Editor’s note: AeroPress founder Alan Adler is not related to FreightWaves’ Detroit Bureau Chief Alan Adler.

Welcome to Conversations with Dusty, a regular column where Bitcadet founder Dusty Dean speaks with senior executives about their experience selling direct to their customers, major challenges, and lessons learned along the way.

A Conversation with Alan Adler, founder of AeroPress

If you’re a coffee lover like me, you’ve heard of (and probably own) AeroPress, one of the most popular coffee brewers on the market. Not only does it make a great cup of coffee each time, AeroPress is environmentally friendly; uses compostable paper filters, requires no electricity and is free of BPA and phthalates. Over 14,000 Amazon reviewers give it a 5-star rating.

AeroPress, Inc. was founded in 1984 by inventor and retired Stanford University engineering instructor Alan Adler. Under his direction, the company has built a reputation for manufacturing revolutionary sports equipment, including the Aerobie Pro flying ring, which set a Guinness World Record for longest throw. In 2004, Alan began studying the brewing process and machine designs with a simple goal in mind: brew a superior cup of coffee. The AeroPress debuted to critical acclaim in 2005 and is now available to coffee lovers in over 80 countries.

I’ve always admired people who can engineer innovative products and figure out how to build a successful business from those inventions. Alan Adler is one of those rare individuals. AeroPress is a great example of a multi-channel sales approach – selling direct online as well as through multiple retailers including Amazon, Walmart and Target. While Adler concentrates on the technical side of the business, General Manager Alex Tennant manages distribution and…