Page 38 - 914INC - Q1 2016

THE WINE WIZARD
36 914INC. Q1 2016
Photographs courtesy of Andrew McMurray (top, bottom)
Breaking the mold
“I’m always looking for ways to take ‘Zachys’ out of Zachys,” says McMurray of the dictum that guides his work. It’s this philosophy—a de- sire to try something unexpected— that gave rise to Zipz and eventually landed McMurray in front of five of the most influential businesspeople in the world.
About a year-and-a-half before Citi Field opened in Queens, a food- and-wine consultant working with the Mets—and a longtime Zachys
Since his appearances on Shark Tank and Beyond the Tank, McMurray and shark Kevin O’Leary
have remained in touch. O’Leary has helped broker partnerships for Zipz with retailers, airlines, and hotels.
customer—reached out to McMurray for his expertise. Zachys was tasked with helping create a “real New York food-and-wine experience” at Citi Field. No small task. For years, arenas and other large venues have strug- gled to introduce a single-serve wine that’s both convenient and classy. Beer? No problem—pump it into an aluminum can. Wine? Not so easy. Rare is the wine drinker willing to sip Cabernet Sauvignon out of a can or flimsy plastic cup.
McMurray began to research so-
lutions. He tracked down a product from New Zealand that did the trick (sort of) but lacked personality. When J. Henry Scott, a Zachys customer with a penchant for design, stopped by and saw the New Zealand con- traption, he was inspired. A month later, Scott emailed sketches and ideas to McMurray.
“That’s how the whole con- cept got started,” McMurray says. The two made a powerful pair: the imaginative engineer and the savvy wine merchant, one able to draw up clever designs and the other able to open doors in a notoriously aloof in- dustry. Today, McMurray serves as Zipz co-founder and national wine consultant. McMurray’s fellow co- founders are Scott, now CEO, who runs Zipz’s day-to-day operations, and President Pat Scire, a found- ing investor who brings 20 years of experience in the financial industry (along with a personal wine collec- tion in excess of 17,000 bottles).
Zipz’s encounter with Shark Tank began with a demo tape, recorded at Zachys during the summer of 2014 and mailed to the show’s producers. At first, the demo’s reception was lukewarm. “They said, ‘It’s interest- ing, but we don’t know if we can slot it,’” McMurray recalls. But interest grew, and soon McMurray was invit- ed to Los Angeles for a visit.
“I went out there and did a screen- test and went back to my hotel room, planning on flying back to New York,” McMurray says. “But they called me at 11 pm and said, ‘Can you come back tomorrow?’”
The taping took two hours, but McMurray notes the experience was far less grueling than the 13-min-
Entrepreneurs always seem to have
a preternatural amount of time, an impressive ability to balance this commitment with that career and all those side projects. And Andrew McMurray is no exception.
McMurray lives in Scarsdale, just two miles from Zachys, with his wife and two children. He’s a hands-on dad. “I don’t miss anything: the sports, the parent-teacher conferences,” he says.
Then there’s the athletics. “I’m one of those crazy triathletes,” he admits. “Iron Man was
always my dream, and two years ago I did the one in Kona, Hawaii.” Leading up to a race, McMurray will sometimes train 14 hours a week.
But the workout is hardly a respite from wine. “I have all my best business ideas when I’m out on the bike, swimming or running,” he says.
“I’ve brought the Zachys brand along with me when I do triathlons,” he continues. In this case, though, it’s less about business and more about charity. The Zachys brand has a certain cachet, an ability to motivate donors and kick-start philanthropy. In the past eight years, McMurray and Zachys have raised $300,000
An Unflagging Energy
Parenting, triathlons, and philanthropy—all part of a day’s work