How To Be WellnStrong

87: The Top Food You Should Be Eating For Heart & Brain Health | Rob Mayo

• Jacqueline Genova • Episode 87

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Fish consumption is associated with numerous health benefits thanks to its rich nutritional profile. These benefits include improved cardiovascular health, enhanced brain function, and anti-inflammatory effects, among others. Join me as I chat with Rob Mayo, the founder of Sizzlefish—my trusted online seafood market—as we dive into all things fish. Rob shares his journey in building Sizzlefish, tips for sourcing quality fish, insights into the healthiest types of fish, and advice for entrepreneurs entering the food industry.


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[00:00:00] Jac: Welcome to the podcast, how to be well and strong. I'm your host, Jacqueline Genova, and I'm excited to have you join me as I speak with some of the leading figures in the fields of wellness, integrative medicine, and mental health, as we discover what it truly means to be well and strong in both body and mind.


Get ready to be empowered, inspired, and motivated about being an advocate for your own health.


Did you know that fish consumption is associated with numerous health benefits thanks to its rich nutritional profile? These benefits include improved cardiovascular health, enhanced brain function, and anti inflammatory effects, among others. Join me as I chat with Rob Mayo, the founder of Sizzlefish, my trusted online seafood market, as we dive into all things fish.


Rob shares his journey in building Sizzlefish, tips for sourcing quality fish, insights into the healthiest types of fish, and advice for entrepreneurs entering the food industry. I learned a ton about fish and sourcing, and I hope you guys enjoyed this episode as much as I did. Let's get into it. Well, Rob, I'm really excited for our conversation today because I'm a huge fan of sizzlefish.


Uh, I actually recently heard about you guys, I want to say two or so years ago, and you have become my primary fish supplier. Uh, I look forward to my, my monthly deliveries. Um, I recently tried the Chilean sea bass, thanks to Sarah, but I'm always experimenting now with different fish recipes and it's fun to create content on Well and Strong, but super excited to just sit down and chat with you today on.


all things fish. Um, and also too, I'm really curious about your journey in creating sizzlefish. 


[00:01:40] Rob: So, um, I guess, you know, if we go back to my background in fish, I actually grew up on the water. I grew up at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, and my next door neighbor was a commercial fisherman. And I had no intention of ever having anything to do with fish, but from the time I was three or four years old, I was over on his dock every morning because it was really interesting place to see all kinds of fish, crabs, an occasional shark.


You know, it was a kid's dream. So, 


uh, 


[00:02:16] Rob: so I had a great interest in fish and was a fish eater from, um, A small child and, um, fast forward to, uh, engineering school, business school. And then I got in the seafood business, believe it or not. And, um, kind of happenstance, but got into wholesale seafood and had a 30 year career in that.


And we sold, uh, a lot of fresh and frozen fish. And we, in our freezing product and packaging product, we actually had A line at Whole Foods Market that, uh, lent itself to expanding on, uh, portioned, vacuum packed, frozen product. And I realized we have a platform that we could be online with. And, and, um, so I actually was jogging one day.


And really started thinking about it and thinking, you know, we could do something like Omaha Steaks. And this was over a decade ago, uh, with seafood and, and we have all the ingredients. And, and between me and other people in the staff, we have about a century's worth of fish experience. And, uh, knew all these people from all over the world that are in the seafood business.


And, and, uh, so let's try to put something together. And it, and it took. About a year and a half to really get it started and, and, uh, and then it took, I guess, what most people find when they, when they start an online business, you think, oh, well, you know, sales hopefully are going to take off. No, they don't.


They go pretty slow at first, but, uh, you know, I know, 


[00:04:05] Jac: right? 


[00:04:06] Rob: Yeah. 


[00:04:07] Jac: Rob, question for you. What did, what did you study in business school? 


[00:04:11] Rob: So, um, I got, I got an MBA and, uh, I studied finance and, uh, and, you know, what I should have studied all the whole time was marketing because that's, you know, sales and marketing are the driving force of business.


[00:04:29] Jac: So true. I mean, a little bit about myself, Rob, I, I'm not sure if you're familiar with Babson College, uh, in Wellesley, Massachusetts, right outside Boston. 


I am. 


[00:04:38] Jac: That is where I did my undergraduate, uh, degree at Babson and I studied finance and economics. Yet, here I am, you know, eight years later talking to you in the wellness space.


Um, I started Well and Strong because of my mom's journey with stage four breast cancer, but it's funny because I look at my time at Babson, I mean, they're known for entrepreneurship, but to your point, my marketing. Classes. I would say that's probably like the most, uh, the most helpful undergraduate courses I've taken looking at my business now.


And certainly I've self taught myself a lot over the past four years, but you're so spot on with, uh, with that marketing bit. 


[00:05:14] Rob: So one of the things that's always interested me and Been a part of the excitement of seafood is the fact that it's so healthy and that's you know That's not new knowledge.


That's that knowledge has been around for a long time you know back from the days that moms fed kids cod liver oil and that kind of thing, but You know the knowledge about omega 3 fatty acids, but my dad was a physician department head at a medical school. My older brother was a physician and, uh, the two of them talked me out of med school when I was a bad day.


