We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Dondre Anderson a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Dondre, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What was it like going from idea to execution? Can you share some of the backstory and some of the major steps or milestones?
The story of our business starts over breakfast! My dad made me eggs one morning and they were the best eggs I’d ever had. So being the cook I am, I asked him how he made them and that’s when he showed me the spices he used. I asked him what was in the spices and that’s when he told me the story of how he had been building his recipe for over 40 years while he was working on the strip. That’s when I knew this spice was something special not only to him but to our family as this was his legacy which made it our family’s legacy. From there my mission became clear, I knew we had to bring this spice to the world! Unfortunately, there was no way I could Google how to start a spice company. So I decided to simplify the problem by answering this simple question, “How do people buy spices?” So I began following people in stores and observing how they bought spices and most of the time, I observed them looking at the packaging and then buying them. So, I thought all I needed to do was make the packaging pretty and then get the spices on the store shelf. So I simply asked the store buyer if I could test out our new spice there in his store and crazy enough, he said yes! So then I found a graphic artist, well several graphic artists to help me create the packaging, and eventually, I was able to get it done. So then I had the spices on the shelf at the store in Atlanta, GA called Sevenanda. Next we did in store demos so that people could taste the spices and once they tasted the spices they loved them and bought them all. Next we decided to put the spices on chips as a way for people to try our spices, and people loved them so much they asked us to make chips instead…And we did!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have always been a lover of math and numbers which is why I went into information technology. I am a proud father of 4 and I enjoy riding motorcycles, long walks, and horror movies. Also every once in a while I get a chance to travel. I truly enjoy being a father and continuing to grow spiritually. This journey has taught me to celebrate along the way. I believe in setting goals that I can control. For example, I have a goal of hiring employees that are passionate and proactive which I changed to now say, ” I will create jobs that require passionate and proactive people.” Also, I now do not attach my happiness to my goals, I have learned to be happy along the way…
Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?
What I have learned is that all lessons are new experiences versus failures and successes. I used to grade my every interaction the same way I was graded in school which made my life very stressful. Today I welcome all new experiences by believing all things are happening for my good and moving me toward my dreams…
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
So far I’ve had to pivot twice in my life. The first time was when I switched from being a semiconductor engineer to a software engineer. I made this switch because I graduated from college in December 2001 which unfortunately came after the 9/11 attack.
The second time occurred when we switched from being just a spice company to also being a potato chip company based on people trying our spices on freshly made potato chips.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.symphonychips.com
- Instagram: Instagram.com/symphonychips
- Facebook: facebook.com/symphonychips