Catering to His Strengths: How Justin Pasha Created a Luxury Brand on His Own Terms

In this inspiring episode, I interview Justin Pasha, founder and CEO of The Cupbearer, a premier cocktail catering company. Justin shares his difficulties with ADHD in school and how he overcame them to build a successful business doing what he loves. Despite constant struggles with the school system, Justin trusted his passions and strengths to create an innovative mobile bar service from scratch. He discusses the realities of entrepreneurship and offers advice for others with ADHD who want to follow their own path. Justin proves that those who don’t thrive in traditional academic settings can still achieve great success by playing to their strengths.

Timeline Summary:

[01:37] - Justin provides overview of his journey founding The Cupbearer, a cocktail catering company.

[03:49] - Justin shares being diagnosed with ADHD and put on medication at age 6.

[05:09] - Discussing misconception relating ADHD to low intelligence.

[06:01] - Justin describes difficulties focusing in school with ADHD.

[08:02] - School felt like jail, stifling Justin’s natural curiosity.

[09:06] - Questioning whether school prepares kids like Justin for the real world.

[12:26] - Need for differentiated learning styles, not one-size-fits-all.

[14:05] - Clarifying Justin’s time spent in resource room vs general classes.

[15:41] - Justin deciding to become an entrepreneur much later in life.

[19:14] - Starting The Cupbearer with only $800 initial investment.

[20:46] - Being on time easier when you own the business vs working for others.

[22:50] - Obsessing over your own business doesn't feel like work.

[23:47] - Many paths can lead to pride and confidence in oneself.

[24:30] - Making your own niche despite no existing demand.

[25:55] - Justin’s small wins motivated him more than money at first.

[27:46] - Advice for new entrepreneurs - be ready to work hard without pay.

[28:36] - Justin learning about himself and building confidence through business.

Connect with Justin Pasha:

Justin's cocktail catering business The Cupbearer

Instagram: @the_cup_bearer

Come see the company at work: Greenwich Polo Club

Thank you for tuning in to this episode of Successful with ADHD. If you enjoyed this conversation, please +FOLLOW the podcast on your favorite platform and leave a review to let us know your thoughts.

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Transcript

Justin Pasha: 0:00

I hated school I hated. I hated being in that chair. I hated being in that room and I couldn't do what they wanted me to do. And like I didn't even with the medication, even with any of that. I just, it was a misery to me, you know, and it blows my mind that any kid can. It's a real hell. I mean, you go from being a kid who has all the freedom in the world, you know, kids are naturally curious. You know, and I was that way. And then you bring them to a room and you sit and you tell someone with more energy than then you can't even fathom as an adult. That they need to sit? No, they need to sit for eight hours. Wow, what a what a hell to go from total freedom to now I'm just in this room. It almost felt like gel. It sounds. Yeah, I felt like Jalen, it is like you, you're not free. As a child, you go to this room, this is where you go, you know. And then all through high school, and even through college. They tell you, they're preparing you for the real world, I guess, but didn't prepare me for my world. I'm so very successful.

Brooke Schnittman: 0:51

Welcome to successful with ADHD. I'm Brooke Shipman. Let's get started. Hi, everybody. And welcome back to another episode of successful with ADHD. Today, we have Justin Pasha. He is the CEO and founder of the cup bear, acknowledged by peers and professionals as the world's most influential cocktail catering company. He has ADHD. And the ironic thing about all of this is he doesn't drink. So yeah. But he does a great job entertaining and presenting, and it's worldwide. So Justin, tell us a little bit about yourself what you do, and then we'll get into your ADHD journey. Sure. Well, Brooke, thank

