Over the last two decades, I’ve heard thousands of live pitches from excited and nervous founders. A few years ago, I listened to pitches by 65 diverse startups from three continents in the same week.
There are times when the founders—with the glimmer of potential funding in their eyes—take your mind to faraway places … some good, some not so good. When they are good, the pitch is simple and compelling. The value is obvious; management is savvy; the product/service is easily acquired; and, most importantly, customers and partners love it. It gets easy to tell if a company has what it takes to succeed or not.
It’s amazing to see new founders tenaciously pitch, and then see them a decade later when they’re confident of their success. Wes King of Tahoe Trail Bar is now mentoring with me for a national accelerator. Matt Levitt of Tahoe Blue Vodka struggled for years getting his product to market; now he sponsors a big arena in South Lake Tahoe, and he mentored a student of mine at the University of Nevada, Reno, who was making a new meal for backpackers. Denis Phares of Dragonfly Energy Corporation sponsored a tech prize during the Sontag Entrepreneurship Competition a decade after he competed as a grad student in 2014. Matt Linder built a rad, custom overland truck for himself. His business, TruckHouse, won Sontag five years ago, and in 2026, he was a finals judge. How cool is that?
In this year’s Sontag competition, all five of the founders (whom I profiled in April) were all excellent, with compelling propositions and visions for the future. The eventual winner was chosen for many of the reasons above—innovation, value, message, leadership, etc.—but the thing that separated her from the other competitors was her dynamic presence and her command of the room. It was impressive.
That winner: Jordan Raulston, founder of Deviant Cocktail Club. She has built a subscription-based model that provides all of the ingredients for a perfect gourmet cocktail. Just add the alcohol, and you can make seemingly complex drinks, even if you have no talent for libation-concocting, like me.
Jordan has spent the last decade as a pro bartender, whipping up recipes that folks keep coming back for time and time again. She realized that there was an opportunity to create a company that could bring the premium cocktail back home with confidence. All ingredients are elegantly hand-packed, with simple directions for each recipe.
She has been working on the concept for a couple of years, but really focused on it over the last year. Deviant has sold about 300 kits—some of them as gifts for wedding guests. She is now taking her winnings and growing the marketing and operations of the company. The beverage market is dealing with fallout because many Americans cutting back or eliminating alcohol altogether—but Jordan notes that premium alcohol sales are actually still very strong, while areas like beer are struggling.
Jordan has had to figure out how to source all of the products and mixes. She has to work in a certified kitchen to handle the ingredients. She needed to find suppliers for the organic ingredients, the mixers and the packaging.
Jordan’s journey is not atypical for a founder with a vision—and an uncontrollable urge to do something about it. She holds a powerful asset: She’s not naïve, and she realizes how hard it is to build a company.
In this early chapter of the Deviant Cocktail Club story, Jordan has had to figure out how to source all of the products and mixes. She has to work in a certified kitchen to handle the ingredients, because they are considered food, and production is regulated by the county health department. She needed to find suppliers for the organic ingredients, the mixers and the packaging. Each of these steps can be exhausting and potentially costly if not executed properly.
She has spent months getting all of the pieces together. I’ve watched her tweak the gift box several times over the last few months. She offers inspirational messages when you open the lid. It reminds me of the Japanese art of gift-wrapping known as tsutsumi. It is a thoughtful, methodical and ritualistic view of giving and receiving a gift, with reverence to detail and appreciation. Deviant sets an incredible benchmark: Just opening the box is exciting.
Jordan is gaining traction and momentum—but she has no idea what the future holds. Her passion and inspiration are unrelenting, and I believe her vision and focus will get her to the next milestone. Often, a simplicity of mindset and focus can make the difference between success and failure. As Jordan builds a team and begins to scale on regional and national levels, the challenges will change and become bigger. Her experience and entrepreneurial spirit help her overcome setbacks, both expected and unexpected.
In five years, I look forward to adding Deviant Cocktail Club to the list of successful Reno/Tahoe companies in which I played a small part. It’ll be very cool to have Jordan mentoring other young entrepreneurs with me.
Yeah, I said five years instead of the aforementioned 10—because I have great faith in Jordan and Deviant Cocktail Club. You should, too. Also, she is an MMA fighter and will kick your ass and mine, too! Go get ’em, Jordan!