About this episode

This week I’d like you to meet Andy Mackensen, co-founder of SnackNation. SnackNation is a healthy snack delivery service for businesses. In 2018, SnackNation was recognized at #24 on the INC 5000 list of fastest growing companies. They were founded in 2014, and after just four full years they hit $24 million in revenue. Andy and his business partner Sean Kelly are killing it!

In fact, Andy is one of the industry's best internet marketers. In this episode, you’ll hear some tactical advice when it comes to internet marketing. But what I hope will really hit home for you (as it did for me) is the idea of focusing on “that one thing.” As Andy puts it, “The only thing that matters is this present moment. And what you can do right now, the one thing, the one most important thing that you can work on right in this moment, that's what you need to focus on.”

With this episode, we are continuing our month-long feature of founders who are Veterans. Andy served in the United States Navy as a Special Warfare Officer. During Andy’s time in service he would spend the evening on operations taking down terrorists and spend the daylight hours applying to MBA programs as the entrepreneurial itch magnified in his life. But his entrepreneurial journey began years before his military service did. This is Andy Mackensen’s Startup Story.

In this episode, you’ll hear

• His start as a young entrepreneur in grade school, buying and then selling candy bars
• What delivering papers at age 11 taught him about commitment and self-discipline
• Starting a lawn mowing business as a freshman in high school and what it taught him about leverage
• Applying for and getting a full ROTC scholarship, attending Boston University and what it was like when it was time to report and serve in the U.S. Navy
• His experience in the U.S. Navy immediately following 9/11 attacks, providing air defense radar for the entire East Coast in the days following the 9/11 attacks
• How and when the desire to start his own business began and the plans he started to prepare, while still serving in the Navy
• Entering back into civilian life and working in real estate after graduating business school, and what came next
• Getting started selling network marketing products and how he learned all about lead generation, landing pages, and ad marketing
• His entrance into the vending machine industry, how helping get a hot vending machine to market paved the way for what was to come
• The journey with the vending business and flipping the switch to his current business model, SnackNation

“Life is so counterintuitive. When you do the easy stuff life is hard, and when you do the hard stuff life gets easy.”
—Andy Mackensen, SnackNation

Resources from this episode

Vortic Watch Co.: https://vorticwatches.com/
Socks For Heroes: http://scmcsg.org/

FREE Snack Box from SnackNation: https://snacknation.com/startupstory

Andy Mackensen on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmackensen/
The Startup Story on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thestartupstory/

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EPISODE CREDITS

If you like this podcast and are thinking of creating your own, consider talking to my producer, Danny Ozment.

He helps thought leaders, influencers, executives, HR professionals, recruiters, lawyers, realtors, bloggers, and authors create, launch, and produce podcasts that grow their business and impact the world.

Contact him today at https://emeraldcitypro.com/startupstory

Special Guest: Andy Mackensen.