322 - From Corporate Finance to Craft Beer: Kristie Nystedt on Betting on Yourself

What if the safest move in your career is the riskiest one? Kristie Nystedt spent more than two decades climbing the corporate finance ladder with zero plans to leave. Then a fourth company merger and her husband's airline filing for bankruptcy hit within two months of each other, and suddenly staying put looked like the bigger gamble. So she walked away from corporate America in 2012 and built Raleigh Brewing Company and ABS Commercial from the ground up, in an industry she had never worked in before.

In this conversation, Kristie shares how a basement homebrew hobby and a business plan written for a friend turned into an award-winning North Carolina craft beer brand and a brewing equipment company serving breweries across the United States and overseas. She opens up about building both businesses without investors or borrowed money, learning international trade from scratch, becoming the first female brewer in North Carolina, and helping push the self-distribution bill that was signed right on her bar. She also gets real about the hard seasons: COVID, supply chain disruptions, closing a business, and the tariff hit that forced her to cut her ABS Commercial staff down to about 20 percent. That painful pivot into used and refurbished equipment is now the reason the business is thriving today. And yes, you'll hear the story behind Hell Yes Ma'am, the Belgian Golden born from one non-negotiable request.

If you're a woman thinking about starting a business, feeling stuck in a corporate job that no longer feels secure, or worried you've waited too long to start your next chapter, this episode is your permission slip. Kristie proves there's no single timeline for becoming an entrepreneur, and that sometimes the most exciting chapter of your career is the one you decide to create for yourself.

5 Powerful Takeaways

Staying isn't always the safe choice. Learn how Kristie weighed the risk of a fourth corporate merger against the risk of building her own businesses, and why she decided to bet on herself. Build the plan before you jump. Kristie developed Raleigh Brewing and ABS Commercial on the side for about two years, running the numbers until she knew she could leave without going bankrupt. Owning your business means owning your numbers. Discover why Kristie refused outside investors, borrowed no money, and believes cash flow, payroll, and branding matter just as much as the product. A painful pivot can save your business. Hear how cutting staff to about 20 p