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Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali started Chomps with nothing but a simple idea, some grassroots hustle, and their first month bringing in… just $500 in revenue.
Fast forward, Chomps is now an $80M+ powerhouse sold in Trader Joe’s, Walmart, and Whole Foods—all built before taking a single VC check.
In this episode, Pete and Rashid share how they turned a $500 side hustle into a national brand:
✅ Why starting small gave them the discipline to stay profitable
✅ The scrappy marketing tactics that turned $500 into their first $5,000
✅ How a Trader Joe’s deal transformed their growth overnight
✅ Why they ignored the “raise early” startup playbook and bootstrapped instead
✅ How their opposite personalities created the perfect founder duo
✅ The systems and strategy that took them from a side hustle to shelves nationwide
👉 If you’re building a business from scratch—or wondering if you really need VC money—this episode is proof that you can start lean, grow smart, and win big.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
01:10 How a $500 Side Hustle Became Chomps
03:25 Pivoting From Frozen Meat to Beef Sticks
06:20 Early Influencer Hacks That Fueled Growth
10:45 The Trader Joe’s Breakthrough
14:10 Staying Profitable Through Scale
18:30 The Founder Dynamic That Made It Work
22:00 Why They Waited Until $80M to Raise
26:30 Building a Brand Customers Love
30:00 The Next Chapter for Chomps
34:20 Building Systems and Teams for Scale
37:00 Staying Profitable While Competing with Legacy Brands
40:10 Why They Raised Only After $80M in Revenue
44:00 Becoming a B‑Corp and Setting Higher Standards 48:10 Their Take on the Protein Trend and What’s Next for Chomps
51:30 Book Picks: Rocket Fuel & Die With Zero
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