Justin Pasha: 1:37

you so much for having me today. I'm very excited to share my journey and where we came from and how we got to where we are right now. And the exciting story of the cup bear, which is my baby. It's a company I founded. almost 10 years ago. Now we've grown to be a serious entity in the event space and really pioneered a lot of what you're seeing now a lot more of which is mobile bars and cocktail catering, at least here in the United States. The Cup where we provide these over the top and incredible experiences, all beverage related for off premise, you saw almost 20 years ago now sort of like a revival or a cocktail, Renaissance, you know, in bars and restaurants find bars and restaurants around the country. 10 years ago, I identified a blank spot in that, which was that, you know, weddings, corporate events, private events, and venues really, we're doing things the old way, the new school approach, which was craft cocktails, and we applied that to off premise and catering grown to the point where we now have an operation and not only here in New York, but also in Miami. And we do events worldwide. So and it's just a an amazing, beautiful journey and exciting company, everyone that works for us as a as a family. And we have so much fun doing what we do creating these over the top experiences working with the most talented mixologists and flair bartenders from around the world now creating these incredible concoctions and, and just it's a party and it's a blast. And I love what I do every single day. So,

Brooke Schnittman: 3:05

so your Life is one big party. Hmm.

Justin Pasha: 3:08

Something like that. Something like that. Yeah, it's a lot of fun. For sure. I mean, it's it's nightlife. So, yeah,

Brooke Schnittman: 3:15

yeah, absolutely. So I love how you were and are a visionary. And so many of us with ADHD are and you trusted your gut. And you said, I'm going to take this to the next level and create something that doesn't exist. I'm sure there were a lot of trials and tribulations doing it. But here you are successful in what you do, and you enjoy it. And you're worldwide, not just in the US. So you also have ADHD, and so many individuals with ADHD are entrepreneurs. So tell me about when you got diagnosed with ADHD? What got you to get diagnosed? You remember?

Justin Pasha: 3:54

Sure. Yeah. So I mean, we're gonna have to take it far back, because I was I was a small formal diagnosis came in first. So this was at the time when they were, you know, it was new. This is I'm 34 years old now. So at that time, I was just six years old, in kindergarten. In any case, they I guess I couldn't pay attention. I couldn't say still. I couldn't do whatever it was that they needed. The five year olds to do in the room. They said, Oh, maybe as a TV, they sent me to a doctor and they put me on amphetamines, like the next day. So I've been on medication since six years old. So long time they diagnosed me and yeah, and then I was in resource rooms and they were always just trying to put my square peg into the round hole, you know, and that's just how it went. I mean, I was talking in full sentences by the age of one years old. I was walking you know, I was walking early, very early. I was I was advanced by all the all their metrics cognitively, until public school, and then suddenly there's something wrong with me and Hey no medication, medication, Ritalin, dexedrine Adderall, Vyvanse. And I'm still on it to this day. So,

Brooke Schnittman: 5:09

yeah, no, I appreciate you sharing that, you know, cognitively, you are so advanced for a first grader. And for those of you listening here, please now that ADHD has nothing to do with intelligence. In fact, a lot of people with ADHD are either have average IQ to above average, but I heard it in your story right away, Justin, that they wanted you to fit in the way that the school was doing it. And then it almost seems, and I'm not knocking the school district because I worked in it. And we've come a long way since you and I were in first grade. But you were in a resource room, but you were intelligent. So I'm curious, you know, if they were working on executive function skills, like what was the point of them putting you in resource jam? Do you even know? Um,

