By Jordan Parker W hen speaking with Taylor we find out that his distilling equipment business, Still- Dragon North America, was first built based on curiosity and Taylor’s keen observation that affordable equipment options were lacking for the growing craft distilling industry. In 2009, while Taylor was learning about distilling and fermentation, he was originally motivated by a need to learn how to make bio-diesel after hearing about a few guys running diesel pickups powered by bio-diesel that was created from harvested seaweed, and knowing what he was spending on gas to fill his tank, thought that this could be a potential business. However, it did not take long for Taylor to find out that his seaweed harvesting bio-diesel venture wasn’t viable, as it would take him more than a week to produce enough for one tank of fuel, meaning the numbers would not come together to keep his truck on the road let alone drive a profitable business.
preneur is a new opportunity and that is exactly what happened with Taylor. After he visited a distilling site his fascination with distilling grew. Taylor started out as a participant in the under- ground hobby distilling community, but it did not take long for him to see the increasing interest in craft distilling industry following the tremendous growth of both the wine and craft beer industry and saw opportunity. “I figured if I made parts that could help with the processing systems, I could make money. So, a website was created, a few items were sold, and we soon found ourselves sold out.” “I figured if I made parts that could help with the processing systems, I could make money. So, a website was created, a few items were sold, and we soon found ourselves sold out,” said Taylor. Business was growing, as manufacturing small quantities became larger and larger, with now up to 4,000 of the same items put into production at
But as they say with every failure for an entre-
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MARCH 2019 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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