Kettle Chips: Cameron Healy. The Wild Bet That Made a Brand

Most founders expand the “right” way: local → regional → national → international.

Cameron Healy totally skipped the “national” part.

When Kettle Chips was still an upstart regional brand, Cameron made a move that seems almost reckless: he launched his thick-cut, kettle-cooked chips to the United Kingdom — one of the most competitive “crisps” markets on earth — before conquering the U.S.

And that wasn’t his first risky move.

Before Kettle, Cameron was a turban-wearing Sikh entrepreneur in 1970s Salem, Oregon, building a natural foods business…until he was abruptly fired. He started again from scratch with a $10,000 bank loan. Inspired by the extra thick, crunchy potato chips that he sampled on a trip to Hawaii, he taught himself how to fry sliced potatoes through trial-and-error.

Then, just as Kettle started taking off overseas, another trip to Hawaii sparked a second act: Kona Brewing — a craft beer brand that initially lost $20K a month — for years — before Cameron was able to make it work.

Meanwhile, buoyed by its UK success, Kettle chips eventually spread across the US, becoming the top-selling natural chip in the country.

What you’ll learn

• The hidden details (like cooking-oil quality control) that can make or break a chip
• How curiosity about British “crisp” culture fueled a risky UK rollout
• The decision that turned Kona Brewing from a money pit into a scalable brand

Timestamps

• 07:21 — “You had to get up at 3 a.m.”: building a life in a Sikh community in Salem
• 10:11 — Fired with four kids and no severance: the moment Cameron is forced to rebuild
• 12:04 — The $10K loan (helped along by the offer of ski passes)
• 14:06 — The 1980 peanut crop gamble that suddenly capitalized Cameron’s business
• 23:14 — “Pot Chips” was the original name…until friends told him how bad it was
• 24:48 — Hand-feeding potatoes into vats of oil: inventing a process with zero playbook
• 29:10 — The Safeway disaster: rancid oil, a rejected order, and demand evaporating overnight
• 31:52 — The car crash that jolted Cameron out of despair
• 46:35 — UK word-of-mouth “switches on”--with an extra boost from Lady Di
• 56:03 — Kona Brewing bleeds money…until one decision turns things around

***

Hey—want to be a guest on HIBT?

If you’re building a business, why not get advice from some of the greatest entrepreneurs on Earth?

Every Thursday on the HIBT Advice Line, a previous HIBT guest helps new entrepreneurs work through the challenges they’re facing right now. Advice that’s smart, actionable, and absolutely free.

Just call 1-800-433-1298, leave a message, and you may soon get guidance from someone who started where you did, and went on to build something massive.

So—give us a call. We can’t wait to hear what you’re working on.

***

This episode was produced by Casey Herman with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant with research help from Rommel Wood. Our engineers were Robert Rodriguez and Kwesi Lee.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Today’s callers: Jess from Washington seeks counsel on structuring a collaboration between her sympathy cards company and a pet products brand. Then, Caroline from Colorado wonders if she should build an in-house production team or outsource manufacturing for her decorative garland company. And Sayuri from California is looking to drive sales of her Japanese tatami mats through a unique approach to yoga practice.

Plus, Alexa shares how Paperless Post is responding to advancements in AI and the prevalence of post-pandemic loneliness.

Thank you to the founders of Five Dot Post, The Creative Garland Company, and Sumo Yoga for being a part of our show.

If you’d like to be featured on a future Advice Line episode—where Guy and former show guests take questions from early-stage founders—leave us a one-minute message that tells us about your business and a specific question you’d like answered. Send a voice memo to hibt@id.wondery.com or call 1-800-433-1298.

And be sure to listen to Paperless Post as told by Alexa and her brother James on the show in 2024.

This episode was produced by Rommel Wood with music by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by John Isabella. Our audio engineers were Debbie Daughtry and Cena Loffredo.

You can follow HIBT on X & Instagram and sign up for Guy's free newsletter at guyraz.com and on Substack.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Most entrepreneurs think the hardest part of building a company is the product.

For Jim McKelvey — co-founder of Square — the hardest part was the system around the product.

Because Square wasn’t just competing with other startups …

It was competing with regulations, middlemen, entrenched networks, and monopolies designed to keep outsiders out.

In this episode, Jim shares the mindset and tactics that helped Square go from a tiny card reader that processed credit card payments … to a company—now known as Block— that generates over $10 billion in gross profit.

What You’ll Learn:

• Why the market is often “locked” on purpose
• How a simple hack can solve a seemingly complex problem
• How candor can sway investors more than confidence
• How Square survived by building something Amazon couldn’t copy

Timestamps:

• 00:12:26 – Engineering and art: Balancing an IBM job with glassblowing
• 00:15:46 – The family trauma that rewired Jim
• 00:36:26 – Losing a $2,000 sale — the moment Square was born
• 00:43:06 – Breaking into the credit card club: “We were violating 17 rules”
• 00:48:31 – The headphone jack hack that sidestepped Apple’s control
• 00:58:03 – The “140 reasons we might fail” pitch that won over investors
• 01:06:26 – The taxi ride that convinced Jim he had product-market fit
• 01:09:28 – Amazon attacks, and why copying doesn’t always work
• 01:13:18 – The founder’s job after success: choosing hard problems

***

Hey—want to be a guest on HIBT?

If you’re building a business, why not get advice from some of the greatest entrepreneurs on Earth?

Every Thursday on the HIBT Advice Line, a previous HIBT guest helps new entrepreneurs work through the challenges they’re facing right now. Advice that’s smart, actionable, and absolutely free.

Just call 1-800-433-1298, leave a message, and you may soon get guidance from someone who started where you did, and went on to build something massive.

So—give us a call. We can’t wait to hear what you’re working on.

***

This episode was produced by Alex Cheng with music composed by Ramtin Arablouei. It was edited by Neva Grant with research help from Katherine Sypher. Our engineers were Patrick Murray and Robert Rodriguez.

See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.