One company,
one direction.
The Northstar for the parent brand-house: Kegs for a Cause, the private-label test, and LiveSwell Brewing — written as one company, one purpose, one set of bets. Built on the Highland Northstar framework.
Mission · Purpose
To make every pint pour something back — into people, planet, and place.
↳ Current focus: a charitable craft beer event series (Kegs for a Cause), a private-label SKU test, and a low-ABV California brewery vision (LiveSwell) — three steps of one company.
Values · In action
Five values, each defined three ways
Tread lightly
- •Lower-ABV by design — less grain, less water, less impact per serving.
- •Sustainability as a consequence of the product, not a marketing layer.
- •Aluminum-first packaging, solar-first siting, spent-grain partnerships out.
Beer for good
- •Every pour funds a named cause — community is the product, beer is the medium.
- •Transparent dollar-in / dollar-out reporting after every event.
- •Partner nonprofits get a turnkey vehicle, not another ask for volunteer hours.
Honest math
- •Five written green lights govern LiveSwell — any red halts it.
- •No self-deception on unit economics or timeline.
- •We say no to ourselves before the market does.
Coastal calm
- •One consistent voice rooted in the California coast.
- •Drink slower, live wider — aesthetic restraint over hype-cycle noise.
- •The brand precedes the brewery and outlasts any single SKU.
Partner-first
- •We move at the speed of the right relationships, not pure effort.
- •Open door to breweries, nonprofits, investors, operators.
- •No one builds this alone — and we don't pretend otherwise.
Vision · Direction
20 / 10 / 5 / 3-year horizons
3 years
80%by mid-2029
LiveSwell taproom open in SLO or San Diego with the 5-SKU lineup pouring.
5 years
10%by 2031
LiveSwell distributed across the California Central + South Coast; K4C running 12+ events/year as a self-sustaining program.
10 years
7%by 2036
Recognized category leader in US session beer (1–4% ABV); K4C model licensed to 3+ partner breweries in other states.
20 years
3%by 2046
A national brand-house where every SKU has a cause attached by default — the "Newman's Own of beer."
Confidence percentages follow Highland's convention: high confidence near-in, declining honesty about the further horizons.
Vision Ladder · Highland visual
The 3-year rung is where 80% of our time lives
Within 20 years
by 2046
A national brand-house where every SKU has a cause attached by default — the "Newman's Own of beer."
And we're spending ~3% of our time on it.
Within 10 years
by 2036
Recognized category leader in US session beer (1–4% ABV); K4C model licensed to 3+ partner breweries in other states.
And we're spending ~7% of our time on it.
Within 5 years
by 2031
LiveSwell distributed across the California Central + South Coast; K4C running 12+ events/year as a self-sustaining program.
And we're spending ~10% of our time on it.
Within 3 years
by mid-2029
LiveSwell taproom open in SLO or San Diego with the 5-SKU lineup pouring.
And we're spending ~80% of our time on it.
Strategic Aim 🎯
Anchored to the 3-year rung
Approach
The funnel is the strategy — K4C builds the audience and proves the operator; the private-label SKU validates the brand; the taproom is the destination.
Big Bets
- 1.Run 6+ K4C events to positive contribution margin.
- 2.Land a contract brewer + ship one private-label SKU under the LiveSwell name.
- 3.Lock $50K+ in soft-committed capital (founder + family + 1–2 strategic).
- 4.Site-scout 3 candidate taproom locations in SLO + SD.
Success Criteria
- • Taproom open in SLO or San Diego
- • 5-SKU LiveSwell lineup pouring
- • ≥$250K raised cumulatively for partner nonprofits via K4C
Market
- Primary: CA coastal craft drinkers 28–45.
- Secondary: Nonprofits seeking a turnkey fundraiser.
- Tertiary: Breweries with idle capacity.
Strategy · 3-yr Direction
How we win in the next three years
Approach
The funnel is the strategy
Use Kegs for a Cause to build the audience, prove the operator, and pre-validate the LiveSwell brand before a single barrel is brewed. The event series is the marketing funnel; the private-label test is the product validator; the taproom is the destination.
Core bets
Four multi-year initiatives
- 1.Run 6+ K4C events to positive contribution margin.
- 2.Land a contract brewer + ship one private-label SKU under the LiveSwell name.
- 3.Lock $50K+ in soft-committed capital (founder + family + 1–2 strategic).
- 4.Site-scout 3 candidate taproom locations in SLO + SD.
Market
Who we're for
- Primary: California coastal craft drinkers 28–45 who want to drink more often, more lightly.
- Secondary: Nonprofits seeking a turnkey fundraising vehicle.
- Tertiary: Breweries with idle capacity looking for purpose-driven contract work.
Impact
3-yr success criteria
- • Taproom open in SLO or San Diego
- • 5-SKU LiveSwell lineup pouring
- • ≥$250K raised cumulatively for partner nonprofits via K4C
Annual WHYGOs · Progress
This year — mid-2026 → mid-2027
Goal 1
Prove the K4C event flywheel.
Why: It's the only piece that can ship now with near-zero capital, and it produces the evidence every other gate needs.
Outcomes
- •6 events run
- •≥$40K raised for partner causes
- •≥2 repeat brewery partners
Goal 2
Validate the LiveSwell brand in market.
Why: A brand that pre-exists the brewery de-risks every subsequent decision — capital, contract, taproom.
Outcomes
- •Private-label SKU brewed + sold at ≥3 K4C events
- •250+ email list signups
- •1 paid press / podcast feature
Goal 3
Build the partner pipeline.
Why: Capital and operator gates are partner-gated, not effort-gated. The right five conversations beat fifty wrong ones.
Outcomes
- •5 qualified investor conversations
- •2 brewery LOIs for contract production
- •1 nonprofit anchor partner signed for a recurring event
Metrics · Health
Year-one targets across four categories
| Category | Metric | Target |
|---|---|---|
| Acquisition | Email subscribers | 500 |
| Acquisition | Instagram followers | 1,000 |
| Acquisition | Earned-media mentions | 6 |
| Acquisition | New event-city markets entered | 2 (e.g., SLO + SD) |
| Retention | Event-to-email opt-in rate | 60%+ |
| Retention | Repeat brewery partners | 2+ |
| Retention | Repeat donor rate across events | 30%+ |
| Retention | Email open rate | 35%+ |
| Financial | Raised for partner causes | ≥$40K |
| Financial | K4C contribution margin | ≥$5K |
| Financial | Founder out-of-pocket (cap) | ≤$10K |
| Financial | Avg. raised per event | ≥$6.5K |
| Team | Founder willing-operator self-check | Pass |
| Team | Advisors signed | 1 |
| Team | Co-organizer / contractor for event ops | 1 |
| Team | Brewery / nonprofit partner NPS (post-event) | ≥8 / 10 |
Simplified Northstar
The whole thing on one screen
Mission · Purpose
Make every pint pour something back — into people, planet, and place.
↳ Focus: K4C events, private-label SKU, LiveSwell brewery vision.
Values · Direction
Tread lightly · Beer for good · Honest math · Coastal calm · Partner-first.
Vision
- 3-yr (80%): Taproom open.
- 5-yr (10%): Central + South Coast distribution.
- 10-yr (7%): US session-beer category leader.
- 20-yr (3%): Newman's Own of beer.
Goals · Why · Progress
- G1: Prove the K4C flywheel.
- G2: Validate the LiveSwell brand in market.
- G3: Build the partner pipeline.
Next
Framework: Highland Northstar — company clarity template by joinhighland.com. Used with credit.