This week how success happens, we spoke to Banza co-founders, brothers Brian Rudolph and Scott Rudolph. The business was born out of a sensitivity to gluten, and a decade later it expanded to include foods from chickpea pasta to pizza and macaroni and cheese.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Brian and Scott above, and we've excerpted four key takeaways.
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Building a business is more fun if you're passionate about the mission
Before joining Banza, Brian was considering starting a technology company. He came up with the idea when his friend asked him a simple question. “If you knew you had to work on it for the next 10 years, would you still do it?”
This made him realize that he didn't have that much passion. Around the same time, Brian found out he was gluten-sensitive, so he decided to make pasta he could eat himself. He soon realized that pasta made from chickpeas did not exist. People were excited about the idea, but his personal need and passion for the product helped him develop it into a business idea that he was excited about. He quickly convinced his older brother Scott to quit his job in the financial industry to help launch Banza. Ten years later, it expanded to other comfort food categories such as pizza, macaroni and cheese, and waffles.
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Meeting challenges with long-term optimism and real-time realism leads to longevity.
Despite many early production and commercialization challenges, Brian and Scott remained confident in the tremendous opportunity to create staple food for families. They believed that people would choose nutritionally superior and delicious versions of pasta over traditional pasta alternatives.
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By focusing on hiring the best people from the beginning, you can continue to attract top talent.
Brian and Scott believe that the first hire is some of the most important decisions you make because attracting top talent creates a virtuous cycle. They are amazed at the talent of the team currently working to lead the company. As Banza has grown, we've built the company around the talent of our people, rather than the other way around.
Invest time in building a trusted network of people you respect and trust.
Brian and Scott spent a lot of time networking in their early days. They wanted to learn from coveted brands like Chobani, and they weren't afraid to cold-mail the academic who wrote the research paper on legume pasta. Their goal was to gain as much knowledge as possible and build strong relationships in the process. They attribute their early success to this approach.
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