In this episode of Be Anomalous, I sit down with Alix Peabody, founder of Bev, the trailblazing canned wine brand that rewired the vibes of drinking culture with a women-forward lens. Alix’s road was anything but straight: eldest of five in a tiny NYC apartment → four high schools across three countries → Bridgewater bootcamp → a cold move to SF with no plan → egg-freezing fundraisers that turned into a movement → USC film school detour → and finally, building Bev as a brand with a story, not just a SKU.
We get into what it really means to build in a male-dominated industry, how to fundraise when you’re hearing “no” 200 times, and why founders need to separate their identity from the deal. Alix opens up about exiting her company, the whiplash of going from “phone on fire” to silence, and the work it takes to rebuild your nervous system, your routines, and your sense of self.
This episode is about owning your edge, embracing seasonality in ambition, and learning to shift from fight-or-flight to founder-for-life.
If you’ve ever wondered whether conviction and self-care can coexist, Alix is your reminder: be bold, be prepared, and don’t burn the engine you’re driving.
🎧 Listen to the episode
Spotify | Apple Podcasts
What You’ll Learn
How Alix went from Bridgewater to brand-builder—and why the “learn how to think” years mattered more than any playbook
The origin story of Bev: from egg-freezing fundraisers to a brand reshaping party culture
Fundraising in a “vice clause” industry and the mindset shift that unlocked investor conversations
Navigating a bro-heavy alcohol ecosystem—and why audience awareness is a superpower in every room
Brand before product: naming “Bev,” colors from a bedroom wall, and building a story without an agency
Why did she choose exit over endless optimization (builder vs. refiner)
Post-exit identity: rebuilding sleep, structure, and sovereignty
Tactics for first-time founders: routines, advisors, and how to join the ecosystem without losing yourself
Favorite Quote
“Luck falls on the shoulders of those prepared to receive it.”
— Alix’s grandfather
Favorite Book
📖 The Surrender Experiment by Michael A. Singer
In This Episode, We Cover:
(00:00) Meet Alix: eldest of five, global teen years, languages, and early signals of leadership
(03:00) Four high schools, three countries: learning to connect beyond language
(05:00) Bridgewater years: radical candor, strengths/weaknesses, and work ethic as a weapon
(06:30) SF leap of faith: executive headhunting as a hack to meet a city
(07:00) Health scare → egg-freezing fundraisers → realizing story can live inside a brand
(08:00) Choosing alcohol to talk about drinking culture—and the reality of a complex industry
(09:30) “I ate rejection for breakfast”: 200 investor meetings, vice clauses, and staying in the game
(11:30) Fundraising as dealmaking: detach identity, speak in terms, and lead with potential
(13:30) Selling, always: investors, distributors, recruiting—know your audience and your goal
(15:00) Why the “why” mattered: team, mission, and being among the first female-led wine exits
(17:00) Hiring by gut + recruiting muscle: placing the right people at the right stage
(19:00) CEO’s three jobs: capitalize, cast vision, recruit—everything else is leverage
(22:00) Conviction vs. delusion: humility, advisors, and using naiveté as an edge
(23:00) Building the Bev brand: name logic, color origins, and doing it in-house
(24:30) When a brand becomes an operation: margins, field teams, and why she chose to exit
(27:30) After the exit: quiet phones, identity uncoupling, and letting your “kid” go to college
(30:00) Burnout lessons: sleep, sunlight, meditation, and re-training the nervous system
(32:00) Leadership and loneliness: the difference between workload and risk load
(36:00) Hard conversations with people you love: when companies outgrow roles
(40:00) Could she work for someone else? Builder energy, zero-to-one, and future chapters
(42:00) Turning it off: how boundaries become strategy
(43:00) Advice for starters: there’s no perfect time; lock your routines before lift-off; join the ecosystem
Where to Find Alix Peabody
Referenced in This Episode
The Surrender Experiment — Michael A. Singer
Principles & Bridgewater culture (radical candor)
USC School of Cinematic Arts (screenwriting/production)
Bumble, Glossier, Outdoor Voices (brand-as-story era touchpoints)
Be bold. Be real. Be anomalous.
