Scott Hansen

Scott Hansen
Birthplace	Charleston, South Carolina, United States
Nationality	American
Occupation	Entrepreneur, CEO
Known for	Island Brands USA, Maverick Brands, Island Coastal Lager
Education	The Citadel (Class of 1994)
Website	https://scott-hansen.com/

Scott Hansen is an American entrepreneur and business executive based in Charleston, South Carolina. He is the co-founder and former CEO of Island Brands USA, a lifestyle beverage company that produces Island Coastal Lager and other beer and ready-to-drink products, and the co-founder and CEO of Maverick Brands, a crowdfunding and digital marketing agency. Hansen, a graduate of The Citadel, has founded multiple companies across the technology, healthcare, and consumer products sectors over the course of his career. He gained attention in the beverage industry for building Island Brands USA from a startup concept into one of the fastest-growing beer brands in the southeastern United States, notably leveraging equity crowdfunding as a central financing strategy rather than traditional venture capital. Island Brands earned placement on the Inc. 5000 list and secured distribution in major retail chains including Publix. Through Maverick Brands, Hansen has extended his crowdfunding expertise to other consumer brands, managing campaigns that have raised millions of dollars for companies including Nine Line Apparel and Proud Mary Coffee.

Early Life

Scott Hansen grew up and eventually settled in the Charleston, South Carolina area. He attended The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, graduating with the Class of 1994. According to Charleston Magazine, Hansen worked on Wall Street before relocating to the Lowcountry in 2002.

Before entering the beverage industry, Hansen pursued ventures in technology and healthcare. His Crunchbase profile indicates that he served as Managing Director at Modulant, a technology company. He has described himself as a six-time founder with four exits across the technology, healthcare, and consumer products industries.

Hansen met Brandon Perry, who would become his co-founder at Island Brands USA, at the home of a mutual friend in 2008. Both men had backgrounds in the technology field and had children of similar ages, which helped form a close personal and professional relationship.

Education

Hansen graduated from The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, in 1994. The Citadel is a state-supported military college located in Charleston, South Carolina. No additional details about his course of study at The Citadel or any further degrees are documented in available sources.

Career

Pre-Beverage Ventures

Prior to founding Island Brands USA, Hansen held positions in the technology and financial sectors. He worked on Wall Street before moving to the Lowcountry region of South Carolina in 2002. He served as Managing Director at Modulant, a technology firm. Over the course of his early career, Hansen was involved in founding multiple companies across the technology and healthcare sectors, claiming four successful exits before entering the beverage industry.

Island Brands USA

Founding and Concept

The origin of Island Brands USA traces to a trip to Cuba taken by Hansen and Brandon Perry. During their visit, the two discovered that the country had limited access to quality beer and conceived the idea of creating a beer brand inspired by island culture. Hansen and Perry co-founded Island Brands USA in 2016 in Charleston, South Carolina, as a lifestyle beverage company focused on producing all-natural, premium light beers.

The company's flagship product, Island Coastal Lager, was positioned as a "better, cleaner beer" with all-natural ingredients, targeting a market between mass-produced domestic beers and craft beer. Hansen acknowledged in a 2022 interview with Forbes that the founders had limited beverage industry experience at the outset, stating: "To be honest, we really had no business being in the beer business."

Crowdfunding Model

A defining characteristic of Island Brands USA's growth strategy was its reliance on equity crowdfunding rather than traditional venture capital or private equity financing. The company conducted multiple crowdfunding campaigns on platforms such as StartEngine, which allowed individual investors to purchase equity stakes in the company. Hansen's approach was described in coverage by American Crowdfunder as a community-driven alternative to Silicon Valley's venture capital model, which he characterized as having significant pitfalls for consumer brands.

The Charleston Sentinel reported on Hansen's approach to crowdfunding as a model for how crowdfunding campaigns should operate, noting that it combined community engagement with investment opportunity. Island Brands USA was described as the first company to effectively build and scale a non-craft beer business using crowdfunding as a primary capital strategy.

