On this week’s episode I sit down with Mike Tarullo, COO of Banza. Banza makes pasta, pizza, and macaroni and cheese from chickpeas. You’ve probably seen their products at your local grocery store with their signature orange packaging. They’ve raised about $30 million and have products in 18,000 stores nationally. 

Before Banza, Mike helped run Venture for America, the non-profit company Andrew Yang started.

As you will hear during the chat, Mike is clearly an expert on food start-ups and we dive deep into some of the intricacies of what it takes to build them. 

We get into the nitty-gritty of how the food industry operates, useful strategies that young companies might want to keep in mind, why raising mega rounds might not always be the best strategy, and the importance of conducting research (and actually following what the data tells you!). Enjoy.

Follow us on Twitter: @tarullo / @eatbanza / @mpd

Guest Links: Banza, Venture for America, Oath Pizza

Food Documentaries: What the Health, Fed Up

Podcast Links: Website, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn