Ep. 3 Passion, Quality, and Drive: Building a Global Cigar Empire with El Mago Cigars

Nick Fusco [00:00:00]:

You know what's funny is I had someone yesterday, just yesterday, ask me, you know, hey, I want, I want to start, you know, I want to start selling cigars. Really. It's a lot of it's, it's very different from every other industry. There's a lot of groundwork that needs to be done. You gotta, you gotta have your boots on the ground and you gotta, you gotta go. It's like, it's like selling door to door. In a sense. You're still missing a big piece of the business world, I guess, which is marketing. Right now there's only one form of marketing that's allowed legally with cigars. So you can't promote on Instagram, you can't click the boost button, it's not allowed. Google, YouTube, Facebook, whatever, TikTok, all that, it's not allowed. I've learned more in the last two years than I've probably learned in my entire life and most definitely way more than I could ever imagine learning in college.

Andres Sanchez  [00:00:43]:

Yeah, that's true. And something to highlight here because I know everybody thinks now in business, if you don't have this crazy marketing budget, if you aren't spending a ton of money on promotions, that you can't succeed. But I think you're a great example. You're in over 70 shops. You're in multiple states, multiple countries to say the least. Welcome back to the Virtual Ventures podcast, episode three. Today we have a really special guest here, Nick Fusco, the owner of Elmago Cigars and one of my best friends. We're going to kind of go through, hear about his story, starting a cigar company in his early twenty s and how that's going, and shed some light on this amazing story that he has. How are you doing, Nick?

Nick Fusco [00:01:35]:

Good, buddy. Good. And I just want to give you props and give you a shout out because I knew you back when you were pissing yourself in the bed and shitting yourself at the park. Look at you now, you got your own pod, you're doing it. No more accidents in the bed. Proud of you, buddy.

Andres Sanchez  [00:01:50]:

Nick and I have grown up together. I think we became friends when we were four or five years old, played sports all the way through, started a few companies together and definitely have had this entrepreneurial bug together for a while now. So Nick seen me go through a few things. I've seen him really give birth to this beautiful company that's been in the works for some time. So let's just start there, explain to us what Elmago Cigars is and give us kind of a little overview here.

Nick Fusco [00:02:20]:

I'm actually smoking one of my cigars. This is our Maduro. It's called the Miami Maduro. And so what Elmago Cigars is, is a cigar company that I created back in the idea was started at the tail end of 2021 and then really it came to life in 2022. Halfway through 2022, we started selling to the public and now we're in over 70 different retail shops in eight different states, and we've shipped to, I think, nine different countries so far. So I created this brand back in 2022 in honor of my grandparents, who were in a building here in Surfside, Florida, which is in the Miami area. And unfortunately, the building collapsed, and they passed away in the collapse. And so I wanted to make something to commemorate them and honor their legacy and keep them alive, essentially. And so I created this cigar company, and the reason I chose cigars is because my grandfather introduced me to cigars, and I smoked a lot of cigars with him throughout the years, and he actually gave me my first ever cigar box when I was 16 years old. And I'll put this close up here, but it might be hard to see, but that's an actual picture of my grandparents back in Cuba together. And then behind it is a hotel called the James Hotel, which is a hotel that my grandparents bought once they came here to Miami in 89. And so pretty much everything about my brand is dedicated to them, including the name elmago is the name in English. It means wizard or magician. And I came up with that name because Ma, right? The first two letters are Ma for Maria Ma, which is my grandmother's name, and then Go for Gonzalo, the first two letters of my grandfather's name. So everything has a little backstory to it, and everything is dedication to my grandparents. So it's very rewarding to see this brand grow and see people smoking Elmago cigars.

Andres Sanchez  [00:04:11]:

Yeah, for sure. And like I said, I've been close to Nick and his family almost my whole life, and I was very fortunate to meet those two amazing individuals. And to see that their name and brand is being commemorated for hopefully generations to come through this amazing product is really exciting. And I've obviously gotten to get a good inside view on everything going on behind closed doors, but I want more people to know kind of what it's like. If I wanted to start a cigar brand early in my career, if that was something I'm passionate about as well, what were kind of the initial steps you had to take to get the ball rolling?

