Inside the $6B Scotch Whiskey Industry – Opportunities, Tech & Building a Fund | Ep 71

In this episode of *Funds and Founders*, we sit down with a whiskey entrepreneur who has spent over a decade in the Scotch industry — building investment funds, luxury travel experiences, cask storage businesses, and more.From Scotch’s 600-year-old traditions to AI-driven forecasting tools, the whiskey industry is ripe for disruption.

We cover:

- The $6B Scotch export market & where the real money is

- Why whiskey is a unique, high-value alternative asset

- Tech & AI opportunities in distillation, warehousing, and customer engagement

- How to break into traditional industries as an outsider

- Building and exiting a whiskey private equity fund

If you’re an entrepreneur, investor, or simply a whiskey lover, this episode will change how you see the liquor business.

📍 What You’ll Learn:

- How forecasting works when your product takes 18+ years to make

- Which markets (beyond the US) are booming for whiskey

- Ways to attract a new generation of drinkers

- The role of education & experience in luxury branding

Timestamps:

00:00 – Intro & Guest Background

00:46 – Projects in the Whiskey Industry

01:33 – Scotch Whiskey Market Size & Growth

03:08 – Why Forecasting is a 30-Year Game

05:30 – Opportunities for Entrepreneurs & AI in Whiskey

07:12 – How the Customer Experience is Changing

08:48 – New Generation of Whiskey Drinkers

09:45 – How Open Is the Industry to New Tech?

10:53 – Building a Warehouse for Private Clients

12:36 – Industry Adoption Curve: Big vs Small Players

15:16 – Whiskey Trends in Global Markets (India, Taiwan, Middle East)

20:12 – Go-to-Market for Selling to the Whiskey Industry

24:07 – The Luxury Ladder & Aspirational Drinking

25:28 – Whiskey Education as a Business Opportunity

29:23 – Tastes, Palates & Evolving Preferences

31:16 – The Power of Experiences in Luxury Branding

33:33 – Speyside: The Napa Valley of Scotch

35:30 – Building a Whiskey-Luxury Travel Vertical

37:31 – Collecting, Investing & Niche Business Ideas in Whiskey

39:10 – From Wine to Whiskey: Early Journey

42:29 – Raising a $12M Whiskey Private Equity Fund

45:47 – Legal & Fund Management Learnings

48:42 – Finding the Right Team in Niche Industries

50:31 – Fundraising Strategy & Deploying Capital

53:01 – Turning Early Wins into More Investment

56:08 – Exiting the Fund & Market Timing

59:01 – Learning to Control the Exit Strategy

01:03:13 – Why Whiskey is a Stable Alternative Asset

01:05:08 – What Excites the Guest About the Next 5 Years in Whiskey

01:06:48 – How to Work with Rare Whiskey Holdings

01:07:26 – Expanding Your Business Horizons