Know What You Don’t Know: Interview with Ryan Close, Founder and CEO of Bartesian

I recently went one-on-one with Ryan Close, founder and CEO of Bartesian.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth? 

Ryan: My journey to where I am today begins in Canada, where I grew up and got my professional start. Post-grad, I worked for a few different small and medium-sized enterprise companies where my role was to develop sales processes and re-engineer processes to maximize profit. I did this for over a decade and really loved it, but I always felt I was meant to be an entrepreneur. I had a couple of small businesses that I developed and ran on the side that made some money, but it wasn’t until the idea for Bartesian came about that I decided to dedicate my professional life to running my own business. It was a risk making this transition, so I credit my family for supporting me in taking this leap. We uprooted to Chicago so I could really focus on growing Bartesian into what it is today. 

Along the journey I’d say a few key experiences helped me get to where I am today. Certainly, grinding it out in management training out of school helped me build the perseverance and mental muscle I needed to know how to lead people and to clarify my entrepreneurial ambitions. Taking risks, like starting my side hustle before Bartesian, served me by building my confidence that I could take a leap and see it through while riding the bumps that inevitably came along the way. That experience was like having training wheels jumping fully into starting Bartesian. 

Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas? 

Ryan: As a former college bartender, I always got nervous when customers would order complicated drinks because the perfect cocktail includes a laundry list of ingredients, steps, and a certain level of mixology expertise that I hadn’t yet developed. After a hard day’s work, I’d want to make my favorite cocktail at home, but there were often times when I wouldn’t have all the proper ingredients stocked. In reflecting on these experiences, the thought process was that it’d be great to offer at-home hosts an easy, streamlined way to make premium cocktails for guests and themselves. We wanted to eliminate the need for a fully stocked bar, and time spent away from friends and family during your own event just to ensure everyone can enjoy a delicious drink. Bartesian was built as a solution for at-home, everyday ‘bartenders.’ My advice to others looking to build a company around the next great idea is to make sure it solves a problem for consumers, and if you are one of those consumers, you’re going to be even more invested in its success. 

Adam: How did you know your business idea was worth pursuing? What advice do you have on how to best test a business idea? 

Ryan: There have been so many innovations in at-home tech and kitchen appliances in the last decade, but that level of innovation hadn’t extended to the cocktail experience. I saw this as the perfect white space worth pursuing. I would advise other entrepreneurs to take their time in bringing their product to market. There is a lot of pressure in the startup world to move fast. With Bartesian, we felt strongly that we only had one shot to make our first impression. The look and feel of the machine had to be right, the cocktails needed to be at a premium level. So, we didn’t want to act impulsively, and I believe that decision paved the way for our success today. 

Adam: What are the key steps you have taken to grow your business? What advice do you have for others on how to take their businesses to the next level? 

Ryan: Bartesian as a company has grown steadily in size, revenue and consumer awareness since its launch in October of 2019 and I believe it’s because I’ve been selective about choosing the right partners and employees to bring on board. From the very beginning, we were working with microbiologists on the food science behind the capsules, seasoned engineers on the tech, experts from just about every relevant field to affirm that we were moving in the right direction. 

Our refusal to never compromise on our values as a brand has also ignited growth because I think it resonates with partners, investors, and consumers. For example, we never want our capsules to contain artificial colors, flavors, or preservatives, and we’ve made sure we’re bringing in the right partners to see this vision through without compromising on taste. 

Additionally, we were strategic in how we brought our capsules to market and have partnered with respected household brands like Black and Decker which has created a broad consumer audience for each of our capsule flavors that extends beyond the Bartesian machine. 

Following a successful pilot with Aramark and Delaware North, Bartesian is also now serving cocktails in venues across the MLB, NFL, NBA, and NHL, in addition to restaurants, hotels, bars, and other venues. The team is continuing to revolutionize cocktail service across commercial channels, increasing venue revenues and streamlining operations.

Adam: What are your best sales and marketing tips? 

Ryan: Put simply, our marketing strategy has been to get our product into folks’ hands, and everything seems to work its way out from there. I’ve also found that customer reviews are one of our best sales and marketing tools. We like to highlight positive customer experiences with Bartesian as much as possible because it’s authentic. We’re letting the product speak for itself to attract new customers and generate sales. When it comes to marketing, I’ve learned that simplicity is key. 

Adam: In your experience, what are the defining qualities of an effective leader? How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level? 

Ryan: The best leaders are those that know what it’s like in the trenches. I don’t think you can really lead people unless in some ways you’ve walked in their shoes even if only temporarily or in some respects. I learned a ton by doing and spending years grinding it out. I also learned to have more compassion and understanding for others, qualities that are essential as an effective leader.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams? 

Ryan: Bartesian is comprised of a lean team of true experts in their field. I place a lot of trust in my colleagues and never want to feel like the smartest guy in the room. I’m not big on micromanaging, and really value self-sufficiency. The truth is start-ups can sometimes lack the stability of a traditional corporate world and I look for employees that can embrace that. 

Not only am I committed to building a lean, effective team, but I’m personally invested in ensuring Bartesian’s culture reflects our deep commitment to elevating the cocktail experience. Recently, we announced a new downtown Chicago headquarters which has enabled us to hire dozens of new team members as the company continues growing rapidly. It’s located in bustling Fulton Market, and the newly redeveloped property boasts creative office space, large collaboration areas, a commercial kitchen and a private speakeasy giving our team a premium hospitality experience that’s also focused on their well-being to ensure they’re equipped with a space that will enhance their skillsets.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders? 

Ryan: I find a common quality among successful entrepreneurs is tenacity and uniquely thick skin. To bring your ideas to life, you can't get discouraged from everyone who will inevitably tell you no along the way and you need to pick yourself up and move on until you find yourself in front of someone who will tell you yes. A second piece of advice is to move in the middle. By that I mean don’t let the highs get too high and don’t let the lows feel too low. At the inception of a company, there are going to be lots of ups and downs, and maintaining focus during that rollercoaster is imperative. Lastly, I would say rather than looking at securing a deal as the work ending, look at it as the work just beginning, whether that be with an investor, supplier, distributor, etc. 

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received? 

Ryan: I’m not sure where I heard this specifically, but “know what you don’t know” is wisdom that guides me always. I’m not always the smartest guy in the room, but I think there’s wisdom in knowing what you’re good at and what you can gain from recognizing what you’re not so good at - and connect with the right people to fill in your gaps. It’s worked for me so far.


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

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