We had the good fortune of connecting with Sean Keating and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sean, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking.
Even before starting Kea, my friends and family would say I have a high tolerance for risk. From loving skateboarding and skydiving to surfing and traveling.

That being said, you have to have a deep respect for risk. When you’re jumping out of an airplane, you know your parachute may not open and that is why you always have a backup plan. And surprisingly often, plan B turns out better than plan A.

I started my company before the pandemic and then the world came to a screeching halt. We had contracts that dissolved overnight and we learned to pivot. And by pivot, I don’t mean the buzzword on every LinkedIn profile. I mean real changes or shutting our doors.

Nothing that is worthwhile is ever easy. In the end, you have to ask yourself, “is the juice worth the squeeze?”

What should our readers know about your business?
My business partner and I started Kea Beverages in 2018. Like so many of your favorite companies, we started as an idea in a garage. Now, our “garage” is a 3,500 square foot production facility.

Our kombucha and cold-brew coffee can be found in over 200 locations and we are now shipping nationwide!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
-Brooklyn Bagel for Breakfast (the best bagel I’ve had since living in New York). I hear they have a great cold brew coffee 😉
-Dinner at Tiny Lou’s and drinks on the Hotel Clermont roof. They were one of our first customers!
-Cat Eye Creative Art Gallery for checking out Atlanta’s best artists.
-Krog Street Market for an amazing food tour.
-You can’t go wrong with any of Ford Fry’s restaurants — they are all amazing!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This city and everyone in it. Every small business that took a chance and chose to carry our product and every individual that saw us on a shelf and decided to try us. From the bottom of our hearts, thank you.

Website: https://keabev.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/kea.atl

Facebook: https://facebook.com/kea.atl

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutAtlanta is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.