So I, I still curse them for that, but, uh, uh, you know, it's been a, one of those things that makes work rewarding to know that. What you're doing is, is good for people, you know, the end product is, is a, is a really important part of what we're doing. So, and I think that, you know, the people that buy our products are typically people who are 30 ish to into their 70s and they want the health benefits of seafood and they also want a great meal experience.


And so we want to provide that with. the best all natural seafood that's going to taste the best, which is the, you know, top of the catch, uh, primo stuff, uh, that's been portioned to meal size and, and handled well and delivered to them. 


[00:06:54] Jac: Yeah, absolutely. Rob, I am curious, prior to starting Sizzlefish, um, what was your diet mostly like?


Like, were you more of a meat eater and did Sizzlefish change that or? 


[00:07:04] Rob: Yeah, you know, um, I, I come from, uh, a family where High cholesterol and high triglycerides are pretty standard. And, uh, you know, I've always been sort of a health nut. And so in my mid twenties, when I started business, I was running and thinking that I was eating well, and I was eating rice and peas and things that I thought were good, you know, and red meat and chicken, but.


A lot of, uh, white carbs, I guess, that, that I didn't understand what that was doing. And then as I became more educated and I started eating fish at least two or three times a week, and eating less of those high glycemic foods, uh, I saw a major change in, in, uh, cholesterol and triglycerides. And so, yeah, that's been, as I've gotten older, that's become more and more important.


to me. And, uh, uh, so it's, and it's been a game changer. So 


[00:08:19] Jac: on a personal note, I had my ApoB tested and my ApoB Rob was pretty high. It was like 109 for a 29 year old, relatively healthy female. So I really reduced my intake of saturated fat. I really cut down my meat and again, replaced it with fish. And over the span of, I want to say two months, that level dropped about 30 points, which is wild, which just goes to show.


the power of dietary interventions. And also, too, Rob, you touched on a few health benefits. I mean, there are a lot of epidemiological studies that have consistently shown, you know, that higher fish consumption leads to better memory. What are some other, uh, I guess, benefits of including more fish in your diet?


And you mentioned the benefits for cardiovascular health. 


[00:09:00] Rob: Yeah, so, uh, you know, omega 3s are not only good for cardiovascular health, they're good for, uh, Respiratory function, they may be good for cognitive function as you get older and, and may be good for fighting off dementia. Uh, and then, you know, just the, the protein, uh, you know, non, no satin or low saturated fast, but, and then protein that obviously is, you know, muscle bone, uh, blood building hemoglobin, uh, and then, you know, variety of vitamins and minerals that are, some of which are hard to get.


In the diet like selenium zinc, uh iodine b12 a lot of vitamin d so Uh, you know, it's a it's a great food. I think uh all around I think to me one of the Great studies, uh, to look at is the, uh, the long term Adventist study because they do a lot of, uh, studies on vegetarian diets, but included in the, their study is breakouts of vegans, lacto ovo vegetarians, and, and a pescatarian, you know, all compared to you.


a non vegetarian diet. And if you read the data, the lowest mortality group are the pescatarians. Lower than the, yeah, so, um, I, and, and I've got to believe that that's an omega three factor in large part. 


[00:10:50] Jac: Yeah, no, absolutely. Interestingly too, Rob, um, one thing that I learned, and this is just from a history of some pretty bad concussions.


non sports related. That's the irony. But through my own, uh, concussion history, I obviously have learned about, you know, the benefits of omega 3s for brain health. And they've done studies, too, of people who experience, um, traumatic brain injuries who supplement with high dose fish oil within 24 to 48 hours of that injury, and they experience significantly less, um, you could say lasting side effects from the concussion.


Um, and it's, it's just wild to me how again, just the power of high dose fish oil, um, even in reversing TBI and related symptoms, it's super powerful. 


[00:11:31] Rob: Well, I've learned something there. That's something I didn't know about, but that's, that is pretty exciting. 


[00:11:36] Jac: There you have it, Rob. Um, also too, in terms of looking at like the diversity of fish, what would you say is the healthiest fish?


So I have just read, you know, from my own research that salmon is kind of considered like one of the healthiest fish, um, due to its high omega 3 fatty acids, its protein content, all of that. Is that, is that true? Does that hold any weight? 


[00:11:58] Rob: Uh, you know, I think. The fatty colder water fish in that category in general, and you can say that that's, you know, of the, the various species of salmon, king salmon, probably consistently has the highest Omega threes.


But if you look at the, um, sable fish or black cod, that's. That's probably a higher omega 3 fish, uh, 


[00:12:29] Jac: interesting. 


[00:12:30] Rob: Yeah, and, and the Chilean sea bass is, is a very high omega 3 fish and a great fish. And a lot of older people will say, well, uh, the Chilean sea bass, that's one of those fish that is over fished.


And that's the story of 25 plus years ago, but. A lot of folks read those headlines back then, and they don't know that now it's a very well managed fishery, uh, if you're, uh, sourcing, uh, MSC certified Chilean sea bass, which we are, and I got to believe every American company is, uh, that's a, a highly managed, studied indeed.