Nick Fusco [00:04:46]:

You know, what's funny is I had someone yesterday, just yesterday, ask me, hey, I want to start selling cigars. And he didn't have the full background on what needs to be done in order to get out there. And really, it's very different from every other industry because there's a lot of groundwork that needs to be done. You got to have your boots on the ground, and you got to go. It's like selling door to door, in a sense, but really you're kind of shop to shop. And obviously now we have advanced technology from back in the day, so you could make phone calls, send emails and all that, but you're still missing a big piece of the business world, I guess, which is marketing. Right now, there's only one form of marketing that's allowed legally with cigars, because cigars are looked at pretty much the same as cigarettes, which they're very different, but that's the way the government sees it. So whatever. But the only form of marketing available legally is through magazines, and the magazines know that. So they charge you an arm and a leg. The big one that everyone knows about is Cigar Aficionado. They charge 75 grand for half a page, half of a page in their magazine. 75 grand.

Andres Sanchez  [00:05:52]:

Seems like extortion.

Nick Fusco [00:05:53]:

Yeah, right. So you can't promote on Instagram, you can't click the boost button. It's not allowed. Google, YouTube, Facebook, whatever, TikTok, all that, it's not allowed. So all the growth has to be like truly organic. It has to be word of mouth, it has to be you going to do events at cigar lounges, at cigar shops. You got to travel, you got to hit the streets, you got to go. And it's a lot of work, but it's very enjoyable, at least for me. For me, it's been very enjoyable and it's been a good learning process. And I experienced something that I've never experienced before, and I've gotten to meet so many people because it is a face to face type of business. So I do enjoy that. But it does like any business, some less than others, some more than others. But it requires a certain amount of capital because as you know, with cigars, it's a volume business, right? This cigar doesn't sell for a million dollars, that's for sure sells for $12. So there needs to be volume for the financial part to make sense for it to work. So usually you have to order in high quantities to keep your costs lower and all that, because there are so many additional costs, legal costs and all that. So it's an investment. It's an investment, and in this case, it's an investment. In myself, I'm happy with my investment so far because I've learned more in the last two years than I probably learned in my entire life, and most definitely way more than I could ever imagine learning in college.

Andres Sanchez  [00:07:19]:

Yeah, that's true. And something to highlight here, because I know everybody thinks now in business, if you don't have this crazy marketing budget, if you aren't spending a ton of money on promotions, that you can't succeed. But I think you're a great example. I mean, you're in over 70 shops. You're in multiple states, multiple countries to say the least, and you just said you can't do any paid advertising. It's all boots on the ground, get in front of people and kind of let that domino effect happen. So from that perspective, that should inspire some people listening to get excited about the fact that you don't need to spend a crazy amount of money on marketing. If you're really passionate about a product and willing to get out there and do the legwork, you can start to facilitate this kind of journey and I think that's a great segue into the next thing. This wouldn't be happening if your product wasn't great. And clearly, I mean, I know because I've been with you behind the scenes but more people in the industry seem to start to realize this as well. As you continue to grow, more people are smoking your cigars even on social media I see more random people just at you and post your cigars from different states in different areas. So kind of speak to the creation of the product, that process because I'm sure some people have no clue what it's like to make a cigar, how it happens, where it happens.

Nick Fusco [00:08:29]:

