Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverage but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Bryan Guadagno, co-founder of It's Skinny, located in Austin, TX, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
It’s no secret that people love pasta, and it’s no secret that it’s not that great for you. People are more health, calorie, and carb-conscious these days, so we set out to create a Better-For-You pasta that, believe it or not, is only nine calories per bag! If you check out some of our pasta-fam on TikTok, there is no one-size-fits-all for the It’s Skinny customer. It’s people who love pasta, people who are focused on their health, or even for dietary purposes, for people who can’t consume gluten or high-glycemic foods!
Tell us about yourself
I was first introduced to healthy eating when I got sick in 2014 when my diet wasn’t the greatest. I went paleo for close to a year, and my health significantly improved. Fast forward to me working in capital markets and working in the consumer packaged goods vertical, I had always wanted to jump into business ownership. I think what was missing was a product I could believe in that I felt was worth spending all my time and energy on. The product needed to be a viable product I could build a business around and something I could be an actual consumer of. I wanted to do something category shifting, the same way Beyond Meat is category shifting in the meat industry, and Oatly is category shifting in the dairy industry. I believe It’s Skinny is going to disrupt the pasta industry in the same way. What motivates me each day is the effort to bring our brand to the mainstream. Only 20% of consumers know that a pasta alternative like this exists, and we need that to be as close to 100% as possible. There are so many people with unhealthy eating habits. I was one of them. What we offer is an alternative that helps people live a much healthier lifestyle. The best part is you don’t need to make a radical lifestyle change to enjoy the benefits.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
This company—It's surreal. I put everything I have into this company
my time, my energy, and my money. I've had to prioritize this company over my family, who I care most about in this world. To see that hard work pay off in sales volume, the reception on social media, by seeing how many people appreciate the product, by seeing it on the shelves of grocery stores, it's incredibly gratifying. I read every single review, the good and the bad. The bad reviews we read, process, and use them to fuel improvements… The positive reviews energize us to keep moving.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
Knowing when to take risks and balancing the desire to grow with a reality of where we are.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
Lead with your "why," tap your network, and be relentless.
Is there anything else you'd like to share?
We’ve obviously been through a crazy couple of years, but I couldn’t be more optimistic about 2022 and what the future holds. We’re releasing a new website, and we’re putting a lot of money into building out our e-commerce channel. We’ve just released a new and improved formula, which makes it so much more approachable than any other Konjac noodle on the market. We should see the launch of organic and natural lines of our product in 2022, along with some other exciting developments in the product development pipeline.
We’d love to welcome your audience to the It’s Skinny brand with a discount code on our website. Just use: GoSolo15 for 15% off!
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://itsskinny.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ItsSkinnyPasta
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itsskinnypasta/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ItsSkinnyPasta
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/its-skinny/about/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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