What if a good beer could arrive at your door like a pizza? According to the Brewers Association, the craft brewing industry contributed $67.8 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016. That is a lot of beer. Minnesota alone has about 110 craft breweries and they appear to be growing at a steady rate.

This increase in beer selection is changing the consumer palate, however the ability to access those craft beers is not always the most convenient. Isaac Tut and his college roommate thought this presented an opportunity. What if instead of running to the taproom they ran for you? Thus was born “Running Tap” — the first craft beer delivery service providing a selection of beer straight from the barrel to your living room.

COMPANY PROFILE

Name of company: Running Tap

Website: www.running-tap.com

Business Start Date: June 2017

Number of Employees: 10

Number of Customers: 500-600

ENTREPRENEUR PROFILE

Name: Isaac Tut

Age: 28

City you live in: Minneapolis

City of birth: Akobo, South Sudan

High school attended: Northfield High School

College attended: St. Olaf College and University of Minnesota

Q&A

Q. What led to this point?

A. I was born in South Sudan, a region that had been engulfed in war for about 60 years. I lived in a refugee camp in Ethiopia until I was 11 years old. In 1999, my family and I got accepted by the UNHCR, the United Nations High Commission on Refugees, and gave us leave and status to enter the U.S. We were really lucky because only 1 percent of families in refugee camps ever get relocated. After being relocated to Austin, Texas, close family friends from Minnesota drove all the way down to pick us up and bring us to Minnesota to live.

After years of assimilating into the American culture, I learned English and excelled in school, landing me the opportunity to play soccer and run track at St. Olaf College, while doing my studies. Once done with my undergraduate degree in physics and mathematics, I continued my education at the University of Minnesota and later graduated in Aerospace Engineering.

I worked at Seagate Technology as an application and design engineer for about two years and decided to quit in 2016 in pursuit of a startup company with an old college buddy. After six long months of legal research, market development, and working with (state alcohol authorities) on the business plan and getting approval, Running Tap officially began to operate and deliver craft beer to customers roughly seven months ago. We are super excited with the results we have seen so far, and the customers are more than delighted to hear that they can order craft beer at the convenience of their home or office. The service can be thought of as a consolidation of the brewery experience into one delivery at the customer’s discretion. Related Articles Real World Economics: Presidents have much less power over economy than people think

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Q. What is your business?

A. Running Tap is Minnesota’s first taproom delivery startup that aims to be more than an online liquor store, they aim to be the place for those looking to get good beer and get it at the leisure of their comfort place. Place your order online and our delivery team will pick it up fresh from the taproom and bring it to your door.

Q. Where do you go for help when you need it?

A. We are a small team of five people, plus the driving team. We talk amongst ourselves for solutions, and sometimes look to friends and family for help.

Q. What is the origin of the business?

A. It all started with my college buddies working late and trying to get beer delivered. Assuming it wouldn’t be much different than ordering anything else online, we were surprised at the hoops we had to jump through, and frustrated that none of our favorite local brews were available.

This set us on a journey of discovery, talking to local brewers and beer experts, learning about the laws that regulated the sale of beer, and wondering if there was a smarter way to buy better beer.

Six long months later, Running Tap was born, Minnesota’s first taproom delivery service.

Q. What problems does your business solve?

A. Running tap is not only able to deliver to those that do not have the time or access to getting beer from their favorite taprooms, but are also able to provide customers with some of the best selections of beers, carefully picked by beer experts.

Q. Where did you pivot in your company’s journey? What big obstacle or hurdle did you have to overcome?

A. Being that this service is a new concept to most people, we found that customers have a difficult time believing the authenticity of the service, people saw the ads for our service online and thought we were fake or a scam. Another obstacle that we overcame was pivoting on who our target customer was. We first thought our core target customer was the middle aged father (35-50 year olds) in the suburbs, and later found out the hard way that this was not entirely true. It became clear that our target customer was the older millennials, as they overcame the majority of people to show more interest in the service and those that used this service the beer the most. This means that we had to tweak our company image and pivot as to how we convince the average craft drinker that there is a bigger value in using Running Tap than buying from liquor stores.

Q. What personal strengths or skill sets do you bring to the business?

A. As an engineer, I was able to code in different computer program languages. I also worked as a part of a small and new department inside a Fortune 500 company (Seagate). There I managed the technical aspects of all issues coming back to the key accounts in the department. I also worked as the bridge between our OEM customers and internal design engineers to drive customer requirements into different products. These skills have helped me manage the much needed uncertainty that comes with the development of any new concept such as the service that we offer at Running Tap.

Q. What are you most proud of?

A. The one thing that we are most proud of is the way we have fallen into the roles necessary for this business to operate and progress. It seemed like an impossible task for three people to start a business and be accomplished in the many jobs required by it. We had to be strategic thinkers, the sales team, the technology development team, the logistics team and the drivers. Things are just starting to get easier as we have started to hire more people into the different roles.

Q. How are you funding your business — organically, angel or VC investments?

A. Angel investors

Q. What would be success for your business in the next 2-3 years?

A. Success would mean that we are able to reach a customer base that allows us to break even.

Q. In your opinion, what does it take to be a great entrepreneur?

A. A great entrepreneur needs to carry many hats, so they need to be someone who is able to manage not just different people but different situations. However the most important is to be an open minded person, as your need to try different things to find the one thing that can make things work.

Q. Why do you do what you do? What is your “why,” your purpose?

A. Our reason for starting this business is simple, we wanted to share what we had experienced when this was just an idea. It’s amazing to think that the majority of people in Minnesota don’t know the fabulous selection of beer made right in their back yards. We want to provide a way for people to drink better beers in Minnesota and have it delivered to the place that they feel comfortable drinking it. Related Articles Inspectors checked MN bars and restaurants for COVID compliance. Just over half were OK.

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Q. How did 1 Million Cups St. Paul help you? Did you get valuable feedback? Did you get connected to resources? Did you pivot because of the experience?

A. After going through the 1 million cups experience, it gave us a sense of being on the right track from feedback we got from the audience.

You can hear from startups like this one each Wednesday, 9-10 a.m. at the James J. Hill Center during 1 Million Cups St. Paul. The James J. Hill Center is a nonprofit in downtown St. Paul that provides access to business research, educational programming and a place to work. The Hill is open to the public 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday-Thursday. To keep updated on what startup is presenting next or to apply to present, visit www.JJHill.org.