Justin Pasha: 6:01

no, I mean, I can. They want you to do things the way the other kids are doing, and they want you to be able to sit there, they want you to be able to listen to what they're doing. And if you're fidgeting, or you're moving around, or you're not paying attention, then you're a distraction, I guess, to the other kids, and so they just put you in another room. And that's what they did. And I mean, there was, there was me. And then there was usually, you know, a handful of kids with serious cognitive disabilities in there. Right. And there was maybe one or two resource teachers and they were just kind of babysitting us and they would, she would sit there, you know, this is, I mean, I was in resource rooms like that all the way through high school. But I think early on, I remember, there would be just a woman, you know, they're sitting right next to me, and just like, trying to teach it to me and like, and like in like, move, you're okay, this is what we're doing. Like someone's sitting with me the whole time trying to get me to focus, focus on whatever it was that they wanted to do. And then like, you know, I never did any homework. And that was that was that way through high school. I was, I was I hated, I was very social. And I still am to this day. And I mean, in high school, I won, like, all the social superlatives. And, you know, I was always very popular and just a social person. But I couldn't, I hated school I hated, I hated being in that chair, I hated being in that room, and I couldn't do what they wanted me to do. And like I didn't even with the medication, even with any of that. I just, it was a misery to me, you know, and I, it blows my mind that any kid can you know what I mean? Like, it's so it's a real hell. I mean, you go from being a kid who has all the freedom in the world, you know, kids are naturally curious. You know, they're not not learning. You know, they're learning everything. They're constantly soaking up everything, you know, and I was that way. And then you bring them to a room and you sit and you tell someone with more energy than then you can't even fathom as an adult, that they need to sit? No, they need to sit for eight hours. So rageous, you know, and like, it's sad. And it's really, and I felt that and I was I was, I guess I was depressed early on to like, Wow, what a what a hell to go from total freedom to now just in this room,

Brooke Schnittman: 8:02

it almost felt like gel. It sounds. Yeah, I

Justin Pasha: 8:05

felt like Joe and it is like you, you can't go anywhere, you know, you're not free. You're not free. As a child, you go to this room, this is where you, this is where you go, you know, and then all through high school, and then even through college, they tell you, like, they're preparing you for the real world, I guess. But didn't prepare me for my world. My world is very real. And I don't have to do anything that I don't want to do. You know, and I'm so very successful. And there was never a moment where they even talked about an entrepreneurial choice or lifestyle that you know, you could lead it was always this worker bee, can you hack it? Kind of? Yeah, training, and it doesn't work for everybody. And I think that mean, and I'm not even so sure. What add is. I mean, I know that right now. I'm very dependent on the medication. And I have always been, but I don't know what I would have become if they hadn't put my mind on heavy doses of amphetamines at such an early developmental age, you know, and then consistently kept them kept me on them for my entire life. So right now, I'm a vegetable without my medication.

Brooke Schnittman: 9:06

Yeah, I think that one of the things that you shared, we work with students, parents and adults and the mentality very often, or the misconception is that someone with ADHD or someone with a disability needs the full gamut of accommodations and services. But that's not true. Yes, you want to level the playing fields for your student and as a student, but you don't necessarily need to throw everything in because look at what you're sharing right now you have this negative experience of people trying to fit you into so bad with these references square peg into a round hole. And you knew that you were smart. You just didn't do it the same way. You never did homework. It's probably because you already knew what you're doing, you did have some executive dysfunction. And you were you felt smarter than the material that they were providing to you. So it felt like a waste of your time. Maybe,

Justin Pasha: 10:11

maybe. I mean, I think the topics that I was interested in, I was very interested in, and I loved them. And I could have pursued them endlessly. But they weren't necessarily anything that I was being taught in school, right. So, or maybe they were at times, but if I was interested in them, I wasn't interested to do it in their way, like, Okay, now you, you're now you go home and you repeat this step, you do this online, or, you know, I look back and I think, like, what the hell? Why are they teaching us that? That's just so stupid,

Brooke Schnittman: 10:38

right? Like, why didn't they teach you entrepreneurship? Why didn't they teach you life skills, those kinds of things,

Justin Pasha: 10:43

like six months ago, like on the Oregon Trail, like, what? Why remember

Brooke Schnittman: 10:47

that, but not really, really. But like, really

Justin Pasha: 10:49

why? Like, right? That's really this, this kid here, like this bright kid who's, who's as the ability to learn so much and soak up so much in like, that's what you teach them. There's not this, like, there's so much interesting things out there. There's ways that you can teach things that can be interesting. Totally, you bring this child to sit somewhere for eight hours in a day, and then you want them to go home. And then you want them to do more work at home, give them like a 30 minutes to like play outside a day. And then you use that as like a Yeah, it's so backwards, you use that as a cudgel that you can hit them with, when they're not doing what they need, you can take it away from them, right? What when they didn't do what they owe, you don't, you're not sitting still you didn't you have to sit inside for your recess, you don't get to go outside because you were well behaved during class,

