The Pandora of Wine

iinnovate interviews Alyssa Rapp,  the Founder and CEO of Bottlenotes, an online wine retail business that helps individuals discover and learn about wine.

Her goal is to become the Pandora of Wine.

Cool. Great combination: Pandora + Wine.

The interview is excellent as she talks about coming to Stanford Business School, wanting to be an entrepreneur, thinking it might be in Asia...and then the journey to becoming Founder and CEO of Bottlenotes.

3 KEYS:

Opportunity: The opportunity for Bottlenote was in the economically inefficient model, with its layers of pricing, with wineries > importers>retailers (stores, restaurants,etc). Bottlenote is a direct-to-consumer model for quality wine sales.

Technology: The technology part of her business is the algorithm she created to determine the best wine for a consumer's taste, called a personal taste profile. Like Pandora, the algorithm learns and improves its recommendations based on the feedback the consumer shares.

People: She's a big believer that those who are smart and successful want to leverage their talent and experience to help others who have the same drive...

3 BIGGEST LESSONS:

* Being undercapitalized sucks.

Find the right venture partner who's willing to step off the cliff with you.

* Being CEO and being Founder are dyametrically opposed.

* Having smart people who really care, and believe in what you're doing, can have impact if you give them the right to take ownership.

Product Tip: New Zealand's Marlboro region is breathtaking and delicious and in particular, its Hawks' Bay region.