Sign up for The Hard Way newsletter for updates on new episodes + a curated selection of things worth watching, listening to and reading, all with a Hard Way twist. What is a hazy IPA? How does a hops volcano happen? And what makes it so hard to start a small business outside of tech in the Bay Area? In this episode, I put my almost total lack of beer knowledge on full display in a conversation with my good friend, Regan Long. Regan is the co-founder, CEO and brewmaster of Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. They've brewed award winning beers, built a thriving business and have made videos of remote controlled monster trucks driving through beer can obstacles courses. The Bay Area is known as a hotbed of innovation and entrepreneurship. And it is. But a little known fact is that San Francisco can also be one of the most challenging places in America to start up a small business. During this interview, I reference a 2012 New York Times story about the two years of red tape, hurdles, NIMBYism and obstacles the founders of the Cole Valley Ice Cream Bar faced to open their business. When you're ready to have bureaucracy totally melt your brain, go read it here. Since that story dropped in 2012, with tech booming and with rising rents making it more and more difficult to staff service industry jobs, it has only gotten harder to start and operate a small business in San Francisco. In 2015, Regan and her partner Sarah Fenson opened Local Brewing Co., a brewery and beer bar in the heart of San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood not far from the ballpark. If you guessed it wasn't easy, you would be correct. It takes more than passion and a good idea to build a business that lasts. In this episode, we explore Regan's experience of walking away from an awesome job working for Mercedes Benz R&D as an intrapreneuer to start-up Local Brewing Co. and much more. Regan holds degrees in physics and oceanography and a brewing certificate through Seibel Institute of Technology World Brewing Academy. Learn more about Local at localbrewingco.com, follow them on instagram @localbrewingco and if you get a chance, stop by to grab a beer at 69 Bluxome Street in the heart of SOMA. If you enjoy this episode, please share it with a pal and take a second to subscribe and rate the show on iTunes or wherever you listen. Thanks to everyone out there who has dropped me a line and you can get in touch with me @hardwaypod on insta and twitter or via email at [email protected].

You are what you overcome. Choose the Hard Way.