Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
What do you get when you mix a former investment banker, fifteen years of Miami nightlife, a beverage consulting empire, a Virgin Voyages contract, and a marriage proposal happening the very next day?
You get one of the best episodes we've ever recorded.
Ben Potts //Co-founder of Beaker & Gray, owner of The Sylvester, and founder of Unfiltered, Miami's premier beverage program development firm, sat down with Manning Sumner for a conversation that goes way deeper than cocktails.
Ben's been building in Miami hospitality for over fifteen years. He quit a high paying investment banking job with zero plan, started as a barback at Purdy Lounge, and grinded his way to owning some of Miami's most iconic spots.
When COVID shut everything down, instead of waiting, he built a whole new company from scratch. Now Unfiltered has a goal to touch ten thousand bars by 2034.
We talk about all of it.
đ What you'll hear in this episode:
Why he walked away from investment banking with nothing lined up and never looked back, what it actually takes to build a beverage program that works and why most bars get it wrong, the brutal truth about the talent problem in Miami hospitality and what's causing it, how he's using AI and vibe coding every single morning to build the future of his business, why commitment is the most underrated skill in life and in business, and the story behind the proposal that happened the very next day.
This one is for the builders. The ones who bet on themselves before anyone else did.
Come hang.
đď¸ The Big Dawgs Podcast with Manning Sumner
đš Follow Ben Potts: @benpottsbenpotts
đ Miami, FL
____________________
Follow THE BIG DAWGS podcast
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-dawgs-with-manning-sumner/id1667127648
open.spotify.com/show/4yJuvkdFdVChIdW0wdCm18?si=90ae60d43d2746e3
___________________
Follow Manning Sumner
Instagram: instagram.com/manningsumner
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/manningsumner
TikTok: tiktok.com/@manningsumner
Twitter: x.com/manningsumner
NO DAYS OFF: instagram.com/nodaysoff
_______________
Follow NO DAYS OFF Premium Water
Website: drinkndo.com
Instagram: instagram.com/drinknodaysoff
_______________
LEGACY GYM
Website: legacyfit.com
Instagram: instagram.com/legacynodaysoff/?hl=en
#BigDawgsPodcast #ManningSumner #BenPotts #Miami #NoDaysOff #Hospitality #Entrepreneurship #TheSylvester #Unfiltered
What do you get when you mix a former investment banker, fifteen years of Miami nightlife, a beverage consulting empire, a Virgin Voyages contract, and a marriage proposal happening the very next day?
You get one of the best episodes we've ever recorded.
Ben Potts //Co-founder of Beaker & Gray, owner of The Sylvester, and founder of Unfiltered, Miami's premier beverage program development firm, sat down with Manning Sumner for a conversation that goes way deeper than cocktails.
Ben's been building in Miami hospitality for over fifteen years. He quit a high paying investment banking job with zero plan, started as a barback at Purdy Lounge, and grinded his way to owning some of Miami's most iconic spots.
When COVID shut everything down, instead of waiting, he built a whole new company from scratch. Now Unfiltered has a goal to touch ten thousand bars by 2034.
We talk about all of it.
đ What you'll hear in this episode:
Why he walked away from investment banking with nothing lined up and never looked back, what it actually takes to build a beverage program that works and why most bars get it wrong, the brutal truth about the talent problem in Miami hospitality and what's causing it, how he's using AI and vibe coding every single morning to build the future of his business, why commitment is the most underrated skill in life and in business, and the story behind the proposal that happened the very next day.
This one is for the builders. The ones who bet on themselves before anyone else did.
Come hang.
đď¸ The Big Dawgs Podcast with Manning Sumner
đš Follow Ben Potts: @benpottsbenpotts
đ Miami, FL
____________________
Follow THE BIG DAWGS podcast
podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-big-dawgs-with-manning-sumner/id1667127648
open.spotify.com/show/4yJuvkdFdVChIdW0wdCm18?si=90ae60d43d2746e3
___________________
Follow Manning Sumner
Instagram: instagram.com/manningsumner
LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/manningsumner
TikTok: tiktok.com/@manningsumner
Twitter: x.com/manningsumner
NO DAYS OFF: instagram.com/nodaysoff
_______________
Follow NO DAYS OFF Premium Water
Website: drinkndo.com
Instagram: instagram.com/drinknodaysoff
_______________
LEGACY GYM
Website: legacyfit.com
Instagram: instagram.com/legacynodaysoff/?hl=en
#BigDawgsPodcast #ManningSumner #BenPotts #Miami #NoDaysOff #Hospitality #Entrepreneurship #TheSylvester #Unfiltered
