Today we’d like to introduce you to Sheila Donohue.
Hi Sheila, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I am a native New Yorker with 30 years working in FinTech, which had brought me to Italy in 2001, to work for a software/consulting firm that is based in Bologna, Italy. My idea was to get a couple of years of international experience under my belt and then go back to NYC. What instead I wound up doing is fully immersing myself, from a career and personal perspective in Italy, and Europe in general. I married a Bolognese running his family’s 3 generation bakery in Bologna making (by hand) pasta, bread and sweets everyday. That coupled with having become a certified sommelier, and getting to know farmer artisans around Italy making incredible hidden gems of wine and olive oil, changed my life.
Then, at the end of 2016, all of a sudden, I was without a job, and my husband had just left me. I call 2017 my year of sabbatical where my life and career was a blank sheet of paper. I felt a calling to become an entrepreneur, to do something innovative and to help small artisan based businesses. I realized that most of the wine and olive oil producers I knew, who are small, passionate farmers, were not yet present in the US. I decided to start a company, Vero, which curates authentic, farm-to-glass, wines and olive oils from around the world which are ripe for discovery. We sell to businesses, consumers across the US and are based in Ventura. You could say SoCal is our home, with the Los Angeles market, in particular, craving the products that we curate.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Are you kidding?
First there was Covid, then supply chain constraints making it nearly impossible to import anything, then inflation, then a slow down in wine consumption and now tariffs. It is a constant rollercoaster in which mindfulness guides me and passion greases the wheels.
We’ve been impressed with Vero, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Vero, which means real in Italian, is like a farmers’ market for wine, olive oil, and other farm-crafted products. For us: – The origin of the product is key. Place is what matters.
– The smaller the better.
– We believe in and embrace wabi sabi: there is perfection in imperfection.
– It is not just products from Italy but from other parts of Europe and also local, California, farm-made products.
– We are expanding beyond olive oil into other types of foods.
We love the fact that we are independent which allows us to veer off to seek out the more obscure, diamond-in-the-rough wines and foods to discover. Like we were the first in the US to introduce a wine grape to America (the boschera grape).
We seek out followers, and clients, with a curiosity & passion to explore new types of wines, foods and to learn all about them, like who made them, and the place and the traditions which make them up. We help them to grow their knowledge and discovery of wines and foods via our newsletter and blog on www.VeroVino.com and our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/@verovino
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
I value mentors, and I am fortunate to have several that still work with me and guide me through the challenges of navigating this company forward.
Being a mentee involves a commitment, just like being a mentor. The relationship works when both are committed and have continual communication. Continuity and caring is what allows a mentor-mentee collaboration to flourish.
Sadly, though, one of my mentors, Helen Gallo Bryan, passed away from ovarian cancer last summer. She also became a dear friend, and was always there for me. She helped me to shape my career transition from FinTech to wine. She was an exemplary wine professional and person. I miss her dearly.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://verovino.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/verovinogusto/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/verovinogusto/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sheiladonohue
- Twitter: https://x.com/verovinogusto
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@verovino
- Yelp: https://biz.yelp.com/home/TB4XgSmORESdyk8OrufMBQ/
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/company/verovinogusto
