As an entrepreneur, I talk a lot about the emotional rollercoaster of starting something from scratch, one day you feel unstoppable, the next you’re convinced it’s all going to collapse. You’ve got to cling to small wins to stay sane. That’s what this story is about: a surprising little moment involving a picky eater, a playdate, and a bag of Tantos that reminded me why I’m pushing this snack dream forward in the first place.
Encanto at the Hollywood Bowl
It was me, my wife, and our then-three-year-old daughter. We’d planned a playdate with my daughter’s best friend from preschool and her parents—at the Hollywood Bowl for a live performance of Encanto. If you’re not familiar, the Hollywood Bowl is one of L.A.’s most iconic venues, and we got there early to take it all in and get settled. As you can guess, two toddlers waiting for a show can get restless quickly.
So, like good parents everywhere, we whipped out snacks: fruit, salty treats, and pouches galore. The other parents had the usual kid staples, Goldfish, Pirate’s Booty, while we had Tantos samples. Since we weren’t in full production yet, I always had random sample bags stashed around. I usually had about 20–30 sample bags on hand at any given time, so I’d bring them wherever I went—mostly so they didn’t go stale before I could share them with friends, family, or potential investors.
My daughter immediately reached for the Tantos, and I whispered to her, “Why don’t you offer some to your friend?” I was expecting a polite “no, thanks,” especially after her parents warned me about her picky eating habits. But guess what? She grabbed one, popped it in her mouth, and then grabbed another… and another. She ended up eating the entire bag. Her parents were floored, asking, “Where can we buy these?” I had to laugh nervously, because at that point, we were still a good year away from any real launch. I remember saying, “I hope you’ll see it in grocery stores eventually.” But inside, I was grinning ear to ear, thinking, Did that really just happen?
When a child who’s so picky devours a snack she’s never seen or heard of before… that’s huge. I mean, kids are some of the most brutally honest critics on the planet. It gave me a fresh surge of confidence right when I needed it most.
Here’s the thing: at the time, everything about Tantos felt like waiting. Waiting for new samples. Waiting for our commercial pasta machine. Waiting on people to respond to emails or confirm calls. You name it, I was waiting—and it was driving me crazy. I’m the type who likes to move, make decisions, and solve problems, so this limbo period was tough on me mentally. I remember thinking, Is all this effort going anywhere?
Then came this playdate, which offered just a tiny glimmer of Yes, keep going. Sometimes, that’s all you need, a single “oh” moment to snap you out of self-doubt and back into believing you’re on to something real. So many times, we focus on the big moments in a startup journey, signing with a distributor, securing a big investment, or landing shelf space at a major retailer. But in reality, small, personal victories often do more to keep you going day to day. Seeing a notoriously picky eater devour Tantos was exactly that for me. It also hinted at a potential kids’ market I hadn’t fully considered and proved the snack could win over even the toughest of palates.
The moment they offered to buy more Tantos right then and there was mind-blowing, we were still so far from an official launch. It reaffirmed not just my faith in Tantos, but also my motivation to push through the waiting game, the repeated sample runs, slow emails, and constant revisions that had been wearing me down.
Mental Fuel for the Journey
Entrepreneurship is as much a mental challenge as it is a practical one. You’ll have weeks (or months) where it feels like you’re wading through quicksand, waiting for others to catch up to your vision. Holding onto moments like this—when someone’s unexpected delight in your product re-energizes you—makes all the difference. It reminded me that our snack could truly bridge the gap between novelty and yumminess, even for kids who normally stick to Goldfish. And if one child can’t get enough of Tantos, well, maybe there’s real magic in these puffed pasta chips after all.
