The founders of NYC’s first woman-owned brewery on the biggest career lessons they’ve learned (via CNBCMakeIt)
, LeAnn Darland and Tara Hankinson took a leap of faith and opened Talea Beer Co., the first woman owned and operated brewery and taproom in Brooklyn, NY. Now, 30+ employees and 9,000 square feet later, the pair continue their aims to diversify the craft beer industry.
The pair met while working at Hopsy, a beer e-commerce start-up, in April 2018, and decided to combine their knowledge to create Talea, a play on their first names. Trusting in the originality of their brand, Hankinson and Darland spent eight months developing a business plan and fundraising before going door to door delivering their craft beer to bars around the city.
"It was a hard lesson for us, because spending all this time and money and leaving our jobs to run the business early on, every decision felt so consequential," Hankinson says. "Weighing those decisions can really slow you down. But sometimes, getting something out the door is better than just holding on."
Darland shares that having real world experience also helps with credibility when trying to fundraise, and that sacrificing a career at a big name company in order to chase your dreams can be beneficial in the end.