Taste Radio

No matter what you’re hired to do at Health Warrior, your first assignment is always the same. The company, which makes plant-based snacks and foods, including a flagship line of chia bars, makes all of its new employees build their own desks, without any building materials or instructions. According to co-founder and CEO Shane Emmett, the DIY activity is designed to instill an entrepreneurial mindset from day one. “A start-up is hard,” Emmett said in an interview featured in this episode. “You have to do everything yourself. You have to build the systems while you’re growing the business. [Building your own desk] is a metaphor for the fact that no one’s going to do anything for you.” Since launching in 2011, Health Warrior has become one of fastest growing natural food companies in the U.S., built on a roll-up-your-sleeves approach that permeates every aspect of the company, including sampling events. In addition to desk-building, all employees, including executives, are asked to participate in sampling demo