THE FOUNDER LIFE The only life we know. FOUNDER-LED SINCE 2021

TRUSTED BY 120+ BRAND PARTNERS

Avua Cachaca Logo
Svol Aquavit Logo 2
Paladar Tequila Logo
Tra Kal Logo 2
Grand Comte Logo 2
Bite Logo 2
Drifter Cocktail Co Logo
seal

Our Partners

libdib logo
iwsc logo
iwsc logo
iwsc logo
iwsc logo

Our Partners

libdib logo
iwsc logo
iwsc logo
iwsc logo

WHAT WE DO

How we support
your brand

Helmsman is the full-service Importer of Record for founder-led brands. We manage the heavy lifting you can’t see, and shouldn’t have to chase.

COLA submissions, state brand registrations across all 50 states, label approvals, BAM compliance, and ongoing CBMA / FET filings, managed by people who have filed them for their own brands.

Importer of Record services with a Tier 1 license, customs brokerage coordination, duty and tariff modeling, and bonded warehouse access in NY, NJ, FL, IL, and CA.

Distributor PO management, order routing, BOL coordination, freight tracking, and proactive notification the moment your distributor picks up cases at one of our warehouses.

AP, AR, distributor chargeback triage and brand approval, EOM reporting, and depletion-based remittance, all reconciled inside THE HELM, not bolted onto a spreadsheet.

A proprietary business intelligence ERP. Not a reporting system. Live inventory health, distributor sell-in intelligence, proactive logistics, and an action navigator that tells you what needs your attention before you ask.

Most distributors require depletion proof before they’ll take you on. The chicken-and-egg every new brand faces. Through our partnerships with LibDib and eRNDC, Helmsman gets you into 30 markets without that gate, including New York, California, Texas, Florida, and Illinois. Your proof of concept happens in market, not in a pitch deck.

WHAT WE DO

How we support
your brand

Helmsman is the full-service Importer of Record for founder-led brands. We manage the heavy lifting you can’t see, and shouldn’t have to chase.

COLA submissions, state brand registrations across all 50 states, label approvals, BAM compliance, and ongoing CBMA / FET filings, managed by people who have filed them for their own brands.

Importer of Record services with a Tier 1 license, customs brokerage coordination, duty and tariff modeling, and bonded warehouse access in NY, NJ, FL, IL, and CA.

Distributor PO management, order routing, BOL coordination, freight tracking, and proactive notification the moment your distributor picks up cases at one of our warehouses.

AP, AR, distributor chargeback triage and brand approval, EOM reporting, and depletion-based remittance, all reconciled inside THE HELM, not bolted onto a spreadsheet

A proprietary business intelligence ERP. Not a reporting system. Live inventory health, distributor sell-in intelligence, proactive logistics, and an action navigator that tells you what needs your attention before you ask.

Most traditional distributors require depletion proof before they will take you on. The chicken-and-egg every new brand faces. Through partnerships with LibDib and RNDC On Demand, Helmsman gets you into 18 markets without that wait, including New York, New Jersey, California, Florida, and Texas. Your proof of concept happens in market, not in a pitch deck

A MODERN APPROACH TO BUILDING BRANDS

Client success is our success

A PARTNERSHIP FOR SMARTER MARKET ACCESS “We highly recommend their services to all our makers. Super communicative team. They work well with our models, and pricing is great. Helmsman + LibDib = a solid scalable route to market.” Cheryl Murphy Durzy, CEO
LibDib A MODERN APPROACH TO BUILDING BRANDS “Helmsman was more affordable, general customer service, more modern view on how to run biz, they were new and had a positive view, and similar perspectives.” Cameron Holck, Co-Founder
Lot001 Brands PERSONABLE, RESPONSIVE, AND EASY TO WORK WITH “I'd rather work with more personable importers than heavy-handed unresponsive ones.” TJ Rutkowski, Co-Founder
Saint Luna COST-SMART GUIDANCE FOR FIRST-TIME U.S. ENTRANTS “Entering the U.S. for the first time, Helmsman’s guidance helped us navigate early decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and save time and money.” David Libespere, Co-Founder
Grand Comte Armagnac A GO-TO PARTNER FOR GROWTH-MINDED BRANDS “Helmsman’s deep industry knowledge and personalized approach make them a strong partner for growth-minded brands.” Stephen Myers, Founder and Principal
Dynamic Beverage Consultants

