Note: The video below was shot a few months back, but I haven’t been able to share much until now.
Here’s the Nui Foods story…
Ever since I can remember, I’ve wanted to be an entrepreneur. Something about creating a business has signified freedom and self-expression for me. Here are some of the side-hustles and businesses I’ve created over the years.
- Selling candy door to door
- Lawn mowing charging $2 per lawn
- Online Personal Trainer Hub – An online personal training platform that never quite launched (ran out of money in development)
- MaleStandard.com – a men’s lifestyle website that grew to 60K visitors per month and allowed me to travel the world and live incredible experiences.
- Nui Foods – A cookie company helping people live happier healthier lives.
Of these, Nui Foods was the one closest to my heart. What my buddy Kristoffer and I did to grow from baking cookies in his mom’s kitchen to raising $100K in Kickstarter, starting the keto snackfood movement, and ultimately landing a deal on Shark Tank changed my life forever. It was proof of what’s possible when you hustle, are resourceful, and empower a community.
I loved the friends I made, the customers I served, and the lessons I learned along the way. I learned what to do in business, but most importantly what “not” to do.
While Nui started off strong and grew fast, we faced some big challenges. Shortly after Shark Tank, we faced product quality issues and had to recall a lot of cookies. We quickly ran into cash flow issues. What started with $6K could not support our growth.
Our cost structure was all wrong (we were actually losing money on each order). We hot-shotted sales and promos which devalued our brand and hurt our bottom line. We operated with a scarcity mentality and focused on surviving instead of thriving.
We did everything we could to keep Nui alive, including not paying ourselves for 9 months, but in the end, we had to face reality. Nui wasn’t going to make it. We shut down.
I filed for bankruptcy and said goodbye to my baby. I mourned and faced the reality of starting over from zero. While there were dark periods early on, this proved to be an opportunity to create from a blank canvas. That’s where things got exciting.
I realized that now I get a chance to go on a new journey and document the whole process. I get to share what it’s like to start from scratch and build something amazing…again. I get to show the pain and struggles along with the excitement and wins.
My desire is for you to see this as a sign to GO BIG. Go for the home run. Sometimes you’ll miss and it will hurt, but when you connect with the ball and it goes over the fence, it’s the best feeling in the world!
Here’s to swinging for the fences.
Mucho Amor,
Victor Macias
P.S. I’ve been working on some really cool projects lately. I can’t wait to share them with you.
