w&jtaking your own path
“Ten years into the business, and every morning I wake up, I still can’t wait to go to work.”
wine and liquor business established on Madison Avenue into an internationally renowned luxury retailer based in Bridgehampton, N.Y. Building on the long-standing history of the company, which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, Smydo implemented a business infrastructure designed to take the Sokolin name to the next level. He grew the staff from seven to 50 and helped construct a state-of-the-art storage facility with the technology to manage more than 1 million bottles of wine. As the company increased in size, so did its revenue, which experienced substantial growth under Smydo’s guidance.
David Smydo, CEO of the largest fine wine company in the U.S., selects the perfect bottle of wine for a client dinner.
Uncorking an entrepreneurial spirit Looking for the perfect bottle of chardonnay to celebrate a special occasion, you walk into a local wine store, where you are presented with a variety of options. How do you know which one to choose? Enter David Smydo ‘97, who makes a living pairing wine with people. As CEO of Sokolin, one of the largest fine wine companies in the United States, the 34-year-old entrepreneur is appreciative of a career that allows him to mix business with pleasure. “Ten years into the business, and every morning I wake up, I still can’t wait to go to work,” he said. With a keen business intuition and strong work ethic, Smydo joined the company’s president, David Sokolin, in 2000 to transform the family-owned 18
To deliver these kinds of results, the young CEO, who clocks in seven days a week and 16 hours a day, is not afraid of hard work. “To be entrepreneurial, you need to be willing to roll up your sleeves to get the job done,” he said. “If it was an easy task, anybody would do it. The most rewarding jobs require the most effort.” Yet you will never hear any complaints from Smydo, who admits that working in the wine business has its advantages. “I will tell you that I have one of the greatest jobs in the world,” he added. After all, when you sell the world’s finest, most sought-after wines, it helps to be familiar with your product. Wines for Sokolin’s catalog are determined by a process in which Smydo, along with a panel of 10 experts, tastes several varieties and chooses the wines that are liked unanimously. Smydo is so confident in their selections that his company is the only wine retailer that offers its customers a satisfaction guarantee. What keeps wine enthusiasts coming back to Sokolin is the highly personalized level of what Smydo refers to as “white-glove service.” Each client is assigned a wine consultant who develops a profile based on the client’s entertaining style, hobbies and diet. “This helps us better understand the palate of our clientele,” said Smydo, who attributes his
customers’ loyalty to the valuable relationships formed during these discussions. To further enhance employee-customer relations, Smydo and his team strive to identify with their clients’ affluent lifestyle. “With an average price of $100 per bottle, we primarily deal with the elite,” he said. “To connect on their level, we train our staff to speak fluently on the subjects of private jets and luxury cars. Buying wine is about passion, so that is what we sell.” When the recent recession changed the market demand for fine wine, Smydo diversified Sokolin’s product line by introducing bottles under $100, earning the appreciation of his price-sensitive clients and gaining business from new customers. “We always are looking for ways we can innovate to make us a better, stronger company,” he said. “We look at problems as opportunities to improve.” When asked about his vision for the future of Sokolin, Smydo’s outlook is ambitious. “Our goal is to be the largest fine wine company in the world,” he said. “But it’s not a revenue goal, it’s a quality goal. You get to be the biggest because you’re the best at what you do.” Originally inspired by his entrepreneurial studies course at Washington & Jefferson College, Smydo is driven by the sense of accomplishment that results from defining his own career path. “The most rewarding part of my job is that I was able to grow and build a company and provide an environment in which my staff can thrive,” he said. Yet the Washington, Pa., native who grew up as one of seven children remains modest about his success. “A company is not a one-man show. I am just fortunate enough to be holding the reins.” —Megan Monaghan