Brandon Knudsen

Beer & Basketball. That’s what I always joke that I majored in in college, but it was so much more than that. I learned early on that the typical path from Plan A to Plan B wasn’t for me, I wanted to find success in my own way and build something I could be proud of.

Growing up with entrepreneurial parents, I always knew the value of creating something on your own. Lucky for me, my wife felt the same deep-rooted passion, and we left college to start our own business and find what success meant to us in this world.

I’m not going to say it was easy, or that we didn’t have days that we wanted to throw in the towel, but I will say that it was always worth it. To build something from the ground up and watch it grow in the incredible ways Ziggi’s Coffee continues to means everything to me.

Looking back, I developed my leadership style from the many years of playing and coaching basketball. You must look at the big picture – where you were, where you are and where do you want to be. These are key pieces to developing who you are, both personally and professionally.

I have a passion for pushing people to be the very best that they can be. This extends throughout every aspect of running this company. From our corporate team to our baristas to franchise owners, showing up as a dependable, impassioned leader is just who I am.

I continue to look for opportunities to expand my entrepreneurial spirit through various companies, such as through investing in Bearded Brewer and Gold Seal Distributing.

Although my drink of choice has switched from beer to bourbon, basketball is still an important piece of my life as now I get to watch my son play at the college level. My family is everything to me and you’ll often find us playing on the golf course and cheering each other on in whatever is the next big passion of one another.