This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features LeAnn Darland, 38, of Williamsburg, Brooklyn and Tara Hankinson, 37, of Bronxville, NY. Darland worked in finance operations at Google and Hankinson in customer experience strategy for The New York Times when they started the homebrewing side hustle that would become TALEA Beer Co. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.

Image Credit: Courtesy of TALEA. LeAnn Darland, left; Tara Hankinson, right.

When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
Tara: The summer post-MBA, I worked at a winery and fell in love with the idea of creating that experience — a beautiful space, Instagrammable flights and a true connection to customers — in the beer world. I started homebrewing while working in management consulting and continued while working at The New York Times. I left to join a beer ecommerce startup, where I met LeAnn. That job was one step closer to truly following my passion for beer.

LeAnn: I lived in Coronado, San Diego, during my time in the Navy. I loved the casual, community environment of breweries, which was such a contrast to my time serving. When I moved to San Francisco, all of my friends who visited wanted to visit wineries. I started thinking about creating a brewery that would appeal to my friends and mom, who wanted to dress up and celebrate.

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