Where was the idea for ReadTheLabl born?
For several years I searched for quality and nutritious food products for my son and the more I learned about nutrition and the foods available, the more I realized that food manufacturers were not providing any truly nutritious foods in a convenient way. This motivated me to solve the problem that most people have in their struggle with all of the confusion surrounding eating more nutritiously and especially in finding simple solutions. My decision was, “someone needs to do this right, why not me?”
What have been your biggest challenges, and what did you do to overcome them?
The biggest hurdle initially was overcoming all of the requirements to get a shelf-stable product ready for sale. FDA regulations, manufacturing and packaging process hurdles and delays…in the end, I found out why virtually everyone in the industry was shocked that we manufacturer, package, market, sell, and distribute all on our own, because it required an enormous amount of learning, trial and error, and unwillingness to give up that got us past those first 100,000 hurdles.
What do you hope to gain from the Spark! Program?
The primary value that we hope to gain from the Spark program is in the potential for relationship building in the central Arkansas business community. In addition to that, I have spent thousands of hours alone wondering if my ideas, decision, strategies, and every aspect of the “business” end of our brand is on track, so I would hope to have some one on one time with mentors and others to receive feedback and guidance on some of the more challenging decisions in front of us.
Who is your favorite Entrepreneur?
Steve Jobs is my favorite entrepreneur, although he is often credited for his marketing firm’s successes, I believe he had the true entrepreneurial vision with the level of dedication required to really succeed. There are many things about him that are undesirable from what I understand but he said my favorite quote: “The people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
What is your favorite book and podcast, for fun or business?
Book for fun: Talent Code by Daniel Coyle
Book for business: The Hard Thing About Hard Things by Ben Horowitz
Podcast for business: How I Built This by Guy Raz