Connect Who or what is your inspiration in business?

I’m inspired by every woman I’ve heard apologize for “not knowing about wine.” It happens all the time, and it doesn’t make sense. Some of the most confident, successful women I know still feel like they’re getting it wrong when it comes to wine. That’s what drives us. Wine should feel like something you enjoy, not something you have to study. As my sister says, you might love olives & I might hate them. The best wine is the one you like!

How do you stay motivated?

Our customers keep me motivated! We started Offline to make wine feel less intimidating & more like something you can just enjoy. The best part of my day is opening our DMs. One message said, “I finally felt confident speaking up in a meeting when wine came up.” Another was about someone bonding with her mother-in-law over our wine. These DMs keep me going on tough days. It’s a reminder that we're making real impact & helping people connect offline.

What would you do with the $25,000?

We would use the $25,000 to fund three months of a full-time salesperson & inventory to support growth. This enables us to add 36 new retail accounts, generating about $143K in incremental revenue. We'll reinvest profits into funding the sales salary ongoing. We already have demand & 400+ leads to go after. There is experienced wine sales talent that has recently been laid off from distributors, giving us the opportunity to hire someone proven and turn that into revenue immediately.