Brooke Schnittman: 11:31

which is the worst, right, which is the worst punishment because people with ADHD need that to get their energy out to thrive to focus. So you're taking away physical activity, they're not going to do any better afterwards. In fact, it's going to be a negative disrupter and behavioral issue. But so how was

Justin Pasha: 11:53

that not like person? You know, like, you know, sorry, I'm sorry. But like you said, Before, I was I wouldn't have, I wouldn't have made that analogy. But like, how was it not like prison, that's what happens in prison, you don't do what they want you to do. And they take away your rec time, in the yard, or whatever, they take away your other privileges. You know, it's like, it's this constant like game with, like, be like, the other kids, you know, the kids that did so well in school, I mean, good for them, you know, but it wasn't for everybody. And again, I don't think like, you know, my wife, for instance, she's, she was an amazing student who loves school. And she, she's incredible at what she does, and but she loves school, right? He

Brooke Schnittman: 12:26

worked for her she didn't, wasn't made for her.

Justin Pasha: 12:29

It was made for her. And there are other there needs to be other. You said, you know that medications and whatnot, it's important to level the playing field. But you know, what I would say to that is there needs to be at least two types of playing fields, I don't need that other person's level, playing field level, for me, I would just like my own playing field, right? Where where things are, you know, constructed in configured in such a way that I can do what I need to do, and I can learn in the way that I'm, I'm able to learn, you know,

Brooke Schnittman: 12:54

I really appreciate that, you know, you're a 34 year old adult, right, and you still have this pain that you're harboring from when you're in school, and that is going to be with you for a very long time. So for those of you listening out here, I will say because I was a special education teacher and administrator schools have come a long way. And there is differentiation. So to your point, we need your own playing field, rather than leveling the playing field. We differentiate based on strength. But now you take 2530 kids in a class and try to do that with one teacher, it's a lot of work, right? So for you, if if you were to go back to school today and relive your childhood, what they have in some schools that have more resources, they have integrated co teaching where they have the special education teacher, which I was and the general education teacher in the class, and you could group people and you could teach to the learning style, and you wouldn't look any different than the general education kids. So for someone to your intelligence, perhaps resource room wouldn't be the right thing for you. Especially because of the social piece.

Justin Pasha: 14:05

Yeah, well, I said resource room, but maybe I wasn't clear there. I wasn't in the resource room all day long. So my school I'm actually I grew up in Fairfield, Connecticut, which is a very affluent town. And we did have in the classrooms that I was in, the resource teacher, or one of the resource Teaching Aides was always in the room. So I would go for a period of the day, whatever that might be hour or so to the resource room where I would just be in that room. But then I would be in regular class with the rest of the students for the rest of the day. And they would just be a resource teacher in there.

Brooke Schnittman: 14:37

Yeah, but they weren't involved in, in the planning with the teacher. So they weren't looked at as a teacher.

Justin Pasha: 14:43

Maybe not, probably not. No, they were just, they were just the aide in the room. You know, isn't this challenging for teachers? Because it isn't. The thing is like, there are types of learners like me, and then there are the learners that can learn, you know, but people like me, don't go to teach in schools. People like the kids who did really well go to teach Schools, people that love school so much. And they decided I want to work in a school for the rest of my life. You know, that's not

Brooke Schnittman: 15:06

true. That's not true. I did not love it. I did not love school and I was a teacher at lot of ADHD years, our teachers because they care about people and they want to give back and be, you know, set a difference. But for you, it was really, you know, something that drove you to go the opposite way and say, I'm going to follow my own rules. I'm going to do things my own way. And look how successful you are. So what I would like to highlight for the listeners, if it's okay with you is like, what was that moment for you that you realize, I need to work for myself,

