"Have you Kaplowitz'd to-day?"
It's been a bit of time since I've posted one of these Who What When Where Why interviews. You can find the others by searching for them somewhere to your right [Search by Keyword(s)]. Perhaps I'll make an index at some point, I probably should.
edit: Fine. Check out an index of these interviews HERE.
Nevertheless, how these are made: I send the same five questions out to each interviewee, I get their answers back, I publish the results. There's nothing more to it. No follow-up questions, no guidance, no pulling of teeth, no curbing of enthusiasm. OK, at times some light editing for punctuation, say.
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Here's Marcel Knobel, ADVentura Cigars...
As someone who has never been afraid to exhaust all information and research when it comes to things of interest, I really did my homework on the cigar industry, agriculture, and the history of a good smoke. Once I was armed with information, I sought out the best group (in this case family) to align myself, and values of the tobacco agriculture and production.
For me, the Ventura family represents the core of cigars and what enjoyment of them is all about. A multi-generational family that curates every one of the 157 steps to make an incredible cigar. So for me, William and Henderson Ventura have definitely enlightened my ‘Swiss precision’ to revel in what nature has planned otherwise.
With this mindset, the possibilities are endless. And my hat’s off to them for sharing with me nuances that can only be learned and developed with experience, love, and respect for the craft.
As far as maximizing a partnership, I feel what I lack, Henderson Ventura has, and what he lacks, I bring to the table. One of my strengths, being Swiss and all, is incredible due diligence. I came from a marketing background and have been able to create a brand with a cohesive story between each line.
As far as compromise goes... The Achilles heel for any and all marketing ideas is cost. There are so many things I would love to include, or expand on with packaging design, boxes, advertising, etc... and the cost for marketing design always remains a nebulous incalculable thing when it comes to return on investment.
We never make mistakes, we only make discoveries. Ha! When you look at it this way, “failures” sting a bit less and change from lessons to learn, to lessons learned.
Where are you on your journey & where are you going?
In accordance with our ADV story, we are somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. With each passing day, we gain insight and adjust our tactics based on what the conditions are. We are continuing on the straight and narrow.
We find the only way to navigate the unsureness of the waters these days is to continue with best practices and maintain the boutique characteristics. This enables us a wider variety of raw material experimentation without the pressure of mass quantity production and allows a wider range of experience for our thankfully growing customer base.
Why do you succeed?
I’m a student for life and a team player. I live by the proverb 'If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.'
That, with my intensive sommelier training, allows me to communicate flavor profiles with Henderson for him to try and blend. So as far as being mentored and mentoring goes, I feel a good partnership will always offer such exchanges. We are equally in favor of reciprocity.
What will you compromise & what won't you compromise?
What will you compromise & what won't you compromise?
As far as compromise goes... The Achilles heel for any and all marketing ideas is cost. There are so many things I would love to include, or expand on with packaging design, boxes, advertising, etc... and the cost for marketing design always remains a nebulous incalculable thing when it comes to return on investment.
But, it is also a good learning experience with each new line on how to get creative and expand my skillset to stretch the 'dollar' in every way possible.
We will NOT nor will we EVER compromise on the quality of our cigars. This includes raw material selection, aging time, blending process, and production. As much as it pains me to be off on delivery times, I will always grow my patience if I can assure our quality standards are met.
When is it failure?
When is it failure?
We never make mistakes, we only make discoveries. Ha! When you look at it this way, “failures” sting a bit less and change from lessons to learn, to lessons learned.
Where are you on your journey & where are you going?
In accordance with our ADV story, we are somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic. With each passing day, we gain insight and adjust our tactics based on what the conditions are. We are continuing on the straight and narrow.
We find the only way to navigate the unsureness of the waters these days is to continue with best practices and maintain the boutique characteristics. This enables us a wider variety of raw material experimentation without the pressure of mass quantity production and allows a wider range of experience for our thankfully growing customer base.
I’m a student for life and a team player. I live by the proverb 'If you want to go fast, go alone, if you want to go far, go together.'
::: very :::
Visit ADVentura Cigars online HERE.
Read some ADVentura reviews:
ADVentura Royal Return Kings GoldADVentura Royal Return Queen's Pearls
ADVentura The Conqueror
ADVentura The Explorer
ADVentura The Navigator
kaplowitzmedia@mail.com
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