Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Ryan Bacchas. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Ryan, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
I have had many sources of where my work ethic came from primarily people. Every step of my journey I’ve been fortunate to always be around people I could watch and emulate to as well as experiences.
The first is from my mother who raised me single and worked as LAUSD school teacher while doing so. She always worked, doubled down in now only taking care of me but, making sure I had the foundation I needed as a young mind and growing into a man. Watching how hard she worked growing up and hearing from relatives about how hard she worked from the time she was a teenager, gave me a first hand example of what it meant to be locked in, focused, balanced and maintain priorities.
The second is from my friends as a teenager including my best friend of 17 years all of whom were older than me and took me under their wing seeing how mature I was. They were all entrepreneurs, always hustling and showed me the importance working to have your own while maintaining balance in between having a social life and ensuring that handling business was a priority. They were not only great friends but, incredible mentors in making sure I found the right track in life and reinforcing how to balance priorities with my social life.
The third is from my experiences in college where I experienced homelessness for nearly a year which reinforced the lessons I had learned earlier in life, of what I should hold as priority. Being in that position, I knew it was a defeat in life I never wanted to feel again and that meant sacrificing want I want to do for what I need to do which came rather easily for me. This period in my life was one of the greatest sources of empowering the work ethic, dedication and concentration I have.
The fourth was my mentor Craig Beresh who saw from an early age how capable I was of stepping into not only his shoes but, empowering me into outfitting my own. I’ll never forget the words he told me when I first took over the California Cannabis Coalition for him and excelled in my first year of being his CEO; “Ryan you can do anything you set your mind too, I saw that when I asked you to join the team.” Those words empowered me not only at that time but, throughout my time in politics to now in business. Watching him travel back and forth to Sacramento, city to city, DC and even other states while leading campaigns and the cannabis movement showed me first hand not only work ethic but, the definition of leadership and dedication.
The fifth is my business mentor Larry, who groomed me in being as lethal as I am in business including, my understanding, depth and sophistication in it. He’s been a constant source of not only reinforcement but, inspiration and motivation to continue growing into the person that I am and not following the “standard” of what an entrepreneur or businessman is conceived to be. Working for days at a time with no sleep and pushing myself until I achieve an outcome or finish the task at hand, I owe that in large part to him.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
It was about 5 years ago when I was in the grocery store, spending another 20 minutes extra to shop whilst dissecting ingredients when it just hit me how ridiculous it was that I or anyone else should be subjected to such a task in order to know if a product is safe for them or not. That’s when it dawned on me; what if there was a place where people like me could shop and not have to worry about whats in their products. A place where they can trust that the due diligence was being done for them and the people behind such a program held their safety and wellbeing as a top priority. Sure you have places like Whole Foods, Sprouts or Trader Joe’s but, even their verification processes are very minimal and the ingredients in the products they carry very questionable which is not only deceptive but, breaking trust in other shoppers as it did for me.
From there I began years of research, surveying and learning what this alternative would look like. That entailed talking to people about what they felt their biggest needs in this area was, what brands considered to be a gap between them and the current system of intermediaries whether that was retailers or regulatory oversight and quality assurance, and perfecting a model that could bridge the gap among all of these concerns.
Over the course of this past year, that took the shape of what people see today; The New Atlantis. I created a database of nearly 2,000 unique ingredients and nearly 6,000 variants that we prohibit and restrict from being in the products that we allow onto our marketplace, with a 5 step verification process to screen brands and ensure we are providing people with best alternatives to traditional brands that do not focus on ingredient integrity and prioritize people over profit.
Right now we offer groceries, home essentials, beauty, health, products for pets and personal care, and are expanding into other product categories including electronics, baby care, cosmetics, apparel, textiles and home appliances. The goal is to be one stop destination where people will never have to second guess what they are putting in or on their bodies, in their homes or buying for their families while supporting the missions of brands that are supporting people and our planet.
The most exciting part of what we do, is meeting incredible people behind these brands and hearing the the experiences that empowered them to create these products. Meeting other people who are purpose driven towards bettering people’s lives has to be my highlight because it’s everything that my life has been about and a constant reminder of making sure that’s at the forefront of what the company is centered on.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
The first one is always being hungry and my willingness to constantly learn more including new skills or talents while refining old ones. I believe that everyday we’re on earth, is an opportunity for growth and self improvement; the moment that we think we know everything is when we are prone to fail and become stagnant in our mental and spiritual growth, maturity or both. For anyone aspiring to do anything in life, this is one of the most critical elements; we all want something in life but, how badly do you want it and without hunger for it you will starve.
The second was my obsession with the process, and treating everything I do like an craft. You can’t have progress without going through the process, and apart of that process is growth that comes from hard work, drive, focus, ambition, grit, perseverance and unrelenting hunger. When I look back at any of my victories in politics or achievements in life, it was because of how badly I wanted to win and my obsession in achieving goals. In my lobbying career and even now, I always started being surrounded by people who were better than me, more well funded, more talented, more gifted or had more support than me but, in the end, none of that mattered in the end because I outworked them because I wasn’t in competition with them, only myself and the obstacles that came in completing the mission.
The third is just being myself. I never had a desire to fit in, follow the crowd or do things that conflicted with my core values or beliefs, which truthfully saved me a lot of trouble and heartache in life. I’ve always believed that there’s no point in trying to be like everybody else because everybody else is taken and no one can be you better than yourself and those are the words I have chosen to live by everyday of my life.
How would you spend the next decade if you somehow knew that it was your last?
I would live everyday like it’s my last and as I have been for the past decade prior. I think the worst thing we can do is condemn ourselves to a dim reality or what it could be. In fact, I would use something like that as motivation to not only work harder and quicker towards my goals but, spend more time also enjoying the people and things that keep me happy. Simple as that.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://newatlantis.store
- Instagram: thenewatlantiscorporate
- Facebook: TNA Corporation
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-bacchas-72961232b
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