Justin Pasha: 15:41

it came much later I was, I went to school in Boston. I mean, it took me a long time I graduated high school with like a 1.5 GPA by the skin of my teeth. And I went to community college for a while in Connecticut, and I went to community college in Boston, my best friend was going to be used. So I moved down there and went to community. And then I transferred to a regular college, where I studied hospitality. And I started was working in restaurants, from like, age 15. And then I worked in really nice restaurants in Boston. And then I kind of got the idea around that time that I wanted to be in hospitality in some capacity. And I really thought that that was going to be owning a bar or owning a restaurant or just maybe being a GM restaurant or something like that. I thought I wanted to be an optimality. So I went to school for that college. And then I dropped out of college at some point. And I was just I wasn't getting good grades. And I just hated being in school. And I said, Do I need to stick around in college if I want to work in restaurants like this? I don't think that matters. So I dropped out. So I moved back home and I got a job in Connecticut started to support my parents and contribute. And then I began to work as a bartending instructor because I was already a bartender for some time. And around that time, I had some free time there was a desk of training, wheels started spinning. And I thought, you know, what, if I were to, you know, create a mobile bar, I wanted to own a restaurant, I thought that was my passion. But I realized, like the barrier to entry to owning a restaurant or starting a restaurant is so high, you need millions of dollars to do it properly. And I and I had done some catering in Boston, and I knew what the best version of bar catering was. And I thought, you know, I've worked in now craft and Mixology for a long time, I thought, well, I know I can do better than that tomorrow. And I don't need a lot of money to do that. I just, you know, so I decided I was going to do it. And I decided I wanted to try it because the risk was was pretty low, right? I had about $800 or $800. And that's what my total initial investment was. Wow. I knew what the catering bartenders were and they sucked and they were just like the worst. And I thought, well, I'm, I'm an amazing bartender. I've been doing this a long time, a really good bartender mixologist. And at that time, you hadn't really seen clear ice anywhere. But I think I saw it in the gap, the movie that had come out that they were cracking ice from a block of ice. And I thought, wow, that is so cool. Why don't we see that anywhere. So I learned how to freeze blocks of clear ice in a cooler igloo cooler, slowly and in a freezer that I got for free on Craigslist. And I would slow these big I would freeze these big blocks of ice slowly over three days. And then I would dump the block out. And I would saw off the white part. So I'd have all this clear ice at the bottom. And I saw that into individualized groups. And then some core containers and pods and a resource. And a handful of bar tools, beautiful bar tools, copper, I thought I get beautiful copper tools. And that would be like my signature. So I had this copper bar tools, beautiful hardwood bar with this crystal clear ice and these great cocktails with fresh juice for the first time. And everyone was using sour mix out of bottles. It was real ingredients. Real bartender real bar. One of my friends, parents, my family didn't have money, but my friend's family didn't. She said why don't you come and set the bar up at this tailgate at this Country Club is a polo match happening, just set the bar up. I did that for free. I set the bar up and these rich people saw me and they started to hire me for their parties. And wow, you know, then we just went crazy from there. And now we have 30 staff and wow, 10 Mobile bars and you know, more stuff than we can count. Yeah,

Brooke Schnittman: 19:14

so for those of you out there listening who want to make it right, you don't have to go big right away, you can have $800 in your bank account and start small use your resources that you have, and see where you go with it. And that's exactly what you did. And you I'm sure hustled a lot and just stayed persistent.

