Taste Radio

Distributors called her a “relentless bitch,” but Sharelle Klaus paid little mind to their insecurities. She was too busy building a business. Instead, Klaus, the founder and CEO of DRY Soda, a Seattle-based maker of premium carbonated soft drinks, wore the slur as a badge of honor. Standing at the forefront of the emerging craft soda segment since the launch of DRY in 2005, Klaus acknowledges that she is indeed relentless — and deeply passionate about her vision to deliver better soda to American consumers. “I have an expectation, and it has to get done,” she said in an interview included in this episode of Taste Radio. “In beverage, you’ve got to get that product on the shelf. It has to be executed correctly. I do demand a lot from everybody -- you just have to.” Beginning with DRY’s early days as a regional startup through its rise to a nationally distributed brand, Klaus shared war stories from the journey and revealed the one lesson she believes entrepreneurs need to learn if they intend to be successful