Oscar De la Peña and Ana Victoria De la Garza wanted to make a hard beverage brand that “talked directly to coffee lovers” because they didn’t see anything like it on the market. Their quest led them to become co-founders of Zuzi.
The husband and wife team had been working comfortable corporate jobs and were pondering buying a house but couldn’t shake the itch of starting a project on their own. The idea of an espresso martini was the idea that stuck with them.
Within hours of signing a contract to buy that home, they changed their minds and devoted the funds instead toward their new business idea.
Zuzi debuted just as the economy slowed down due to the COVID pandemic. Manufacturers were focused on making hand sanitizer and weren’t interested in helping a startup with their project. That was a bump in the road.
In Part 1, Ana and Oscar talk about:
* Their gratitude for the support they’ve gotten from friends and family.
* How they changed gears from safe careers in the corporate world to pursue their entrepreneurial dream.
* How Oscar’s journey from Mexico to college in the U.S. influenced and inspired the direction of their careers.
* Embracing the risk of leaving behind fixed salaries for something they always wanted to do.
* The challenge of creating a startup product at the dawn of the COVID pandemic.
Join Ramon Vela, Ana Victoria De la Garza and Oscar De la Peña as they break down the inside story on The Story of a Brand.
For more on Zuzi, visit: https://www.drinkzuzi.com/
This episode is brought to you by Sendlane.
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