Aaron Paul is a master of the arts that we all know very well. His award winning talent didn’t go unnoticed by the Hollywood spotlight and today he is known worldwide for his amazing acting abilities.
But what about Aaron Paul entrepreneur? The business mastermind? How did this unexpected evolution that has seen him become a part of the business world, come about exactly?
Co-workers, friends and now business partners
In 2008 Aaron Paul and Bryan Cranston were brought together to become the protagonists of the now acclaimed TV series Breaking Bad. That experience for them, where they spent days, weeks, months coexistencing on set, with the complicity of the work that saw them both excel in the best ways possible, also propelled them to becoming best friends as a result.
Aaron Paul
After seven years of working together, we became best friends and decided it was time to produce something new
In 2019 Aaron and Bryan announced that they were working together again, this time as partners in a craft beverage company specializing in mezcal, and the friends launched “Dos Hombres” on the market.
The original idea came from AP in 2016, who presented the idea to Bryan initially as they sat eating in a Sushi restuarant in New York. It was purely as a means of working together again, deciding it was still a little too soon to share a screen again. AP then believed he received a ‘signal’ from a friend, who had suggested that he consider an opportunity in the liquor market. That prompt led to AP being sure that he had to give this mezcal idea a go, a drink he had recently discovered for himself.
We’ve already heard this origin story in several interviews carried out by the boys of how the Dos Hombres brand came into being, but it’s always good to remember, and I never get tired of hearing this:
We were at his [Cranston’s] house in New York when I presented the idea for the business and we decided to walk through the streets to talk more calmly.
We got excited and went to a bar of a friend of mine. When we arrived, we ordered a mezcal drink and the first thing my friend told us was: ‘Aaron, you should start a liquor company!’ To this day I can’t believe it actually happened. So at that time I knew I had to do it.
Aaron Paul
Finding the one aka not just another celebrity endorsement
So much is written about the ‘celebrity’ endorsement, and much is assumed – quite rightly, about just how much a celebrity might be involved in something they put their names too.
It’s important to know that is not the case, and it is well documented that this was something both Aaron and Bryan had strong opinions on when they first ventured out as business partners. They personally headed into Mexico to uncover ‘the one’ mezcal that they both could enjoy, with their varied tastes, and ultimately grow into the business they wanted.
We don’t want to just slap our names on something and let other people do the work. This is our baby, and we’re incredibly proud of our baby.
Aaron Paul, October 2022
It’s been said along the way, with so many tastings and one bout of sickness from one tasting for Aaron, it seemed they wouldn’t find the one. However, just as they were about to leave one region they were summoned back, and they trusted someone enough to cross a river, and it was at this small, and very traditional family run distillery ilocated in Oaxaca, Mexico, that Dos Hombres ultimately became a reality for the two.
But first they had to be accepted by the family, Aaron and Bryan had to pass the test and sit with the family for food. They passed seemingly with flying colours, and the maestro behind the one mezcal that would become Dos Hombres, a third-generation mezcalero is Gregorio Velasco Luis naturally accepted Aaron and Bryan’s big idea.
A lesson in business
The first step for Aaron to achieve success, along with his new business partner Bryan, was admitting that they didn’t understand much about the business. Aaron however was a natural and quickly got to work. Taking the product and physically pounding the streets to get the bottles onto the shelves, talking to businesses and getting as many people on board as possible in those early days.
They launched the Dos Hombres brand on their social platforms, talked about the process and took part in live streams, making themselves available to keep promoting. The pandemic hit just months after the officail launch and Aaron quickly adapted plans to work online, with one memorable online chat with Bryan who inadvertently (or maybe purposely) woke Aaron up causing him to answer an instagram live request from his bed, in a still darkened room!
Aaron and Bryan literally built the company from the ground up, and didn’t squander the chances that came their way. Aaron has spoken about wanting to pitch the idea to a California beverage company, he called for two weeks trying to schedule a meeting, and when it finally happened they jumped at the opportunity to meet. The persistance paid off, and he never gave up.
In 2022, Constellation Brands, a leading beverage company, acquired a minority stake in Dos Hombres Mezcal for an undisclosed fee, such is the success of the brand so far and it’s fast becoming the number one mezcal on the market.
Aaron and Bryan have turned their shared passion for mezcal into a truly unique brand and have created an exceptional liquid that recieves fequent praise from both the industry and it’s consumers
Jennifer Evans, Vice President of Constellation Ventures, 2022
Both Aaron and Bryan remain at the forefront of the business. In the early summer of 2022 they were out on the road promoting, 17 hour days, to get Dos Hombres out there into the public eye and Aaron has said they will continue to do that for as long as it’s needed.
They always seem to enjoy what they are doing, and appear to be involved in every step of the business.
It takes strength to be rejected and stay excited about the business. And we’re not going to stop until people think of mezcal and remember Dos Hombres.
Bryan Cranston
We are passionate about the business. We are in every decision and present at every meeting. From the beginning, this has been our spirit.
Aaron Paul
Success from hard work, well earned
In our view, watching as we have from afar, Aaron Paul has shown himself to be a very savvy and wise business star. It’s no mean feat to start up a business in a field where you have no previous experience, and a world as competitive as the drink industry.
This could have just been another celebrity endorsement, but it’s clear to us that this has already been a little bit different to the rest. Aaron is a visionary entrepreneur, allowing for creativity, and simply creating a better product than the competition.
Let’s face is our golden boys sure know how to do this like no one else. Together they have brought a marketing model that I have never seen before anywhere, they go from founders of a top growing company, then appear in person, almost like door to door salespeople literally serving to the people in bars and branches of Costco, to even teaching the world how to make the cocktails that enhance their amazing product.
They draw huge, huge crowds wherever they go, lavish hysteria and cheers from their fans and even find time to do the best possible advertisement for their product: MEZCAL DOS HOMBRES!
And so in conclusion, Aaron shows that in addition to being a fantastic actor, he is also an entrepreneur with vision, cultivating a deep relationship with his business partner, and with the market, with consumers and this is clearly reflected in the end business results.
In our show [Breaking Bad] we have a mentor-mentee relationship. But Aaron’s the guy who’s really the brains of the [Dos Hombres] output. He started it all. It was his idea. He knows more about business than I do. Someone has to be the cover girl, and that’s me.
Bryan Cranston, Esquire Magazine – Jan 2022
