BLIB #3 - Lily Cua, COO of Aspire

For #BLIB number 3 we got together with Lily Cua.  Lily is currently COO of Aspire.  Originally from Boston, Lily made her way to D.C. to earn her degree at Georgetown.  This is where Lily first met her Aspire co-founder Neil Shah.  After graduating from Georgetown with a degree in Finance and Chinese, Lily got a job consulting for PWC.  She and Neil then went on to co-found Aspire in 2013.  Aspire is a platform that helps companies manage their workplace perks and benefits.  They assist companies with the ideation of perks, the vetting of partners who oversee the perks, the administration of the perks, and the analytics that take place around those perks.  Aspire works with companies who have 20+ employees that are looking to offer unique perks and benefits as part of their culture.  Aspire currently operates in D.C. and Boston and has five full-time employees.  Aspire has changed their model; at one point they offered companies employee discounts, similar to Y Combinator grad AnyPerk.  Aspire now focuses on setting up perks and events for other companies so that those companies can have great cultures.  Examples include Wine/Beer tastings, St. Patrick's Day Parties, Team Lunches, and Lunchtime Yoga.

The Bar:
It was a beautiful day and our goal was to find a place in Dupont Circle where we could sit outside and have a drink.  Apparently everyone else had the same goal.  We moved our meeting location from Kramer Afterwords Cafe to Bar Dupont to Ping Pong, and then finally settled on Pizzeria Paradiso.  I had been to Pizzeria Paradiso before and remembered that in addition to killer pizza, they also have a great beer list.  Lily had been to Pizzeria Paradiso before as well, but usually frequented their original location which is in Georgetown.  Pizzeria Paradiso was pretty crowded, but their beer selection did not disappoint.  They have a good mix of draft beers, bottles/cans, ciders, spirits, and wines.  One cool feature about Pizzeria Paradiso is that they post their beer menu online.  They clearly take beer seriously.  During our chat, Lily mentioned that she lives in the Chinatown neighborhood of D.C. and appreciates bars that have bar games and entertainment.  She called out Penn Social and Buffalo Billiards as being places that she frequents.  She also loves the speakeasy-style and laid back atmosphere of 2Birds, 1Stone and mentioned that Copycat on H Street has amazing cocktails. Copycat is an awesome spot, and if you have never been there before, I suggest you drop whatever you're doing and take an Uber there right now.

The Beer:
Right as we saddled up to the bar Lily made a confession to me:  She's not that into beer.  I told her there wasn't any problem with that, and that I just needed her to be a connoisseur of something. Lily told me that she likes wines, ciders and cocktails much better than beer.  She called out Barrel Oak's winery and mentioned that they have some delicious wines.  When it came time to drink, Lily decided to give Urban Farm Fermentory's Dry Hopped Cidah a try.  The Fermentory is located in Maine and Lily gave the drink a shot because she likes cider and wanted to represent her New England roots.  The cidah came in a "stubbie" bottle similar what Red Stripe comes in, it had a cool looking label on it, and someone at the Fermentory should get paid big bucks for calling it Cidah instead of Cider.  But based on Lily's facial expressions, I don't think she was crazy about the hoppiness of the Dry Hopped cider.  However, she was a good sport and managed to finish the bottle.  I went with Union Craft Brewing's Altbier with Figs (85).  It was a cask beer, which I'm occasionally in the mood for.  I usually like my beer strong and cold, and this altbier was neither.  It did have a fig-like taste to it - not too sweet and the color was perfect.  I'm not sure I'd order the beer again, but it was a good one to try.  Union Craft Brewing is just one of the breweries in Baltimore's burgeoning beer scene.  I'm a big fan of a Baltimore brewery called The Brewers Art.

