33. How the “Barefoot Spirit” Propelled the Founders of Barefoot Wines from a Laundry Room to the Board Room of E&J Gallo

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">On this episode, we welcome Michael Houlihan and Bonnie Harvey to the program.  Michael and Michael & Bonnie are the founders of Barefoot Wine, America’s #1 Wine Brand.  Their New York Times Business Bestseller, The Barefoot Spirit, is now required reading in more than 50 schools of entrepreneurship</span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">In this episode Michael and Bonnie shares their remarkable journey from a laundry room of a rented farmhouse to the boardroom of the world’s largest wine company, E&J Gallo and how that journey paved the way for their future endeavors and the creation of a new category of audio books called Audio Theater.</span></p> <p> </p> <p><strong>Key #LessonInGrowth:</strong></p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Barefoot Spirit equates to an entrepreneurial mindset (West Coast Style)- opportunistic and problem solving</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Not being an “expert” on insider allowed them to ask dumb questions to break out of “this is how it has always been done” mentality</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Consistency in the wine/product was a differentiator to the current model.</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Why 500 Cases of Wine/year was their top priority</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Leveraged outsourcing and partners to scale the business</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Leveraging grassroot tactics and community level brand building helped accelerate acceptance and growth.</span></li> </ul> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">LinkedIn: </span> <a href= "http://www.linkedin.com/in/bonnieharvey/"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">www.linkedin.com/in/bonnieharvey/</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">LinkedIn:  www.linkedin.com/in/mhoulihan/</span></p> <p><span sty