Deep Cuts Live

An interview with Robin Blue, founder of Blue Smoke ATL. Robin shares how her love of fashion led to her founding an accessory brand that appeals to both cigar and cannabis smokers. Robin talks about the ups and downs of business and how gaining feedback early on helped her better develop her business early on and how past failures helped her become a better business owner. 

A lot of people feel inspired to start their own business but how do you take a passion and build a profitable business around it? In this interview with Desiree Sylver, PhD, owner of Drunk Chicken Cigars, she discusses how she went from being a casual cigar smoker to a brand owner. Learn how she navigated the ups and downs of entrepreneurship and how she finds balance between work and family obligations.

Some people start a business for fame, others for profit, and then some launch a business to give back. That's what Steve Zengel, founder of Los Caidos Cigars, did. Inspired by a personal loss suffered during Sept. 11, Steve launched his own cigar line where part of the profit of each cigar sold would go toward supporting police and firefighters. Learned how he got his start in the industry, how he learned from the mistakes he made, and his advice for other businesses looking to make a connection with their community.

How does a person scale their company and expand their brand across new categories? You do it exactly how Matt Booth, owner of Room101, did it. Matt started off making custom jewelry and once he established his brand and company, he chose to expand into completely new categories. Learn what inspired him to launch his own company, what his creative process is like, and how he's successfully gotten into the jewelry, premium cigar and spirits industries.

Celebrities often attach their names to apparel, spirits and other products but it's rare to see celebrities attach their names to a premium cigar. Escobar Cigars made headlines this year when it announced it was partnering with Grammy award-winning rapper and songwriter Nas, who is a full-on partner with this premium cigar brand. Gomes talks about how that partnership came about and why DJ Khaled and others are embracing their brand. Also hear about how the supply chain crisis is impacting the cigar industry and the new releases expected out of Escobar in the near future.

Jeremy McDonald has spent years working in the cigar industry, handling the sales of a major cigar brand until recently when he launched his very own cigar brand, Wildfire Cigar Company. While many cigar brands would hope and pray for a good cigar rating, McDonald has seen behind the curtains of the review and rating process and isn't holding out for a good rating–he just wants to know if you like what he's created. Learn about the major cigar factory behind his first two releases, The Single and the Revivalist, and how he plans to take on the very traditional cigar industry.

In this interview with Peter Gross, Janelle and Lamar Leroy of ATL Cigar Co. we discuss how these three friends came together to create and launch a cigar brand built around the city and lifestyle of Atlanta. We also chat about how the events of 2020 helped shaped the brand and have an honest discussion of the role race plays in their business.

A group of friends and cigar smokers joined forces to create a cigar brand that's breaking ground and barriers one cigar at a time. In this double-header, Emperors Cut's Temi Bush talks about how the brand came into existence while her business partner Darryl Redmon shares his tips for what makes a cigar sell in today's competitive cigar market.

Margaret Caldwell is a green entrepreneur who got her start in jewelry and gem stones before making the leap into growing legal cannabis in California. With the passage of the 2018 Farm Bill, she realized the opportunity hemp and CBD offered and made yet another move–she launched her own CBD brand. Learn how she's built her own CBD brand, Caldwell Botanicals, how she's gotten her product into stores and what's she's learned about guerrilla marketing and building a business on her own.

When you're starting or trying to build a business, you're going to realize you can't do it alone. Finding a good partner that shares in your passion and vision is easier said and done. Learn how Jeffrey Amendola and Christopher Monaco teamed up to build Amendola Family Cigar Co. and how forming strong partnerships and fostering good relationships has helped their business grow tremendously.