The Best Idea Yet 🌶️Sriracha: From Refugee to Billionaire

Follow our The Best Idea Yet, our 2nd podcast series, to get episodes like this every week: https://wondery.com/links/the-best-idea-yet/  Chances are you’ve got a bottle of Sriracha chilling in your fridge right now, but have no idea who invented it — and the spicy story of how he did it.  Entrepreneur David Tran fled Vietnam in the late 70s, smuggling gold bars into the US to start his venture - selling hot sauce out of a van. Little did he know his thick, spicy red jalapeño concoction would make him the world’s first hot sauce billionaire… without ever spending a single dollar on advertising (FYI: Kraft dropped $750M on marketing alone in 2023). For over 40 years, David’s stayed laser-focused on making “a rich man’s sauce at a poor man’s price.” But when massive pepper shortages threatened the entire business, he faced a choice more painful than Tabasco on a paper cut. Find out how David puts “Co’s before Pro’s” (customers before profits)...and why Sriracha is the best idea yet. Spotify Poll: Best Dish to Spice Up With Sriracha? Pho, Scrambled Eggs, Fried Rice, Burritos, Pizza, Ice Cream,  Sriracha… on Sriracha GET ON THE POD:  Submit a shoutout or fact: https://tboypod.com/shoutouts  FOR MORE NICK & JACK:  Newsletter: https://tboypod.com/newsletter  Connect with Nick: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolas-martell/  Connect with Jack: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jack-crivici-kramer/  SOCIALS: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tboypod  TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tboypod See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.