Ep 196 | Kat Hantas

Written By Yasmin Nouri

How This Stay-At-Home Mom Built One of the Fastest-Growing Tequila Brands

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Kat Hantas is the co-founder of 21 Seeds Tequila, one of the fastest-growing flavored tequilas. 

Kat’s had an interesting journey - from thinking she wanted to be a doctor, then pivoting to the entertainment industry, and then being a stay-at-home mom for many years. She never would have thought that she’d launch a business in the liquor industry. It wasn’t until she started noticing that her evening wine wasn’t making her feel good and her doctor recommended that she move away from fermented spirits and into distilled spirits. 

In the process of exploring tequila options, Kat came up with the idea to start 21 Seeds Tequila - a fresh natural tequila made with real fruit. She was making this in her kitchen for years, until one day the demand became so much that her friend inspired her to start selling the bottles. This sparked the idea and Kat co-founded the business with her sister and good friend to make it a reality. 

The business was acquired by Diageo in just three years in March 2022 and the deal marked one of the largest female-founded liquor acquisitions to-date.

In this podcast episode, Kat opens up about her journey with imposter syndrome and tips on how she’s overcome that throughout her career in the entertainment industry and then in her entrepreneurial journey. She also shares the biggest learnings she had launching her production company, and how she’s translated those skills, despite being in a different industry, in her latest business.

Kat vulnerably discusses how transitioning from a stay at home to launching 21 Seeds was one of the biggest, and most bold decisions she’s ever made. She also walks through the steps she took to find a distillery with no connections, how she created product-market fit, and built a solid network that really helped propel and support the growth of her business. Kat ends by sharing the playbook she used in marketing and the importance of knowing your customer, which she credits was a huge reason they had such great success early on, and so much more. 

Show Notes:

  • Impostor syndrome and its impact on women's aspirations. [03:07]

  • Kat's shift from medical school to the entertainment industry. [06:33]

  • Experience at Creative Artists Agency (CAA) and starting her production company. [11:37]

  • Film "Taking 5," hiatus, and focusing on family. [16:18]

  • Kat's journey as a stay-at-home mom, health challenges, and 21 Seeds inspiration. [21:23]

  • Transition from a hobby to launching 21 Seeds Tequila after nine years. [25:01]

  • Significance of co-founders in 21 Seeds' success. [29:23]

  • Challenges in the male-dominated tequila industry without expertise. [35:19]

  • Launch process and diligent preparations for 21 Seeds. [41:47]

  • Fundraising process and key lessons learned. [43:30]

  • Early momentum and unique marketing for 21 Seeds. [49:12]

  • Diageo's acquisition of 21 Seeds, a milestone in female-founded liquor business. [54:48]

This episode is brought to you by Beeya:

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