In the News
Press, interviews & media
Selected coverage and appearances featuring Taliera and our founder on beverage strategy, CPG, M&A, and business growth.
Recent coverage
Clearing The Smoke — How One Successful Entrepreneur Found True Fulfilment
Smoke Wallin sits down with Unmasked: The CEO Files to share his entrepreneurial journey, lessons from building multiple businesses, and what true fulfilment looks like after decades in the game.
Fireside chat with Kathy Ireland — Campden Wealth / IPI Family Office Event
Smoke Wallin in a fireside conversation with Kathy Ireland at the Campden Wealth IPI Family Office event, covering entrepreneurship, brand building, and exits.
Dream Bigger: The Path to Successful Business Exits
Smoke joins Ashley Stahl to talk through the founder's path to a successful exit — preparation, positioning, and the mindset shift required to maximize value.
Eclectic Convergence 2022 — Fireside chat at Cornell Entrepreneurship
A fireside chat with Smoke Wallin '88, Managing Director at STS Capital Partners, hosted by Entrepreneurship at Cornell at the 2022 Eclectic Convergence conference.
Smoke Wallin on Entrepreneurship
A long-form podcast conversation on Smoke's entrepreneurial journey across beverage, technology, and consumer products — and the lessons that travel across industries.
On the Cannabinoid Industry — Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management
Smoke Wallin, then CEO of Vertical Wellness, in conversation with Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management on the cannabinoid industry, market structure, and what's next.
CNBC Fast Money interview
Smoke Wallin on CNBC Fast Money discussing the evolving cannabis and consumer-products landscape with the Fast Money desk.
Smoke Wallin — Vertical Wellness on PBS Nightly Business Report
Smoke Wallin joins PBS Nightly Business Report to discuss Vertical Wellness, the cannabinoid market, and building consumer brands in a fast-evolving regulatory landscape.
Mega Cannabis Brand Builder — Smoke Wallin
Smoke Wallin breaks down what it takes to build mega cannabis brands — from supply chain and compliance to consumer loyalty and national scale.
Building Cannabis Brands — Smoke Wallin on Yahoo Finance
Smoke Wallin on Yahoo Finance discussing the fundamentals of building durable cannabis brands and navigating retail and distribution in a nascent industry.
Smoke Wallin on CheddarTV at the NYSE
Smoke Wallin joins CheddarTV live from the New York Stock Exchange floor to talk market strategy, brand building, and what's next for consumer-products entrepreneurs.
Smoke Wallin on Fox Business News — Varney & Co
Smoke Wallin joins Varney & Co on Fox Business News to discuss the consumer-products landscape, regulatory shifts, and opportunities for founders and investors.
Smoke Wallin on Yahoo Finance TV — Farm Bill and Hemp
Smoke Wallin on Yahoo Finance TV breaking down the 2018 Farm Bill, the federal legalization of hemp, and what it means for the cannabinoid and wellness markets.
Archive
From the archives
Earlier print and trade-press features. PDFs preserved from the original publications.
This company wants to be the Bacardi of cannabis — and it has plans for an IPO
MarketWatch profiles Smoke Wallin and Vertical Wellness on the strategy to build a branded cannabis and CBD powerhouse modeled on the world's leading spirits companies — and the road to a public listing.
Defections From Beverage Alcohol May Speak To The Future For Legal Cannabis
Forbes covers the wave of senior beverage-alcohol executives moving into cannabis — including Smoke Wallin at Vertical — and what it signals about the future of legal cannabis as a consumer-products industry.
Indy beverage acquirer scores first purchase
IBJ profiles Taliera Holdings and Smoke Wallin's strategy of rolling up orphaned beverage brands, beginning with the acquisition of Texas-based Red Eye Brands.
Surviving the Tech Tsunami: An Entrepreneur's Story of Perseverance and Flexibility
Smoke Wallin's first-person account of founding eSkye.com, raising $58M, surviving the dot-com crash, and the lessons learned — written for Vanderbilt's Owen alumni magazine.
Liquor Giant Targets System Dating to End of Prohibition
WSJ feature on Diageo's transformation of US distribution, quoting Smoke Wallin as president of the Wine and Spirits Wholesalers of America on the implications for distributors.
How E-Biz Rose, Fell, and Will Rise Anew
BusinessWeek's special report on the future of e-business features eSkye and Smoke Wallin on the realities of changing entrenched industry behavior in the wake of the dot-com bust.
eSkye.com — Tuck School of Business case study
Dartmouth Tuck School of Business case study on eSkye.com's strategy, industry structure, and the supply-chain transformation of the $110B US alcohol beverage market.
Smoke Alarm — Best of the B2B Web
Forbes profile of Smoke Wallin and eSkye in the magazine's 'Best of the B2B Web' issue — how eSkye built a marketplace designed to strengthen distributors instead of disintermediating them.
Alcohol Goes Online: Overcoming the Regulatory Maze
InformationWeek's e-business cover story on eSkye's launch — adapting Internet ordering to a $110B industry that had barely changed since Prohibition.
Entrepreneurial spirits: Smoke Wallin moves fast to establish liquor e-hub
Cover feature on Smoke Wallin's launch of eSkye.com, the first b-to-b marketplace for the alcoholic beverage industry, and the race to bring wholesalers, retailers, and suppliers online.
Tapping the Internet for wine and liquor
Crain's profile on Smoke Wallin and eSkye.com's effort to bring the three-tier alcoholic beverage industry online, with seven of the top 10 US wholesalers signed on at launch.
Bond sale turns heads: Liquor distributor raises $110M to hunt prey in merger jungle
IBJ cover story on National Wine & Spirits' first-of-its-kind $110M public bond offering, led by CFO Smoke Wallin, to fund consolidation in the US wine and spirits distribution industry.
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