Nick Papanicolaou just founded No Sleep Beverage, an innovative incubator taking minority investments in liquor brands in order to add value by combining his own entrepreneurial experience with big-company expertise,  in a unique, nimble company. Their initial portfolio includes Barr Hill Gin, Solento organic tequila and Nine Banded American whiskey. Nick previously headed up M&A at Pernod USA in the period when they acquired Del Maguey mezcal, Smooth Ambler whiskey, Castle Brands (including Gosling's rum and Jefferson's whiskey) and Monkey 47 gin, among others. We sat down to talk about if MBAs are worth it, if Big Liquor can actually innovate, if niche spirits have a shot, the role of compliance in US liquor firms, what happens after a brand gets bought, and a bunch more - enjoy!No Sleep Beverage: https://www.nosleepbeverage.com/No Sleep Beverage on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/no-sleep-beverage/Contact No Sleep Beverage: eyesopen@nosleepbeverage.com Get in touch with Duff!Podcast business enquiries: consulting@liquidsolutions.org (PR friends: we’re only interested in having your client on if they can talk about OTHER things than their prepared speaking points or their new thing, whatever that is, for a few hours. They need to be able to hang. Oh, plus we don't edit, and we won’t supply prepared or sample questions, or listener or “reach” stats, either.) Retain Philip’s consulting firm, Liquid Solutions, specialised in on-trade engagement & education, brand creation and repositioning: philip@liquidsolutions.orgPhilip on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/philipsduff/ Philip on Facebook: Philip Duff Philip on X/Twitter: Philip Duff (@philipduff) / Twitter Philip on LinkedIn: linkedin.com Old Duff Genever on Instagram: Old Duff Genever (@oldduffgenever) • Instagram photos and videos Old Duff Genever on Facebook: facebook.com Old Duff Genever on X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/oldduff...