We recently connected with Billy Wright and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Billy, thanks for joining us today. So let’s jump to your mission – what’s the backstory behind how you developed the mission that drives your brand?

During my 20 years in the military, I had the opportunity to be stationed in Melbourne Australia for almost 4 years. As a socialite during that time, I noticed the Espresso Martini had a different vibe there, more than anywhere I’ve ever seen. It was an absolute culture, almost a religion! They had Espresso Martini festivals, and even served on tap at popular locations. The best part was how standardized the cocktail was, no matter where you were, you were served “the” OG Espresso Martini. When I return to America, I noticed ordering an Espresso Martini at 10 different bars, you will receive 10 different cocktails. At that time there were a few, if no ready-to-drink Espresso Martinis on the market. So that’s why I wanted to create an Espresso Martini for America made with the OG ingredients of espresso, vodka, and coffee liqueur. I named the company “Martini Mates” as an ode to my love for Espresso Martinis discovered in Melbourne Australia.

Billy, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

Ask any bartender, let alone the average cocktail consumer, and you’ll find that Espresso Martinis are not an enjoyable nor easy cocktail to create. Espresso is a fickle ingredient that rarely tastes the same from pour to pour. So attempting to re-create the perfect Espresso Martini every round proves extremely difficult (if you even have access to an espresso machine). “Martini Mates” solves this problem by delivering a standardized ready-to-drink Espresso Martini packaged in individual 200ml bottles containing the exact ratio of ingredients of a perfected recipe. Including the ability to shake the product within the bottle, creating the cocktails signature crème froth just like it was served by a mixologist from a cocktail shaker. We do all the work for you, you simply have to enjoy…!

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

As I mentioned, during my time in the military, I lived in Melbourne Australia. It was so magical, that I promised myself upon retiring from the military I would move to Australia and become a permanent resident. Fast forward to 2019 and I did just that, retired from the military and moved to Australia to begin my immigration journey. I was about seven months into this process to gain my permanent residency, and COVID entered all of our lives. Australia quickly shut down immigration, shut its borders, and I essentially got kicked out of the country. I had no plan B, and every thing I owned besides 1 suitcase was still in Australia. After one month of lockdown around April 2020 I realized I had to sink my teeth into something here back home. So I decided to create a slice of Australia for myself, bring a slice of Australia and introduce it to America. I thought, what better way than to re-create the Espresso Martini I fell in love with, bottle it, and create a company around that passion. Martini Mates was born that day.

How did you put together the initial capital you needed to start your business?

The amount of capital required to launch Martini Mates was vastly underestimated. I had some savings that I completely expended during the first year of creation. This was mostly for formulation of my recipe, graphic design, licensing, and consultancy. To see the company through the next year which included procurement and production, I reached out to family and friends to actually bring the Espresso Martini to market. The third round of capital came in the form of an SBA loan from CDC Finance, and this was to cover standard operating costs. Items like freight, sales force, incentives, marketing, merchandise, and advertising/promotion. We are now to the point where revenue is covering expenses. Although we are back in the position of seeking another investment round of capital for further expansion.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.martinimates.com
• Instagram: @martinimates
• Facebook: @martinimates
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wrwright1/
• Youtube: @martinimates2879

Image Credits
Tim Jones: @timj_photography