The Business Leader:
Next, Lily and I talked about her role as an entrepreneur and business leader.  Aspire has five full time employees and they are looking to raise a round of financing in the near future.  They would like to use that money to double the number of full-time employees they have on staff.  When we spoke about her challenges as a business leader, Lily told me that staying focused is one of her biggest challenges.  She has so much energy and wants to do so much, that sometimes it can be hard for her to focus on just one thing.  Her advice to other entrepreneurs:  Stay focused!  Figure out what your limitations and boundaries are and then stick to them.   We also talked a little bit about trends in the workplace at which point Lily mentioned something that I completely agree with.   She said that companies with the best cultures are the ones where the leadership is engaged with their employees and willing to listen to them. She also encouraged leadership to care genuinely about their employees and take the time to figure out the best way to act upon their needs while balancing that with business needs.  Lily did say that "there's no shortcut to creating a great culture."

A huge thanks to Lily for drinking beers (and Cidah) with us and for being a part of BLIB.

#BLIB is part of an ongoing series.  For more information about Business Leaders in Bars Drinking Beers you can click here.  

BLIB #2 - RJ Bee, SVP Operations of Hattaway Communications

For our most recent #BLIB we met with RJ Bee.  RJ is SVP of Operations at Hattaway Communications.  Originally from Northern Ohio, RJ came to Washington, D.C. in 2002.  RJ met his current boss - Doug Hattaway - while they were working on political campaigns together.  RJ was hired at Hattaway as employee #3 in 2008 and since then has been instrumental in building the firm.  Hattaway Communications focuses on developing research-driven content, strategy, and campaigns for organizations that benefit people and the planet.

The Beer:
RJ's beer knowledge is formidable and his understanding of the beer landscape is vast.  He's never attempted to brew his own beer, but instead asks, "Why brew my own beer when I can just go buy my favorite six pack?"  When I asked RJ to describe his beer mastery level -- a non-existent scale that we came up with on the spot -- he called himself an "Intermediate Consumer."  He enjoys drinking IPA's and describes them as being "delicious and flavorful."  His favorite brewery in DC is DC Brau, and he has an affinity for The Public (87).  He's also a big fan of Tired Hands Brewery and Right Proper Brewing Company.  Specific beers that RJ enjoys are Session IPA's and he made a point to call out Founder's All Day IPA (87) as a good one.  He also mentioned liking 21st Amendment's Down to Earth Session IPA (86) and Lunch IPA (96) from Maine Beer Company.  And what BLIB would be complete without a discussion referencing The Alchemists' elusive and exclusive Heady Topper (100)?  When it comes to dislikes, RJ brought up Belgian beers and Wheat Beers.  RJ didn't knock any breweries when I asked him about his least favorite beer, but he did say that he thought that Ballast Point was a bit overrated.  Maybe it has something to do with Ballast Point recently being acquired by Constellation Brands?

The Bar:
RJ and I met at Smith Public Trust which is in the Brookland neighborhood of Washington, D.C. This wasn't RJ's first rodeo at SPT, as he comes here for the "serious" beer selection.  He likes SPT because it's big and open, a place where he can let his kid run around and make a lot of noise, and because there's not a single "pedestrian" beer on their draught menu.  He described the food as "good and interesting."  RJ recommended a backup spot of Brookland Pint, which is located down the street and has close to 30 beers on tap.  While at SPT, we managed to quaff tulip glasses of Bells Hopslam (98).  For those who aren't familiar with Hopslam and the buzz around it, they can read more about the legendary beer on Popville's site.  For round two, I had a Ommegang Witte (85) - which RJ wanted no part of - and RJ drank a Sierra Nevada Hop Hunter (90).

The Business Leader:
Next, RJ and I delved into challenges that he sees in the business world and in his own business. One of the challenges that RJ brought up was related to managing growth within organizations.  Specifically, RJ mentioned having to reevaluate and re-calibrate every time you hire 4/5 new people.  The new training, orientation, education can be daunting -- not to mention existing employees getting used to new employees (and vice versa).  Hattaway Communications has about two dozen employees right now and they expect to continue to grow, so RJ will have his work cut out for him.  RJ also talked about "enforcing" a culture, while at the same time admitting that "enforcing" is such a weird word to use.  He feels that culture has to be natural and that there has to be a balance between creating standards and allowing employees to be individuals.  When I asked RJ what he thought was most important to growing as a business leader, he mentioned "letting go" and realizing that there are many ways to get from point A to Point B.  Embracing that concept when it comes to employees and culture is something that RJ feels is important.

