We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jake Stolz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Jake, you’ve got such an interesting story, but before we jump into that, let’s first talk about a topic near and dear to us – generosity. We think success, happiness and wellbeing depends on authentic generosity and empathy and so we’d love to hear about how you become such a generous person – where do you think your generosity comes from?
A very important thing to remember is that we don’t own anything in life, it’s all borrowed. We all pass on to the next chapter eventually and nothing we’ve accrued goes with us. I believe true happiness comes directly from the amount of love you have in your life, with yourself and the ones who you choose to be witnesses to your story. Getting to selflessly offer goods, or services, or time is how I get the most joy out of this life!
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
Well, for starters, I 100% did not expect to be operating a mushroom farm and a vegan mushroom food business four years ago when I moved to the Bay Area! I moved from Pittsburgh, PA, where I had spent basically my entire working life in the service industry as a server and bartender. In the 10+ years I did that, I never cooked a single meal in any of the kitchens, so it’s kind of funny how I landed myself a head chef job at my own company… there were surely better candidates!
Up until the launch of Fungi Farms in 2022, I have to be honest—I wasn’t sure where my life was going. By that point, I’d had all the fun one should have in their 20s and didn’t know what was next. I always thought about owning my own food business one day, but I had no idea what the concept would be. I knew I had a passion for the service industry because it allowed me to meet people of all ages, races, shapes, and sizes, continuously giving me new perspectives on life. One thing I never want to stop doing is expanding my mind to understand people—what they’ve gone through, who they are today because of it, and what they’re capable of achieving in the future. Having the opportunity to learn someone’s story, even for a brief moment while they enjoy a meal at your bar, gives you so much more insight into all the ways a life can be lived.
That concept honestly overwhelms me sometimes. We get this one life and only so many ways to experience it. Trying new activities, eating new foods, having conversations with strangers, traveling to new places—these, in my opinion, are the best ways to get the most out of the life we’re given.
After a friend introduced me to mushroom cultivation, my brain went on the most intense creative journey to date. After my first successful grow, the next 72 hours were chaos in the most beautiful way. I was pacing back and forth in my Alameda apartment, where Fungi Farms was launched—calling friends, taking notes, laughing, and smiling at what was to come. I was filled with so much purpose and passion that nothing was going to stop me. At first, I just wanted to sell mushroom-based food at music festivals with my friends. That meant growing mushrooms and selling them at farmers markets to get some traction. Everything has just seemed to click since then, which tells me I’m on the path I’m supposed to be on right now.
As I pursued my goals, more and more reasons why I was meant to do this started to unfold. I made the Fungi Foods concept vegan because I wanted to include everybody—not realizing it was setting the stage for what will soon be a nationwide movement. I was once a mindless consumer, like most people, not thinking twice about where my food came from or how it was made. But now that I know… there’s no turning back.
Our food system in America is a corrupt industry that’s killing people, disguised by fancy advertising and colorful packaging. The deeper I get into the farming world, the more I realize that even the “organic” food you buy doesn’t mean it wasn’t sprayed with pesticides deemed “safe.” That’s why I’m focusing on building a team of amazing individuals who also see what’s happening in our country and want to do something about it.
A major goal for Fungi Foods is to have its own farm, where we grow all the produce we use in our restaurants. There are simple, regenerative, and sustainable farming practices that can provide truly healthy food, but we’ve strayed so far from that as a society. Our mission isn’t just to make this change for ourselves—we want to educate anyone willing to listen on how they can do it within their own communities.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Adaptability: No matter how much you plan, things rarely go exactly as expected. Whether it was refining my mushroom cultivation process, navigating supply chain disruptions, or launching a new product, the ability to adjust and pivot has been essential. Challenges are inevitable, but viewing them as opportunities rather than obstacles has made all the difference.
2. Resourcefulness: Building something from the ground up—whether it’s a business, a skill, or a creative project—requires making the most of what you have. I’ve learned to solve problems not by waiting for the perfect tools or conditions, but by finding creative solutions with whatever is available. Whether it was repurposing equipment for growing mushrooms, optimizing my workflow with limited space, or connecting with the right people at the right time, resourcefulness has allowed me to move forward even when things weren’t ideal.
3. Curiosity: The drive to keep learning, experimenting, and asking questions has been one of the most important factors in my success. Curiosity is what led me to grow mushrooms in my apartment in the first place, and it’s what keeps me pushing forward—whether that’s perfecting a new dish for Fungi Foods or discovering better cultivation techniques. I’ve found that the more curious I am, the more opportunities present themselves.
For those early in their journey, my best advice is to embrace uncertainty and take action before feeling completely ready. You don’t need all the answers to start, experience will teach you far more than over-planning ever will. Stay curious, surround yourself with people who challenge and support you, and never stop asking questions. The more you explore, the more doors will open.
Is there a particular challenge you are currently facing?
I like this question because it reminds me of a conversation I had with a friend recently. No matter who you are, where you are, or what you do, one thing in life remains constant: challenges and obstacles. They’re the universe’s spicy little tactic for balancing out all the good that life has to offer.
The best advice I can give for overcoming challenges is to keep an open mind to all possibilities. Explore every angle and perspective. Ask friends, or even random strangers what they think about your situation. Heck, a guy at the table next to me in a Chipotle once helped me solve a packaging dilemma. You’d be amazed at how much easier problems become when you accept that it’s completely okay to not know everything, or anything, for that matter about what you’re trying to solve or achieve.
The people who succeed in life are simply those who don’t give up. Every one of us is capable of success. It looks different for each person, but if you have a vision of something you want to achieve, the only thing stopping you is yourself.
But… if I had to pick one specific challenge that’s bugging me right now, it’s nailing down this dang pickle recipe for my sandwiches. It’s so close, but I’m so picky about my pickles, you’d think my name was Peter. And how am I going to solve it? By eating a whole lot of pickles until they’re just right!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.thefungifarms.com
- Instagram: @thefungifarms & @thefungifoods
- Facebook: Fungi Foods
- Other: Happy Cow: Fungi Foods
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