Entrepreneurship

How a Pool Party in Vegas Turned Into Slap Snacks

One of the things I love most about startups is how rarely they begin the way you think they will.

SlapSnacks started in one of the least likely places imaginable: a pool party in Las Vegas.

I was there for my friend and business partner Sam Rockwell’s bachelor party, along with Justin Samuels and my brother Jeremy. We had all gone to school together at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Sam had gotten to know Dana White over the past few years through his work building brands like Dr. Bombay and his relationships with retailers like Walmart. Sam texted Dana asking if we could swing by UFC headquarters for a quick visit.

Dana immediately replied…

“Come on over!”

We expected to be there for thirty minutes…or thirty five minutes if you include the video game detour..

The video game detour

(above – the video game detour)

Instead, we spent the next five hours together.

Dana gave us a full tour of UFC headquarters, showed us his office and some of the personal artifacts he keeps there, like a sabertooth skull, an original samurai uniform, custom guns from Kid Rock, and more, and talked about everything imaginable: business, leadership, family, sports, politics, entrepreneurship, and life. It was one of those rare conversations where nobody was checking the time or their phones because everyone was genuinely locked in.

One thing became obvious pretty quickly.

The Dana people see on television is exactly the Dana you get in person.

He’s authentic. Direct. Competitive. He says what he thinks and does what he says.

As an entrepreneur, that’s something I’ve always admired, and actively look for in partners. Sam and his team are the same way.

The UFC wasn’t built because it was the obvious opportunity. It was built because Dana had conviction. He saw something the rest of the world didn’t, committed to it completely, and spent decades turning it into one of the most valuable sports properties on the planet.

He doesn’t put his name behind many businesses, let alone build them from the ground up as a co-founder.

He only leans in when he truly believes.

As we were wrapping up, Dana asked a simple question:

“So, what are you guys working on?”

We each shared what we were building, and naturally the conversation shifted into…

“Maybe we should build something together?”

That’s when food entered the conversation.

Like a lot of people, we all grew up eating Hot Pockets. We loved them.

But somewhere along the way, we stopped eating them.

Not because we stopped wanting convenient food, but because we wanted better food.

That led to a simple set of questions:

Why can’t convenient food also have clean ingredients?

Why can’t it be high in protein?

Why can’t it actually taste incredible?

Why should consumers have to compromise?

That conversation stuck with all of us.

Ironically, I had spent the previous few years telling Sam to stay away from frozen.

I had invested in Happi Co., seen countless food companies come and go, and experienced firsthand how difficult frozen can be. Manufacturing is complex. Distribution is harder. Margins are tighter. Supply chains are unforgiving. Many institutional investors avoid the category altogether, and I understand why after seeing many of those pitch decks.

But the more I heard why people disliked frozen, the more interested I became. My contrarian investor instincts started to kick in.

I’ve always believed some of the best businesses are built by running toward problems when others are running away.

So I started digging into the market.

The numbers were fascinating.

The U.S. frozen food category is now a roughly $90 billion market, driven by consumers who increasingly value convenience without sacrificing quality. Frozen is no longer just about low-cost meals, it’s becoming a destination for premium products, cleaner ingredients, and protein-forward eating.

Then another trend stood out.

Consumers are eating significantly more protein than they were just a few years ago. They’re reading ingredient labels more carefully than ever. They want recognizable ingredients, fewer compromises, and food that fits into busy, modern lives. And with the rise of GLP-1 medications and a broader focus on weight loss and health, protein-forward eating has become even more central to how people think about food.

Then we spoke with retailers.

Over and over, we heard the same message:

“We need innovation.”

The frozen aisle had become dominated by legacy brands that had changed very little over the years.

Retailers wanted new brands.

They wanted more competition.

Most importantly, they wanted products consumers were actually excited to discover.

That became our “aha” moment.

We realized we weren’t excited about building a frozen food company.

We were excited about building a great food company.

One built around clean ingredients.

One built around high protein.

One built around food people actually crave, not just tolerate because it’s “better for you.”

And, one with snackable, fun, approachable form factors.