Growth and Distribution

Island Brands achieved rapid growth in the southeastern United States after its founding. The company's products, led by Island Coastal Lager, gained distribution in major retail chains including Publix supermarkets. By 2022, the Charleston City Paper reported that the brand had evolved from a Charleston-based beer into a "Southern sensation." Charleston Magazine described Island Coastal Lager as one of the country's fastest-growing beer brands.

The company earned placement on the Inc. 5000 list, a ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States. In March 2022, Island Brands USA introduced three new flavors under its Island Active Beer line, branding itself as the fastest-growing beer brand in the southeastern United States. In February 2023, the company debuted its CRUSH Strawberry Lemonade flavor with updated branding.

NASCAR Partnership

In June 2023, Island Brands USA entered into a collaboration with Sam Hunt Racing and NASCAR driver Kaz Grala to support Navy SEAL families at the Nashville race event. The partnership also involved Carl Ruedebusch and was framed as a charitable initiative benefiting the families of Navy SEALs.

Puerto Rico Expansion

In December 2024, Island Brands announced its expansion into Puerto Rico, representing the brand's push into Caribbean markets. Hansen stated in the announcement: "Ever since our inception in 2017, it has been a dream to expand Island Brands to Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean."

Departure and Legal Disputes

In September 2025, FITSNews reported on a lawsuit involving the co-founders of Island Brands USA. According to the lawsuit, Hansen was "forced out" of his role as CEO of Island Brands. Brewbound reported in September 2025 that the co-founders of Island Brands USA faced an investor lawsuit, and that new owners had taken over the company. The specifics of the legal proceedings between the parties have been reported as ongoing.

Maverick Brands

Following his departure from Island Brands USA, Hansen co-founded Maverick Brands with his wife, Meghan Hansen. Maverick Brands operates as a full-service crowdfunding and digital marketing agency specializing in equity crowdfunding campaigns for consumer-facing companies. The firm focuses on Regulation A (Reg A) and Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) offerings, helping founders raise capital through community-driven investment models.

Hansen has described the company's mission as helping founders drive capital raises and build consumer brands outside the traditional venture capital ecosystem.

Notable Client Campaigns

Maverick Brands managed the equity crowdfunding campaign for Nine Line Apparel, a veteran-led apparel brand, which raised over $3 million through crowdfunding. The firm also managed the campaign for Proud Mary Coffee, which reached $1.23 million in crowdfunding, placing it among America's top five crowdfunding campaigns at the time.

American Crowdfunder

In connection with his work at Maverick Brands, Hansen is associated with American Crowdfunder, a media or content platform focused on equity crowdfunding. American Crowdfunder published a spotlight on Hansen's crowdfunding model with Island Brands as a case study in January 2026, contrasting his community-driven approach with traditional venture capital financing methods.

Personal Life

Hansen is based in Charleston, South Carolina. He is married to Meghan Hansen, who serves as his co-founder at Maverick Brands. Hansen and Brandon Perry developed a close friendship after meeting in 2008, with both men having children of similar ages at the time.

Hansen has appeared on multiple podcasts and media programs discussing entrepreneurship and the beverage industry, including the Join Up Dots podcast and the Business One-0-Fun podcast. He has also been a speaker at the Reg A & Crowdfunding Conference and the Good Business Summit.

Recognition

Island Brands USA, under Hansen's leadership as co-founder and CEO, achieved several notable milestones and recognition within the beverage industry:

• The company was named to the Inc. 5000 list, a ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the United States.
• Island Coastal Lager was described by Charleston Magazine as one of the fastest-growing beer brands in the country.
• Forbes profiled Island Brands' growth in October 2022, noting the company's rapid trajectory in the beer market.
• The Post and Courier covered Island Brands' competition with major beer companies in April 2021.
• Island Brands secured distribution partnerships with Breakthrough Beverage Group in South Carolina.

Hansen has been featured as a speaker at industry events including the Reg A & Crowdfunding Conference, where he has discussed crowdfunding strategies for consumer brands. He also appeared as a featured entrepreneur at the Good Business Summit.

Through Maverick Brands, Hansen's work in equity crowdfunding has been covered by media outlets including MarketWatch, HackerNoon, and PRWeb.