Matt Friesen did not set out to build another wine club. He set out to fix what made wine feel intimidating and stale. Playlist began as a simple riff session with a creative partner, a table full of bottles, and a speaker. The idea was playful at first. Pair each wine with the perfect song. Very quickly the insight got bigger. There is no single perfect song. The magic is letting people express what they taste and feel through music.

That creative unlock turned into a business model. Playlist is an experiential wine company that uses music to open people up, make tasting more approachable, and build community in real life. The early growth was pure hustle. Social posts. Texting friends. Inviting small groups to taste and collaborate. Then it snowballed. People asked Matt to run the experience for their own gatherings. Ticketed events followed. Brand events came next. The flywheel was simple. Host unforgettable nights. Capture contacts. Move guests into a CRM. Nurture the relationship. Get paid to market instead of paying to market.

There was nothing easy about the category choice. Wine is regulated at the federal level and the state level. Licensing took twelve months to secure and another twelve months to get fully set up for compliant sales. Shipping is heavy. Expensive. Adults only. Signature required. It is the toughest kind of DTC. In those two years of constraint, Playlist leaned into events and B2B partnerships. That constraint became an advantage. Events were not a side channel. They were the channel.

Today D2C is the focus even as B2B events remain larger in revenue. The long game is clear. Change how people think about wine and how they encounter it. Younger audiences want brands they can connect with. They prefer natural options, better for you choices, and experiences that feel human. Music is the language. Experiential unboxing is part of it. Toolkits for hosting your own Playlist night are part of it. The goal is a movement that travels from tasting rooms to living rooms.

Matt’s unpopular opinion lands with surprising force. You do not have to scale on ads. Even as the founder of a performance marketing agency, he believes too many founders pour budget into tired playbooks and forget the point. Build a connection, not just an acquisition channel. The winners do both. The other take is personal. You do not have to build for everyone. You can build something smaller that you love and that sustains your curiosity. Playlist is bootstrapped by design. It is meant to be fun, intentional, and community first.

Key takeaways

• Events can be your primary acquisition channel when you design them to collect contacts and continue the journey
• Category constraints can force creativity that becomes your moat
• Music makes wine accessible by shifting the language from notes and tannins to feeling and vibe
• D2C can grow alongside B2B when the experience is the product
• You do not need ad spend to build momentum if your experience creates genuine connection

🎥 Watch the full interview to hear how Matt uses music, community, and smart ops to turn tastings into a growth engine