Gull Lake Distilling Company will host Michigan Engineering Professional Education’s Kata Mindset course this fall. Participants will have the chance to explore the power of kata and continuous improvement at a small business that’s grown through constant adaptation. At Gull Lake Distilling Company, the founders prioritize innovation, sustainability, and community in every aspect of their craft business. In this interview, U-M alumna and co-founder Lindsey Koch shares how structure, experimentation, and collaboration have shaped the company’s journey.
LINDSEY: I’m the business manager, human resources manager, and kind of a jack of all trades. I handle a lot of the backend operations, including payroll, bookkeeping, accounting, production oversight, reporting, and all the legal compliance.
LINDSEY: My husband and I started it together, although it was really my husband’s brainchild. He got it going with a friend, but we eventually dove in as a team. He’s more of the craftsman, and I handle the logistics.
We started it because we saw a big push toward the craft industry in Michigan—especially with breweries. But at the time, there weren’t many craft distilleries. We started brainstorming in 2017 about how we could blend craft production with a service-based business. We wanted to create a space where people could come for entertainment and also experience unique, locally crafted products. That unique intersection was really exciting for us.
LINDSEY: I have a degree in mathematics from the University of Michigan. Even though I wasn’t a business major, I still learned the foundations for what goes into opening and maintaining a business. My background in mathematics taught me structure, attention to detail, and problem solving. Attending such a high-level university like U-M and experiencing the academic curriculum taught me how to stay organized and work in teams—skills that have been invaluable as a business owner.
I’ve also stayed connected with friends and organizations from my time at U-M. One of the great things about U-M is that people come from everywhere—and then spread out everywhere. That network has been really helpful in both supporting and spreading the word about the business.
LINDSEY: A big value is definitely taking care of people—employees and customers always come first. We’re committed to providing great service and a quality product. Even through financial challenges, we prioritize taking care of our people. We’re always going to take the hit financially before our employees do.
Sustainability and supporting other local businesses are also core values for us. We recycle our bottles through a return program and source most of our grains and food from local farmers and Michigan-based companies. It’s important to us to keep things local, fresh, and community-focused.
LINDSEY: My husband and I are both teachers—we were in education before starting the business. We took a couple of years to find the right location, build it out, and get everything ready for production. We were five days away from our grand opening when the state shut down because of COVID.
Everything was ready to go, and suddenly we had to stop and completely rethink how we were going to operate. We had planned to be a bar-style service, like a typical craft place, but social distancing meant that wasn’t possible. On day two, we realized we needed servers and had to switch to table service right away.
It’s been an ever-changing model since, not just because of COVID, but because we were brand new to the service industry. We had never owned a restaurant before. There were a lot of lessons learned, a lot of ups and downs. But we adjusted, figured it out as we went, and kept moving forward.
LINDSEY: We give a lot of creative freedom to our team, but within a structured process. Our head distiller is a craft guy—if he has an idea he wants to try, we say go for it. Our mixologists create their own cocktails, and if they bring something to the table, we’ll test it and potentially add it to the menu.
Internally, we hold seasonal tasting events with our staff. Everyone brings ideas and presents them to the group, and we all give feedback. For example, someone might suggest cutting back on sweetness or adjusting an ingredient. We tweak the recipes together until they’re just right. That collective, step-by-step refinement is a big part of how we work.
From the customer side, we’ve done tastings with our mug club members, where they sample seasonal drinks, vote on their favorites, and even help name them. Outside of official events, we monitor sales monthly to track what’s working and what’s not. That feedback loop—between our team and our customers—helps us continuously improve our offerings in a structured but creative way.
Even though we’re focused on small-batch and craft production, everything we do is recipe-based. We’re not a typical bar—you won’t come in and order a rum runner. We focus on consistency and craftsmanship, so no matter who’s bartending, you’re getting the same drink every time. Creating and refining these standards is part of our process mindset.
LINDSEY: I think our space is a great fit for it. We’re a production facility and a service business, so the course aligns well with both sides of what we do. We are always trying to do whatever we can to improve our processes and serve the community.
We’re a relatively young business—we just celebrated our fifth anniversary—and it’s been quite the journey. Attending a course on process improvement is something I wish we’d had access to when we were starting out. So we’re excited to support other entrepreneurs and professionals by sharing what we’ve learned and best practices.
LINDSEY: I think our third anniversary was a big milestone. They say if you’ve made it to three years, you’re already ahead because many small businesses don’t make it that far. Then, reaching five years felt like a real turning point—like we were starting to get our name out there and refining our craft.
Most recently, we announced that we’re opening a second location, which has been such a proud moment. We’ve built our network and support to make that happen, and it feels like a testament to how far we’ve come.
LINDSEY: Don’t give up. Use your networks and resources, and lean on the people around you. We didn’t come into this with a ton of startup money. It’s been a struggle—from securing financing to finding the right people—and we’ve pieced it all together ourselves.
At one point, my husband had to go back to teaching because the distillery wasn’t bringing in enough. We’ve funded a lot of this through second jobs. Honestly, a lot of people in our position might have given up, but we kept pushing. You need to be willing to get creative and take unconventional paths to get where you want to go.
Participants in the Kata Mindset course will have a unique opportunity to see Gull Lake Distilling’s behind-the-scenes operations up close. Through a guided facility tour and interactive sessions, they’ll see how the team blends structure, creativity, and continuous improvement in a real-world setting. After learning how to implement continuous improvement in their own organizations by learning to use the Kata mindset, participants end their visit with a tasting of the distillery’s handcrafted creations.
