Is iStill the Tesla of Distilling?

Introduction

This question came to my mind, when Marco, an iStill customer from Cambodia, visited us for the 4-day Master Distillers Course. He pointed at a Tesla and said: "Odin, whenever I talk about my iStill, I compare it with a Tesla!" I found that an interesting remark, so let's dive in deeper and investigate if iStill is the Tesla of distilling.

In order to do so, I first want to analyse what makes Tesla, well, Tesla. Then, let's compare that to iStill. And if it turns out that there are many similarities? Well, let us investigate what we derive from that!

Marco (middle) working with the iStill Mini at iHQ ...

Tesla: the electric car

If nothing else, Tesla is the first successful electric car. It offered a new propulsion method. Electricity was introduced by them to replace the gas fired, polluting engines in "traditional" cars.

iStill has a similar thing going for it. We introduced electrically powered stills and they are now rapidly replacing the gas and steam fired "traditional" stills!

So, yes, just like Tesla introduced a new way to power cars, we introduced a new way to power stills.

Tesla: a computer on wheels

Tesla wasn't conceived in Motor City Detroit. Instead, it was designed in Silicon Valley. As a result, Tesla's were often called "computers on wheels". They had more computing power, seamlessly integrated software, and computer screens instead of the analogue dashboards that "traditional" cars came equipped with.

iStill wasn't conceived in one of the traditional spirits and still producing regions in the world, like Scotland, Kentucky, or Germany's Black Forest area. Instead, it was designed in the Netherlands, Europe's most vibrant and innovative economy. We were the first stills with computing power, with software, and with screens replacing the analogue parrots that "traditional" stills came equipped with.

Another "yes"! Just like Tesla changed the car industry, iStill innovated its industry by introducing automation and computing power to distilling.

Tesla: amazing performance!

People that first get introduced to a Tesla, will forever remember how fast they accelerate and how instant electric torque is, relative to their gas powered car. Where the Tesla reacts immediately, a "traditional" car needs to first downshift, then spool-up its turbo's, then generate power, that's - finally - after a second or more, delivered to the wheels.

Marco, who introduced me to the Tesla comparison, had a fellow Cambodian craft distiller visit him. A distiller that runs a China-build traditional still. The fellow craft distiller was amazed at how fast and direct the iStill performed. And this is not an anomaly: all that allow themselves a test-drive with an iStill are surprised by the speed and control it offers. To the extend that anything else feels slow and outdated afterwards.

Another "yes"-answer to the question if iStill is the Tesla of Distilling? Yes. Just like Tesla does to cars, we introduce amazing performance and superb control to the craft distilling industry.

Efficiency

Teslas are much more efficient than traditional cars. Where a gas-powered car converts about 25% of the energy, present in the gasoline, into movement, and where diesel-powered cars achieve maybe 35%, Tesla does better. About 90% of the energy - present in the batteries - gets converted into mobility.

Tesla's high efficiency number equals the performance of the iStills. Surprisingly, the inefficiencies of traditional cars and stills also coincide! iStills are 90% energy efficient. Traditional stills maybe 25 to 30%.

Dealerships or Stealerships?

Tesla sells its cars directly to customers. No need for dealerships; intermediates that need to make money on the transaction as well. No need to endure the cringy experience of visiting the dealer and having to listen to all the stories, the USP's, and their pushy sales strategies.

Same with us. We decided early on that we were going to sell to our customers directly. That way we get to know each and everyone of our customers. And we get to talk about their plans, and we get to discuss how we can be of assistance. Your success is our success & your success precedes our success! Another "yes" I guess ...

The sound of silence

Teslas are silent, relative to traditional, gas-powered cars. And so are we. Sound, in any system that consists of moving parts, is a byproduct negatively correlated with efficiency and build quality (unless we are speaking about actual sound systems, of course). As sound is a byproduct, it indicates suboptimal efficiency and less than optimal build quality, with the latter resulting in earlier wear-and-tear.

Silence is a good thing in both cars and stills. It signals that the right power management is chosen and that build quality is outstanding. A cheaper operation results in lower costs and higher profits. Outstanding build quality results in longevity.

Full Self Driving or Full Self Distilling?

iStill introduced fully automated distilling. You design your recipe, or follow Odin's recipes, push "start" and off you go. Off to your destination. Optimal results, repeatable results each and every time. Minimal effort for the distiller and also minimal flavor distortion due to the human process operator not being up to his normal level of operation. Yeah, you can call it iStill FSD, as in "full self distilling".

Even though Tesla isn't there yet, the company is working hard on achieving full self driving. I am not saying they are following our lead, as they are clearly ahead in the automotive sector, and their challenge is bigger than ours, as they have to deal with the behavior of multiple interacting drivers, where we only focus on one (you!), but it is iStill that is leading here, and we are proud of it. It makes distilling better quality product so much easier. It allows you to focus on what makes you money: selling bottles instead of riding your still or driving your car.

Over the air updates and online support

As Teslas are computers on wheels, and iStills are computers on stainless steel stills, we both have over the air update capability. If we invent something new and it is software or automation related, we can upgrade your still. Just like Tesla can update its cars.

The advantage? Your car and your still stay up to date. They become better and more modern over time. Please compare that to your current aging gasoline car or steam-fired traditional still! Another advantage? It allows for online support.

If you have a question or an issue, you don't need to go back to the car dealership or still sales rep. We all know how frustrating and expensive that experience can be! No, instead, with both Tesla and iStill, you get support online. This results in a much better customer experience and a much more affordable one as well!

Maintenance

Well-designed products, that can be supported and upgraded over the air, need less maintenance. Products that are sold to customers directly are designed for low maintenance levels, where products that are sold through intermediates are usually designed to need regular maintenance. It is the way car dealerships make money. And it is also how traditional still manufacturers shape their business models.

At a car dealership, they tell you that your car needs an oil change, new brakes, new tires, new fenders, etc.. Traditional still manufacturers do the same. They too design their products so that they will rust and decay. As mr. Mueller told me, when I informed him about how our stills are designed to last a lifetime: "Odin, you do not have a business model! The business model is that customers have to come back to you, to buy new parts!" The funny thing? He followed up on that statement by saying that we'd never be competitors to Mueller Potstills, contrary to what his sales force was telling him.

In the above discussion, we see a huge parallel with Tesla, where traditional car manufacturers were in denial for the better part of a decade as well. "Tesla is never going to succeed," they said, "since they do not have dealerships to represent them, they do not have sources of returning income for continuous and higher profit margins, and since statistics show the world only needs 200 electric cars at most!". Yeah, I think Tesla and iStill proved our competitors wrong here as well.

Longevity

Related to maintenance is longevity. If you design a product to endure 2x the actual forces it needs to deal with, the longevity will quadruple, while maintenance requirements drop by 75%. A stronger build leads to a product that lasts longer. That prolonged longevity is beneficial to you. But is it beneficial to the car or still manufacturer? Maybe not, as the market for replacement equipment or parts, on 2x designed products, is 75% smaller.

The only reason that industry-challenging companies like Tesla and iStill choose to move towards over-designing their cars and stills is because they understand that, if they make compelling products, people will want to buy them, no matter what. It is also a sign of a company playing the long game, where their own immediate needs and benefits are sacrificed to obtain longterm strategic goals, like an amazing reputation, great customer relationships, and a very loyal customers base. All of which are the result of placing customer success ahead of one's own short-term gains.

Future-proofing one's products is also part of longevity. With us as well as with Tesla, you can order options, that you do not want or need right now, at a later time. Everything we offer is retrofittable. Do you make gin? You do not need an agitator or boiler radiator. Do you want to add mashing and fermentation to your iStill? Order the agitator and boiler radiator and you are good to go.

Catering to the most important needs vs. catering to every need?

Traditional car manufacturers do not leave even one little, unprofitable market segment untouched. Their product portfolio covers it all. Dozens of different models, hundreds of different options. What that does? It stresses development costs as well as warehousing, while economies of scale as well as quality of various, often integrated, parts dwindles. Every car becomes a project; a unique and relatively expensive one-off. As is exactly the case with each and every traditional still build.

Both Tesla and iStill have very limited amounts of models and options. This allows for lower development costs, lower warehousing costs, and much improved economies of scale as well as a better quality customer experience. Cheaper and more reliable products, isn't that a contradiction? No, if you chose the right organizational set-up, it isn't. It's why iStills are better and cheaper than other stills. It is the reason that Teslas are better and cheaper to own than traditional cars.

Push-back

Up until this day, Tesla receives a lot of push-back. By traditional car manufacturers, by the oil industry, by short-sellers that try to drive its stock price down for their own gains. How does that relate to us getting push-back from traditional still manufacturers, tradeshows, and their associated award competitions? Pretty much one on one, right?

As is the case with Tesla and iStill, this is the destiny of companies that disrupt the industries they work in. The customers love their products, but the competitors hate them and try to push back in every way imaginable.

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, and then you win. Understanding this brings us close to another important topic: if Tesla and iStill have so much in common, what can this conclusion teach us about their respective futures? But first, before we go there, let's dive into the topic of safety ...

Safety

Electric cars, like Teslas, are inherently safer than traditional cars, as they don't have big, old engines, that want to crush the occupants upon hitting that wall. As they do not have a highly combustable energy source - gasoline - on board, there is no risk of fire or explosion. Also, their more advanced driver assist systems help make driving a safer experience, as driver mistakes or driver fatigue are - to a large extent - countered.

We see the same with iStill. Our proprietary Liquid Management Column Technology cannot build-up pressure. And as all iStills are software-supervised, running our machines comes with extra oversight and additional fail-safes, relative to traditional stills. iStill, distilling made safe? Betcha! Because of a better, safer, design. And our software actually counters distillers fatigue ...

Conclusions and projections

Yes, Tesla and iStill do have a lot in common. One might say that iStill is the Tesla of the distilling industry. But, since we are ahead of Tesla on some topics, one might also say that Tesla is the iStill of automobility! :)

What can we learn from these similarities? What projections, of what the future has in store, can we make? Here are a few that we can come up with, but please add to them. We are sure there are more. If you want to share your opinion, please do so in the comments!

• S-shaped adoption curve. Disruptive technology takes time to disperse, but once it does, it replaces the old technology very quickly;
• Our 35% market share on new still sales allows us to predict that Tesla will achieve such high market shares as well;
• Both Teslas and iStills will become the new norm, with our market shares growing to well above 50%;
• Both Tesla and iStill have huge opportunities to open up new markets as they grow;
• Examples? Tesla entering the truck and semi markets. iStill delivering mashers and fermenters, and now also getting demand from Big Alcohol producers;
• Both Tesla and iStill have huge diversification opportunities, allowing them to grow big in various industries;
• Examples? Tesla currently investigates if their full self driving software can be added to humanoid robots. iStill's technology will be used in both health care and industrial applications;
• Both Tesla and iStill are already the most valuable companies in their industries;
• And they are still at the beginning of fulfilling their growth potential: both are expected to grow another order of magnitude (even though Tesla will of course always be much more valuable than iStill).

iStill and Tesla: try and find the differences ...

www.iStill.com