“It was a lot harder without the power of Diageo behind me” – Ami-Lynn Bakshi, co-founder of Cafe Agave & former Diageo executive

Last year, Ami-Lynn Bakshi launched one of the first alcoholic cold-brew coffee RTDs in the US, the 12.5%-abv Cafe Agave Spiked Cold Brew. Before helping to pioneer the hard coffee category, she spent 20 years working for Diageo in a number of roles around the world, including North American innovations head and American whiskey marketing director. Here, Bakshi tells just-drinks what she learned from her time with the spirits multinational and how those lessons are informing her new career as a beverage entrepreneur.