DeepSummary
Matt Weiss recounts his journey from working in finance for over two decades to founding Rind Snacks, a sustainable fruit snack brand that focuses on utilizing the peel of fruits. He was inspired by his great-grandmother, who taught him about the nutritional value of fruit peels and the importance of minimizing food waste. After initially developing the product in his apartment, he attended a trade show where he had a chance encounter with a New York Times food writer, leading to a positive review that helped boost Rind's visibility.
In the early days, Weiss was working on Rind part-time while still maintaining his finance job. A pivotal moment came when he exhibited at the Fancy Food Show and received interest from both Whole Foods and the New York Times writer, prompting him to fully commit to Rind. He shares insights on pricing, consumer education, and the importance of staying connected to customer feedback through e-commerce channels.
Weiss emphasizes the value of having a diverse range of interests and experiences, as well as the ability to persevere and believe in oneself when pursuing an unconventional idea. He also cautions against naively sharing personal contact information on product packaging, a mistake he made early on that led to him changing his phone number.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Pursue your passion and be willing to take risks to follow an unconventional path.
- Draw inspiration from personal experiences and connections, such as family traditions or teachings.
- Persevere in the face of challenges and naysayers, and believe in your idea.
- Stay connected to customer feedback and blind spots as a founder, but maintain boundaries.
- Embrace a diverse range of interests and experiences, as they can contribute to your success.
- Be prepared for unexpected challenges and setbacks, and learn from mistakes.
- Leverage opportunities for visibility and exposure, such as trade shows and media coverage.
- Consider starting a business part-time before committing fully, to test the waters and gain confidence.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “What I found back to the beginning was that lots of other people that tried it would say I had a figure in my life or in our family who also preached the power of the peel, whether it was a grandmother, a great grandmother.“ by Matt Weiss
- “I loved a book called range to go see who the author was, but range was, it spoke to me, and the concept is being exposed to sort of a diversity of interests and ideas. In other words, knowing a little bit about a lot, which I think is counterintuitive advice to many people who say, focus, specialize, 10,000 hours, rule, whatever.“ by Matt Weiss
- “I am a big believer in founders making sure they do that so they're not unaware of any blind spots, but phone number, do not do that.“ by Matt Weiss
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Episode Information
The Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands
Mike Gelb
2/14/24
Our guest today is Matt Weiss, Founder & CEO at RIND Snacks
Matt is the CEO of RIND Snacks, a sustainable fruit snack brand. He has over a decade of experience in the natural food industry and previously worked in investment research. Matt is also known for his advocacy in community and environmental causes, founding a nonprofit that helped establish a park in lower Manhattan.
We discuss:
• We discuss the inspiration behind creating a brand and a product that focuses on the peels of a fruit
• How did he first get into retail?
• Why he was part-time with it for two years?
• What was kind of the moment that he switched to doing it full-time?
Thank you to our Partner –– Propeller Industries
Propeller Industries is the leading strategic finance and accounting partner for venture-stage companies.