E3: Matt Aaron – Entrepreneur & Food Start Ups Podcast Host

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Matt Aaron is a food entrepreneur, podcaster and educator. He is well known in the food start up community; if you recognize his name it is probably because he is also the host of Food Start Ups podcast. Matt’s mission is to educate and create transparency in the food startups space. He has interviewed business owners as diverse as tiny, early stage coffee startups to USD $500 million/year companies. Guests on his show have included legendary investor Jim Rogers (Skip the MBA and Start a Farm), Seth Goldman of Honest Tea and Bob Moore of Bob’s Red Mill. At the time this podcast was recorded he was at 100 episodes. However, he’s been busy, and last week published number 112.

Not content with bringing insight and advice to the world of food entrepreneurs, Matt is also the co-founder of Andes Fruits Colombia®. His organization focuses on importing exotic fruits from Colombia into the United States. He currently lives in Bogota, Colombia, where he emigrated in 2010, and is now the base of his company’s operations.

In this episode we cover:

• Matt’s journey to entrepreneurship and why he launched the Food Start Ups podcast
• Qualities possessed by successful entrepreneurs and the pitfalls of food entrepreneurship
• Fair Trade, Organic and Ethical Supply Chain
• Super foods, Golden Berries, Cacao Nibs
• Mental models and tips for increasing job application success
• Perseverance versus persistence

Other Good Stuff:

• Tynan Smith – “King of the Tech Geeks”, Gawker, 2013
• The War of Art – Steven Pressfield (I’ve read it on Matt’s recommendation and it is great for anyone dedicated to improving in their chosen field)
• The importance of timing in entrepreneurship and life
• Cold Brewed Coffee and BevNet.com
• Mastery by Robert Greene
• Importance of mentors and career exploration
• Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger on the Circle of Competence