# Chomps: Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-01-30
- Length: 1h 25m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali

## Summary

Pete Maldonado and Rashid Ali, co-founders of Chomps, recount their journey from Pete’s bankruptcy in the 2008 real estate crash to building a $100 million meat snack brand. After failing with a frozen meal company and a grass-fed steak subscription, they pivoted to shelf-stable grass-fed beef sticks, initially fulfilling orders from Pete’s condo. A surprise purchase order from Trader Joe’s forced them to scale rapidly, leading to internal tension before they eventually went full-time and secured an $80 million investment in 2022.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali#t=0) Pete’s Real Estate Bankruptcy and First Food Venture
- [27:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali#t=1671) The Logic Meat Locker and Pivot to Meat Sticks
- [36:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali#t=2167) Bootstrapping Chomps from a Condo
- [57:05](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali#t=3425) The Trader Joe’s Purchase Order Crisis
- [1:06:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali#t=3967) Scaling Operations and Partner Tension
- [1:19:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-30-chomps-pete-maldonado-and-rashid-ali#t=4766) Going Full-Time and Securing Investment

## Topics

- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Scaling production](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/scaling-production)
- [Retail, wholesale & distribution](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/retail-and-distribution)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)
- [Leadership, teams & culture](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/leadership-and-culture)

## Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies, companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Chomps (product)
- Trader Joe's (company)
- Slim Jim (product)
- Butcher Box (company)
- Uncrate (company)
- Shopify (tool)
- WordPress (tool)
- Western Smokehouse (company)

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- [From Hand Sanitizer to Tomato Sauce - How Sauz Went From 10 Doors to 3,500 in a Year](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-08-29-from-hand-sanitizer-to-tomato-sauce-how-sauz-went-from-10-doors-to-3-500-in-a-ye) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [#117 Rebranding, Fundraising, and the Success Behind Launching Myles Comfort Foods at Target with Myles Powell](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-12-05-117-rebranding-fundraising-and-the-success-behind-launching-myles-comfort-foods) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Sashi Kumar, Brittney Lim, and Jim Giberson of Tamarind Heads](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-09-20-founder-feature-sashi-kumar-brittney-lim-and-jim-giberson-of-tamarind-heads) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
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## Citing this page

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