Gabriel and Simon met at school. While studying together in Montréal, the two French boys became close friends. After graduating, they both went their separate ways – Simon, to the hospitality industry, where he worked in hotels across France, Monaco, and Belgium, before becoming a consultant for a major hospitality company in Paris; Gabriel, to the spirits industry, working for Pernod-Ricard for a while before moving to New York to work for a spirits importer. While he was in New York, an old family friend contacted him. This friend was an armagnac producer, and wanted to know if Gabriel could help him import armagnac into the United States. Gabriel researched the subject and discovered a fascinating gap in the market.