You can’t do it all on your own. I struggle with that in general, but learning to trust others is key. I have made sure to surround myself with folks who are like-minded and hardworking.
Many successful people reinvented themselves in a later period in their lives. Jeff Bezos worked on Wall Street before he reinvented himself and started Amazon. Sara Blakely sold office supplies before she started Spanx. Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson was a WWE wrestler before he became a successful actor and filmmaker. Arnold Schwarzenegger went from a bodybuilder, to an actor to a Governor. McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc was a milkshake-device salesman before starting the McDonalds franchise in his 50s.
How does one reinvent themselves? What hurdles have to be overcome to take life in a new direction? How do you overcome those challenges? How do you ignore the naysayers? How do you push through the paralyzing fear?
In this series called “Second Chapters; How I Reinvented Myself In The Second Chapter Of My Life “ we are interviewing successful people who reinvented themselves in a second chapter in life, to share their story and help empower others.
As a part of this interview series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Matt Koss.
Matt Koss tapped into his culinary expertise as a trained chef when his dog, Luna started experiencing health issues. Following the advice of a holistic veterinarian, he started preparing his own species appropriate pet food for her. Matt quickly saw the improvements in her health and was determined to share his solution with other pet parents. As a result, he founded Primal Pet Foods in 2001 to help bring the benefits of raw nutrition to more pets.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?
Igrew up outside of Philadelphia, with my mom and dad and two sisters. I played sports, and our family spent a lot of time at the pool and tons of time outdoors. I did my first year of college at Temple University (in Philadelphia) in the Communications department, and then moved to California in 1990. I ended up in Santa Barbara for a year, going to university down there, until moving to San Francisco, where I went to San Francisco State University, graduating with a degree in clinical psychology.
Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?
You know, I don’t really pull from any one particular philosophy or have a quote I really live by. For me, it’s more about introspection and really learning from the life experiences I’ve had, whether through mentors or various jobs.
I think the most important thing is to look inside yourself, determine the things that are most important to you, set goals and then strive towards those goals. I think this reflects on every element of my world. When I started Primal Pet Foods, we had a concept and then put our heads down and worked really hard and purposefully towards our goal — to deliver very high-quality food for the benefits of pets.
You have been blessed with much success. In your opinion, what are the top three qualities that you possess that have helped you accomplish so much? If you can, please share a story or example for each.
I’d say passion, determination, honesty & ethics. Passion is definitely at my core; when I engage in something and believe in it, that’s the fire. It’s the driving force.
And then, determination. I am someone who doesn’t give up easily. I think a lot of that comes from my childhood — really driving towards things that maybe I was told I couldn’t achieve and so now, I don’t allow much to get in my way.
Finally, and most importantly, is honesty and ethics. Having had so many different relationships in this industry, whether it be with coworkers, vendors or customers, it’s been a big lesson in learning how to align those values. There have been many cases where my values didn’t align with a vendor or customer, and we’ve needed to achieve a happy middle ground through compromise and understanding; recognizing that not everybody sees things the same way and not everybody has same goals. But ultimately, you need to find a happy medium where each party is able to achieve something they wanted when they came into the negotiation.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about ‘Second Chapters’. Can you tell our readers about your career experience before your Second Chapter?
After I graduated from San Francisco State University with a degree in clinical psychology, I did a long stint at a place called Haight Ashbury Psychological Services, which is an intake psychological support center that offered low-cost services in San Francisco. That opened my eyes to the variety of experiences that people have in life, giving me a ton of appreciation for my own upbringing. Inspired, I went from there to a counselor position at a boys’ home. The boys were wards of the state, once again giving me a sense of appreciation at how much opportunity I’d been given. The boys had been given little to none, so I wanted pass on my experience and try to share inspiration…that you can achieve whatever you want when you put your head down and strive towards your goals.
After about a year, I realized I was probably too young for a role of such magnitude — I hadn’t fully managed my own existence. I went back into the restaurant industry (where I had worked on and off since I was 15-years-old) and worked for a guy that taught me a ton about the industry — it was great. I wanted to go back into some form of education, so I went to culinary school, followed by five years of running kitchens, etc., before getting into private work, cooking for (and even traveling with) families in the Bay Area.
I had a dog, who unfortunately around this time, started suffering from an ailment. I didn’t realize at the time that this was going to be the monumental pivotal point. But it was, and that’s when Primal came to be.
And how did you “reinvent yourself” in your Second Chapter?