So that is the key. That is the ultimate key is having a good cigar because you could attract customers in different ways but if they don't love your cigar at the end of the day, they won't come back and buy it for the second time and then if that happens, then nobody wants you. So it has to be a well rounded brand, let's say, right? And I tried to do that and the reason why I tried to do that actually my motivation was because I wanted to create a packaging and a cigar that could kind of match up with and complement how amazing my grandparents life story is. And so I set out to do what I thought would be just that and so I created very unique, vibrant, bright Miami art deco colored packaging of bright boxes. And then each cigar comes into two. As you can see. This is our new one here, right? This is called the Pepe, which is what I used to refer to my grandfather as beautiful to him. And then I even have one more, which is Bottoms, a strong Cuban origin and then a tribute to but, yeah, this is just one piece of the puzzle, like, you know, getting something that is that's eye catching. And it's that's important as a new brand, because people need to be able to, I guess, have a reason to just try you out, because you got to differentiate yourself in some way. So that kind of eye catching packaging opens the door for me. Someone was willing to just go over they gravitate towards it and they go over and they try one and that's all I want. That's all I want. I just want you to try one and they try it. And so far the feedback has been incredible. They've loved it and once they know that this is a product that they enjoy, they trust it and so it becomes like a lot of people. Some of my cigars have become their daily cigars, their favorites, whether it's the Connecticut, the Habano or the Maduro, which is what we have out now. We have three more coming in three to four weeks but it's become their favorites because it takes time, but you got to get yourself in the door and give yourself an opportunity to let someone enjoy your product. And so I found that through I have a unique background story to a cigar brand, and my packaging is unique. So those are your step one? Step one, really. And then step two, of course, is having a great cigar. And I entrust my blends between myself and my mentor, cigar maker business partner Miguel Pinto. We have a factory in Estellinicaragua where we make our blends. And he's been in the industry for like, 30 years, so he's taught me a lot. He's taught me a lot about cigars. So we came up with all these blends together. I've actually made eight different blends with him. And it's truly one of the coolest experiences I've ever had in my life, is the cigar making. Seeing the cigar making process and going to Nicaragua and seeing how it's all done and how many hands are on deck, because it's literally everything's handmade, everything's done by hand. That's been really cool. And you learn what type of cigar, what notes in a cigar are good for this palette or that palette. And then you try to basically make something that a lot of people can enjoy. And you make something that like having three lines of Connecticut habano and a maduro. You make something where people can just graduate if they want to start off with something mild, you make something mild, but something interesting. You don't want to make it boring. And then sometimes the Connecticut rappers have too much spice or pepper, and it could turn people off. So it's a fine balance. It's like cooking. It's a fine balance. And I have great support and guys that know what they're doing and reassure me of what I'm doing as well. It helps a lot.

Andres Sanchez  [00:12:39]:

Yeah. And I even remember when before the cigars had come in, when it was still just the idea we would walk through the humidors and the consensus was, shit is really boring. Like, it's just a bunch of reds and blacks and wooden boxes. There's maybe a few, sometimes none. No exciting colors in there. So to see you kind of go from I remember early on saying, hey, I'm going to go do this. I'm going to be the bright person in the humidor. I'm going to be the one that's going to bring this different kind of change and look to what a cigar humidor really is. And I know your cigar, the main one that came out was the Art Deco, but I feel like you kind of highlighted the artistry behind cigars because that's what it really is. And you've kind of done a good job of painting this amazing picture, like these beautiful, exciting colors. Cigars don't have to be this boring, super manly, just only older people smoke type of situation, which it kind of was. You're bringing this lively, more fun, exciting kind of view and I think that's been embraced by the industry. And one of the reasons why you've seen this kind of quick success, some people, it takes much longer than what it's taken you to continue to grow this brand, especially with not having the ability to market it. So I think all that speaks to the amazing product that you've put out. And it's been super cool for me to be on the back end and be able to see all of these kind of things come to life because I can remember many of nights just sitting in the backyard till two in the morning on a weekday, talking through ideas and what you think you're going to do. And to see it all be real is pretty amazing. Yeah, for sure. I guess like a good thing speaking because not only just cigars, but you have a really good business mind. Maybe share some tips with people listening on what it takes to start a brand. Certain things that you need to be able to understand prior to starting. Because I think the biggest problem, and we've noticed it, is a lot of people will start and then not see results by day 30 or day 60 and say, this doesn't work. So maybe share a little bit of the experiences from your end on building a brand from nothing.

