Curious Cocktail Club. People loved nan drinks immediately, truthful we had consistency from nan jump, but it was mini from nan start. During nan first 5 years of broadside hustling pinch Curious Elixirs, we earned $2.2 million.

Curious was too up of nan curve because we were creating nan curve. It took 5 years earlier Curious could net maine tin to attraction connected it full-time…that was successful January 2020.

When nan pandemic deed we had 2 waves of newcomers to non-alcoholic options: Those who trim backmost connected booze correct arsenic lockdown happened, and past a 2nd activity of group who drank excessively overmuch during quarantine and decided to get "sober curious."

What does maturation and gross look for illustration now?
Curious is astir to move 10 years old. Our first twelvemonth we did astir $176,000, and now each twelvemonth we're comfortably northbound of 8 figures of gross pinch 30% CAGR (compound yearly maturation rate). Curious Elixirs is proud to beryllium conscionable crossing $50 cardinal successful gross successful nan past 5 years pinch a 20.8x marque maturation title — each without immoderate extracurricular investment.

Image Credit: Courtesy of Curious Elixirs

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What do you bask astir astir moving this business?
Our ngo has ever been to toggle style really we information socially, and nan past less years, it has really accelerated! People are waking up to find that life pinch small booze tin beryllium overmuch fun, imaginative and memorable.

What's your connection for others hoping to commencement successful broadside hustles of their own?
Start today. Right now. Take 5 minutes and build a broadside hustle pinch mini accordant actions. And ever enactment curious!