Justin Pasha: 19:36

You can't be afraid of failure, you know, in the same way, you know, and I think that I was primed pretty well after a lifetime of really failures right? Once a month you get that report card and it just says that you're this is it you're not a winner, you know, every time so I was already I had a high opinion of myself in certain aspects. You know, I was confident, you know, in my social abilities, but like I didn't really have a high ability to do Winner to execute or to succeed, you know, I didn't have what you would call, like, a good chance of success, you know, it might pass that made me feel like I couldn't, I couldn't fail. I know I could fail, I would I was okay to fail, I've always failed. You know, if I fail at this, then that's not going to make me feel any certain kind of way, you know, and I, I mean, I, you know, I was fired from, I must have worked in 20 restaurants, I counted at one time, I would almost think of 17. And I was fired from all of them, except for two. Oh, wow. You know, just for being late or a million different reasons, you know, but like, there's not being a good employee, I was like, I wasn't a good, like, I wasn't a good student. Not good. I'm not good at doing anything else. And I love the restaurants and the people that I work with, they all love me, the managers were always sad when they had to let me go, you know?

Brooke Schnittman: 20:46

So what is the difference? Then? You have your own company? Are you on time? Are you you're still obviously passionate about what you do?

Justin Pasha: 20:55

Yes. Well, I mean, when it's yours, it's different, right? It's different when it's yours, because it's failing at it when it's yours feels different. Because no one's No one's forcing you to be there, no one's forcing you to do this thing, right? I don't pick to do anything that I don't want to do. You know, I don't I don't move in a direction. That's not interesting to me. And, you know, the cup bearer might even be more successful if I was able to be if I was able to focus on things that weren't interesting to me, you know, and I didn't for the longest time I didn't do my taxes until way, way later until like to hire someone to do them, you know, and I, all the things that scare people away from starting a business these thing like, how could I do that? How can I do this, you just don't do those things, right? You delegate, don't do the things you don't like until you have enough money, that you can pay someone to do those things. And that's what I did 100%. And by doing by never doing for a minute, anything I didn't want to do. I was successful, because I was harnessing the strongest part of me, which is the creative part. And the parts of me that make me special. The parts of you that make you special are the parts of you that are interested in things, the parts of you that love a thing. And then when you love something, and you're interested in it, you never feel like you're working right. And it's so it's cliche to say that, but like, you're if you want to start a business, you better be prepared to work 100 hours a week, right? But those 100 hours, if you're doing the right thing are not going to feel like work, right? Because you're interested because you blink and the day goes by and you were just in the zone obsessing over a detailed q&a excited over something, you know what I mean? It doesn't feel like work. You know, you have to be able to scan a million Instagram profiles looking for the right person, the right connection, you have to be you know, and it's the sort of thing like, the amount of time I put into social media and Instagram, in the early days, if you were being if I was being paid to do that, for a company like, I would be up just miserable, miserable, you'd be put, you'd be miserable. You'd be miserable. It's not work for yourself. You can't obsess over

Brooke Schnittman: 22:50

the detail helping someone else. Yeah, you can obsess

Justin Pasha: 22:53

over the details of someone else's baby. Like you can obsess over your own baby, right to take care of someone else's child as a chore as a job to take care of your child doesn't feel like work, right? So that's what it is to own a business. And it's so important that you're passionate about you know, and I had never experienced that in my life. I had, I had enjoyed outdoorsy things, working with some wood doing things like that, where I would do things and they would, the time would fly. But everything else was work, you know, and this wasn't suddenly for me. And I found that I learned about myself the first time in my life, you know, I started to feel I started to have confidence in a way that I didn't have the kind of confidence that kids probably had growing up when they got good grades, you know, proud of myself, I was proud of myself for the first time in my life. And I had something to be proud for. And that feeling is still novel to me and very exciting. I wish that for everybody. If they can get it in school, great. If they can get it from their job, great. If they can get it owning their own business even better. Yeah, there's no right

Brooke Schnittman: 23:47

way of getting that feeling. Right. No, everyone has their own path. Like you said, Yeah, whether you do well in school, or you support your family, and then create a business where you're supporting yourself, your wife, you know, and your family. I mean, look at all you've accomplished, right? So it's amazing that you found your way. And people find their way at all different times throughout their life. I have 56 year olds coming to me saying they want to change professions, careers, and that's okay. I have 20 year old saying, I found what I wanted to do great. You know, everyone has their own paths their own time. And I love that you share that you don't have to be the best student you don't have to get straight A's to be successful.

