Kevin Larkai and Monté Burrow are the co-founders of Black Leaf Vodka, the first French organic vodka company in the United States. Their journey from a chance meeting in Cognac, France to building an award- winning spirits brand is a masterclass in resourcefulness, strategic focus, and the power of complementary
partnerships.
In this episode, we dive deep into the realities of scaling a capital-intensive business with limited resources.
Kevin and Monté share candid insights on navigating the three-tier distribution system, managing inventory with long lead times, and making tough prioritization decisions when opportunities far exceed available capital. We explore their current fundraising journey—raising a $2M seed round—and the surprising lessons they've learned about investor relations (hint: it's a numbers game that requires 500+ conversations). They reveal creative tactics like leveraging "influencer investors" with survey tools to generate warm intros and how bringing investors into their "brand world" over cocktails drives better conversations than traditional pitch decks.
Kevin brings a finance background while Monté has hands-on spirits industry experience, creating a partnership they describe as "organic" and perfectly aligned. Their philosophy of "controlled depth versus premature scale" offers valuable wisdom for any founder facing the tension between growth ambitions and resource constraints.
Conntect with Kevin and Monté:
Kevin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/klarkai/
Monté: https://www.linkedin.com/in/monteburrow/
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– Nate and the Profits on Purpose podcast team
Connect with Nathan Littlewood on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanlittlewood/
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Welcome to the Profits on Purpose podcast, where we explore the journeys of purpose-led founders and the financial strategies that help them survive and thrive. Host Nate Littlewood sits down with eCommerce and CPG founders to unpack the real-life tension between a brand's mission and the practical realities of generating profit.