Adam Millman

Co-Founder & CEO, De Nada Tequila

Adam Millman

I’m a founder based in New York. In 2019, right after graduating from Tulane, I started De Nada Tequila with my friend Danny Neeson. I’ve been building it ever since.

LinkedIn De Nada Tequila
Adam Millman

About

De Nada started as a stock bottle that Danny and I sold ourselves, account by account, around New York. Today it’s on shelves and behind bars, and we ship it to customers in most of the country.

Getting there meant learning most of the jobs a young spirits brand needs. I’ve worked through the three-tier system with an importer and distributors, raised money from outside investors, built our online business, and managed production with our distillery partner in Jalisco. We’ve also changed direction three times when the market told us to.

I’m also a lifelong musician. I taught myself piano, and music is what brought me to New Orleans for college at Tulane.

De Nada Tequila

Additive-free tequila from the Vivanco family’s distillery in the highlands of Jalisco. The agave is cooked in stone and brick ovens, fermented in the open air and distilled twice in copper pots. Nothing gets added after that.

De nada means “you’re welcome.” It’s a tequila you open for other people.

NOM 1414  ·  Jalisco Highlands  ·  40% ABV

De Nada Blanco bottle against a pale blue backdrop
Blanco. Unaged.
De Nada Reposado bottle against a peach backdrop
Reposado. Four months in ex-bourbon barrels.
De Nada Añejo bottle on a wooden surface
Añejo. Twelve months or more in ex-bourbon barrels.

denadatequila.com

De Nada being poured into a glass
The spirit of generosity.

The bottle

Three bottles in seven years

Each time we changed the bottle, we were really changing the business.

  1. 2019

    Stock glass

    We launched in an off-the-shelf glass bottle and sold it ourselves in New York. The goal was to prove the concept before anything else.

  2. The rebrand

    Aluminum

    We rebranded and launched the first aluminum bottle in tequila. Sustainability mattered to us, and the category, which is mostly run by big companies, was overdue for new ideas.

    It worked in a lot of ways. But people kept telling us the bottle didn’t match the quality of what was inside, or the way they actually drank it, which was usually when they were hosting.

  3. 2026

    Recycled glass

    So we came full circle. The new bottle is premium glass made from 100% post-consumer recycled material, and the brand is built around hospitality, which was inspired by Danny’s mother.

    It’s aimed at people who look for additive-free tequila and check the NOM, a part of the market that keeps growing. People see the brand differently now, and they’re willing to pay more for it.

What I do

At a young spirits company, the CEO ends up doing a bit of everything. Over seven years, that’s meant owning most of the business at one point or another.

Sales and distribution

  • Self-distributed in New York to start, selling to bars, restaurants and shops myself
  • Moved the brand into the three-tier system, signing an importer and New York distribution
  • Launched the brand with our distributors’ sales teams and keep working with them in the market
  • Run bar activations, in-store tastings and retailer events that pull product through

Brand and marketing

  • Took the brand through three bottles and two rebrands, including the first aluminum bottle in tequila and our current 100% recycled glass
  • Lead De Nada’s creative direction, from packaging and photography to our 2026 website, alongside agency partners where applicable
  • Positioned De Nada for the additive-free segment, which keeps growing
  • Run PR, influencer and creator programs with outside agencies

Direct to consumer

  • Built our online store with a licensed e-commerce partner, shipping to most of the US
  • Set up our email program: welcome series, abandoned checkout, post-purchase and a cocktail recipe series
  • Build and manage our paid campaigns on Meta and Reddit

Production and supply chain

  • Work with our distillery partner in Jalisco on production, bottling and quality
  • Plan production across three expressions, including an Añejo that ages a year or more
  • Sourced packaging for three different bottles
  • Manage purchase orders, import, storage and logistics into the US

Finance and fundraising

  • Raised capital from outside investors and manage those relationships
  • Grew revenue across bars and restaurants, retail and online
  • Set pricing and manage margins channel by channel, from wholesale to direct, including bundles and shipping offers
  • Run the books and investor reporting with our bookkeeper and accountants

Team and partners

  • Run the company with my co-founder and a bench of agencies, consultants and advisors across sales, PR, tastings, legal and finance
  • Negotiate agreements with importers, distributors and other partners alongside our lawyers
  • Led the team and our partners through three pivots

What I’ve learned

  1. Start with why. I’ve been inspired by Simon Sinek’s philosophy that people connect with why a brand exists before what it sells. De Nada’s why is hospitality, the feeling of opening a bottle for the people you care about. It shaped everything from our name to our latest bottle, which was designed to finally reflect it.
  2. Prove it before you scale it. We sold the first bottles ourselves in New York, so by the time we approached partners, we had something real to show them.
  3. Packaging is strategy. Every bottle change moved how people saw the brand and what they’d pay for it.
  4. Listen to the people pouring it. Customers told us what the aluminum bottle was missing. They were right, and the brand is better for it.
  5. Distribution is earned. A new spirit only moves when someone’s out in the market working the accounts, even after an importer and distributor are on board.

Background

Ventures

  • De Nada TequilaCo-Founder & CEO. 2019 to now
  • Pine OutfittersCo-Founder. A sustainable clothing line, started with Danny Neeson after we met at Tulane.

Music

  • 300 EntertainmentRecord label
  • Electric Feel ManagementArtist management

Education

  • Tulane UniversityB.S. in Management, A. B. Freeman School of Business. 2019

Contact

For business inquiries, please reach out on LinkedIn.