Cigar and Spirit Pairing iPhone App

2009/12/30 by

I had exactly three retail jobs when I was getting my degree at St. Edward’s University.  Because of that I do endorse the common wisdom that everyone should pull a stint in retail or the service industry.  This holds true in my experience because I took exactly two positive things from my time shilling under florescent lights.  The first is knowing that I want to make my money based on what I accomplish and the knowledge that I have; trading hours for dollars isn’t for me.  Learning that I had the power to choose to make money with my identity was a cool thing to learn.  This paid off in the work I oriented myself towards.  See, Changing Minds to Change the World.

I kinda feel like Entrepreneurship is a great big sandbox for grown-ups.

The other thing that I took away from retail was an extensive working knowledge of premium tobacco: that is, I am a walking Cigar Encyclopedia.

Yes, while my friends were waiting tables, I was becoming a college-aged cigar aficionado.

While I love knowing my way around a Cigar humidor, I wasn’t optimistic about turning this experience into cash.  That may start happening soon.  Jei Gaither, one of the Tech Ranchers and founder of App Ranch, pitched his

newest iPhone app ideas: a cigar and spirit pairing app, with user-submitted pairings.  He’s got the development underway and I’m creating the initial pairings.

I’ll let you know when we get a Beta out.  Then you can read my poetic descriptions of my favorite cigars.  Expect

such literary gems as: I was pleased with the cigar’s dynamic nutty brown texture reminiscent of Nicaraguan soil that finishes clean as spring dew.

I hope that helps.

Filed Under: Changing Minds, Entrepreneurship Tagged With: , , ,
About Austin Gunter

Blogging, entrepreneurship, tai chi, yerba mate, and rhetoric.

I'm a 20-something living in San Francisco who lives and breathes life around words and people.

I work at WP Engine to connect with the WordPress (Capital "P") community.

Previously I helped grow tech startups at Tech Ranch Austin, a pre-seed incubator. I had the privilege to work with more than 120 entrepreneurs and help them build successful businesses.

I'd probably like to meet you :-)

  • http://www.appranch.com Jei Gaither

    Well said, Austin. As dorky as it sounds, I truly believe that we take a “ton” of experience with us when we leave any job. I used to think those were failures of mine (i.e. leaving a job), but I finally realized that I was just building my own reference material/tools for life. Now that I’m off the dollar-for-hour trading field (at least in terms of my going from being an employee to an employer in 2009), I’ve enjoyed (especially in light of Mobile Apps nowadays) being able to finally L-O-V-E what I do for a living! :) Finding one’s passion and riding that passion to build cool stuff for people is rad! :) Happy 2010 Everyone!

  • http://www.jonaslamis.com Jonas Lamis

    I love this idea. Be sure to spend some time following @garyvee and http://tv.winelibrary.com and http://www.corkd.com to see how this is done right in the wine world. Good luck!