Fishery and, and so you can buy it and, and feel good about it. 


[00:13:23] Jac: Speaking of fisheries, Rob, I know nothing about this whole industry. So how do you go about sourcing your fish? And are there certain areas of the world, I guess, where like the fish quality is higher than others? I mean, we hear about like wild caught Alaskan salmon, like, is it really from Alaska?


And is that perhaps the best area to, to recruit salmon from? 


[00:13:43] Rob: So the thing about Fish is that the different species are located in different parts of the world and so there, there really aren't any ubiquitous fish. There are warmer water fish that frequent certain areas and colder water fish that frequent certain areas.


And so you, you have to. Source fish where those fish are. And so the, you know, Alaskan waters are a unique fishery that just are so it's so productive and so well, uh, kept, uh, well managed fishery, natural environment. It's just a great place to be. fishery for the fish that are there, which are, you know, traditionally four different species of salmon, black cod, halibut, uh, the various, uh, king and, uh, snow crab that are there.


It's, it's just a great. source of great seafood. However, so, so are the other oceans for their particular species. And, and the North Atlantic has cod and haddock in abundance. Uh, I recently, uh, visited, uh, our supplier in Northern Iceland and. That must have been a fun trip. Next time I'm going to go in the summer, but it was, it was an adventure.


[00:15:09] Jac: Bring me next time, Rob, I'll come. I've always wanted to go. 


[00:15:13] Rob: It was about five hours of daylight. The sun peaked at noon, about five degrees off the horizon. A really interesting place. And Iceland has a really well managed, uh, quota system on its fishery, with just a The same kind of, uh, abundance as, as Alaska does.


In fact, uh, my guide there, uh, his brother in law runs a whale watching business and reported that he had 100 percent success whale watching in 2024. Every time he took people out, there were whales. That's wild. Yeah. That's 


[00:15:56] Jac: awesome. That's so cool. That's got to be fun to visit the different locations. I had, um, I don't know if you're familiar with Purity Coffee, um, but I had the founder Andrew on last year and he was just sharing with me his experiences, uh, in traveling to all the different like coffee farms across the world.


Um, and I haven't had to think he's like, yeah, it's probably one of the most fun aspects of, uh, running my coffee farm. So running my coffee business. So to you, I'm sure you visited some very cool places. 


[00:16:22] Rob: Yeah. I have. And, uh, You know, uh, southern Brazil, uh, different places in Europe, uh, a variety of Central America, a variety of places over the years.


And I guess the most important thing about seafood is it's a small enough industry where the, the best quality players meet each other, if that's the. The sector that they're in and then the, you know, the, it trails off from there, uh, in terms of quality and, and volume, but we've met over the years, over decades, the, the top producers in their category, often at trade shows.


You know, whether it's here or in Europe or wherever, uh, and then form friendships and maybe eventually got into business together that way. So, it's a fairly small sphere of people that are doing what we want to be partners with. 


[00:17:30] Jac: Great. What separates, Rob, those top producers? Like, what are some of the practices that they implement that separates them that makes them the top producers?


Like, what do you look for when partnering with them? 


[00:17:44] Rob: It really starts with handling, uh, when the, when the fish are caught or, you know, shellfish are, are harvested and how quickly are they processed? How quickly are they frozen? Um, in general. The highest volume producers are not the highest quality producers.


They're going for a different market It may be the biggest box retail Uh, sellers. Uh, but it takes a study of, of what happens between catch and the time that, that it's, uh, frozen and, and we portion it and, and ship it out. That's the, the key. And then it's on us. We, you know, we've, we've got to take it and make the customer satisfied, uh, get it there via FedEx or UPS, uh, and to someone's door.


And. And that's, that's not always as easy as it seems, especially at the end of the year, January, February, weather into the Northeast, and even in March, uh, can be tricky and into the, the Northern Midwest. So, yeah. There are a lot of moving parts for, for what is not a huge business, you know, we're a relatively small, small team of people and you know, some of them, and you know, there are a half dozen of us up front here in the operations center and two dozen people 


[00:19:21] Jac: in 


[00:19:21] Rob: fulfillment getting the logistics 


[00:19:23] Jac: of it.


I know Rob, every time I get my, my sizzle fish monthly delivery, I mean, I'm just in awe because everything's packaged so perfectly. But I just think, logistically, like, how do you guys, like, manage to do this so well? And I'm sure there's been a lot of time and effort into You know, making that process as easy as possible, but it's certainly a lot, I can't imagine.


[00:19:44] Rob: So what, what's your favorite way of preparing fish? 


[00:19:48] Jac: Rob, that was one of my questions for you, actually, but I, uh, I love, I love just baking fish, but I love experimenting, um, even just with different bowls. So some of the recipes I've been making are like salmon bowls with quinoa, vegetables. Um, Sarah Caselli got me into kind of meal prepping.


So that's been on my, uh. on my list every Sunday. I'll just make a batch of fish, um, and then just kind of make my bowls throughout the week. But there are so many great recipes. I did make salmon tacos on Sunday. I will be sharing that Instagram at some point soon, but they're, yeah, they're pretty tasty.