Nick Fusco [00:14:46]:

I think for me, obviously a huge motivator for my brand is obviously it's my grandparents and I made this brand after them, so it wasn't difficult to find any sort of passion and drive to make this work. But in any business that anyone plans on starting, you need a passion and a drive to want to make it work. Number one, and I think a big thing is don't look into what other people say about their business too much. It's good to hear other opinions and other stories, but I think people, sometimes when they hear something, they expect the same results. And you can get your hopes up. And if you get your hopes up, well, I think your business is finished because you're most likely going to give up. And so I think it's good to maybe set up some type of expectations for yourself, but don't have these just expectations up here. It's better to think about the work that needs to go into it instead of the expectations, what you're going to get out of it. You got to think of what you got to put into it. Because like the saying goes, if you don't put anything into it, you won't get anything out of it. You definitely need to look at it that way. And I know that when I started, I had countless people tell me that, hey, are you sure you want to do this, dude? Are you sure? This industry is a doggy dog industry. It's brutal. There's big egos in here. People are it's going to be rough. Like all this stuff and I was like, Look, I want to do it, and if it blows up in my face, I don't care. I don't care. I'm going to try to do this, and I don't fucking care if it blows up in my face. I even had several owners of bigger cigar companies tell me things like, oh, I understand what you're trying to do here. It's very nice. But you need at least 500,000 or a million dollars to start, or else you're never going to make it. Never. And I did not have that much money to start. And again, it goes back to what are you going to put into it? And it doesn't just need to be money. It's time and effort, and that could make up for it. Obviously, it'd be great if you have a million and you could just do other things. But if you really want it to go, you make it go. And I think probably the biggest thing that I could say, which I'll repeat, is don't have super high expectations because you don't want to get your hopes up and don't have that instant gratification type of attitude because that's not how it goes. It takes time, and I can kind of have perspective and see that now, because when I started, I would go to cigar lounges and they would tell me, oh, bro, I'll help you out. I want to do this because I'm a good guy. I'll help you out. I'll bring you in, okay? I had to just sit there and be like, all right. Thank you. Knowing very well that I had a great product. But now the tone has changed, and they're like, dude, you've made an absolutely phenomenal product. Thank you. It's very easy to sell. I don't have to do much. We want more. So you just got to stick it out.

Andres Sanchez  [00:17:46]:

Yeah. No, I totally agree. And it's funny, even when we had the company previous, we balance each other out because you're very much on the swim in your own lane. Head down, figure it out. I sometimes get wrapped up in listening to a lot of other people, trying to learn from too many people at some times. So I think really finding that balance and I like kind of what you touched on there. Don't have these insane expectations. You need to be realistic. You can't wake up and say, man, this is a really good idea. Let me start and do it. And then by week two be like, damn it, I haven't made 100 grand. Does this not work? And I feel like that happens to a lot of people, because social media sells us this fake reality that you can spin up companies and be a millionaire overnight when people don't see the 999 people that did it the same day that that one person that made it did it, and none of them made it. So setting some realistic expectations and not having, like, what you said that instant gratification mindset where you get complacent when things just get a little better, because that's when you really got to put your foot down. What's next for Emago? I know you said you have those three blends coming out. You've got the three out right now. What is next?

Nick Fusco [00:18:59]:

Yeah. So aside from the three new blends coming out, which that will be in three to four weeks, we plan on continuing to expand the way we've been doing. We have a big event coming up the second week of next month, second week of May in Kansas. So that'll be the first time that we're in Kansas doing an event. And we'll be traveling around more, going to different states that we haven't gone to before expanding. We recently added a couple of sales reps in other states because I can't clone myself and be everywhere and they do fantastic job. Shout out Ray. Shout out Roger.

Andres Sanchez  [00:19:37]:

Shout out Ray. Shout out Roger. Really excited. I'm unfortunately missing the event in Kansas City. I'm flying in a little too late, but I'll be there right after to kind of hear the lowdown on how it went. But I know there's already a lot of people really excited. The store is super excited. It's just awesome to see how it's gone from what it was at the start to the fact that you even have the traction to do an event in a different state, which I know a lot of people. At first, the feedback was, oh, this is so Miami. This is really miami. How is it going to go in other markets? And it seems like it almost even sells better in some of these places. I remember Ray talking to me. One person in Lawrence wants the exclusive rights to sell Elmago as the only shop in Lawrence. That's how excited they are about the product. So from that perspective, it is so cool just to see this evolution of from just, hey, let's let's build this cool cigar. Let's see if people like it here to you can't even keep it on the shelves anymore.

