After a successful and ongoing career as a writer in Hollywood, what made you want to co-found a spirits company?

Honestly, it was more about doing something fun and creative than wanting to start a company. I saw how much fun my childhood friend Tim Sparapani was having with Blue Run Spirits, as well as the success my buddy Matt Lillard was having with his gaming company Beadle & Grimm’s, and the three of us started throwing around the idea of combining the two and making spirits for fandoms we love. We were also right in the middle of COVID lockdown, and then right after that the WGA went on strike, so I was casting about for a creative outlet. I like whiskey better than sourdough bread, so away we went! 

What was the transition like to entrepreneur and what advice would you give to people looking to start their own business?

As a writer in Hollywood you’re pretty used to collaboration, so that part of the transition was natural, but we had to learn a ton about the corporate side of things. Most of my writing is done solo at a computer, and all of a sudden we were dealing with logistics and supply chain and all the complexities of making tangible objects and sending them to people, and we’re still trying to navigate that. You also have to make your peace with things that aren’t in your control (for example, for us it’s been tariffs and shipping breakdowns), which is hard when you want to make people happy. My advice would be to have good accountants, good lawyers, and good project management, because that’s the part of the biz that will trip you up even if your heart is in the right place.     

How does your experience as a storyteller influence the way you approach building worlds for Find Familiar Spirits?

One lesson it took me too long to learn in LA was not to chase what other people are doing and to write stories you want to tell in worlds that are interesting to you. That’s the main way I think our movie backgrounds have influenced our approach – for better or for worse, we do what we think is cool and hope others agree. It has its risks, for sure, but it’s helped us remain passionate and authentic. Write the movies you want to see, and make the spirits you want to drink!

Find Familiar Spirits is known for collaborating with legendary writers and iconic artists. How do you select which creators are the right fit for the brand?

See previous answer, LOL. Sometimes we select creators within parameters – for example, for our Critical Role collabs we like to bring in people they’ve worked with before – but usually we just go after people we’re fans of and let them pitch us with what they want to do. Some, like Mike Flanagan, John Brosio, Christopher Buehlman, and Tyler Jacobson, we had prior relationships with, but a lot of times we just send cold emails to people whose work we enjoy, like Andrea Stewart. So far we’ve been really fortunate and pretty much everyone has said yes.

After "extensive market research as a consumer," what was the most surprising thing you learned about the spirits industry once you were on the inside?

It’s not that dissimilar from Hollywood. Both have large, entrenched machines that control distribution and access, but audiences will find cool stuff if you put it out there. Everyone thinks it’s all about making product, but it’s really all about building community. And both are really fun worlds to be in, but more work than they look like from the outside. Probably the biggest surprise was how small the industry really is. Relationships are crucial if you want to get the good stuff. We were very lucky that we met our COO David Cohen right away, he’s been at this for a while and he’s opened a ton of doors.

When you look back at Find Familiar Spirits a decade from now, what’s the one thing you hope the company has changed about how we as a society enjoy both a good story and a great drink?

I hope we’re still enjoying both not just individually, but together. We’ve retreated so far into our phones, and lost a lot of the communal spaces that allow us to connect, and the power of both a good story and a great drink is they’re best enjoyed with friends. One of the reasons we chose fantasy gaming and horror for our spirits is because they have strong communities we were already a part of, and we believe life is more manageable, survivable, and enjoyable in an adventuring party. I don’t know how much we can influence society as a whole, but we’ll do our best to bring people together in our small corner of it.

Anything else you want to share about the journey so far and the path ahead for Find Familiar Spirits?

Just that we genuinely appreciate everyone who’s gone down this road with us. I know companies say that all the time, and it’s a little cheesy, but I’m from Wisconsin, so I feel like cheesy should be allowed. And if you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading!