Ruby Chan’s Post

🔥 Big News: A Dream Turned Reality 🔥 Ever since I was a kid, I’ve dreamed of starting something that truly matters. From my "ideas" notebook to my middle school candy business, my high school clothing line, and my college book resales, my parents always encouraged my entrepreneurial spirit. Now, thanks to the opportunity and partnership with Cameron Smith, that dream is coming to life—but this isn’t just a company. Together, we’re building something with a purpose. 🥨 Introducing Kindling Snacks! 🦊 We’re here to shake up the snacking world with whole-grain, protein, and nutrient dense options that fuel you and your family to play more, explore further, and adventure longer. Just like kindling starts a fire, we want our nutrient-dense snacks to ignite your inner spark and keep it burning strong. Yes, we’re starting with pretzels (they’re amazing, by the way!), but this is just the beginning. The snack aisle is full of white-flour products that do little to nourish our bodies. We’re out to change that—and make snacks that fuel your fire. Building this brand from scratch has been one of the most rewarding journeys of my career, and we couldn’t have done it without an incredible crew behind us. A huge shoutout to Morgan Maltby, Nathan Lord, Andrew Moreno, Tate Stedman, the team over at Moxie Sozo and Lauren C. Pandolfi for helping bring this vision to life. And an honorable mention to Joel Clark and Brett Miller for showing me what it means to create a brand with purpose that goes beyond the product. This is just the start. Let’s get the fire burning! 🔥 #KindlingSnacks #FuelYourFire #NewBeginnings #Entrepreneurship

So, the year is 2016—and I just got kicked out of my 7-figure supplement business. Excessive partying, girls, and substances = God’s way of pulling the rug from underneath me. I was scrambling to get back on my feet, so I had this idea to start another supplement brand focused on curing Asian Glow. My girlfriend (now my wife) was the guinea pig, and we tried so many formulations and remedies to find something that actually worked. But here’s where it got interesting… I got invited to attend a $10k mastermind called “Unconscious Content” hosted by the Viral Video Team from Dollar Beard Club, who were absolutely killing it at the time. From this event, I met some insanely high-level people in the Direct Response space and made valuable connections. I was still partying my ass off, so I didn’t really have a strong foundation or grounding at the time, which led me to take some pretty big risks. The Dollar Beard Club team actually wanted to help me produce my commercial, but it was out of budget at the time. So, I reached out to a family friend who had his own production company. We struck a deal and produced the commercial. THEN the unexpected happened… My competitor decided to send me a CEASE & DESIST for having a similar product name to theirs, which meant I had to rebrand the entire product, hire lawyers, and pay animators to redo the entire commercial with the new product name. It was absolutely ridiculous. After draining my personal savings and dealing with terrible customer reviews and supplier issues, I just HAD to pull the plug, or I’d be in an even deeper hole. It was a VERY ROUGH TIME in my life—going from super high to super low. My wife was literally one of the only people who stuck around after I had messed up so much. It took a REALLY long time to recover from this and other business mistakes. But they shaped me into who I am today. The wisdom from these hardships is invaluable, and no one can ever take it away from you. These experiences were embedded into my soul lessons. Entrepreneurship is NOT for everyone. This is only one of dozens of crazy stories I have. If you made it this far, thanks for reading—follow me as I share more experiences like this. Don’t EVER fucking give up. Every mistake is an opportunity for GROWTH. #entrepreneurship #lifelessons #personalgrowth

Some moments in life sneak up on you. You think you're prepared, but then, all of a sudden, they hit you with a force you weren’t ready for. Today, was one of those days. If you believe that businesses are not built on profits or strategies, it’s not! They’re built on dreams, emotions, and the people who walk alongside you, rain or shine. Today, as the first batch of Chai Root spices arrived, I felt something. It wasn’t just excitement. It was the weight of every sleepless night, every self-doubt, every time I told myself, 'YOU CAN DO THIS, Neha!’ Starting a brand isn’t glamorous. It’s messy, filled with struggles you don’t see in Instagram posts or startup headlines. But when that first procurement arrived today, I realized it was worth every ounce of effort. Because this? This is just the beginning. - A symbol of every farmer who worked tirelessly to nurture those plants. - It’s about my R&D team who obsessed over every blend. - It’s about the heritage and legacy that flows through each sip, and most importantly, it's about home. ☕️ The power of a simple cup of tea! A reminder that no matter how far you go, you're always just one sip away from feeling connected to where you came from. #ChaiRoot #TeaJourney #Entrepreneurship #DreamsToReality #EmotionsInEveryCup #ProcurementDay

**How BuzzBallz Drinks Went From A Fun Side Hustle To $400 Million Fortune** It's always inspiring to see a story of someone turning an inventive idea into astounding success. Former public school teacher Merrilee Kick exemplifies this, having recently joined the ranks of America's richest self-made women. Merrilee transformed her fun side hustle into a full-fledged business empire, BuzzBallz Drinks, culminating in its sale this past May. Starting from a single product—a ready-to-drink cocktail in a unique, ball-shaped can—Merrilee tackled the competitive beverage market with creativity and tenacity. Despite numerous challenges along the way, her determination led BuzzBallz Drinks to skyrocket in popularity and revenue. In just a few years, her vision has grown into a $400 million fortune. Merrilee's journey from the classroom to the boardroom is a powerful reminder that innovative thinking and hard work can lead to extraordinary achievements. Her story is an inspiration to entrepreneurs and go-getters everywhere, proving that sometimes the most unexpected paths lead to the grandest destinations. Check out the full story on Forbes to learn more about Merrilee Kick's incredible journey: [How BuzzBallz Drinks Went From A Fun Side Hustle To $400 Million Fortune](https://lnkd.in/eAAYnvmz) #Entrepreneurship #SuccessStory #WomenInBusiness #InnovativeThinking #BuzzBallz #Forbes #ReadyToDrink

How it started vs how it’s going...   This autumn, our Secret Linen Store will be a whole 11 years old.   Given what we have gone through in that time, I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished and when you look back, we really have come such a very long way.   11 years ago, Harriet Mears and I sat in a coffee shop and decided that considering we had worked together on an off our whole careers (starting as frilly apron clad waitresses in a fast-food café The Riviera in the 90’s), we were destined to achieve great things together. This was when our Secret Linen Store was born.   We gathered a little bit of starter capital to get us started, had decades of home textiles experience under our belts and a whole lot of passion and determination. We have made a lot of mistakes along the way – and I’ll save them for another time, but as I look around today at all my incredible colleagues, our fabulous fabrics and read the glowing reviews from our loyal customers, I know we’ve done something right.   My message to any entrepreneurs that are just starting out or are feeling the struggle a few years in is that while it might not get much easier, there will be plenty of rewards. You can do this. And if you need any advice, I’m more than happy to listen and to try help.   #entrepreneurship #makingthingsbetter #femalefounder #creativebusinessfounder”

When I started The Lime Truck, I thought my business experience would make it easy. After all, business is business, right? Wrong. It's a whole different ball game. I quickly realized I knew nothing about the food industry. Back then, there were no masterclasses or resources on starting a food truck business. So, I did the next best thing – I became a food truck junkie. My mission? To research and learn everything I could before building my own. I tried every food truck I could find, decoding their success recipe: > What made their lines move? > How did their menus evolve? > What locations and time slots worked? I took what I learned, then innovated, adding our unique flavor — literally and figuratively. It's not just the demographics but also the psychographics. Not just WHO your customers are but WHY they choose your food truck over the one next door. Hanover Research shares that 76% of the companies who frequently do market research earn more in a year compared to the 65% who don't. And that 11% gap is the difference between thriving and just surviving — in any industry. This approach propelled us from a single food truck to a $2.4M operation in just a few years. So, fellow entrepreneurs, when diving into a new industry, don't just research your market — immerse yourself in it. Eat, breathe, and live it. Want my full food truck playbook? I've distilled everything I learned in building America's #1 food truck here >> https://t2m.io/k6YykEAZ #Entrepreneur #Entrepreneurship #Business #Success

