Consumer VC: Venture Capital I B2C Startups I Commerce | Early-Stage Investing I Brands How CHOMPS Bootstrapped to $500 Million in Sales
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Jul 22, 2025 Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, co-founders of Chomps, share their inspiring journey of bootstrapping a meat snack brand from a $500 side hustle to $500 million in sales. They discuss scrappy marketing tactics that fueled early growth, like leveraging grassroots efforts and influencers. The pivotal deal with Trader Joe's transformed their trajectory, showcasing the importance of strategic retail partnerships. Their complementary personalities and resilience in navigating challenges exemplify how discipline and collaboration can create a successful and profitable brand.
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Founders' Complementary Partnership
- Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali formed a strong co-founder duo through complementary personalities and skills.
- Pete acts quickly and learns by doing, while Rashid prefers to gather information and plan before acting.
Start Imperfect, Iterate Fast
- Launching with imperfect packaging and product allowed fast market entry and rapid customer feedback.
- Waiting for perfect conditions can delay success and cause missed opportunities.
Early Influencer Email Blasts
- They used targeted paleo bloggers for dedicated email blasts to sell product efficiently.
- Each email campaign generated 10x to 20x return, enabling profitable, predictable sales volume.
