Tech Keeps This Company Mostly Mobile: Q&A With Lotus Vodka's Rob Bailey

At Lotus Vodka, it's all about the BlackBerry. Though the company has an office in San Francisco, you won't spot more than one or two employees there -- instead, they're on the road, promoting their vitamin-enhanced liquor. Founder and CEO Rob Bailey explains how his company relies on technology to keep its staff on the road, garnering sales.

Rob Bailey

It can be tough to be an entirely mobile business. And even the most mobile ones often have some form of headquarters. Lotus Vodka is one of those. The eight-employee company keeps a San Francisco office, but rarely is more than one or two people there at a time. "The team is virtual," said Rob Bailey, CEO and founder of Lotus Vodka. "We cover a lot of territory geographically, so technology is a crucial part."

To keep mobile, Lotus Vodka employees count on BlackBerrys, mobile phones, and wireless Internet on their laptops. The office doesn't have a single desktop computer, and it has just one landline telephone. "I hate having people in the office, because it means the team is not out there selling," Bailey said.

Bailey is an entrepreneur at heart. He formerly did business development for Yahoo, founded a company called Delicious Brands, and has partnered with and helped launch more than 30 high-end restaurants and lounges. Lotus Vodka launched in 2007 with vitamin-enhanced vodkas.

"We try to bring what we know from the Web industry to liquor and be competitive," said Bailey, who shared with bMighty the tools his company uses to stay mobile.