Frozen simply happened to be the best place to start, driven by a product vision we couldn’t shake and the collective experience around the table, from building food brands to scaling consumer companies.

It’s a massive category that has been waiting for real innovation, and we believe it’s the perfect foundation to build something much bigger over time. And with Dana and his partners, we also have a unique opportunity to bring the brand to life in a way most food companies never can, connecting directly with fans at events like PowerSlap and the UFC, and turning customers into part of the experience from day one.

So we decided to go all in, make some moves, and get to work.

(above – making the moves)

Together with Dana, Sam, Justin, Jeremy, and an incredible team, we set out to build a modern food company making products we’d proudly feed our own families and friends. Convenient without compromise. High in protein. Made with real ingredients. And most importantly, food that actually tastes great.

That’s how SlapSnacks was born.

Fast forward to today, we’ve assembled an incredible group of investors who share that vision, including members of the UFC family, investors from my network like Red Sea Ventures, and the Happi Co. community.

Today, after a year or so of working in the kitchen, we’re excited to officially launch.

You’ll find SlapSnacks in the frozen aisle at Walmart.

That’s where our journey begins and we’re just getting started.

(above – working in the kitchen)

(above – SlapSnacks debut at PowerSlap)

(above – board meeting at UFC 316)

Game on!

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$75,000,000 Crypto Wallet Bulk Hack

Four years ago I went on a wild goose chase to unlock millions of dollars stuck in a Trezor hardware wallet.

That chase got… weird.

At one point I was considering flying to Switzerland to access a secret lab. Another plan involved smuggling myself across a locked-down Europe during COVID. There was even a moment where I half-joked (half-serious) about using hallucinogens to help my friend recover his lost memory so he can remember a 4-digit password.

It didn’t look like a business. It looked like a bad (or actually excellent) movie script.

But it led me to Joe Grand, a brilliant engineer who once testified before the Senate that he could take down the internet in 30 minutes. He saw paths where others saw dead ends.

We took our shot.

And somehow, it worked. The coins were recovered. #FreeTheta, we said!

That could have been the end. Cool story, move on.

Instead, we leaned in and built a company together called OffSpec.

Our thinking was simple: there have to be more people out there in the same position.

We were right.

Since then, we’ve identified roughly $75M worth of crypto that people thought was gone forever. Every case is different, but the reaction never is. Relief. Shock. Sometimes something that genuinely changes the course of someone’s life.

What I didn’t fully appreciate at the beginning was the ripple effect.

One decision…a wild goose chase…turned into:
– a company
– millions of dollars back in people’s hands
– that money flowing back into families, businesses, and new opportunities
– and in some cases, completely altering someone’s trajectory in life…with money, hope or closure.

And yeah… that feels really good.

It’s a reminder that curiosity and optimism are underrated forces.

You don’t always need a master plan. Sometimes a wild goose chase, with an open mind, is good enough.

Most things don’t work like that.

But every once in a while, something does.

Videos below

Part One

Part Two

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Meet Thensome.com

Some of the best ideas come from simple questions.
Like: What if you could add THC to any drink you already love—without changing the taste, smell, or vibe?

That’s what we’ve built with Thensome.com. A flavorless, tasteless THC beverage enhancer you can add to cocktails, mocktails, coffee, beer, or water. Whatever you’re drinking, now you can have your drink… and Thensome.

Why Now?

The world is shifting. People are drinking less and looking for better alternatives.

  • Alcohol consumption is at its lowest point in nearly 90 years (Gallup).
  • Daily cannabis use just passed daily alcohol use (AP News).
  • Gen Z overwhelmingly prefers cannabis to alcohol (CBS News).

The timing is right. Culture is ready.

The Team

As I’ve said a million times, the journey is the prize. And the only thing better than building something new is building it with your friends.

  • Steve Weisman knows the cannabis world inside and out, having started and selling his own cannabis company. It also helps that we studied electrical and computer engineering together, started two other companies together, and have been looking to build another project together for quite some time.
  • Peter Alden brings a deep background in sales and tech, and is what we’ll most definitely call a “product-centric” CEO here.
  • Emily Miller spent the past few years building one of the most forward-looking consumer brands, of which I was an investor, and she understands trends and the consumer mindset.