And one thing too, Rob, that I really love, um, is the fact that, I mean, I prefer wild caught seafood and I love that Sizzle offers. You know, a big range to choose from. But with that too, I know a lot of my followers always ask, you know, what's the difference between wild caught, um, and, and farm raised seafood from a nutritional standpoint.


Can you touch on that? 


[00:20:45] Rob: Yeah. Um, first of all, I would say that. From a taxonomy standpoint, fish and shellfish are, there's, in finfish alone, there's more difference between, uh, different species of fish than there are between mice and elephants. They're very different animals, so their dietary requirements are very, very different.


And the, the farming that is done varies wildly because of that. Uh, the biggest species of fish that's farmed, uh, is salmon. There's always a lot of controversy around that. And I guess I take what I think is a, a practical view of that in that, uh, there are people doing that wrong. But there are also people doing that right, and if you look at land animals, we wouldn't for a minute think that it was right to only eat wild animals.


And if we did, if, if human beings ate wild animals, we'd eat them all off the planet in less than a year. That's, that's the scale of that. So if it's done in an environmentally conscious way, uh, and the, the food, uh, supply is, A good one and antibiotics and chemicals aren't used, then I think that that may be a viable way to go.


So we have Farmed Atlantic salmon, just like Whole Foods Market and, and other, uh, you know, natural grocers carry and sell a lot of, and it comes exclusively from the Faroe Islands. And if you study what happens, how they farm in the Faroe Islands, it's illegal to use. Uh, antibiotics and other che chemicals.


Uh, and their main source of protein is fish that they, that is caught as part of a quota system so that it's, you know, environmentally stable capelin airing. Uh, and that's their main protein source in the feed and it's made locally. So, and it tastes great and. Frankly, my wife and I eat, uh, King Salmon from, from Alaska and Sockeye Salmon, but we also eat Atlantic Salmon and, and we do it because we believe it's a healthy product.


[00:23:27] Jac: Rob, quick note on that. My parents and I were in, um, Isle of Palms, I want to say a year or so ago, and we discovered this local fish market and for the first time ever had Faroe Island Salmon, and we could not get over it. And my dad, who previously was never a huge salmon fan, uh, He was like, I would eat this every single day, but that was kind of our first introduction to it.


[00:23:49] Rob: It's, it's super good. And so, you know, the, the other farm species that comes to my mind is, uh, farm raised trout. We source a, a, All rainbow trout, anytime you see rainbow trout on the menu, that's farmed and it's done in, on small farms, whether it's in the U. S. or in South or Central America, and we source ours from, from actually somebody that I knew, uh, prior to ever doing any trout business, uh, in the Andes, in Columbia, and it's a, I mean, it's such a rudimentary process there that they, They're also making their own electricity with the water supply that they're farming the trout in.


But, I know it's super healthy. I know they've never used any antibiotics and, uh, and it's a good, you know, mild white meated fish. 


[00:24:44] Jac: Yeah. Rob, I'm going to take advantage because I have you here on all my fish questions. One other area I'm really curious of your thoughts on, um, is mercury, right? And I feel like there's been a lot of hype around, you know, Why certain there are certain fish that we should perhaps be limiting right like larger fish because they tend to accumulate more mercury What are your thoughts on that?


[00:25:10] Rob: So I think that's pretty well Listed out for you in terms of tuna, you know, they're they're the Fish that feed high on the chain, they've consumed medium sized fish and, and very small fish, and they tend to be fish that can be older too. Um, so we're looking at, uh, particular mackerel, tuna, um, I'm trying to think of, uh, 


[00:25:43] Jac: sword.


Those are pretty much the main two I've heard, tuna and mackerel, swordfish, yeah. 


[00:25:46] Rob: Sword, and then I'm trying to think of the other one, the tilefish. Interesting! I've never 


[00:25:52] Jac: heard of those. 


[00:25:53] Rob: Yeah, Tilefish is something that you're not going to probably source typically anyway. But, so I think it's important to limit.


the amount of, of, uh, those fish that you eat. And I think that tuna is the lesser of those and, and I'd encourage anyone who's concerned about that to, you know, Google is your friend and you can find a lot of, of factual information about that, but, um, particularly, uh, you know, childbearing women, women who are pregnant ought to be concerned about that.


On the other hand, uh, they ought to be. Eating a lot of fish because, uh, you know, for development of, of, uh, babies, it's really important for, you know, give your kid the, the best chance they can. And, and, uh, brain health is part of part of the omega three. Right. Six hundred story. 


[00:26:51] Jac: Absolutely. I am curious to, Rob, what are some of the most popular products at Sizzlefish and why do you think they resonate so much with customers?


[00:27:00] Rob: Um, you know, Will and I go back and forth about this. I love Will. You don't know whether it's cause or effect. You know, people love, people love Alaskan salmon in particular, but they love Alaskan fish. And so they love. Our King Salmon and, um, I'm not always sure if they love it so much because we promote it a lot or, you know, and so we sell a lot of that but we also sell a lot of uh, our Our sea scallops.


I 


[00:27:45] Jac: love those. 


