Philip James is the Founder and CEO of Penrose Hill / Firstleaf, a wine club for the modern age that uses data science to match the perfect wine for each customer based on their personal preferences. They ship over 100k boxes of custom wine every month. The company is a behemoth.

This isn’t Philips first go around in the wine industry. Philip has been a dominant force in the space for the past 15 years. We chat about his previous endeavors and how that helped him get to where he is today.

Along with being one of the most successful wine entrepreneurs in the world, Philip is an adventurer. In 2003 he climbed Mt. Everest, which turned into a rescue mission when one of his climbing partners broke their leg and had to crawl down the mountain in order to survive.

Philip and I discuss how Firstleaf operates, the three tier alcohol system, what it means when a wine is “Estate Grown,” and his myriad of adventures that I would argue makes him a candidate for the most interesting person in the world.

Special thanks to Philip for joining the podcast.

Follow us on Twitter 

@philipjkjames

@firstleafclub

@mpd

Show Notes:

Everest Story - Connan Harrod

Guest Links:

Twitter, Firstleaf

Podcast Links:

Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn