You know Talea—those bold, colorful cans of beer that signal that summer is here! Born & brewed in Brooklyn by Tara Hankinson and LeAnn Darland, Talea is all about fun, inclusive & flavor-forward brews.
Co-founders LeAnn and Tara ditched their corporate jobs and met at a beer e-commerce startup in 2018. LeAnn, a Navy vet turned finance exec, and Tara, a former consultant with a passion for hospitality, launched Talea just three months after meeting. Now they’re leading one of NYC’s most exciting breweries. We visited their flagship location in Williamsburg to chat all things entrepreneurship, brews, and doing it all.
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You’ve both followed beautifully untraditional paths—from tech to a flourishing brewing company all over New York. How do you think your backgrounds shaped the creation of Talea?
LeAnn: Tara and I were craft beer outsiders. We spent years in other industries and roles that gave us a solid business background. My experience was operations and finance focused, while Tara’s expertise was in marketing, hospitality, and customer service. Luckily, we were a great match both personally and professionally to start this company together, and as unique it is for business people to switch gears and jump into craft beer, it is even more unique for women to do so. Out of the nearly 10,000 craft breweries in the US, less than three percent are owned exclusively by women.
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Talea is such a bold, refreshing take on beer—what inspired you to start it?
LeAnn: Tara and I both had 10+ year careers before we met and started Talea. We both loved craft beer and were home brewing in our tiny apartments when we decided to ditch our corporate jobs to test the waters in craft beer. Tara left the New York Times and I left Google to join a beer e-commerce startup, which is where we met in 2018. Working together on a daily basis, our passions quickly aligned and we realized a shared vision: to create a totally different beer company that would expand the craft beer market, particularly to include those who had been previously overlooked (ie, non-beer bros). After years of browsing beer aisles and trying to convince the women in our lives to go brewery hopping (usually to no avail), we found again and again that no breweries were trying to speak to customers like us. We wanted to rewrite the narrative and challenge the pre-conceived notions surrounding craft beer, and since no one else seemed to be doing it, we jumped in.
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Talea is much more than a brewery. It’s a brand that empowers women pursuing their passions - how and why have you chosen to build your company this way?
LeAnn: There are so many male-dominated industries out there that would greatly benefit from a woman’s vision and leadership. We experienced the lack of diversity in craft beer first hand, and only once meeting each other decided to make the leap to start Talea. We want to be that support system for other women who may be considering a leap into something new. We offer a variety of events and classes in our taprooms to help women take those next steps, such as Business Plan 101, co-working sessions, financial planning workshops, and vision boarding.
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Is there a story behind the name “Talea”?
LeAnn: With over 10,000 breweries in the US, everything is trademarked! After months of brainstorming name ideas, we decided to go with a portmanteau of our first names: TAra and LEAnn. (We pronounce it “tah-LAY-uh” because it sounds fancier). Initially, we were hesitant name the company after ourselves, but it has since taken on an identity of its own and we love it.
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Tell us more about the visual identity behind Talea. We love your use of bold color and vibrant design!
Tara: We’ve been working with our packaging designer, John Gilsenan, since before we had a name. Talea, a combination of our names, came after many false starts and trademark searches. He brought to life our goal of creating packaging that jumps off the shelf, is gender neutral but leans feminine, and that would work for a large family of beers. We then brought that aesthetic to life in our taprooms, layering in colors and textures but letting the beer be the star.
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How did you manage your time during the beginning days of Talea? Was it difficult balancing your other work, personal lives, etc?
Tara: It was and still is - more than ever. I am so lucky to have LeAnn to be my work wife, accountability partner, and sounding board. Now, we both have families so we have to make work and life fit together. My best advice is to find time to totally step away from your work and shut the laptop. Those are some of our most productive creative times.
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If you could give one piece of advice to someone just starting out on their budding business, what would it be?
Tara: Don’t let perfection be the enemy of progress. Sometimes you need to make a decision and move forward. Analysis paralysis is real!
LeAnn: No one will ever care about your business as much as you. Hopefully you will build a strong team to support you, but always be ready and willing to do every aspect of running the business when needed.