[00:27:46] Rob: Yeah, which, which you're caught between where we are and, and, uh, Georgia's bank somewhere along there where the scalping boats are working. I mean, they are. To me, super good. I love sea scallops. Uh, cotton haddock are really popular. Uh, you know, we, mahi is becoming more and more popular. Uh, our lobster tails, um, and shrimp.


We've got several varieties of shrimp. And, and depending on how you're going to prepare shrimp. And what exactly you're looking for, they're really all good. The, um, the Gulf shrimp that we carry is peeled and deveined. We've got Carolina shrimp, uh, that are caught, you know, very close to here. Really? That are shell on shrimp.


So if you want to prepare, you know, uh, peel and eat shrimp, they're super good. And if you haven't had any of those, we're going to have to We're going to have to get you some. 


[00:28:44] Jac: I would love to try that. Rob, where are you based? 


[00:28:48] Rob: So we are in a little town called Aiden, North Carolina. Um, we're very close to the Pamlico Sound as it opens up toward the Outer Banks.


[00:28:59] Jac: Okay, I've heard the Outer Banks are beautiful. I am in Greenville, South Carolina. I know Will is in Greenville, North Carolina, uh, but I moved here from Boston almost three years ago, so I'll have to come pay you guys a visit. 


[00:29:11] Rob: Yeah, you'll have to do that. We had an intern one summer that, uh, came from Austria, and he didn't speak English that well, and he flew to Atlanta and, uh, said he was flying to Greenville.


Well, he flew to Greenville, South Carolina.


Ended up coming into town on a Greyhound bus many hours later. 


[00:29:40] Jac: Oh my goodness. I know. It's a, it's a solid, what, six hour drive. I think I tried to map it one time when I was talking to Bill. It's like, how far are you? Yeah. That's funny. But no, I heard the Outer Banks are beautiful. Um, and then during my time in Boston, obviously Boston's a huge seafood city, right?


So I was exposed to Haddock for the first time. Um, I miss my, my Boston seafood. But thankfully I have Sizzle to, to keep me on par with what I previously used to eat. 


[00:30:05] Rob: Yeah, excellent. 


[00:30:07] Jac: What are your thoughts on the future of the seafood industry, particularly regarding sustainability? Because I feel like that's also a huge like, you know, within every area, right?


Everyone's focused on sustainable practices and whatnot and curious of your take. 


[00:30:22] Rob: Well, it's, you know, I think there's, there's so many great stories about how the U. S. has handled Uh, fisheries management very well, and Alaska is a great example. Uh, Iceland and its fishery management and, and Europe as well.


Um, but then on the other hand, it's hard not to call out China for, uh, overfishing in the South China Sea. And Russia's done its fair share of, of, uh, overfishing and, and, and doing what, you know, on the, the global industry calls illegal fishing. Uh, so I think that that's much more contained than it was. Um, it still goes on, but I, I think that over the past and I've, you know, I can't believe I've been in the fish business 40 years this year.


Right. Uh, in that 40 years, I think that, uh, although it's very complex because of the wild differences in species and resources, it requires A complexity to the management and quotas and catch methods. Uh, I think it's working and it's so much better than it was when I started in the fish industry. Uh, and I think that's going to continue and science has to lead the way.


Um, you know, we can't be part of an anti science. Uh, uh, society, uh, and I, so I think it's going to get better. I think, um, you know, it's, it's a, it's a weird time in the world and it looks like actually population growth has tailed off to where humanity is not growing at the rate it was 20 years ago. So if that's the case and we can manage the resource.


Resources like we're doing now, and maybe some of those, uh, countries that haven't been doing an adequate job of it, maybe they start getting better. Uh, we, we're not in a bad place. 


[00:32:49] Jac: Yeah. All right. That's encouraging to hear. Kind of shifting, Rob, um, from, you know, discussion on fish to more of the entrepreneurial, uh, part of, of the business.


Asking for myself here too, because right now with Well and Strong, so I left my full time job. Now I'm doing well and strong full time. I don't have a team. Uh, my team is me, myself, and I, and I've been struggling lately just with figuring out, um, kind of what path forward I want to take my business, right?


They always say, if you're chasing two rabbits, you won't catch either one. And I feel like I have 10 running around right now. So for you, how did you manage like your focus in building this business? Like, how did you figure out, I guess, like, What framework did you use to prioritize exactly that, like your focus areas for your business and, you know, where you want it to be?


[00:33:40] Rob: Well, I'll admit that I've chased multiple rabbits at times and, you know, I don't spend a lot of time thinking about You know playing shoulda coulda woulda but The reality is I think you're exactly right the more that you can focus the better. Um, there's the tendency to see So much work to be done and to try to get all the work done rather than prioritize.


What's key to success? Um, and the bigger the business gets the more bureaucracy there is so that there's always this paperwork to be done and, um, uh, it's, so it's, uh, I think the key, the key is to have regular points in time where you go back and, for me, and I don't do it as formally as I used to do it and I should, but when I was starting out, I would, um, I've always kept, of course, I'm old school.


So, I've always kept a daily log. That, um, that way Same, 


[00:34:54] Jac: Rob. Same. 