Different skills, same energy, shared vision.

So here we go.
Thensome.com is live.
The product is available for purchase.
Have your drink, and Thensome.

There is a lot more to come, but please let us know what you think and follow us.

And because I had to play around with some new AI tools..

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Copying Isn’t Cheating (in some cases)— It’s Smart Strategy

“I wanted to win the Olympic gold medal. She did it. I figured, if I copied everything she did, I would win the Olympic gold medal too.”

I’m paraphrasing here, but that’s what Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist, told me the first time we met. She was referring to another gold medalist gymnast who practiced at her gym. We were just starting to work together on TULA, where she became our first brand ambassador. Her mindset stuck with me, especially since it’s an approach I’d used too.

Most people think copying is wrong — even taboo. They confuse it with theft.

Yes, stealing someone’s work or IP is theft. But borrowing a framework that works? That’s not theft — that’s mentorship in disguise. It’s how we learn from people who’ve already figured it out.

When we launched TULA, we “stole” two core playbooks:

  1. Go narrow and deep with one motivated retail partner — a strategy my partner Ken used while building Bobbi Brown.
  2. Lean heavily into influencer marketing — something I saw work firsthand while building Spinback.

At Troops, we borrowed another winning formula: build on top of a widely adopted platform for accelerated distribution. In our case, it was Slack. At Buddy Media and Spinback, it was Facebook. One was a social network for the enterprise, the other was for consumers. Same strategy, different platform.

Even when hiring, I use frameworks and interview questions inspired by leaders like Zuckerberg and Musk — not to imitate, but to learn from their pattern recognition and what has clearly worked for them. Specific interview questions and frameworks I “stole”:

  • “What’s something you’ve done that is exceptional?” – Elon
  • “Would I work for this person?” – Mark

Now let’s be clear: there’s a line. I’ve seen companies cross it — pixel-for-pixel clones, one-to-one knockoffs. That’s theft. That’s lazy. That’s short-term. It’s also scummy.

But copying a strategy with intention and ethics? That’s just smart. The truth is, some of the most effective outcomes in business (and life) come from studying what works and adapting it well.

Copying isn’t the enemy. Done right, it’s a shortcut to excellence.

Nastia Liukin, Olympic gold medalist and TULA’s first brand partner

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Walking Paradoxes: Why Our Contradictions Might Be Our Superpower

Humans are walking paradoxes—complex, layered, and often full of surprises. A scientist might spend her days decoding molecular structures, then go home and lose herself in oil paints. A finance executive could secretly be a poet, writing verses more moving than market trends. A waitress might be jotting down screenplay notes between tables, crafting stories that rival what’s showing on Netflix.

We often assume expertise must match a title, but some of the most profound insights come from the least expected places. And sometimes, it’s the combination of seemingly unrelated interests that creates true innovation. Steve Jobs is a perfect example—his fascination with calligraphy and philosophy, when fused with his love for technology, helped shape the aesthetic of modern computing. The Mac’s typeface and interface weren’t just functional; they were beautiful. That happened because of his paradoxes, not in spite of them.

On the flip side, titles alone don’t guarantee mastery. A parent volunteering part-time in a classroom might connect with students more deeply than a certified teacher. A high schooler passionate about geopolitics could out-analyze a foreign policy “expert.” And in the world of finance, we saw a retail investor like Roaring Kitty outsmart Wall Street veterans during the GameStop saga—doing his own research while hedge funds completely missed the mark.

When I was building TULA and Troops, I saw this firsthand. In the beauty industry, I was “the tech guy.” In tech, I was “the beauty guy.” But the randomness? That was the advantage. In beauty, we used SaaS playbooks. In SaaS, we applied consumer-brand marketing tactics. That cross-pollination made both companies better.

The truth is, skill, passion, and insight rarely wear name tags. They live in the curious, unpredictable spaces between our identities. That’s where magic often happens—where paradox becomes power.

