Weaver said she took funding only from individual investors, not from venture-capital or private-equity firms. Her strategy was to form a network of people who would naturally expand her brand with her, as they used her product in their daily lives.
Many of her investors golf or rack up large bills at fine restaurants, so when they request Uncle Nearest whiskey, their continued patronage incentivizes the owners at those establishments to stock it, she said. Additionally, the brand was sold at some of the top golf courses in Pebble Beach, California, and Augusta, Georgia, prestigious golf areas, early in the company's history, she said.