In this episode, Darius and Stacy delve into her inspiring journey from clinical social worker to food cart entrepreneur. They discuss Stacy’s bold transition and the challenges she faced attracting customers despite the negative perception of carts. They explore the secrets of successful brand-building and the importance of customer understanding during pivotal moments.

In this episode, Stacy and I talked about:

• How Stacy transitioned from being a clinical social worker to pursuing her passion for food by starting a food cart
• The negative perception of carts before and how it made it challenging to attract customers
• The benefits of gathering feedback from customers
• The secret to a successful brand-building
• The importance of taking a step back, recognizing strengths, and focusing on customer understanding during a pivot
• How the COVID-19 Pandemic affected Stacy’s food cart business
• Why it matters to expect and be prepared for the challenges that come with entrepreneurship
• What happened when Stacy’s company take on Trader Joe’s as a client
• What drove Stacy to sell her company to Pepsi in 2006
• What the future looks like for BeBOLD Bars
• And other topics…

Meet Stacy:

Stacy Madison grew up in Boston before moving to California to obtain a master’s degree in Social Work. After spending some time in Washington D.C. working in underprivileged communities, she joined then boyfriend and future business partner Mark Andrus in moving to Hawaii. Stacy and Mark founded Stacy’s Pita Chips in 1996 upon returning to Boston and married in 1997, but the couple divorced in 2001. Stacy started a family in 2003 after having twins. Around the time of the Frito-Lay acquisition of Stacy’s Pita Chips, Stacy was diagnosed with breast cancer and auto-immune disease. She has since recovered and went on to launch several other successful food ventures, including Stacy’s Juice Bar and Be Bold bars. Stacy served on the board of Evolution Fresh prior to its acquisition by Starbucks while working at private equity firm Fireman Capital Partners. She still maintains her role as a consultant at Fireman Capital Partners as she continues to raise her family and grow her other ventures in Massachusetts.

Meet Darius: 

Darius is your host of The Greatness Machine LIVE. Darius is a mad scientist, high-growth CEO, serial entrepreneur, author, conscious capitalist, speaker, and entertainer. Darius is on a quest to create 1,000,000 Core Value Driven Organization by 2030. He is calling this “The Core Value Revolution.” Darius is an alumni of the Birthing of Giants Entrepreneurial Program at MIT and Stagen Integral Leadership Program. Darius’s accolades include being ranked #9 Top Rated CEO in America on Glassdoor, has won numerous Stevie Awards, and has founded and grown organizations that have been ranked #40 in the Inc. 500 and were ranked #3 Best Places to Work By the San Francisco Business Time. He is all about the P’s: Passion, Pizza, Puzzles, and, especially, Pink Unicorns. His book, The Core Value Equation, is an Amazon #1 Best Seller and is available at www.thecorevalueequation.com.

The Greatness Machine shares lessons on how to framework your drive for results, create limitless space, and win the war on talent.

My team and I are on a mission to help YOU create a cultural revolution. I want to teach you how to build a core value driven organization. 

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Make Greatness Happen!

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Don’t let your Core Values become a company artifact!  Learn how to make Core Values the language of your organization.  Pre-order my book The Core Value Equation found at the link below 

The Core Value Equation

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