Credit: BonAffair.com
It’s hard for anyone to take an idea and turn it into a thriving business. And if your business is a new product in a male-dominated industry, it can be even harder. No one knows that better than Jayla Siciliano, creator of Bon Affair.
Bon Affair is an absolutely delicious premium wine spritzer that has half the calories of regular wine, zero sugar, and none of the “fake stuff.” When creating the product, Jayla even added electrolytes because she figured, “Hey, why not?” And it comes in a bottle so beautiful that if you serve Bon Affair at a party, you'll find yourself designing your entire table around it. Currently available in red (syrah) and white (sauvignon blanc), the company is launching a rosé in 2015.
I asked Jayla to share the story of her business, what it was like to go on Shark Tank, and how being a woman actually helps her in a male-dominated industry.
How did you get the idea for Bon Affair?
It came out of a need. I was working for Diesel Footwear and Burton Snowboards, in product development and design. Both of those companies were big on parties and everything revolved around alcohol. I was also traveling a lot to Asia and teaching kickboxing. I’ve always been really active and healthy so at these parties, I started making wine spritzers by pouring soda water in my wine. It became a joke amongst my friends—they’d say, “There comes Jayla with her spritzers.” Then, a lot of my guy friends started to ask me for spritzers because they didn’t want to drink beer. That’s when I realized there was a market for a more sophisticated, lighter wine option.
How did you turn the idea into a business?
I quit my job and I thought I would have it off the ground in a year. I started researching the industry and cold calling wine makers. I went through all my savings and realized I had to raise money to get the business off the ground. I ended up pitching investors for about a year and a half, raising half a million dollars. At the same time, I went back to school for my MBA to get more of a foundation on finances and business.
Did being a woman make it more difficult, especially when trying to pitch investors?
I think that being a woman makes you stand out. People are intrigued when you get up there to pitch your product. I don’t think of being a woman as a disadvantage. It’s more about being resourceful and what kind of person you are. There are always obstacles. At different times, I’ve felt there were disadvantages to being a woman, but overall it’s not.
What is it like being a woman in the wine industry?
The liquor industry is very male-dominated. Many times I said, “If I were making a whisky with electrolytes, I would have had funding a lot sooner.” It’s old boys club. People are set in their ways. From that perspective—more so than being a woman—it was hard being an outsider with a new type of product.
What advice do you have for women or anyone who wants to start their own business?
The words I live by are “patience and persistence.” So often we read about success stories, and it makes you feel like things are going to happen really quickly. Chances are its going to take longer, cost more money and you’ll have to make more sacrifices than you had anticipated, so you have to be really passionate about what you are doing. You also have to be crazy persistent. I was rejected by Whole Foods twice before Bon Affair was accepted, so you can’t take no for answer, you just have to keep plowing ahead.
What was it like going on Shark Tank? Any secrets you can spill?
You never know if you are going to get in front of the sharks or if it’s going to air. When I went in, I was there for about an hour, but it was edited down to ten minutes.
One thing people don’t realize is that all the sharks are firing questions at you all at the same time. You don’t know who to answer. You also can’t tell how intense the questions are from television. There’s no way to really prepare for that either.
The hardest part of all was getting a deal with Mark Cuban and not being able to tell anyone about it. It was eight months from when I filmed the show to airing. Friends and family were asking about my business and I couldn’t even hint that I was on Shark Tank or about my deal with Mark Cuban.
What has it been like working with him?
It’s been awesome. He’s been way more involved than I ever expected. I really feel he is a great guy and in it for the right reason: to help entrepreneurs. He’s been involved down to customer service, new products, distribution and helping finance inventory. He has a team of eight people that are dedicated to the Shark Tank investments. It’s been unbelievable and so worth the 35% I sold to him.