Justin Pasha: 24:30

Wasn't like I opened a pizza shop. You know, there's a blueprint for that, that no one had done what I had done it until that point. And so there was maybe a big market for it out there. But there was no demand at all. No one was requesting or googling luxury cocktail catering companies. Because, you know, it didn't exist. So we had to build the demand and the awareness. But yeah, it was it was really hard. So I don't know if it was a great idea or not, but it was something I was excited about. So forget it, whether or not it's a great idea, but if it is You're excited about that makes it a good idea. Because I was excited about it I was going to be I was going to be able to, to blackout crazy hours into it. Exactly. I thought it was a good idea. So that's all a matter whether or not it was a good idea or not, it didn't matter. And what I didn't do is I didn't listen to anybody else. Only recently did anybody think it was a good idea? It really had to become very successful before anyone thought it was a good idea.

Brooke Schnittman: 25:23

But at the same time, the risk reward was not that big for you, because you had an $800. I mean, I don't know what $800 meant to you at the time, but you put $800 in you hustled hard, and you figured it out, because you are obsessed with it and excited about it. So my question for you is How How did you? Besides working and being persistent? How did you create the interest for something that people didn't see the need for?

Justin Pasha: 25:55

I paid myself in the beginning. And I think as an entrepreneur, you have to pay yourself with the small wins, because you're not gonna be paying yourself with money for a long time. So you know, that first day that I did, when I did that event with the with the tailgate at the Westport Hunt Club, and I saw these wealthy people, their eyes light up and their curiosity get really piqued, and they thought it was valuable. That's when I stopped caring about what anyone else thought that was the proof of concept

Brooke Schnittman: 26:24

that I needed, right? So you knew your avatar at that point,

Justin Pasha: 26:27

I wouldn't see money for years, you know, real money. But when I saw that first wealthy person, like this, said, this is cool, this is exciting. I knew that these people that there will be more like them out there, I just knew it, you know, you just have to know that if, if the people that might conceivably hire, you are going to be in that room, then do it. Otherwise, you don't do it. Right. And so I would take on all these charity type events, you know, we're, Oh, do you want and it would be a lot of wealthy people in the room. And that's how I got in front of them, you know, and I worked for free all night after night for free, set this whole bar up, saw this ice by hand, go in there and break your back for free, you know, carry all the equipment, yes. If you veer off of your pickup truck, parked pickup truck down the road, so they don't see your beat up pickup truck, you know, and carry this heavy as bar of two blocks, you know, do all this shit. Because I mean, I would get in front of them. And then I would do one of those, you get your name out. That's it, one person calls you and then two people call you from their party. And then and then word spreads. And then slowly you do that. And then slowly, those charity events or those promotional events, they become bigger, it's a bigger scale. And now you're doing events like that in front of 300 people at a polo club or at a at an event in the city. And you're just constantly doing that. And it's a lot of free events. And then you're getting some paid events, and I still bartended for a year or two, you know,

Brooke Schnittman: 27:46

right? You're working as a contractor within your business. I think that this is such an important message for people who are starting businesses. On social media, it looks like you can get a rich quick, like, tip out there, right? So many people be saying, Oh, I made a million dollars overnight doing X, Y and Z like, I'm sorry, unless you win the lottery, you have to work really hard as an entrepreneur, to get to the level that you're at Justin. So I appreciate you showing behind the scenes, how much you worked it within your company, you didn't pay yourself, you faked it until you made it you volunteered your time, because you had to you had to get your name out there. And now you probably don't do as much of that maybe you do a little bit here and there. But in the beginning, you take what you can get.