[00:34:56] Rob: There you go. That way you don't forget that, you know, I tend to forget a lot of the little detail stuff, because if you're working on, you know, many different subjects, you have to be able to go back and, and, you know, frankly, there are times where somebody says, well, No, I never said that.


And then you can go back and say, well, yeah, you did on it. Yes, 


[00:35:14] Jac: you did. 


[00:35:15] Rob: Here it is. Yeah. And that's, and that's important, but I would take that and I would, at the end of the week, I would read through the days and then I would look at, okay, what were my priorities? And, you know, I haven't made any progress on those, and then I'd make out a schedule for the next week.


[00:35:36] Jac: Right. 


[00:35:37] Rob: Yep, 


[00:35:38] Jac: yep. 


[00:35:38] Rob: Yeah. Did you 


[00:35:40] Jac: structure your days? Like, did you have dedicated tasks for each day? Because I know there are folks who do that. James Clear talks about that a lot. 


[00:35:47] Rob: Yes, yeah. I do that, you know. And, uh, I try to keep the decks clear on Mondays and Fridays. Uh, so that I can get, Monday I have a lot of scheduled things, and Friday I won't be able to.


to clean up, you know, and 


[00:36:03] Jac: yeah, 


[00:36:04] Rob: work on the things that leaves, leaves, unscheduled time to work on whatever needs to be. And 


[00:36:10] Jac: also to, yeah, and also to like, I've been trying to figure out, okay, what actual tasks are going to move the needle? Right? Because I feel like as you know, in content creation, you could spend hours creating social content and on social media, which I have a love hate relationship with.


But at the end of the day, it's like, is this really moving the needle on my business? Um, and if the answer is no, then you kind of have to revise your strategy. So. Yeah, I've just been, uh, I'm a work in progress. I've been doing this for, you know, almost three months now, full time. Um, but it's certainly, uh, 


[00:36:40] Rob: you're just getting started and you're doing a journey.


[00:36:43] Jac: Thanks, Rob. I appreciate that. Yeah, I started my blog back in 2020. Uh, so the blog itself is almost five years old, but, uh, it's nice to be able to just focus on one thing, you know, since leaving my full time job, just to spend my, all of my energy on this. 


[00:36:56] Rob: I was just going to say, I was a voracious reader.


And, and always have been, but you know, in the beginning I read every, uh, entrepreneurship book and, and probably more than those I enjoyed biographies or autobiographies of people who had started and grown businesses and, uh. You know, I still do that occasionally, but, uh, I got a lot out of those and, you know, I can say I've kept an open mind and an open eye when I've been around other businesses.


And, uh, you know, it's weird is a couple of times people that I really. Didn't like or even didn't respect, had some things that, the way they did things, it made a lot of sense that I borrowed from them. So, 


[00:37:44] Jac: you have an 


[00:37:45] Rob: open mind about, you know, you never know when you're going to find something that really works for you.


[00:37:50] Jac: Yeah, no, absolutely. Yeah, learn, learn from the best and just kind of, yeah. Um, did you have a partner when you first started Sizzlefish, 


[00:38:01] Rob: Um, so, you know, this was, you know, what we've got is a production operation, and so there was a capital requirement. And so I recruited my father and a couple of his friends to be partners with me, and I have to say that they were very patient.


Uh, you know, startup businesses that have some capital intensiveness to them usually require more than you thought they would, and mine did. It took a while to turn. Seafood industry 


is 


[00:38:39] Rob: cyclical because it's a food business, and, um, you know, so, uh, prices versus costs aren't always in line. So, um, yeah, so, so I did, and I, and I still do, um, but, uh, I've got, you know, a significant share of it at this point.


[00:38:59] Jac: Yeah, and you were in your 30s, correct, when this was like, really 


[00:39:04] Rob: getting off 


[00:39:04] Jac: the ground? 


[00:39:05] Rob: Yeah, yeah, I started in my late 20s. 


[00:39:07] Jac: Did you have a board of advisors or a mentor who helped you? Because that is something I'm also seeking to hopefully, uh, create at some point in time. 


[00:39:18] Rob: I, I, um, We were an active board.


Uh, I am in the my dad said invested. I mean, we would meet right every two months, probably in the first years. And, and, uh, you know, give a fairly formal presentation and we'd kick around stuff and I'd talk to them on the phone. Uh, mentors were usually other people that were in the seafood industry and, you know, people, and I still have some of those, uh, those relationships going on 40, 40 years later and, um, and still, you know, and made some really good friends.


Europe and South America and you know, uh, so Canada. That's 


[00:40:07] Jac: awesome. 


[00:40:08] Rob: Yeah. 


[00:40:09] Jac: Rob, I might, I might recruit you to be on my advisory board. So stay tuned. 


[00:40:12] Rob: Okay. That sounds good. I'd be glad to do it. 


[00:40:17] Jac: No, I appreciate that. And Rob, what advice would you give to an entrepreneur looking to enter the food industry?


