In this episode of Hunting Influence, Aaron is joined by Samy Kobrosly, Co-Founder & Chief Snack Bagger of SNACKLINS. They discuss Samy’s journey from working in a restaurant to creating his own snack business, the importance of experimentation and why “control” is not a word in SNACKLINS vocabulary.

Key facts

• Samy’s LinkedIn
• SNACKLINS website
• Samy was born into a family of entrepreneurs
• Samy enrolled at American University to pursue a degree in International Politics
• Samy started his career in the radio industry 
• Samy quit his journey as a radio personality to experiment with his interest in entrepreneurship 
• Samy is now the founder of SNACKLINS, which was featured on an episode of Shark Tank 
• The idea behind SNACKLINS was to produce a 100% vegan, plant-based, low-calorie, grain-free, scoop-shaped snack 

Key Takeaways

• Samy’s passion for entrepreneurship comes from his parents and his interest in experimenting 

• Samy started his career in the radio industry when he was in college 

• Samy’s expertise in food and cooking comes from his work experience in different restaurants 

• In 2015, while working at a restaurant in Washington DC, Samy came up with the idea of creating a crispy snack with fresh vegetables that resembled pork rind

• Samy decided to leave his radio job the same day he got the idea of SNACKLINS

• Samy used the $3000 that he received after leaving his radio job to kickstart his new venture 

• After several rounds of experimenting, Samy came with a snack that was crispy and healthy, solely based on fresh vegetables such as yucca, onion, and mushrooms 

• At SNACKLINS, Samy initially offered free beers to the customers to win their loyalty and urge them to try out his snacks 

• Samy’s first successful deal was at a local neighborhood store, which helped Samy promote his snack’s  organic and natural ingredients

• As well as being organic, Samy’s product is also handmade 

• When SNACKLINS started to grow, Samy felt the need to shift to a machine-based snack production system to increase work efficiency, accuracy, speed, and production levels. Keeping his passion for uniqueness alive, Samy wanted some customized machines to make the shift. Samy eventually found a team in China that offered him customized machines for SNACKLINS 

• Samy believes in “working together”, which is why “control” is not a word in SNACKLINS vocabulary. Samy refers to himself as the no.1 employee to imply equality, reduce work stress and promote teamwork

• Samy doesn’t believe in “working behind the scene” therefore apart from being the CEO, Samy serves as a product manager and Chief Snack Bagger at SNACKLINS 

• SNACKLINS became popular after Samy’s appearance in season 3 of Shark Tank

• Samy’s vision for himself and SNACKLINS in the coming years is to make better snacks and grab every opportunity 

• Samy and his team are now working on a Churros flavor, which would be the first sweet edition to SNACKLINS portfolio 

• Samy advises entrepreneurs to be flexible and keep learning as they grow

Samy’s advice to young entrepreneurs who are just starting out

“If you want to influence, go out, try new things and do something different” 

“Be flexible and keep learning as you grow.”

Samy’s top resources” 

• Newshour – BBC World Service
• Stuff You Should Know

Quotes

“The best thing about people calling you crazy is that they at least know who you are.”

Samy Kobrosly
Chief Snack Bagger/ Co-Founder at SNACKLINS