#61: Dreams Aren’t This Good with Matt Bennett
Matt Bennett founded his craft salsa company, DREAMS AREN’T THIS GOOD, on five simple values: trust, transparency, trial and error, tenacity, and a belief that the team is in this together. The end result? A company that not only produces some darn good salsa, but does good for the world and has a blast doing it.
Each jar of DATG salsa is named after a song, paying homage to artists that are all about making us smile. Each flavor pairing also has a local partner that receives a portion of sales from every jar and bag of chips. Pretty spectacular.
Matt and I are chatting about how he got started in the salsa world, some of his more experimental flavors, the songs he has to sing along to whenever they come on, and much more.
Highlights of our conversation include:
Why you can be a dreamer and a visionary, but you have to put actions into play. (2:16)
How Matt found his way into making salsa — from his first batch to turning his work into a full-fledged company today. (6:21)
The ways Matt and his team tested out flavors during the past year — involving two different ingredient wheels — and why he wants to be the Ben & Jerry’s of salsa. (11:55)
Matt and I chat about playing music and I share a story of a rough audition and a plug for my band, Burning Years. We’re pretty fun, check us out! (15:28)
The pairing of salsas and music and how Matt considers the songs and donation partners for each of his flavors. (17:36)
A look at the challenges of the past year, and why building a community working toward a common goal is so important for any business. Plus, why Matt calls DATG fans the “cartel.” (28:35)
The things that have surprised Matt about running a business. (32:14)
Matt shares his top three songs he has to sing along to when they come on the radio or a playlist, plus the very “small world” connection he has with Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach. (37:12)
Where to find Matt Bennett and DREAMS AREN’T THIS GOOD:
Pick up some jars of salsa at dreamsarentthisgood.com and visit the crew on Instagram. And be sure to listen to something that makes you bob your head today!
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