Exclusive SACC-LA Interview with Karl Petersson founder and CEO of Amroth LLC

1. Have you always wanted to start your own business?
No, I can’t say that starting my own business was something I always knew I wanted to do, but ever since we started Navetti back in Sweden, I’ve always been drawn back to starting my own company again.

2. What is the most challenging part about being an entrepreneur?
Building a company is a journey and one challenging thing is that in the early stages it’s so much about you, the energy you put in is what you get back. It’s super rewarding when you get to the point where you start getting returns on the energy you put into building a network, helping other people, and growing the business.

3.What do you love most about your job?
I love how you can go from having an idea at one point and then over time turn that into a business and helping companies, in our case, helping them build their brands. We are also a sustainable business and adding a piece of sustainability into an industry that is not at the forefront of that is also something I enjoy.

4. What inspired you to start Amroth?
It was just such a clear opportunity to go into alcohol distribution. There’s a legacy way of working in the distribution space and with my experience and network, it was just such a clear opportunity to come in and disrupt.

5. What has motivated you throughout your career?
I love challenges! I love it when you have a big challenge and you can work with other people to solve it or address it, that really motivates me. If you got a big challenge and at first you don’t even know where to start but then as soon as you start working towards it and you get there, that is very rewarding and motivating.

6. What previous experiences have helped you the most when starting Amroth?
The number one experience that has helped me was the other company we started, “Navetti”. It just made me more familiar with what a start-up does and how you keep your focus, which helped me a lot.

7. Three tips for an aspiring entrepreneur?
#1: The network, tell people what you are doing, be curious, go out there and you will find that doors will open up for you.
#2: Be hands-on, start going for it, every business is different but if you focus on satisfying customer needs and getting paid for it then you are on the critical path to growing a company.
#3: Expect it to be hard, keep going at it, it won’t be easy and all days won’t be great days but over time you will have more great days and fewer bad days.

8. How is Amroth different from other businesses in the industry?
We are different in the sense that we are levering modern digital sales and marketing techniques to build brands. We found two strong niches: artist-backed brands and for imports that are coming into the US. Sometimes it can be hard for brands that are established in Europe but we have a path to help them get established on the US market. Also, since we are lean and digital we create big cost savings and those cost savings can go towards a lower shelf price for the consumer but most often we send it back to the brand owner. This gives the distillery or winery more funds to build their brands and they can hire a brand ambassador faster and put more into marketing.

9. What are your future plans for Amorth?
We are on a big growth trajectory so we’ll continue to grow in California and over time we will be adding distribution to more states. I’m also excited that we’re a carbon-neutral company, at this point, we do carbon offset projects for what we emit. In the future, I would love to see that we have zero emissions of carbon.

10. Why did you move to Los Angeles?
It was a part of our love for adventure, my wife and I love it! Also, my brother lives out in LA so it was great to be close to him. It’s been great in all aspects of our lives and there are so many fun and adventurous things to do and see in LA.

11. Do you have a favorite spot in LA?
If I stretch the definition of LA a little bit I would say the Joint. It’s in Randsburg if you go north into the desert it’s a little tiny desert town with a saloon and it is just a great place to go and I recommend it to anyone. You can go on the weekend just for the day and explore the dirt roads and dry lake beds and then have a burger and a beer.

12. A must-visit according to you in Stockholm?
Now, as I do not live in Stockholm anymore I always think about “skärgården” (the archipelago).

Five Fast Ones

Pool or Beach

Midsummer or Crayfish Party

Book or Podcast

Swedish Fika or Happy Hour

Stockholm or Los Angeles

 

Karl Petersson