Olde Raleigh Distillery: Brandon McCraney, Proprietor, Master Blender

Brandon McCraney is the Founder and Master Blender at Olde Raleigh Distillery, a family-owned and operated craft distillery focused on small-batch and limited-release bourbon and whiskies. Two years into this journey, Olde Raleigh was honored with the prestigious title of Best Micro Distillery in the US. This brand story is as much about persistence as it is about art, and Brandon was so focused on brand storytelling that there was a line around the block on opening day.

Allison Taylor grew up on her family’s plum farm in Northern California, which has been around since 1916 and is one of the world's largest producers of dried plums. In 2018, Allison and her sisters launched Le Prunier, a plum-based skincare brand that reunited them with the farm and created a new family business that is rooted in authenticity and sustainability.

Dan Lilienthal and José Chayet co-founded [untitled], a sacred place for work-in-progress music used by hundreds of thousands of artists and producers, including Justin Bieber, Hayley Williams, and Geese. The brand was recently awarded one of Fast Company’s 10 most innovative music companies of 2026.

Tyler Strand co-founded the creative operations platform Air, a tech company that could easily be seen as a media agency. Air is empowering Creatives in the age of AI, and the entire brand is built on smart brand marketing. The team is putting out all kinds of crazy campaigns that most Creatives wish their agency would let them run, thereby building a bond and a community that reaches far beyond the product.

15 years ago, Charles Brun started C-Concept together with two of his best friends. A B2B2C company that made reading glasses, founded by friends who saw a need for stylish readers for their Parisian moms. Fast forward to today, and the name has changed to IZIPIZI, and the company is selling design-forward eyewear for all occasions in thousands of stores around the world.

Alisa Sparks quit her government finance job to get into interior design without any formal training. She tested her theory, and the market responded. Today, this bold move sees her at the helm of Linden Creek, a home staging and interior design franchise with over 20 locations nationwide and many more planned.

Eugene Kang grew up stocking shelves in his parents' gas station convenience stores, then one day took a mesmerizing bite of beef jerky at a small roadside stand, tracked down the maker, and eventually bought the business with his aunt. Fast forward to today, he grew Archer into America’s No. 1 premium jerky brand with 30 SKUs in 30,000 locations nationwide, and on this episode he shares all the lessons learned during the company's recent re-brand.

Miki Agrawal founded the period underwear brand THINX, which everyone listening to this show remembers for its ad campaign running in the NYC subways, featuring grapefruit and eggs to represent menstruation. In 2019, Miki founded TUSHY, where she rebranded the modern bidet. Her latest venture stopped me in my tracks: HIRO Diapers, the world’s first diapers that are digested by Fungi. In this episode, we delve into conscious capitalism, the reduce and regenerate model, and brand growth through community building. Throughout we talk about all things creative and brand, naturally.

Kegan Fisher, together with her husband, co-founded the Frank Darling brand to revolutionize the fine jewelry industry. One fine piece of copy from the brand’s website reads, “The hardest thing on Earth is now a little easier. We’ll be frank, darling. The diamond industry benefits from confused customers.”What began in a Brooklyn apartment has grown into a nationally recognized brand with nine brick-and-mortar locations and consistent triple-digit growth year over year. This episode dives into some of our favorite topics: mastering customer-centric thinking and using empathy as a business strategy. Oh, and the name Frank Darling, of course. 

Lucy Goff is the founder of LYMA, the buzzy London-based brand providing 'the world’s most powerful skin longevity system.’ A LYMA Laser runs you $2,700, and the LYMA Laser Pro sets you back $6,000: a significant investment, and a challenging brand positioning to defend in a highly opaque industry. This episode focuses on how Lucy and her team have created a new niche with significant success from both product and marketing perspectives.