As I was cooking for families, I learned that there were times that the humans were difficult to deal with, but I always had a really good relationship with their dogs. I found myself hanging out with the pets while cooking, and that was when I was truly happy. This was also when my own dog, Luna, started having health issues and I can remember the countless veterinary visits and tests to find out what was wrong. Nothing was conclusive, and the science around renal failure was not as advanced as it is today. Also, there was little recognition of the importance of moisture in a pet’s diet, it wasn’t really even on the radar. Fortunately, I found an incredibly knowledgeable holistic veterinarian in San Rafael, CA. She and I met a couple of times, and she shared some books by veterinarians in Australia who outlined the negative effects of pets eating highly processed foods, which often included ingredients that their bodies didn’t know how to digest. They encouraged owners to feed pets based on bones and raw foods — the way they originally ate in nature.
Motivated by Luna and this information, I was inspired to make a change in the industry, to revolutionize how people thought about feeding their pet. I was not a nutritionist and didn’t have a medical veterinary background, so the question became — how was I going to do it? I started making a particular recipe for Luna, which my holistic veterinarian helped to refine; and she asked me if I’d ever thought about doing it beyond what I was doing for my own pet. I hadn’t thought it was possible — I had my job, and bills to pay. But it started to dawn on me that the love I had for Luna wasn’t unique and the benefits I was seeing with the food I was feeding her could be shared.
Batch by batch I got better at it. I was making the food in a KitchenAid mixer, then upgraded to a small tabletop grinder, then graduated into a catering kitchen that was shared by the hour. I’d go there late at night with my then business partner (and roommate) who was handling packaging design.
On the weekends, we would drive hours to American Kennel Club shows in the Bay Area, our van filled with coolers full of our food and dry ice. That’s when the momentum really started. Once demand increased, we started leaning heavily into education with and hired a sales leader to build an incredibly passionate sales team. We realized there was no other way to get this done. The sales team educated the retail store staff, did seminars with the managers…we transformed the company as we quickly became the trusted source.
Next was working to educate veterinarians, attending conferences, etc. A veterinarian couple (one, an oncologist) in Southern California treated some of their most difficult clients with our food, documenting everything. They were astounded by the healing results. That was a pivotal moment for us — those case studies really set the road map for the future and solidified our mission to improve the overall health of pets by getting more raw and fresh foods into their bowls.
Can you tell us about the specific trigger that made you decide that you were going to “take the plunge” and make your huge transition?
I remember a specific moment, driving with my business partner over the hill down to Santa Cruz, talking about the business. I just felt this overwhelming notion — in that moment — that if I didn’t take the plunge, if I didn’t risk moving away from my day job, that this company — Primal — would not have the opportunity to thrive. I didn’t do any calculations. More than anything, it was realizing that the commitment of time in a 24-hour day started to tip the scale toward the hours I was spending on my passion project. First, it was 4 hours. Then 6. Then 8. Then it was 12, and no sleep. So, I knew I had to decide one way or the other.
What did you do to discover that you had a new skillset inside of you that you haven’t been maximizing? How did you find that and how did you ultimately overcome the barriers to help manifest those powers?
I really just followed my heart. I didn’t know the success that would come just by DOING the risky thing and taking the leap to go all in on Primal. But I knew I had to try, whether I had the skills or not. The skills would come. What I’ve learned along the way is to look at things from different angles. Just because you’re told something must be done one way, doesn’t mean it’s the only way. I knew I needed to think outside the box. I took that to heart and the barriers sort of just fell away.
How are things going with this new initiative? We would love to hear some specific examples or stories.
Things are going really well. We took on a capital partner in 2021 because we wanted to be able to invest in the business quicker than we otherwise could, particularly from a manufacturing perspective to support the growth we were seeing but also from a marketing perspective to reach even more consumers. This was a big shift for the brand and the company in general, going from an entrepreneurial organization to a more structured company. It was necessary for what the company needed, based on the rapid growth. We now have an incredible leadership team on board to help advance the brand.
What stands out the most for me most is that the vision that we had 20 plus years ago remains the vision of the brand today. And what’s going to continue to drive this company’s success is maintaining those foundational cornerstones of what we stand for and why we’re here. The purpose of the brand has always been about getting as much high-quality pet food in every pet’s bowl.
Our most recent innovation, Kibble in the Raw, has allowed us to step into a new world of consumers. The new line of food for dogs combines the benefits of raw nutrition with the convenience of kibble, giving us the opportunity to start talking to the majority of pet parents in the U.S. who are feeding their dogs kibble. The launch has been incredibly successful because the network of local stores and advocates we’ve built throughout the years take the time to explain to customers how the food that is crafted with freeze-dried raw protein and no synthetic vitamins and minerals delivers optimal nutrition and digestibility for dogs.
So, the company is doing as well as it ever has due to our stable leadership team and this innovative product line that not only delivers on our mission but is also like nothing else on the market.
Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story about that?
To start, I have to give a ton of credit to my parents, who thought I had completely lost it, but supported me the whole way through.