A MODERN APPROACH TO BUILDING BRANDS

Client success is our success

A PARTNERSHIP FOR SMARTER MARKET ACCESS “We highly recommend their services to all our makers. Super communicative team. They work well with our models, and pricing is great. Helmsman + LibDib = a solid scalable route to market.” Cheryl Murphy Durzy, CEO
LibDib A MODERN APPROACH TO BUILDING BRANDS “Helmsman was more affordable, general customer service, more modern view on how to run biz, they were new and had a positive view, and similar perspectives.” Cameron Holck, Co-Founder
Lot001 Brands PERSONABLE, RESPONSIVE, AND EASY TO WORK WITH “I'd rather work with more personable importers than heavy-handed unresponsive ones.” TJ Rutkowski, Co-Founder
Saint Luna COST-SMART GUIDANCE FOR FIRST-TIME U.S. ENTRANTS “Entering the U.S. for the first time, Helmsman’s guidance helped us navigate early decisions, avoid costly mistakes, and save time and money.” David Libespere, Co-Founder
Grand Comte Armagnac A GO-TO PARTNER FOR GROWTH-MINDED BRANDS “Helmsman’s deep industry knowledge and personalized approach make them a strong partner for growth-minded brands.” Stephen Myers, Founder and Principal
Dynamic Beverage Consultants

PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY

THE HELM

A platform that thinks like an owner.

Your operating system, not another reporting tool. Other importers hand you warehouse interfaces and month-end PDFs. The Helm tells you what needs your attention before you ask.

  • 1
    Needs Action Navigator
    Chargebacks, COLAs, approvals. The decisions waiting on you, ranked by urgency and surfaced in one daily queue.
  • 2
    Distributor Pulse
    The moment your distributor picks up cases. The moment they’re due to reorder. The moment they go quiet. You trigger the next move with data in hand, not wait for the call that never comes.
  • 3
    Live Inventory Health
    Case level truth across every warehouse. By SKU, by lot, by depletion velocity. Always current, always accurate, no spreadsheets to chase.

PROPRIETARY TECHNOLOGY

THE HELM

A platform that thinks like an owner.

Your operating system, not another reporting tool. Other importers hand you warehouse interfaces and month-end PDFs. The Helm tells you what needs your attention before you ask.

  • 1
    Needs Action Navigator
    Chargebacks, COLAs, approvals. The decisions waiting on you, ranked by urgency and surfaced in one daily queue.
  • 2
    Distributor Pulse
    The moment your distributor picks up cases. The moment they’re due to reorder. The moment they go quiet. You trigger the next move with data in hand, not wait for the call that never comes.
  • 3
    Live Inventory Health
    Case level truth across every warehouse. By SKU, by lot, by depletion velocity. Always current, always accurate, no spreadsheets to chase.

COMPARISON CALCULATOR

See what you’d save with
Helmsman.

Same compliance, same warehousing, a fraction of the rate card. Run your case volume and current importer to estimate your annual savings in 90 seconds.

VS THE INSTITUTION

15 – 30%

Founders, not file clerks. Lower per-case fees. No tiered minimums.

VS THE PLATFORM

12 – 25%

A name, not an account number. Faster Account Receivables. No reconciliation lag.

VS THE ACADEMY

10 – 22%

Scars, not certificates. Built by an Alcohol Founder, not a credentialed one.

Estimates based on published rate cards. Your numbers may vary.

The Importer’s Founder.

Before launching Helmsman in 2021, our founder built four beverage brands and experienced the three tier system from the brand side.

The chargebacks. The COLA rejections. The unanswered distributor emails. The lack of visibility into inventory, orders and payments.

Helmsman was built to solve those problems.

“Helmsman exists because the Founder Life is the only life Helmsman knows how to build for.”
Jeff Diego, Founder & CEO

Since then, we have launched two more brands sing the platform we created and helped more than 120 others navigate the same path.

Built by an Alcohol Founder. For Alcohol Founders.

0+
BRAND
PARTNERS
0
STATES LICENSED
0%
FOUNDER EMAIL
RESPONDED <48H
0d
AVG. AR COLLECTION

The Importer’s Founder.

Before launching Helmsman in 2021, our founder built four beverage brands and experienced the three tier system from the brand side.

The chargebacks. The COLA rejections. The unanswered distributor emails. The lack of visibility into inventory, orders and payments.

Helmsman was built to solve those problems.

“Helmsman exists because the Founder Life is the only life Helmsman knows how to build for.”
Jeff Diego, Founder & CEO

Since then, we have launched two more brands sing the platform we created and helped more than 120 others navigate the same path.

Built by an Alcohol Founder. For Alcohol Founders.

0+
BRAND
PARTNERS
0
STATES LICENSED
0%
FOUNDER EMAIL
RESPONDED <48H
0d
AVG. AR COLLECTION

LET’S TALK

Book a Call

Every brand’s path is different, and we take the time to understand yours. Whether you’re ready to ship, still figuring out the three-tier system, or unsure where to start, we’ll meet you where you are.

From Helmsman’s Founder.