Meet Jon Carter

We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jon Carter a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Jon, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?

I grew up in the countryside of Minnesota, where the nearest neighbor was a car ride away and the cost of a plumber was astronomical just to get to you. So, like many kids raised rurally, I learned early on: if something breaks, you fix it. My parents didn’t preach it—they lived it. That mindset of self-reliance stuck with me.

Fast forward a couple decades, and I somehow found myself clinging to rocks, skis, handlebars, and more recently, a whitewater kayak in the American West. Turns out, when you’re deep in the mountains or moving through a canyon, you’re far from help again—and you’ve got to figure things out yourself. That’s where I first thought I built my resilience: navigating nature, testing my limits, learning to keep calm on that cliff edge when everything in your body is saying “panic.”

But if I’m being honest, the real resilience training came at 30—a true midlife crisis, when I was diagnosed with testicular cancer. There’s nothing quite like chemo to redefine what “tough” feels like. I’d always assumed I had time—time to chase the life I wanted, build a business, take more risks “later.” Cancer had other plans. Suddenly, my life was replaced by scans, biopsies, IVs, and so many needle pokes I started ranking them like Yelp reviews.

It wasn’t that I wasn’t living a good life before, but the dream—starting a business of my own—had been on the back burner. That diagnosis lit the burner on high. I made a promise to myself then: I’d at least try to build something meaningful. Something with purpose.

That “something” became ODD BALLS.

Resilience, I’ve learned, isn’t about never facing hardship. It’s because of hardship that you develop resilience: the capacity to recover quickly, to bounce back, to keep showing up. It’s not innate—it’s a skill you chip away at over time because of life.

And humor? Humor could be considered a secret ingredient. It doesn’t cure cancer, or fix a business problem, but it definitely makes the ride suck less. I took the diagnosis seriously—radically changed my diet, quit drinking, went full plant-powered—but I also made lots of dad jokes. Because sometimes laughing at the absurdity of life is the most human, healing thing you can do. Not the toxic positivity type, but the kind of humor that’s sprinkled in amongst what can feel like a chaotic situation can keep you rooted and grounded.

Bad things will happen. That’s life. But like I learned in the Minnesota countryside, in the western mountains, and in the infusion chair—you’ll find your way through to the other side. And with time, that mountain of a problem becomes just another oddly-shaped blip in your rearview mirror.

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’m the founder of ODD BALLS—a name that makes some people laugh and others raise an eyebrow until they realize, yep… it’s both a snack and a nudge to check yourself for weird lumps. Because ODD BALLS isn’t just a food company—it’s a call to action, a tribute to resilience, and my own personal rebellion against boring bars, chalky bites, and unhealthy snacks.

Right now, I’m focused on building ODD BALLS into a health-forward, nutrition-first food brand with some dad humor, soul, and an odd personality. We make organic energy balls infused with functional mushrooms like Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps—designed to boost focus, stamina, and immunity. Yup, that’s right, a snack with mushrooms in it. But not one customer has tasted the mushrooms yet!

They’re for adventurers, deep thinkers, and people trying to avoid that mid-day crash without sacrificing taste or values. No preservatives, no junk, no added sugars, no weird mushroom aftertaste—just clean, plant-based fuel that hits the spot.

But underneath the snack lies the mission. I was diagnosed with testicular cancer at 30, and the experience completely shifted how I see time, health, and purpose. I started ODD BALLS not just to nourish bodies, but to raise awareness and give back. That’s why a portion of every purchase goes to nonprofits that support young adults with cancer—an underserved but deeply impacted community.

Long-term, I want ODD BALLS to become a vehicle for even broader impact. I used to work with environmental nonprofits, and I’ve seen firsthand how essential our environment is to our health. So eventually, I’d love to expand our giving model to support local environmental causes too.