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Lotame Acquired By Publicis Groupe

“Publicis Groupe has agreed to acquire ad tech firm Lotame, expanding the holding company’s global identity and data-management capabilities.” – Digiday

About eighteen years ago, I met Andy Monfried, who offered me an internship at his online advertising startup, Lotame. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

After graduating college, I joined full-time. But there was a catch—I had to reverse commute from NYC to Columbia, Maryland, where our headquarters was based. My days started early, really early. I’d wake up around 4 AM, jump in the car, and drive two to three hours to the office. During the week, I stayed in a corporate apartment with Andy, fully immersed in the startup grind. Then, every Friday, I’d drive back to the city, catch up with friends, and do it all over again the next week.

I kept up this routine until we eventually opened a New York office.

Looking back, those long drives to Maryland weren’t just part of the job—they were the foundation of an incredible journey. What I remember most isn’t the commute itself but the people I worked with. I was surrounded by some of the smartest minds in technology, and those early days shaped the way I think, work, and lead today.

Sometimes, the road to success is quite literally a long drive, wrapped up in a lot of patience —but if you’re surrounded by the right people, it’s always worth it.

Congrats Andy, Jeremy, and the rest of the Lotame team. Incredibly well-deserved!

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A Post-Exit Podcast

There’s a ton of myths out there about folks who’ve started and then sold their companies, especially when it comes to what they end up doing next.

In the same vein, a lot of entrepreneurs who’ve poured their heart and soul into one big project for years suddenly find themselves lost or confused once it’s all over, wondering, “What now?”

We spoke about this and more on the “Exit Paradox” podcast.

Video here and below.

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The Treadmill of Life

The first CEO I worked for (Andy Monfried) survived a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv. When he got home he quit his company doing door-to-door paper sales to join two brothers on their startup. That company was acquired and years later Andy launched his own.

The second CEO I worked for (Michael Lazerow) was 19 years old when his heart valve stopped working. His blood pressure dropped to zero and had 3 hours to live. He did indeed survive and later that year started his first company. It would be the first of many. Most of those companies were acquired.

The Uber driver I had this morning told me a story… “I used to work as a sales rep hitting quota. I was always working for the next president’s club, over and over again, stuck on the hamster wheel.” He then told me about how he survived 9/11 and how all he wanted to do was get home to see his one-year-old son who was beginning to walk. He made it home that day. And the day after that? He quit his job and became a pasture.

Many of us coast through life stuck on a treadmill we never realized we got on in the first place. The conveyor belt of life loops around again and again, year after year, and we don’t jump off in search of better use and meaning with our time.

We hear about people who completely change their lives after being faced with a life-or-death situation. We hear and read about how they’ve found new meaning and a new calling. Or as Andy put it, how they are “playing on house money.” Yet most of us still carry on like zombies…

Most of us should be so thankful that we haven’t had to live through such a dire moment, but most of also us need a wake-up call to make the most out of this game called life.

If we look around we can find moments and stories like these that can act as a mirror and help us ask the hard question…

“What am I doing with my life?”

My Uber ride this morning was a good reminder of that. We’re all playing on house money and once you internalize this idea it’s a little bit easier to jump off the treadmill.

The Treadmill of Life Read More »

Dibs Beauty Gains LCatterton Investment

Today, the Dibs Beauty team is announcing our partnership with LCatterton.

The best part of being an entrepreneur is getting to work with amazing people, and I’m excited to be able to once again team up with the folks at LCatterton, and of course, Ken Landis. And just as good, getting to work with Courtney Shields and Jeff Lee from day one on this venture. Exciting times ahead!

L Catterton is betting once again on the founders of Tula Skincare. The private equity firm has just made a “significant” growth investment in color cosmetics brand Dibs Beauty, launched in September 2021 by Tula Skincare founders Ken Landis (who also cofounded Bobbi Brown Cosmetics) and Dan Reich, with Austin, Texas-based influencer Courtney Shields and former chief operating officer of A-Rod Corp Jeff Lee. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

The full article is below.

Some links to the news:

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