Aimy Steadman, UT Austin McCombs MBA Class of 2013

Can you tell us about your company, and what it does?

My company BeatBox Beverages is one of the largest RTD alcohol brands in the US and we make the “Original Party Punch.” We have 12 delicious and nostalgic flavors like Fruit Punch, Blue Razzberry, and Pink Lemonade with an 11.1% ABV kick in eco-friendly boxed packaging.

What inspired you to start your own business?

During the MBA program, my friends and I were drinking boxed wine and mixed cocktails at parties and tailgates a lot more often than traditional drinks. We wanted to create a fun new drink that resonated with the friendly and positive energy of music festivals. I had a show on the student radio station and wanted to bring my co-founders and my love of music to life through a brand.

How has your business school experience helped you in your path as an entrepreneur?

Starting the company at McCombs was an incredible experience. My co-founder, Justin Fenchel, and I met at the Entrepreneur Society at school and started working together along along with two other students Jason Schieck and Daniel Singer.

After graduation, Texas Venture Labs also selected me to be a Venture Partner for the first year after the MBA program so I could work on my company while also having some income coming in by supporting the University program. That helped me until we secured our first investment from Mark Cuban on Shark Tank a year later and I finally went full time with BeatBox. Notably it was one of Shark Tank’s largest investments in the show’s history at $1 million dollars.

What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in the early stages of building your business, and how did you overcome them?

While we loved music and parties, Justin, our other partner, Brad Schultz, and I had to learn all the nuances of the alcohol beverage industry from production to distribution to chain retail sales, compliance and more. We had a very supportive community around us in Austin from beverage entrepreneurs to professors at UT to investors and advisors we brought in. We continued to iterate on different product and package types, distribution networks, and ways of merchandising until we landed on a formula that works very well for our brand.

As a female entrepreneur, have you encountered any unique obstacles or biases in your entrepreneurial journey? How did you navigate them?

The alcohol beverage industry is historically very masculine and when we started the company I was 23 and looked quite young. Folks never assumed that I was the business owner, or they thought I was there because I was married to one of my business partners. I just continued to correct people and try to be as visible as possible on anything on the business side so that I can change the perception of what an alcohol beverage founder can look like.

I honestly think things have changed a lot over the 12 years I’ve been in the industry, but we want to continue that change to build safety and a platform for growth for women and people of color at the highest levels of leadership in the alcohol industry.

What advice would you give to other women who are considering starting their own businesses?

Find your community! McCombs Business School, Shark Tank, and Austin entrepreneurs all provided me with awesome support throughout my journey both on the business side as well as emotionally. Every day as an entrepreneur you likely have to do something you’ve never done before so having groups around you to help is essential.