Justin Pasha: 28:36

Yeah, very little, of course, you know, and then, but again, like, you pay yourself differently. And I mean, they it was very hard. I mean, in terms of financially speaking was very challenging, right, because I was also helping my parents out. And at that time, you know, my dad's business had really sort of gone sufficiently under you know, and there was no savings. It was nothing. So it was like this. You know, it was challenging. It was living in my parents house as well, the business was out of my parents house, it was in the garage and the basement. Living Room was covered in equipment. You know, as time went on, there was a period of time where I made a decision to build bars to cost me about $1,000 I wanted to build custom beautiful bars. So I had this in my head. This is the next the next thing I need real bars, not these IKEA bars, not tables, and I was a federal or money they shut the hot water off in our house for like three months.

Brooke Schnittman: 29:21

That's that's tough up north. Yeah,

Justin Pasha: 29:23

here. Yeah. And here, I was doing events in these, you know, billionaires houses, you know, and I would go there and you set the bar up, you'd lay gold dust. And now how about it right? And still people like is this is this the right thing to do? You know, and is this the move is this, but I always knew this is what I want to do. Because even at these promotional events where I wasn't getting paid, and I was doing a lot of stuff for free, I would see that the look on their faces when they would come up to this bar, and they see the bartender composed and they see the economy of motion in my hands and the way I moved right and just and just the quality of the drink and the taste and the ice and the bar and and I would see how they reacted to it right I'm amazing, and they'll call me for an event. And most time they didn't, most of them, they didn't even realize, you know what I was or what this was or who I was with or, you know, but I would see their reaction. And I knew that people wanted this, you don't need every single person to think it's a good idea. You just need to get, get your message your product out there, to a broad enough audience that you find more like yourself, because there are so many people like you, even if they're not all in the same room at the same time. And that's how I learned yeah, getting rich quick and stuff online and make a million bucks, total bullshit. Of course not. If you want to make a lot of money and look dependently and like, then go to school and get a finance degree, and go work in New York and, and, you know, eat that kind of glass for six years, until then you can make real money. That's how you definitely want to be rich, and make money. You do it that way you work for somebody else, and you get a finance degree and you work and go work, or work in tech, these people all make money, right? If you want to do anything else, there's gonna be a lot of risk involved. You have to be okay with that.

Brooke Schnittman: 31:02

Yeah, I love that. Thank you, Justin, I think that you share such an important message. So to anyone listening, if you're a student, if you're a parent, if you're an adult, there is hope there are different pathways. And you know, our neurons work differently than neurotypical so choose the pathway that works for you. And, Justin, if people want to find you, where can they hire you? Where can they find you?

Justin Pasha: 31:28

Best way to get in touch with us is either through our website, which is the cup bearer.com, or Instagram, which is the underscore cup underscore bear, we reply to both right away. And if you are curious about the business, and what it is we do, I highly recommend that you check out our Instagram page, we have a large following almost 80,000 followers and hundreds and amazing photos and videos of our events. And you can see for yourself and actually what it is that we do. And it's a lot of fun. So if you're local to the East Coast, or you know, the New York area, you can come and see us in person at the Greenwich Polo Club. We are the official beverage provider and bar service of the greenish color club and Connecticut. I'm personally at almost every match. So if you want come down, we'll take care of you. All right,

Brooke Schnittman: 32:14

someone who's dedicated to his company. And for those of you who aren't able to see how it's spelt out. It's B E A R E R so like a bear in the woods, the cup, Bear NOT beer Bear.

Justin Pasha: 32:30

Bear Bear, bro, thank you so much for having me today. I really appreciate it. And I hope your your viewers and listeners are to get something out of it. So thank you.

Brooke Schnittman: 32:39

I'm sure they will. Thanks, Justin. Thanks for listening to this episode of successful with ADHD. I hope it helps you on your journey. And if you need any additional support for you or a loved one with ADHD, feel free to reach out to us at coaching with brooke.com and all social media platforms at coaching with Brooke and remember, it's Brooke with any Thanks again for listening. See you next time.