In this episode of Eating Glass, Pete Maldonado, co-founder and co-CEO of CHOMPS, shares his entrepreneurial journey from hitting rock bottom to building a successful meat snack brand. From bootstrapping with just $6,500 to navigating existential crises during COVID-19, Pete offers candid insights on focus, innovation, and the importance of people in scaling a startup. Join hosts Will Nitze and Joe LeMay as they dive deep into Pete's experiences, uncovering valuable lessons on resilience, leadership, and redefining success in the face of adversity. 00:00:00 - Intro00:04:05 - CHOMPS: Better-For-You Meat Snacks00:06:00 - Broke to Rich: Pete's Evolution00:09:15 - Bootstrapping vs. Raising Capital00:12:30 - Hand-to-Mouth: Financing Early CHOMPS00:16:46 - Urgency and the Brand Enemy00:18:39 - Throwing Out the Playbook00:22:36 - Product Innovation Through Simplification00:25:02 - Surviving Two Existential Crises00:34:41 - Filtering Advice and Trusting Instincts00:38:30 - Transitioning from Startup to Corporate00:43:08 - Rapid Fire: Hiring and Platitudes00:47:29 - Rapid Fire: Mistakes and Success ABOUT THE HOSTS: Will Nitze is the Founder & CEO at IQBAR - America's leading "brain + body" nutrition startup. With minimal funding, Will has taken IQBAR from zero locations and zero in revenue in 2018 to 10,000+ doors and a projected $50 million in sales in 2024. Joe Lemay founded Rocketbook with business partner Jake Epstein. After being featured on “Shark Tank”, where the sharks passed on a chance to invest – Joe would go on to grow Rocketbook and sell it to BIC for 40 million dollars just three years later. Connect with Pete Maldonado: Chomps Website: https://chomps.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/petermaldonado/X: https://x.com/petemaldonadoInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/petemaldonado/