The accelerator founder-led drinks brands wanted to be part of.
Nine years building the brand, marketing, and comms engine at Diageo-backed DV. From Brand Manager to Director. Over £320M invested across 35+ founder-led brands.
When I joined DV in 2016, it was a Diageo-backed idea more than a brand. A thesis that the next wave of drinks innovation would come from founders, not corporations. But no visual identity, no voice, no platform, no funnel.
My remit was everything outside the investment decisions. How the market understood DV. How founders found it. Why they trusted it enough to pitch.
Four disciplines running as one system. Positioning gave content a POV. Content gave press a reason to call. Press gave the funnel credibility. The funnel gave positioning the evidence it needed.
The hardest move was treating DV's own brand with the same rigour we asked founders to bring to theirs. Clear category POV. Distinctive voice. Identity that didn't look like corporate venture. Channels built to compound, not churn.
The best drinks brands don't wait to be discovered. They define their positioning, lean on expertise, and pull people in. The same pattern works for the funds backing them.
Each piece worked on its own and made the others work harder. Evidence of brand-building that moved commercial outcomes, not vanity metrics.
DV didn't win by outspending anyone. It won by showing up first in research, clearest in positioning, and warmest in relationship, before a pitch email ever went out. Founders arrived pre-sold on what it stood for. Partners came because DV was where the category conversations were happening. The portfolio got a brand halo that made retail, distribution, and co-investor conversations materially easier.
That's the pattern I now bring to the drinks and CPG brands I work with, and to the funds backing them. Same craft. Different starting point.