Because it is. Its own beast as you know, 


[00:40:27] Rob: yeah, um, you know, I'd say it's probably the same same as any industry that energy counts as much as brains does and Energy and focus Um, you know, just, uh, it's like good sales people who often make, you know, who often rise to the top because they stay positive, even in the face of, you know, you get knocked down nine times and then on the 10th.


time you make a big sale. Um, 


you know, they 


[00:41:11] Rob: used to say in the oil business drill eight or nine dry holes and then you hit a gusher and, and, uh, you have to be willing to take the bad days along with the good. And one of the things I was going to say earlier is I think that a good rule Is and that I read from somewhere got from someone is you need to be spending if you're at the head of the organization, you need to be spending at least 50 percent of your time working on opportunities, not all so because if you're just working on problems all the time, you're bailing water, you're not.


You're not going to grow. 


[00:41:50] Jac: Right. No, that's so good. Yeah. Something I've been, um, considering more deeply is just outsourcing a lot of the work that I'm doing, right? Like the administrative tasks or content editing so I can focus on, on future opportunities. Um, something I read recently too, a quote was, um, it was like startups fail, but founders don't.


And that also really stuck with me because again, I mean, part of being an entrepreneur, it's trial and error, right? And figuring out what works and what doesn't. And you really can't be afraid to fail. And something Babson taught us was this concept of E T and A entrepreneurial thought and action, right.


And failing forward. Um, so I'm in the stage now where I, I have a lot of potential opportunities. Um, and I'm just reminding myself it's okay to fail forward, right? Because that's truly how you succeed ultimately at the end of the day. 


[00:42:39] Rob: It's, and, and, um, yeah, it's, it's got to be, it's got to be part of the culture and the mindset and it's, it's funny because in grad school, I ended up, um, at University of Texas in Austin and, uh, that, The culture in Texas was an entrepreneurial one, you know, which was probably born of, of the oil industry and probably cattle ranching for that.


But, uh, you know, there were people that they failed one business, dusted themselves off and were back at the bank within a couple of years. And, and, you know, the, my. Virginia upbringing, it wasn't the same as that. So it was an experience, and really one, a visceral one. I could tell it was different, so. 


[00:43:34] Jac: Yeah.


[00:43:35] Rob: Yeah. 


[00:43:35] Jac: Were any of your grandparents, Rob, entrepreneurs? Because, I mean, you come from a family of physicians. So I'm just curious, like, where you got this entrepreneurial spirit from. 


[00:43:44] Rob: Um, I think, I think I was the high energy kid. In a family of four, and I was the third kid that was, uh. I was off in a boat and nobody knew it when, you know, at a young age, and that's really where it came from.


My, yeah, my, um One grandparent was, yeah. 


[00:44:04] Jac: Okay. 


[00:44:05] Rob: So, yeah. Yeah, 


[00:44:06] Jac: that's something I always find fascinating is reading about like the families of very successful entrepreneurs. Cause I'm always wondering like, where did they get it from? But, yeah, it, it takes a certain person. Um, again, the mentality of fail forward and resilience and grit is what I always.


Tell folks when you know they're considering starting their own their own venture. 


[00:44:26] Rob: Yeah, it's true. It's true. That's what I say, you know, being ready to apply energy even when you don't want to because you 


[00:44:34] Jac: had 


[00:44:34] Rob: a really bad week, right? It's, it's what you got to do. And, and, you know, uh, usually startup businesses, there are periods where you're going to be waking up in the middle of the night, two, two in the morning, and you're going to be doing all this dollar crunching in your head.


And it's not as bad as you think it is. When you wake up, it's not as bad. All you did was lose sleep. So yeah, figure out how to control that. 


[00:45:00] Jac: So true. So true. Rob, you should write a list of like your 10 key takeaways over the past, you know, 40 years of, of just doing this on your own and, and sell it. I'll help promote it.


[00:45:10] Rob: Yeah. Yeah. My wife tells me that I need to write a book. 


[00:45:15] Jac: I think you should. I will, I'll have you back on once it's, uh, once it's actually published, but looking ahead, um, Rob, I want to be conscious of your time. I know we're nearing the hour, but what are your goals and aspirations for Sizzlefish in the coming years?


Any new things on the horizon you'd like to share? 


[00:45:33] Rob: So Will and I are talking about this constantly and we want and really need to continue to grow the way that we we have been. Uh, we're constantly looking at new products, but at the same time we don't, you know, we don't want to get overloaded with products, uh, that, that people only want a little bit of, so it's a, it's a constant evaluation process.


And the thing about seafood is, it's, it's seasonally supply limited and there are shifts in supply year by year depending on how much sockeye salmon, for example, is caught. During the season and then you've got to adjust and say, well, we can't sell as much as we did last year. So we're going to have to sell more of something else.


So there's a lot of that. But, uh, in general, uh, growth so that we can, you know, refine and improve constantly our. Sales and marketing piece of, of the equation, also packaging. I, and one of the things I've got to acknowledge is that we have eco packaging. It does not. operate it nearly as efficiently and as effectively as styrofoam does.


And that's an issue. And, and I think you'll find, you know, our competitors and the same thing in, you know, the other food industries, there are times of the year where we have to use styrofoam because it's just too hot and the dry ice melts and you really haven't done anything successfully.


