Craft Rum Distilling: Building a Local Spirits Brand with JoAnn Elardo

In this episode of The Growth Class, host Phil Massiello interviews JoAnn Elardo, founder and owner of Wicked Dolphin Distillery.  JoAnn shares the unconventional entrepreneurial journey that took her from building an international footwear and apparel business across 11 countries to creating a craft rum brand rooted in Florida agriculture. They explore how spotting an overlooked market opportunity led to the creation of Wicked Dolphin, the challenges of entering an industry with restrictive regulations, and how JoAnn helped push for changes to Florida’s craft distilling laws.  The conversation also covers building a differentiated product through local ingredients and quality, growing organically through distribution, and deciding when to pursue expansion through new markets, partnerships, or acquisitions.  Wicked Dolphin website: https://wickeddolphin.com Support the show There are a lot of  "experts" out there giving advice who’ve never built a thing. They’ve never stayed up all night sweating a product launch. Never had to scale a team. Never had to meet payroll. They’re just regurgitating what they read in someone else’s book. That’s not me.  I’ve built brands. I’ve scaled them. I’ve exited them. I’ve failed, won, and fought through it all. And now, my team and I help brands do it every single day — across eCommerce, retail, and digital.  We don’t just advise — we execute. We write the playbook. So if you’re done with fluff, fake gurus, and marketers who’ve never sold anything outside of a slide deck — you’re in the right place. This show is real strategies, real tactics, and real talk. https://www.facebook.com/philmasiello https://www.instagram.com/philmasiello/ https://www.tiktok.com/@philmasiello https://www.linkedin.com/in/phil-masiello/ https://www.youtube.com/@philmasiello #StartupGrowth #EcommerceTips  #ScaleYourBrand #DTCMarketing #PhilMasiello #GrowthClass #BrandStrategy #MarketingPodcast #CrunchGrowth #StartupTips #BusinessGrowth