The Origin Story

We've all felt it. You know the feeling, that itch to get out from underneath the corporate world of early meetings, bosses, late meetings, bosses, clocking in, clocking out, bosses, and all that comes with life....happening.

Let me bring you to 2016. I was 26. I had been fired, dumped, and living on a couch figuring out my next move (thanks Ryan). I got a temp job at a local University that had me working the dreaded, standard, 9-5 shift. Add to the fact that it was downtown LA so tack on another hour and a half in commute from Venice. I was at that life moment where my career, as i had defined it at that point, was no longer the path I had thought I wanted to choose. I thought, what can I do myself? 

Ok so what ideas do I have. Ummmm, an app!?. Well I can't code (this is during the big tech boom) and I don't know anyone who can. I have no money. I simply had app ideas like a million other people do everyday. How the hell do you even start an app? How do you start a start up? Ok No app. Next thought..

My peanut butter consumption. For years, I had prepped a serving of peanut butter and a banana in a tiny container for all the random jobs I had in my early 20s. It was kinda my office "thing". How hard can it be to make peanut butter? Turns out, not super hard after some trial and error. But what about pecans? And what about that flavor of pecans you get walking the boardwalk on a summer night in New Jersey, you can smell them a mile away (close your eyes Jersey friends, you can smell that smell right now). I had never tasted anything like that before. Is that an idea? 

So I experimented over several months. I destroyed kitchens and upset roommates, and rightfully so, it was sticky chaos. I went through at least 10 food processors with the amount of trial and error I put the product through. But finally, a flavor profile came out that I couldn't get enough of. 

I passed some off to friends and family to get their thoughts. My tastebuds were correct, this stuff is awesome. 

But what do I call it? Remember my pal Ryan who let me crash on his couch? He was a big fan of the then "Cinnamon Pecan Butter" I had been making. Well one day I faked sick from my downtown LA Job and we went to Disney Land. We may or may not have been mildly under the influence of California's favorite newly legalized  vice. Just two bros, walking around Disney, riding ferris wheels, having a few beers, eating snacks, you know the usual.

We grabbed an Ice Cream cone and a churro from a snack stand and jumped on the Ferris Wheel because everyone loves heights on a belly full of beer, ice cream, and Churros. He dipped the Churro into his ice cream, looked me in the eye, and said "You should call that cinnamon pecan butter you make 'Churro Butter'". 

Light Bulb. CHURRO BUTTER! 

Moral of the story - Sometimes the best ideas come when you fake sick and bail from your job to go do childish things with one of your best childhood friends (all while paying adult prices of course).