Gaston Martinez is the Founder and CEO of IZO, which sustainably produces a collection of premium, handcrafted agave spirits according to centuries of tradition in the heart of Durango, Mexico. A native of Durango, Gaston created the IZO brand to carry out his lifelong vision of preserving the legacy of pure, all-natural Mezcal for which his hometown is known. “In my family and culture, Mezcal was a symbol of celebration and the pure enjoyment of life,” explains Martinez. Now, alongside a team of hand-picked local talent, he proudly shares the experience of an award-winning Mezcal – the first of many IZO fine, handcrafted agave spirits – with the world beyond Durango. Made sustainably from slow-roasted, wild agave hearts harvested on local ranches, every sip of IZO Mezcal speaks to generations of Mezcaleros bringing people together around shared values of community, celebration, and savoring the reward of a job well done. Every aspect of IZO pays respect to its point of origin, from the locally-sourced Onyx stopper featured on top of the bottle, to the elegant, minimalist design that allows the flavorful spirit within to shine. The smooth, sophisticated taste of IZO Mezcal tells the story of centuries’ old Mexican tradition and of one man’s vision to share it with the world.
Entrepreneurial Role Models:
Gaston’s Dad
When business started difficulties overcame:
“finding the right partners and creating this idea in my mind and putting it into reality. One of the challenges was we created two companies, one in the US and one in Mexico and to integrate both of them. In Mexico the mentality of business is quite different from the US mentality of business. The ethics and all that. How can we integrate the two companies for one purpose of creating the best product that we can and being all ethical and efficient and not cutting corners. That was quite challenging”…[Listen for More]
Favourite Books:
The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom Book by Don Miguel Ruiz and Janet MillsFavourite Quote:
“if you lose your passion in whatever you do, it doesn’t matter if it’s business, relationships or even having fun you stop enjoying life. Sometimes we get so into business and pressure and bills and everything that surrounds our life but passion should be a key element” Gaston’s Dad
Recommended Online Resources:
Google News is a news aggregator and app developed by Google. It presents a continuous, customizable flow of articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available on Android, iOS, and the web.
Best Advice to Other Entrepreneurs:
“never give up. If you think that it’s going to get easy, it won’t, time will pass. But if you don’t give up you will be happy after the results after you just keep doing it”…[Listen for More]
More About Gaston Martinez:
Neil’s Quote at the Beginning:
“The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.” Walt Disney
Other Quotes From the Chat with Gaston Martinez:
- “having passion, you can go through really rough times but maybe you have that passion and that drive and be focused on where you want to go, and positive, be positive about everything happens. And everything happens for a reason and you need to learn and then move on and go to the next one”
- “in life nothing is personal… We sometimes take everything to personal”
- “you have to grow as an individual. And then you have to have a good balance between your business and your family and your health and your wealth”
- “if they tell you no 100 times it’s not because it’s not because of you or the product it’s just that maybe it’s not the right moment. And I proved that because you go back and they say yes”
- “Passion should be a key element”
- “change will actually make you grow and when you understand that change is great”
Leave a Reply