Chapter 9. Wrapping Up Bac’n

WITH THE COMPANY sold, we’ve had some time to step back and let the experience sink in. Most of this book has been about our collective experiences or specific strategies we learned together. But now that it’s over, our retrospective has become much more personal. So, with that said, please allow each of us to recap our year of Bac’n.

Scott Kveton

There are a bunch of memories I’ll take away from building Bac’n with Michael and Jason.

Jason blowing PBR all over me after laughing too hard. Michael responding to me so quickly when I’d say “we forgot about packing slips.” Getting that first box of bacon from a supplier. Picking up the T -shirts that we’d designed and had made for ourselves. Getting a bunch of random people together via Twitter to dress up in our clothes for a photo shoot. Belinda. Packing box upon box of amazing bacon. Our mailman, who never complained about us loading him up with a boatload of bacon to carry on his route. The Bac’n banner. Jason being nervous about asking his wife to do the branding. Having random people on the street or at conferences come up to me and say “You’re the bacon guy, right?” Sharing the story of Bac’n with anybody. Not doing anything too cheesy.

I’m addicted. I can’t stop. Building something from scratch is just one of the most intoxicating professional endeavors you can take on, and doing one in a field that tastes good is just a plain bonus. I can’t wait to work with Jason and Michael again, and I know that anything I start from now on won’t be the last thing I ever do.

Michael Richardson

It’s been about six months since we sold the company. I’m finally starting to lose the weight I gained taste-testing all that bacon. Some things, like my belly, will (hopefully) go away. Luckily, an experience like Bac’n will stay with you forever. It changes everything.

I’ll never forgive Scott and Jason for turning me into a bacon mogul. Not only did they forever ruin breakfast by pointing out how wonderful good bacon is, they opened my eyes to an entirely new way of thinking and implementing. I can’t go back.

We learned simple but powerful lessons, and we continue to apply them every day. Iterate quickly, and don’t let yourself get bogged down in details and distractions. You can’t just sit idle and let things pass you by, and one of the best ways to do that is focus on the unimportant.

They also taught me the importance of having a strong team, and strong friends, at your back. I know that I can trust Scott and Jason with anything. Find people like them—your life will only be improved.

Building an empire based on cured meats is something that everybody should do at least once in their life. I understand that delicious salty meaty treats might not be your thing, but everybody has something. Going after your passion is something that you can, and should, do. Please go for it. You’ll make the world a better place.

Jason Glaspey

One of the biggest takeaways from starting Bac’n is that it’s much easier than you think to just do something. You don’t have to have permission, and you don’t have to fear failure. The costs involved have also decreased enough that they’re rarely the hurdle they used to be. In so many ways, the cliché of “the only way to fail is to not try” continues to ring true in my life.

As I’ve started side-projects and companies, some have “made it” and some have not. Some have garnered attention, and others silently slipped into the back pages of the Internet. But one thing that has been consistent is that every time I do build something, I become more experienced and more enthusiastic about the next project. And with that, I gain even more excitement and gratitude that online businesses have become my livelihood.

I still see Scott and Michael every day, and we continue to look forward to the time we all work together again. We also continue to encourage each other and celebrate both our failures and success stories, even when we’re the only ones who know about them. It’s been a blast working with them, and I’m lucky to have been invited into the team. Thanks guys.

If you’ve made it this far in the book, then congrats. Hopefully we inspired you in some way; maybe you even learned something. But, now, close the book and go boot up your laptop, it’s time to get started.