socialmedian: Bacon Salt: How two tech guys created a viral food sensation

User-submitted headlines for this story

Clips

Bacon Salt: How two tech guys created a viral food sensation

Submitted by Jasongoldberg

Aug 20, 2008

Summary

Every now and then in life you find something that makes so much sense you pause to note “why didn’t I think of that?” America, and much of the Western world loves Bacon, but as we all know Bacon is a recipe for cholesterol and taken too often is a heart attack waiting to happen. Perhaps theists believe there is a biblical answer to the fact that god decided to make something that tastes so good so particularly bad for you, for the rest of us, it remains one of life’s ultimate ironies. The problem though is clear, we love the taste of bacon, but we must consume it in moderation, or for some not at all. Introducing Bacon Salt, the no cholesterol, kosher (I kid you not), no fat, tasty alternative to eating bacon.

The story behind Bacon Salt is worth repeating, if only because it is one of those stories that are both unlikely and inspiring. It also proves to some extent that the lessons learned in the tech startup world can indeed be applied outside of the echochamber many of us reside in.

Bacon Salt was the invention of Dave Lefkow and Justin Esch, two former employees of Seattle startup Jobster. The idea for Bacon Salt came over dinner one night. This is how they tell it:

While on a business trip together, we had the chance to sit down for dinner and eventually, the conversation turned to our mutual love of bacon. It was then that Justin told Dave and another coworker named Kara about his idea for Bacon Salt. Kara, who is a vegetarian, loved the idea. Dave, a card-carrying carnivore and Midwesterner, loved it even more. Even the waiter at the fancy restaurant loved it.

Working in a startup gave them a strong understanding of what was required to get a business off the ground, but venture capital for untried food products isn’t as easy to find as funding for a Facebook application. Lefkow and Esch needed some seed capital to get the idea rolling, so they turned to the most unlikely source: Amercia’s Funniest Home Video Show. A video of Lefkow’s daughter took home $5,000 in prize money, and this kick started the company. Read the full article

Comments (2)

Jorgefsb,

Aug 21, 2008

wow... ha ha nice!

Glarocque,

Aug 21, 2008

I've known Lefkow (1 of the founders) for years... really nice guy - very professional. Its great to see a nice guy win. I wondered where he went after jobster started to tank... Then I found out about BaconSalt - he's living the dream.