How a Golfer Built a Cigar Empire
5/8/202622 min
What starts as a casual golf outing turns into a business idea that disrupts an entire industry. In this episode of LIVING YOUR LEGACY, serial entrepreneur and Greenside Cigar Company founder Ty Murphy opens up about building a golf cigar brand from scratch, scaling through influencer marketing, and creating a direct-to-consumer business model that challenges traditional cigar distribution. He shares the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship, the mindset required to persevere through uncertainty, and how following “the little voices” led him to unexpected success. From golf culture and branding psychology to cigar experiences and product market fit, Ty reveals how an average guy turned a simple observation into a thriving company.
Key Takeaways
- How Ty Murphy identified a gap between golf culture and cigar culture
- Why disrupting traditional distribution created massive growth opportunities
- The power of influencer marketing in the golf industry
- How branding and “gamification” increased cigar sales at golf courses
- Why entrepreneurship requires perseverance through uncertainty and self-doubt
Notable Quotes
- “Committing to something and persevering through stuff changes everything.”
- “Golf is four hours with the same four people. A lot of business happens there.”
- “It’s not about smoking cigars. It’s about the experience I’m having.”
- “We disrupted an entire distribution chain.”
- “Sometimes that little voice in your head is worth listening to.”
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsTy Murphy· Guest0:00
I don't have that interesting of story. I'd say, if anything, I could relate with probably most of the audience of just being pretty average- [laughs] ... and just deciding that, you know what? Committing to something, you know, persevering through stuff, and just following, you know, the, the little voices in your head that say, "Hey, this might be a good idea," or, "You should explore this," or, "You should do that." Um, and just going on my journey with me, I guess, would be kinda the biggest thing.
Speaker 20:22
Ty Murphy is a serial entrepreneur, marketing strategist, and technology-driven business builder, and the founder of Greenside Cigar Company, which he launched in 2018 to bridge the golf and cigar industries.
Ray Gutierrez· Host0:34
So how do you, how do you ascend your clients? How do you keep them buying more cigars? You, you, you mo- almost gamified it. You- We did.
Ty Murphy· Guest0:40
Yeah.
Ray Gutierrez· Host0:41
Yeah.
Ty Murphy· Guest0:41
It's fu- it makes it more fun. So- Bingo.
Ray Gutierrez· Host0:42
Yeah.
Ty Murphy· Guest0:42
[laughs] It's a very... The funny story on this is we thought if we came out with better-branded cigars for golf- Mm ... and we go straight to golf course and say, "Sell these cigars. They're cooler. They're gamified more."
Ray Gutierrez· Host0:52
Yeah.
Ty Murphy· Guest0:53
"Guys will have more fun picking these out to play with than anything else you sell, you'll sell more cigars." And they probably sold a little bit more cigars, but after three years of running with that message- It spans the globe like a super highway.
Speaker 3· Soundbite1:10
It's called internet. Elvis Presley. [crowd cheering] Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win.
Speaker 21:21
The Living Your Legacy Podcast, for those who live to leave a legacy. That's extraordinary. The impossible.