Yuan Ji

Experience

1. CEO & Co-founder

   Erstwhile Mezcal

   Jan 2018 — Present · Brooklyn, NY, US

   A social impact-driven company, Erstwhile advocates for small, independent mezcal producers who lack representation. We elevate your bar with beautiful, limited-edition agave spirits: ethically sourced and lovingly curated for you from small, family-owned producers.Autonomy for and fair trade with producers are among our core values. We focus on Mezcal education, knowing it empowers consumers and industry colleagues to be confident, informed decision makers.We set ourselves apart from others in several ways. First, the small producers we work with are independent family businesses, not our employees. We pay our partner producers fairly. No bargaining. No exclusivity contracts.We seek out small producers who are interested in exporting, but do not have the means to do so on their own. We believe in giving producers autonomy in their production and export process, be it using their own bottling facility or hiring their own workers. We step in if and only if they want our help.We believe in transparency - in ingredients and business practices. We believe in sharing, not hoarding, knowledge. Meet Erstwhile Mezcal\'s producer partners in person and through our YouTube channel. QR code on the back label of every Erstwhile bottle gives you rich digital content on the production, with full disclosure of where you can find our producer partner and buy directly from the source if you so choose.

Education

• Washington University in St. Louis - Olin Business School

  Master of Science - MS

• Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses

  Entrepreneurship

• Yale Law School

  Doctor of Law - JD

• Washington University in St. Louis

  Bachelor of Arts - BA

Skills

• Litigation
• Competition Law
• Legal Writing
• Antitrust Law
• Legal Research