"Necessity creates opportunities in my life."

Andrew Buerger was in his 40's and stuck in a declining industry. He had to find something new.

While mountain climbing in Iceland, tried their traditional yogurt, Skyr. Even though he is lactose-intolerant, Andrew loved the yogurt and felt great after eating it.

He came back to Maryland and figured out how to turn this into a real business. In 2015, they became the fastest growing yogurt company in the U.S. And the yogurt sales spur Jodi's Climb for Hope, which has  raised over $750,000 to funding promising research on breast cancer and MS at Baltimore’s John’s Hopkins University.

They are in over 3,000 stores and growing strong. Andrew and I had an enlightening conversation:

• Converting limitations into opportunities
• Making a career transition
• What is Skyr?
• How the product evolved to a yogurt smoothie
• Turning a cause into a business
• Aligning the "why" with the product and charity
• Goals for 2020
• Consultation with Barbara Corcoran
• Andrew's life mission
• The opportunities available in Baltimore

In the space Andy Ellwood plays in, every few years you need to be prepared to start over.

On his dynamic career "path", Andy has become a high-performer in business development with a track record to back it up.

He helped Gowalla through its acquisition by Facebook in 2011, Waze through to its acquisition by Google in 2013, and Bond which was acquired in 2016 by Newell Rubbermaid.

Now he is on his next venture. As Cofounder and President of Basket, Andy leads a community of shoppers committed to never over paying for groceries again.

Some retailers and brands have resisted the app, but it is becoming an unstoppable force with over 300,000 users. And as Andy will explain, the users always come first:

• What is business development?
• The ups and downs as an entrepreneur
• Why you should play on the edges
• The variation of grocery prices
• Celebrity driving directions with Waze
• The hipster effect
• The key moment that marks the success of any product/service
• Grocery shopping behavior
• Gamified data collection
• How they overcome obstacles with retailers and brands
• Business development philosophy (way more than "tips")

He started Mikey's Muffins as a side hustle to pay the rent. As of today, his products are in more than 4500 retailers nationwide.

Michael Tierney began working in professional kitchens at the age of 13 and followed his passion to The Culinary Institute of America, where he earned his degree in Culinary Arts Management. He went on to work in the kitchens of world-renowned restaurants, including 3 michelin star The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California and Eleven Madison Park in New York.

Not happy with his future prospects in the restaurant industry, he left it all behind and ended up in the food CPG space. Mikey's started out with paleo, gluten-free english muffins and they are growing their product offerings. We cover a diverse set of topics:

• How he decided to leave the restaurant industry
• The skills he picked up grinding away in top restaurant kitchens
• His proprietary candy product that will launch this summer
• How Mikey revised his strategy for investment / fundraising tips
• The keys to scaling quickly
• Understanding the long-term effects of margins
• On having a lean staff
• The two types of white space in the marketplace
• Integration of your fans in social media
• Book recommendations (linked below)

He thought he was going to be a diplomat. While gaining international experience in Medellin, Colombia, he fell into a circle of entrepreneurs.

And everything changed. Robbie Thomas teamed up with another expat and launched Just Panela, a true raw cane sugar.

The company has grown fast. 18 months later, the organic sweetener is in many parts of the United States.

Robbie has helped Just Panela get slotted in accounts like Whole Foods, Natural Grocers, and Wegmans, as well as build out the food service/bulk side of the company’s business.

Robbie and I talk about the art of the launch with a product unknown to the North American consumer:

• Advice to younger listeners who want to start a business with little to no money
• Creating serendipity
• What is panela?
• How is panela different from Turbinado sugar?
• The sales pitch for panela
• What they would have done differently knowing what they know now
• How to use food brokers
• Strategic distribution partnerships
• Retail versus food service
• Conventional vs specialty grocers
• Running a U.S. focused business from South America
• Why finding a great fulfillment/warehouse partners is important
• Colombian musings
• Bonus: Robbie attempts to eloquently pronounce "terroir"