Right now, we’re growing our two flagship flavors—Lemon and Cherry—both infused with our signature Funguy Blend of mushrooms. We’re still in year two, but momentum is building. Once we’ve hit true sustainability, I can’t wait to roll out a second mushroom blend focused on digestion, sleep, and anxiety relief—perfect for a post-workout or pre-bedtime ritual. Think dessert vibes, but functional. And still weirdly odd in the best way.

The best part of all this? I get to wake up every day and work on something I believe in. I’m not chasing profits at the expense of people—I’m building a business that’s driven by doing the right thing. Taking care of our customers. Giving back. Trusting that the karma compounds.

I have no idea exactly where it’ll all lead—but I believe in the direction. And that’s enough to keep going, one oddly-shaped ball at a time.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

Looking back, there are three things that have made all the difference in my journey—not just in building ODD BALLS, but in rebuilding myself after cancer.

1. DIY Grit
Growing up in rural Minnesota, DIY wasn’t optional—it was necessary. When the faucet leaked, we didn’t call a plumber. We grabbed a wrench and figured it out. That mindset stuck with me. Whether it was fixing gear halfway up a mountain or troubleshooting my own nutrition during treatment, week in and week out. I’ve learned that the ability to try, fail, and try again is priceless.

Advice for others:
Get comfortable with not knowing. Use Google like it’s your mentor. Watch the video, pull out the wrench, and give it a shot. Progress comes through reps—messy, imperfect, often-frustrating reps. But that’s where grit is built.

2. Mission-Driven Thinking
ODD BALLS wasn’t born in a boardroom—it was born in a chemo chair. After being diagnosed with testicular cancer at 30, my priorities snapped into place. I didn’t just want to build a business. I wanted to build something meaningful. Something that could raise awareness, support others, and make healthy choices easier (and tastier) for people like me.

Advice for others:
Start with the “why.” Seriously—write it down. What’s the bigger story you want your work to tell? When the hard days hit (and they will), having a purpose behind your work is the only thing strong enough to pull you through. Profit is great, but purpose? That’s fuel.

3. Patience (the annoying kind)
Building a business is thrilling… and also painfully slow. Especially in the world of food. New products take time. So do reviews, manufacturing delays, supply chain hiccups, Amazon algorithms, and simple brand awareness. There’s no express lane.

Advice for others:
Play the long game. Celebrate the boring wins. Expect delays. Expect doubt. But trust that if you keep showing up with integrity, it will compound. Don’t confuse slow with stuck. As a part of this, big picture wise, business is all about relationships. Nurturing relationships from suppliers, distributors, to each and every customer, Instagram follower, like on a post, or comment is something to celebrate and to build on. Have the patience to build those relationships, and they will compound in the long-run.

There are lots of shiny skills you can chase in business—but for me, these three have been the most impactful. The rest you can learn along the way. Just keep your mission in sight, your hands a little dirty, and your expectations set to “realistic.”

And hey—laugh when you can. It helps.

Looking back over the past 12 months or so, what do you think has been your biggest area of improvement or growth?

The biggest area of growth for me this past year has been focus—not the flashy kind promised by a productivity app, but the hard-won, deeply unsexy kind that comes from doing the boring stuff… consistently.

When you’re running a startup, it’s so tempting to chase shiny new things. A new product idea, a new sales channel, a viral hack, a shortcut to “scale.” But I finally realized that the way to reach new milestones isn’t to constantly look for the next big thing—it’s to double down on what actually got you here in the first place.

For me, that meant getting ruthless about distractions and recommitting to the day-in, day-out grind: improving what’s already working, talking to customers, optimizing Amazon, building community. Not reinventing the wheel—just tightening the bolts.

It took me a full year to learn this. To stop thinking “what’s next?” and start thinking “how can I do this better?” I’ve learned to be patient with the process and trust that consistent action beats occasional brilliance. It’s not glamorous. But it’s progress. And progress is enough.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://oddballsfunguy.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oddballs_funguy/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oddballs.funguy
• Other: Amazon Storefront to purchase: https://amzn.to/4f4FrgQ

Image Credits

Stephen Messina
Kevin TK Frantz