Talonmore Drinks Company, Dundee Flagship Accelerator

In early 2020, Lewis Kennedy was in the early stages of developing a secret non-alcoholic drinks recipe to replicate the experience of drinking a dark spirit such as whisky, rum, cognac, or tequila reposado. 

Graduating with a degree in product design, Lewis was confident in tackling product development and customer-facing head-on, but lacked knowledge in business areas such as finances, business plans and company structure. 

As the trend of non-alcoholic spirits grew, Lewis needed a strategy for launching into a busy market; he needed support to create a solid business foundation that he could grow his company on. In June 2020, Lewis joined Elevator’s Dundee Flagship Accelerator to turn his concept into a tangible business.   

Providing the base layer for Talonmore Drinks, our 12-week programme taught Lewis about the fundamentals of business success, such as customer validation is key and that everything in the business is always developing. The nature of the programme also meant that he was surround by like-minded, young entrepreneurs who shared the same drive to better their business knowledge and companies.  

Commenting on his experience, he said: “I had heard a lot of positive reviews about Elevator’s Accelerators from previous alumni; however, I was curious to find out how a general course could aid multiple businesses with vastly different products and services.  

“I feel like the programme covered all of the essential bases - and more. Having the support network of the Accelerator Managers, guest speakers and agitators allowed Talonmore to develop efficiently with complete confidence in our decisions.  

“Being the managing director of a start-up requires a lot of different hats to be worn. My experience has given me the self-confidence to lead business conversations with industry professionals and hold my own. Some of the main takeaways are kept at the forefront of Talonmore today.”  

Since the programme, Lewis and his team have produced 250x 100ml sample bottles of Talonmore to gain customer validation, determine the best price for the market and to help establish the best route to market.  

With 91% of survey responses saying they would drink Talonmore again, Lewis has secured funding which has enabled Talonmore Drinks to commence full production with bottles now available. 

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