Otherwise, I have to say that I’m grateful to the entire Primal team. They’ve been so inspirational to me, really staying true to their own professional beliefs that this brand produces the highest quality food on the planet. I’ve learned from all of them, many being mentors to me along the way. It’s truly been a collaborative experience over the last 20 plus years.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started in this new direction?
Oh boy. I’ll give you one from early on, from when we were distributed primarily on the East Coast via really small distributors, mom and pops. One distributor had an open house and invited our Primal representative to join. The rep calls me the Monday after the open house, sharing that everyone reacted really well to the product, and planned to carry it in their stores. After a pause he says, but that’s not the best part. Turns out the distributor took the patties, grilled them up and put them on buns — serving them to guests! And, while I wouldn’t typically encourage people to eat them since they contain ground bone, the reviews were good!
Did you ever struggle with believing in yourself? If so, how did you overcome that limiting belief about yourself? Can you share a story or example?
I think the biggest struggle for me was my lack of traditional credentials when getting into an industry where it’s key to understanding pet nutrition. I struggled with the fear that I’d be asked something I wasn’t prepared to answer. Of course, I quickly surrounded myself with experts in holistic veterinary medicine and companion animal nutrition and actively pursued my own education of the guidelines and requirements for what we were making.
For example, one of our biggest assets is the fact that we don’t use synthetic vitamins and minerals. That was a cornerstone for me when I started the company, based on a lot of research I was reading. But I had an insecurity about how I was going to talk about that if I didn’t have the doctorate in animal nutrition or advanced degree in veterinary medicine.
Thankfully, I surrounded myself with a qualified team to help me do the hard work and ensure we had the right credentials to make the best product we could.
In my own work I usually encourage my clients to ask for support before they embark on something new. How did you create your support system before you moved to your new chapter?
I had a ton of encouragement from family, that’s for sure. That was important. I think I didn’t prepare myself as much as maybe others would, frankly because I didn’t have any idea what this was going to become. But luckily, I happened to have a good support system of roommates at the time, who were willing to jump in and help. And as things got started, I made sure I had professionals that knew what they were doing. I had a good attorney a good banker and a great accountant. I joined an entrepreneurs’ group here in the Bay Area early on, which led to some mentors who had similar journeys.
Starting a new chapter usually means getting out of your comfort zone, how did you do that? Can you share a story or example of that?
I think because I was making food, and I knew how to make food, I didn’t necessarily feel out of my comfort zone. I knew where to get the ingredients from, and how to prepare it. I think the biggest change was the challenge of whether the food had efficacy. I didn’t know this about myself at the time, but it turns out that I’m a pretty big risk taker. I look back on those years and there are instances where I now think, “that was nuts.” I don’t know if I would do that now. So perhaps naiveté is the answer of what helped me to work through the zone of discomfort.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started” and why?
1 . You need money. Of course, that’s obvious, but perhaps a little more education and a bit more mentorship on funding a new business, and that whole process, would have been helpful.
2 . A plan is always good to have. We didn’t really have a super solid plan. It worked out, but it would have saved us some growing pains.
3 . You can’t do it all on your own. I struggle with that in general, but learning to trust others is key. I have made sure to surround myself with folks who are like-minded and hardworking.
4 . Focus on what needs to happen next, and either get it done or don’t. I learned this lesson from the guys I worked for in the kitchens for years. When you fail, you don’t stop. There’s no time. The customer is waiting, so just keep going. The more you fail, the more you practice.
5 . Be careful what you wish for (and be prepared for success)! I had this dream, but didn’t really have a plan, or a formal education on how to start and run a business. I was ill-prepared for the success, and that created more challenges than it needed to along the way.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?
I love this question because I like to think that’s what I’m currently doing. Inspiring a movement to look around at what you’re feeding your pet and opening your mind to other options. I’m a very passionate, emotional guy and I like to see people — and their pets — happy and feeling good. How do we get into the minds and the bowls in the household? It’s a difficult equation to solve, but I think there is a lot of hope, and opportunity.
We are very blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them. :-)
Well, my first thought was Tom Petty, but of course, he’s no longer with us. He was a dog lover, and he had that kind of rebellious, go-get-it attitude that I respect. I also find Jackson Browne, the rock musician, an immensely sincere human being. His philosophy on life and the way he sees the world today is very inspiring to me.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can learn more about Primal at www.primalpetfoods.com or find me on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/matt-koss-1bb74a55/.
Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!
About the Interviewer: Wanda Malhotra is a wellness entrepreneur, lifestyle journalist, and the CEO of Crunchy Mama Box, a mission-driven platform promoting conscious living. CMB empowers individuals with educational resources and vetted products to help them make informed choices. Passionate about social causes like environmental preservation and animal welfare, Wanda writes about clean beauty, wellness, nutrition, social impact and sustainability, simplifying wellness with curated resources. Join Wanda and the Crunchy Mama Box community in embracing a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle at CrunchyMamaBox.com.