Nick Fusco [00:20:36]:

Yeah. It has been truly amazing to see, and the connections made are unique. A lot of times it's more than business. It's where people become friends as well, and you kind of just stick together and it's just you create a support team instead of businesses on opposite sides. So you work together in a sense. And that's what's cool about it as well, because it doesn't feel it's not like Shark Tank, you know, it's not there's no sharkiness. So you guys are you guys are both sharks or minnows or turtles or stingrays, whatever you want to call it, and you're swimming together. It's been amazing and I'm looking forward to we have a similar opportunity like that in Indiana coming up, where people want to distribute Elmogo, and they want to distribute it in their city, their town, their state. So it's cool. I'm excited to see what happens.

Andres Sanchez  [00:21:38]:

Yeah, for sure. And maybe just off of that, touch on a few things. One, if I go to my local cigar shop and I can't find Elmago, how do I buy it? Two, if I'm connected in my scene in my area and I want to distribute Elmago, how do I do that?

Nick Fusco [00:21:53]:

So can't find Elmago in your shop. You can go to my website, www.elmagosigars.com. The cigars are available there. And then I also have a tab on my website, a page that shows you where we are, where we're located. And then also a big online retailer, which is what they specialize in, called Neptune Cigars. Also carries my cigars online. And you could also find them there. And then for those who want to be a distributor, my phone number, my personal email, it's all available on my website. Feel free to reach out, go on my Instagram, Elmago Cigars, reach out to me and we'll talk. Forget about it.

Andres Sanchez  [00:22:30]:

Forget about it. So at the end of all of these interviews, I know they're typically business, I like to just kind of end it with a question that can be answered in any way possible, doesn't need to have anything to do with what we just talked about. And it's very simple. What are you excited about right now? What's coming up that's really exciting to you? Whether it's personal business, whether what you're eating for dinner tonight easy.

Nick Fusco [00:22:55]:

I got a trip coming up in the summer. I'm going to Costa Rica, baby. Costa Rica. I'm really excited for that because that's my favorite place to visit. Costa Rica. Budavida.

Andres Sanchez  [00:23:04]:

Budavida. Nick's excited to lock in his next or trip to Costa Rica after you haven't been there. Have you been there since we went? I think you went right after, right?

Nick Fusco [00:23:13]:

Eight, nine years, maybe more.

Andres Sanchez  [00:23:15]:

It's definitely been a lot.

Nick Fusco [00:23:17]:

Yeah, it's been at least eight years. So I'm excited to get back there, eat some good food, smoke some cigars, look at the beach, go hiking, all that.

Andres Sanchez  [00:23:25]:

I got a sneak peek into the airbnb, and Nick staying in. So if you buy 1500 Elmago cigars, I heard he'll take you for free because there's extra rooms.

Nick Fusco [00:23:35]:

Yes, you could cuddle with me all night. 1500 Maggo cigars, you cuddle with me all night. Places free.

Andres Sanchez  [00:23:42]:

Hey, you guys heard it first. That's an active deal out there right now. 1500 cigars, free trip. Well, no, you got to cover your airfare. But after your airfare, free trip to Costa Rica on Elmago cigars right here. So thank you so much for coming on. I will actually see you in like 30, 45 minutes in person. Anything else you want to shout out? Kind of.

Nick Fusco [00:24:03]:

Before we wrap up, I like to shout out this new podcast I heard about called Virtual Ventures Podcast. They do a kick ass job, and they're next to the top. They're next, trust me.

Andres Sanchez  [00:24:18]:

Thank you so much. I wonder where you heard about that podcast. All right, thank you so much, Nick. I appreciate you coming on. I know everybody's going to absolutely love this story and make sure if you guys made it this far, like, subscribe follow us. And then all of Nick's information is going to be listed below as well. So make sure to go interact with him. He runs the page. Feel free to shoot him a DM talk shop about cigars, anything that you want. From that perspective, it is all him behind that amazing social media. So, again, amazing conversation. Nick, thanks for coming on.

Nick Fusco [00:24:50]:

Thank you, buddy. It was a pleasure.