Environmentally, if you have to reship packages because everything melted and the customer's unhappy and we've just thrown away products. So that's not good either. So, so we are trying to improve the eco packaging that we have, and there are being advanced advances being made in that world, but they're not where they could be.


So that's something that's constantly on our minds. 


[00:47:44] Jac: Yeah, opportunity right there. Well, let me know if I could help brainstorm anything. 


[00:47:48] Rob: Okay. 


[00:47:49] Jac: That's awesome, Rob. Where can listeners find you and learn more about Sizzlefish? 


[00:47:55] Rob: So, Sizzlefish. com is the best place to go and you know, please check out not only our products, but we've got some good articles.


Great blog 


[00:48:07] Jac: posts. Yes, 


[00:48:09] Rob: thanks. And great recipes, I think. So, and, and I think of recipes, you know, it's funny, my wife is a recipe follower, and, and I think of it, a recipe is just a good guidebook. I don't want to paint my numbers. I want to 


[00:48:25] Jac: paint 


[00:48:26] Rob: what's in the refrigerator and 


[00:48:29] Jac: tweak 


[00:48:31] Rob: it to what we have and what I think.


You know, I'm gonna like, 


[00:48:34] Jac: yeah, my mom, Rob always, uh, she always makes fun of me because she's like I don't follow recipes ever. I use it as a foundation and I just kind of go off on my own, but I find that the best dishes turn out, you know, when you don't necessarily abide by a recipe. 


[00:48:51] Rob: Absolutely. And so you asked earlier about how I like to prepare fish.


Yes. 


[00:48:57] Rob: So it's, it's all over the map, but I don't like Usually, I don't like to sauce too heavily, uh, and I'll, and we do a lot of just where I pan sear fish, or saute it, or bake it, but, um, almost any, uh, fin fish, I'll take, and, and if there's nothing else, if I don't have anything else in mind, I'll use Old Bay seasoning, because I'm from the East Coast, and it's really got a widely Uh, liked flavor profile and a little bit of that and, you know, and olive oil or avocado oil.


Um, keep 


[00:49:38] Jac: it simple. 


[00:49:39] Rob: Yeah, keep it real simple. That's, that's certainly during the week, that's what I'm doing. But I also like poached salmon, you know, French style poached fish, uh, you know, and, and enjoy recipes like that. Yeah. 


[00:49:56] Jac: That sounds good. Well, Rob, when I come visit, you'll have to make me those dishes, so I will be waiting.


[00:50:02] Rob: Your invitation's open, so we'll 


[00:50:05] Jac: I just invited myself. Awesome, Rob. Well, this has been so much fun. I'm super grateful to be a partner of Sizzlefish. I, again, huge fan. Love everything you're doing. 


[00:50:17] Rob: Jacqueline, thank you, and thank you for everything you're doing, and, uh, I like, uh, Watching your podcast. I'm not sure I'm gonna like myself on it, but it's great to see some of my favorite 


[00:50:30] Jac: episodes.


No, I really appreciate that. Rob, I do have one last question for you, and this is always my favorite one to ask. And that is, what does being well and strong mean to you? 


[00:50:41] Rob: Um, I'd say that's changed over time. And, uh, I hit a milestone this year, and so well and strong to me means, uh, being fit to keep doing the things I love to do, uh, and hopefully be able to keep doing them for, uh, for a couple more decades to come, and, and if that's possible, uh, that's what I want to do.


You know, there's, there's no sense in, um, you got to enjoy life and while you're here. That's so 


[00:51:16] Jac: true. 


[00:51:18] Rob: That's what I want to do. I, you know, if you'd asked me even 10 years ago, it would be, um, get a faster triathlon time. And, uh. How many 


[00:51:27] Jac: triathlons have you done, Rob? 


[00:51:29] Rob: Uh, I don't know. Uh, enough. 


[00:51:34] Jac: I'm trying to run a half marathon this year.


I did a, I did a few 10Ks, but there's a half marathon, Kiowa Island. Um, I heard it has a really pretty one, so 


[00:51:44] Rob: I haven't signed up 


[00:51:45] Jac: yet. 


[00:51:46] Rob: I ran the 5k in Keto without any prep one time when my brother was running the marathon. No 


[00:51:52] Jac: way. I was in worse shape 


[00:51:54] Rob: at the end of that than he was when he ran the marathon.


Yeah, half the distance. 


[00:51:59] Jac: Yeah, I could do a half. I wouldn't want to do a full. I'd do a half. I'll keep you posted, though. I haven't, I haven't signed up yet. 


[00:52:04] Rob: Yeah, great. That's great. 


[00:52:06] Jac: Awesome, Rob. Well, this has been so much fun. I'm really excited to share this with listeners and yeah, I'll let you and Will know when it goes live.


[00:52:13] Rob: All right. Thanks so much.


[00:52:18] Jac: I hope you enjoyed this episode. If you would like to support the show, please subscribe, leave a rating and review and share it with others. Be sure to visit wellandstrong. com to access notes from the show and to stay current with new content. I'm so grateful you joined me. Be well and be strong.





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Jacqueline Genova

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