Meet John Pinelli

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to John Pinelli. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi John, thank you for being such a positive, uplifting person. We’ve noticed that so many of the successful folks we’ve had the good fortune of connecting with have high levels of optimism and so we’d love to hear about your optimism and where you think it comes from.

I’ve always had a song in my head, and I’ve always been the “glass half full” guy.

I can remember being a kid and we were always outside playing… my neighbor in our little cul-de-sac would say to me “It’s not a good day unless we hear you humming or singing a tune” and I’ve always thought about that in life. I’ve always felt a responsibility to those around me to be positive and reassuring. It’s a very deep rooted habit.

We are what we make of this world, We control the radio dial in our head, and although it can be a challenge to get up everyday and face what we need to face, sing a tune and you’ll set the tone. The song in my head right now is “A La La La La Long” Song “Sweat” by Inner Circle. Hope that helps! Caffeine also helps.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

I think we’ve all realized that the food system in America is killing us.

For the last 10yrs+ I’ve been involved in cpg & food in one way or another. My involvement started way out in left field and thats led to a fairly comprehensive understanding of how we got here.

My platform today is Punch’d Energy, born from the gummy nutraceutical industry. Punch’d has grown into a 3-step plan to clean up product labels and boost natural ingredient functionality in the candy & energy drink space.

Education and change is what I’m most passionate about. That’s what gets me up in the morning, that and natural caffeine!

The food and beverages that we grew up on have wildly changed for the worse and we need to bring it back full circle to recognizable and digestible ecosystem. Our body and minds need this.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Learning, Listening and more learning!

Everything interests.me, I’m a Jack (John) of all trades and master of none, which is not a bad motto to have in my opinion. This helps with global perspective and probably signals that I can’t sit still for too long. We only know what we know, and the desire to know more is like a hunger with me.

When I do step into something I am passionate about, I go all in. That’s when the motto gets flipped on its head and I become the master of one.

Too many people aren’t exploring or adventuring into the things they might be passionate about. My advice, say yes to more stuff, try more things, gain new perspectives in the weirdest places and you will surprise yourself. On top of that if you can help humanity or foster progress at the edges you will win at life.

If you knew you only had a decade of life left, how would you spend that decade?

The biggest challenge for any startup is cash flow. It’s likely the biggest challenge for all of our checkbooks too!

These last couple of years have been especially trying, our retail business has suffered big time. 2022 into 2024 has seen double digit increases in costs and expenses with double digit decreases in overall sales. We saw skyrocketing theft, we saw abysmal consumer confidence, we saw lost shipments, we saw a lot.

I’ve seen so many small and up coming businesses get crushed that it hurts my heart. A bunch of us are on the precipice looking for a miracle or a positive building moment going into 2025. There is a cyclical nature to life and business, let’s see how it goes!

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