A huge thanks to RJ for drinking beers with us and being a part of BLIB.

#BLIB is part of an ongoing series.  For more information about Business Leaders in Bars Drinking Beers you can click here.  

BLIB #1 - Tim Spell, CEO of OpenWater

For our first #BLIB we met with Tim Spell.  Tim is the CEO of OpenWater, a provider of cloud-based awards software.  Tim and his co-founder, Kunal Johar, originally started OpenWater as web design and development company in 2009.  They have since morphed into one of the most prominent awards software (SaaS) companies in the awards industry.  You might be asking yourself, what is awards software? Tim tells us that the most obvious and recognizable example would be the Oscars or the Emmys.  But in addition to these huge awards programs, many companies and groups issue their own awards. And in order to mange the application submission and award issuance process they use OpenWater's software platform.  Tim tells us that OpenWater is a term that rowers use to explain a full distance (of OpenWater) between their boat and their competitor's boat.  He explains that it's also a philosophy of never giving up and continuing to beat a competitor even after it's clear that you're winning.

The Beer:
Tim and I started off with some relatively basic draught beers.  Nothing too complex - Tim ordered a Peak Organic IPA (83) and I grabbed a Smuttynose Old Brown Dog (88).  Tim began by telling me that his favorite brewery is Stone Brewing.  He likes Stone because they offer unbelievable tours and they're located in San Diego (and what's not to love about San Diego!?!)  We then talked about Tim's favorite type of beers:  IPA's - because they're flavorful; and his least favorite type of beers:  wheat beers - because they're too light and fruity.  Tim explained that he likes a good Belgian/Trappist beer every once in a while too.  But it wasn't long into our discussion until Tim started releasing his booze secrets.  Tim is actually a bigger fan of red wine than he is of beer.  His favorite red wine is  made by a Washington winery by the name of 14 hands.  He also likes the Jordan Winery's Cabernet.

The Bar:
Tim and I met at BarCode which is located on 17th and L street in Washington, D.C. Tim frequents BarCode because it's close to the OpenWater offices and because there is outside seating available. Our bartender was busy but nice, and the ambiance - while a bit upscale for beer drinkers - was friendly and inviting.  We went during happy hour and I couldn't believe that our beers ran $3 a piece.  I don't think that beer gets any cheaper than that in Downtown D.C./Farragut North.  When discussing bars and restaurants, I learned that Tim's favorite bar is 51st State Tavern on L Street near Foggy Bottom.  Tim recommends going there for the "local bar" feel and for the beer and wings.  Maybe we'll do our next BLIB there!  

The Business Leader:
Next up, Tim and I discussed his role as a business leader.  He explained that his philosophy is to make sure that the company is constantly growing, cranking out new features, and that the organization is never letting up.  He does this by hiring competitive people who are relatively junior and then training them on OpenWater's software and sales strategy.  He has found that salespeople who have sold in the past can be challenging because often times they come with bad sales habits.  One interesting cultural element of OpenWater's sales team is that they take an annual trip each year to a location outside of D.C.  As part of the trip Tim requires each of his salespeople to book two appointments in the trip location prior to the team arriving there for their trip.  It's a way to expand business while also engaging sales employees prior to an exciting trip.  OpenWater has about 12 full-time employees right now, and at least that many contractors who work with the company.  Anyone interested in applying for a job with OpenWater can click here.

A huge thanks to Tim for drinking beers with us and being a part of BLIB

#BLIB is part of an ongoing series.  For more information about Business Leaders in Bars Drinking Beers you can click here.