Going All-In

It’s April 2023 and I’ve made my decision. It’s time to go all-in.

For months, I’ve been quietly working on my idea – testing recipes, sketching designs, conducting research, and wondering if I’m not making the wrong decision by throwing myself into this wild plan.

I first developed a taste for entrepreneurship early on, during an internship at Javry, a sustainable coffee company. The bursting enthusiasm of that small, driven team stuck with me.

Later, when I joined Deloitte as a consultant, I missed this feeling of belonging and this grit that only come from people who live on the edge. At Ink Consulting, a startup consulting firm, I rediscovered that startup mindset: the tight-knit, hands-on energy that makes you feel like you're part of something alive.

But life had gotten too comfortable, and I knew I needed to shake things up. I had an unsatiated thirst for freedom, for intensity, for something that was sincerely me.

However, nothing clicked, and so I waited for the right occasion.

This is when beef jerky crashed into my life. I realised that all Belgians deserved to taste this delicious, low-fat snack without compromising quality.

It felt like the perfect match. I loved making jerky, and over time, a vision started to take shape. I was hungry for an adventure and ready to risk it all.

I didn’t fully grasp what all-in looked like back then. That all-in meant all my resources, all my energy, and all my time, that it meant that, like in poker, once you push your chips forward, there’s no going back.

10,000 packs sold later, I don’t regret it one bit.