{"type":"rich","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Transistor","provider_url":"https://transistor.fm","author_name":"High Octane Leadership","title":"Less Than 1% of a $40 Billion Industry Is Black-Owned. Emmanuel J. Waters and Old Hillside Bourbon Are Changing That","html":"","width":"100%","height":180,"duration":2463,"description":"Old Hillside Bourbon is a premium spirits brand co-founded by Emmanuel J. Waters, built on the history of Black Wall Street, the forgotten Black jockeys of the Kentucky Derby, and Durham's entrepreneurial tradition. The brand entered into a $40 billion industry where African Americans represent 12% of consumers but less than 1% of ownership. In this episode, Donald Thompson sits down with Emmanuel J. Waters, CEO and co-founder of Old Hillside Bourbon, to unpack how a brand rooted in Black Wall Street, the Kentucky Derby's forgotten Black jockeys, and Durham's rich entrepreneurial history is winning gold medals, breaking distribution records, and building something far bigger than a bottle.Episode Long DescriptionOld Hillside Bourbon was never supposed to work. Bourbon experts told the founders not to launch in North Carolina, one of the hardest control states in the country. African Americans spend nearly $3 billion in alcohol annually and own less than 1% of alcohol companies. Emmanuel had never tasted bourbon before co-founding the company. Then they held their first bottle signing in Durham. The line wrapped around the building. People bought six, seven, eight bottles at a time. They sold 50 cases in a single day, breaking a record in the state they were told would kill their brand.In this episode of High Octane Leadership, Donald Thompson and Emmanuel J. Waters dig into what happens when a brand is built on something more powerful than marketing: a story worth telling. From the history of Black Wall Street in Durham to the forgotten Black jockeys who built the Kentucky Derby, Old Hillside is using bourbon as a medium to recover and celebrate the American stories that have been systematically erased. And along the way, they are winning double gold medals at the largest spirits competition in the world.In Episode 186 of High Octane with Donald Thompson, Waters and Thompson discuss what happens when a brand is built on story rather than marketing spend. The most...","thumbnail_url":"https://img.transistorcdn.com/lgmj79F6u_aksHXmYERU-fwjthI5JqnlRVWJ-A5NESw/rs:fill:0:0:1/w:400/h:400/q:60/mb:500000/aHR0cHM6Ly9pbWct/dXBsb2FkLXByb2R1/Y3Rpb24udHJhbnNp/c3Rvci5mbS80MGQ0/YjZiYWJmNDlkMWNh/N2Q1YjEzNTgwMzA3/ZDEzYS5qcGc.webp","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300}