This episode features a conversation with Sam Kazmer ’11, CEO and Founder of Elsewhere Brewing Co., and Devin T. Adams ’13, CEO and Founder of What’s A Roadblock Beverage Company.

On this episode, join Sam and Devin as they reflect on their West Point legacies and how these experiences carved out their current leadership roles.

A metro Atlanta native, Sam graduated high school and started at West Point in 2007 with the Class of 2011. At West Point, Sam studied Economics and competed on the Nordic Ski Team. Upon graduation in 2011, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Infantry and stationed in Vicenza, Italy with the 173rd Airborne. Following service there, Sam was selected to serve with the 2d Ranger Battalion in Tacoma, WA. After sustaining training injuries during a parachuting crash while conducting an airfield seizure exercise, Sam was medically retired from the Army in 2017. Upon retirement, Sam and his wife, Sara, began their journey in entrepreneurship by traveling through North America, South America, and Europe to develop a concept for a craft brewery. In 2019, they returned to Atlanta, GA and opened Elsewhere Brewing Co in October 2020. In September 2023 they opened a second location in Atlanta. Currently, Sam is the CEO of Elsewhere Brewing Co. as he continues to search for new and novel ways to grow Elsewhere as a business and a brand.

“I’d say, at West Point, what am I trying to figure out? I’m trying to figure out how to be a leader because I need to, I need to figure that out real fast because I guess I’m going to show up to the 173rd. And sure enough, I show up to the 173rd, I’m there for two months, and we’re in Afghanistan. And in the first month we’re there, two or three officers had gotten killed right off the bat. And I would say like four or five platoon leaders lost their jobs. So it was like, I need to figure this out and the consequences are real.”

— Sam Kazmer ’11

Devin T. Adams ’13 (D-1) is the CEO and Founder of What’s A Roadblock Beverage Company (WARBEVCO.), a portfolio of brands that currently owns two award-winning mezcal brands: Sigiloso and Mala Mía Mezcal. Devin is a Vanderbilt Law School graduate and studied Economics and Systems Engineering at West Point. Devin served as a Ranger qualified Fire Support Officer in the 173rd Airborne Brigade and as an enlisted Infantryman in the 82nd Airborne Division completing a deployment to Afghanistan in OEF XII.

Join us for an episode that connects the dots between disciplined beginnings and the freedom of business creation. Get inspired as Sam and Devin reveal how strategic skills from West Point have been pivotal in their ventures, offering a unique perspective on leading with innovation in the entrepreneurial landscape.

**This episode does not imply Federal endorsement.