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In the mid-1990s, the U.S. experienced a cigar boom. Michael Giordano noticed this
growing market and decided to import some cigar accessories in hope of selling them
online. When he realized that e-commerce presented challenges he wasn’t expecting,
Giordano teamed up with a local online retailer who picked up his inventory and got it
to sell. Giordano and the retailer went on to form Quality Importers, which has since
acquired popular products, including Palió, Cigar Caddy, Humidor Supreme, Stinky
Cigar, Div Pro and HygroSet, to name a few.
Tobacco Business
talked with Giordano
about tips on succeeding as an entrepreneur. Excerpts from that conversation follow.
ATaste of Success
Five Pawns’ Rodney Jerabek explains how to take an idea
from a dream to a viable business and product.
INTERVIEW
BY BEN STIMPSON
SOUND
ADVICE
Rodney Jerabek has had a long love affair with flavor. Having traveled extensively, Jerabek has a palate that
has been refined by cuisines, wines and spirits experienced around the world. In 2012, he was approached by a
businessman who was looking for someone to help him market a disposable electronic cigarette product. Before
this meeting, Jerabek occasionally smoked a cigarette or cigar, but holding the product in his hands made him
realize electronic cigarettes could bring about positive change in people’s lives.
Jerabek went on to launch Five Pawns, a globally recognized, award-winning premium e-liquid brand. Five
Pawns’ handcrafted, small-batch, premium e-liquids play with the five tastes known to the human palate:
sweet, sour, bitter, salty and savory.
Tobacco Business
spoke with Jerabek about Five Pawns and what inspired
him to make the leap from branding and marketing to that of a premium e-liquid manufacturer.
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