Earlier this week, I shared why I call myself The Reluctant Entrepreneur. Today, I’m giving you a glimpse into our business—but spoiler alert, I’m still keeping some things under wraps since we’re in a few months away from launch! The company that I have co-founded is called, Good Kitchen, and it was born out of a deeply personal story, one that involves my own struggles with food and drink, health, and the constant pursuit of balance. It’s a journey that many of us can relate to, especially in today’s fast-paced world where F&B brands are either unhealthy, not tasty or inconvenient. Curious to know more about what we're building and why? Watch the video to learn about the vision behind Good Kitchen and what we’ve got in store for you. #entrepreneurlife #wellness #startupjourney #founderstory

Sauce Media Group is not the “new, cool brand” anymore — i had this realization a few weeks back about how sauce has now been around long enough that we’re not the “new, cool brand” everyone is wanting a piece of. think back to high school when there would be a new, hot person that transferred from another school — everyone was SO curious about them. they had “new kid smell" on them & everyone wanted a piece. at first i PANICKED when I realized this. i loved being the “new, cool brand” lol but when i sat back & really thought about what that means i realized that we are finally to the level of being an “established, trusted company”. when sauce was the “new, cool brand”, I was desperately wanting to prove that we were the “established, trusted company” but that honestly just comes with time. now, with this time & experience under our name, we can scale higher & work at a new level. while being the “cool, new brand” comes with lots of perks, so does being the “established, trusted company”. so wherever you’re at with your brand/career, you have advantages working for you! don’t focus on what you’re “not” right now & play full-force on what you “are”. #brandbuilding #marketingagency #entrepreneur

I officially started my first business at eight years old. Growing up in Jersey, we had a big, warm, loving Italian family, but my parents ran a tight ship, too. “Four months of hurry and eight months of worry” was my family’s motto growing up on the Jersey Shore. Living in a touristy area, I went down to the wholesale candy store and bought a bunch of bubble gum and candy bars. Then I set up a table on the oceanfront and sold them as people were coming off the beach. I then began helping my mom sell Mexican pottery in her macrame shop where I worked 60 hours and sold 100’s of pots a week. At nine years old, I was already hungry to create my own thing. So, my next business venture was selling fruits and vegetables on the back of a pickup truck at all the resort hotels. And on and on the business ventures went. I pumped gas, changed oil, made pizzas, started a restaurant, entered construction business etc. The bottom line was: Every little business I started came from a need I saw and wanted to fix. Whether it was to satisfy beachgoer’s needs or offering convenient access to fresh produce at resorts. I always saw an opportunity. So, go back to basics and ask yourself: 👉 What problem am I solving? 👉 Is there market demand for my product or service? 👉 What makes my solution different from existing options? Remember: Being an entrepreneur isn't just about making money. It's about finding problems and coming up with smart ways to fix them. .... Picture from my time working at my Mother's Macrame shop 👇 #Entrepreneurs #Entrepreneurship #BusinessScaling #BusinessScalingBlueprint #Childhood #Memories #Growth #LifeLessons #Mindset #PersonalStory

Dustin Bridgewater the biggest challenge I see here is that 4 years is the new 10 years and perhaps 10 is the new 20. It takes TIME, RESILIENCE and PERSISTENCE (we already know about the money part) to build a brand - and a brand is what you’re going to need if you plan on having any long term success in the CPG space. I think too many new CPG founders are in a rush to take a selfie with their product in front of Whole Foods Market, when in fact it might be best to take it in front of the corner bodega or a local business that carries your products. That’ll get you started and probably be a whole lot more profitable early on when cash flow is king. Granted because of social media and now AI, brands can develop a lot faster than even 10 years ago, but there’s no substitution for putting in the work. And I’m not certain if less than 5 years constitutes grinding it out. Because of what we see (and shouldn’t always believe) on social media we get tricked into believing it can happen overnight. With many years in the space I can tell you from experience that it doesn’t. I do applaud her full transparency as it pertains to her experience. After all, this is LinkedIn and not Instagram. However, I wouldn’t want her experiences and decisions to become the benchmark or guide for other founders who are on the fence. The hard reality is that most will fail, but some will succeed. Like she said, “it’s not always glamorous.” A founder’s temperament, and frankly threshold for stress, will determine whether they fold or hold….I wish everyone the best! PIE THAT BRINGS PEOPLE TOGETHER®️ #cpg #founders #backstory #mrtods #entrepreneurship #grit