Edelstein - The Patron way : from fantasty to fortune, lessons on taking any business from idea to iconic brand

Copyright 2013 by Ilana Edelstein. All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the United States Copyright Act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

ISBN: 978-0-07-181765-3
MHID: 0-07-181765-4

The material in this eBook also appears in the print version of this title: ISBN: 978-0-07-181764-6, MHID: 0-07-181764-6.

All trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners. Rather than put a trademark symbol after every occurrence of a trademarked name, we use names in an editorial fashion only, and to the benefit of the trademark owner, with no intention of infringement of the trademark. Where such designations appear in this book, they have been printed with initial caps.

McGraw-Hill Education eBooks are available at special quantity discounts to use as premiums and sales promotions, or for use in corporate training programs. To contact a representative please e-mail us at bulksales@mcgraw-hill.com.

THIS BOOK SOLELY REFLECTS THE RECOLLECTIONS AND OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR, AND THE AUTHOR IS SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR WHETHER ITS CONTENTS ARE ACCURATE AND TRUE. THE PATRN WAY IS NOT AFFILIATED WITH, AUTHORIZED BY, OR ENDORSED BY THE PATRN SPIRITS COMPANY OR ANY OF ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, OR EMPLOYEES.

NEITHER THE ESTATE OF MARTIN CROWLEY NOR WINDSONG TRUST HAS CONTRIBUTED IN ANY WAY TO THE WRITING OF THIS BOOK AND DOES NOT AUTHORIZE OR ENDORSE ITS CONTENTS. NEITHER THE ESTATE OF MARTIN CROWLEY NOR WINDSONG TRUST REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THE ACCURACY OR TRUTH OF THE STATEMENTS, CONVERSATIONS, OR DEPICTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN.

TERMS OF USE

This is a copyrighted work and McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors reserve all rights in and to the work. Use of this work is subject to these terms. Except as permitted under the Copyright Act of 1976 and the right to store and retrieve one copy of the work, you may not decompile, disassemble, reverse engineer, reproduce, modify, create derivative works based upon, transmit, distribute, disseminate, sell, publish or sublicense the work or any part of it without McGraw-Hill Educations prior consent. You may use the work for your own noncommercial and personal use; any other use of the work is strictly prohibited. Your right to use the work may be terminated if you fail to comply with these terms.

THE WORK IS PROVIDED AS IS. McGRAW-HILL EDUCATION AND ITS LICENSORS MAKE NO GUARANTEES OR WARRANTIES AS TO THE ACCURACY, ADEQUACY OR COMPLETENESS OF OR RESULTS TO BE OBTAINED FROM USING THE WORK, INCLUDING ANY INFORMATION THAT CAN BE ACCESSED THROUGH THE WORK VIA HYPERLINK OR OTHERWISE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. McGraw-Hill Education and its licensors do not warrant or guarantee that the functions contained in the work will meet your requirements or that its operation will be uninterrupted or error free. Neither McGraw-Hill Education nor its licensors shall be liable to you or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error or omission, regardless of cause, in the work or for any damages resulting therefrom. McGraw-Hill Education has no responsibility for the content of any information accessed through the work. Under no circumstances shall McGraw-Hill Education and/or its licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, consequential or similar damages that result from the use of or inability to use the work, even if any of them has been advised of the possibility of such damages. This limitation of liability shall apply to any claim or cause whatsoever whether such claim or cause arises in contract, tort or otherwise.

Dedicated to:
Anyone who doesnt have a dream of their own:
follow the one you love and experience
a joyful personal metamorphosis as you help fulfill
his or her passion. Its an extraordinary leap of faith that
could result in the journey of a lifetime.
Youll never know unless you jump in with both feet.

Contents

Foreword

P ATRN HAS ACHIEVED iconic status as a brand, with its own celebrated culture and millions of loyal fans in more than 100 different countries. Everyone knows it by name and by its distinctively designed bottle with the worlds very best tequila inside. Patrn has been featured in almost 200 hip-hop, rap, country, and pop songs, and is universally celebrated as a symbol of the finest that life has to offer. But until now, some of the story of how it came to be has never been told. Anyone who has ever tried Patrn tequila will be fascinated to learn some of the love, adventure, and turmoil that went into the early creation of this singular spirit. Some even surprised me.

I first met Ilana in 1989, the same year I started Patrn with her life partner, Martin Crowley. Not only did she possess an immense personal charm and beauty, she clearly had a powerful combination of business savvy and creativity. Ilana was already successful in her own business, and her quiet confidence and intelligence added a level of class, sophistication, and credibility to many things in Martins life.

Ilana was there day and night for so many aspects of this incredible adventure, whether it was creating a celebrity rodeo event that people are talking about to this day, or orchestrating the most unique party the Santa Monica Air Museum has ever seen. Living and breathing the Patrn dream together with Martin, she was so much a part of the Patrn story. Seeing Martin and Ilana in their element together, some might think they could be Mr. and Mrs. Patrn. Even the way this couple played together was very unique.

Ever the incredible hostess, Ilana came to symbolize the generosity of spirit that is the Patrn lifestyle. Martin and Ilana lived to make every moment memorable. Their home was beautifully decorated, where no detail was too small for their attention, from the party invitations to the exquisitely handblown glasses that served up the vintage wine and tequila.

Their parties were legendary. I should know. My wife, Eloise, and I attended many. We graciously excused ourselves by the time things got too wild, but we always took away with us a feel-good buzz from the amazing food and stimulating conversation, which we enjoyed with Patrn. And we always woke up the next morning feeling great, with the happiest of memories. I will leave it to Ilana to tell you some of the stories about what happened after we left.

Patrn redefined the way people drink tequila. We created a connoisseurs ultrapremium brand in a category where none existed before. It was never about unhealthy excess. It was about celebration. Some of the way Ilana and Martin entertained made you love life and feel more connected to the world. It brought out the best in all of us.

We all contributed in developing and introducing Patrn to the world. Created in Mexico, then headquartered in the Caribbean, and made a world brand, together Martin and I took the business to a level we never imagined possible in those early days. Martin was the creative genius behind Patrn the product and its unique presentation. But, together, Martin and Ilana were part of Patrns early beating heart.

Ilana did so much for Patrn behind the scenes, from the nuts and bolts of setting up operations in the early days to the creative flourishes of designing the Patrn Girls costumes; from conceiving major promotional events to training staff and personally answering every e-mail from our customers. She had a way of taking the edge off Martin, enabling him to present his best self. Whether meeting with factory owners or with world leaders with Martin, Ilana was our brands constant ambassador. Everyone recognized her, and the life she lived was emblematic of Patrn.