The entrepreneur: George Lopez, founder and chef behind Baby Boloz hot sauce. Starting a new food company is hard, but it can’t be much harder than what Lopez has already been through in his 49 years, including multiple serious injuries and surgeries plus 10 years spent in prison for the violent revenge he took on the killers of his wife and unborn child when he was 30. He’s outfitting a small space at 2805-B Pinecroft Road in Greensboro, about a mile from Four Seasons Town Centre, and hopes to have his sauce available for sale by September.

Funchess: What it is you want to accomplish with your business?

Lopez: I’ve been in the food industry since I was 14 years old. I made this sauce eight years ago, and my friends all told me, ‘George, you’ve got to put this out there.’ It’s my own recipe, cilantro-based with vegetables and six different hot peppers. You can use it as a salsa or a marinade on eggs, steaks, chicken - nobody’s tried it on oatmeal yet, but who knows?

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Funchess: Why start a business?

Lopez: Really, it’s to give my parents and family a good life. I have a great family, but we’ve been to hell and back, working to get out of the projects and always hitting some kind of obstacle. I’ve had 13 operations in my life and been in a wheelchair twice. I beat all that; it’s been really hard. My parents now both have dementia and live with me, but I want to give them a good life. Also, I did 10 years in prison in New York, and one of my goals is to go back to where I was incarcerated, speak to those prisoners and give each a jar of sauce. I want to be able to show that if I can do it, anyone can.

 

Funchess: Who’s your target market?

Lopez: Everybody. Everybody should use this sauce. Even people who say they can’t handle hot sauce, when they try this it doesn’t bother them because with most hot sauces they’re getting a bunch of chemicals too, and that’s what their body can’t take on top of the heat.

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Funchess: How will you market it?

Lopez: Getting out there. I’ve got one of those ahooga horns on my car. I’ll head out, blast that, crank some music and approach people and give them sauce. Once they taste it, they’ll buy it. I’ve sent samples to Food Lion, they say they’re interested. One food company, I made them some food with my sauce and they invited me to attend a trade show. Several restaurants are interested, so I want to approach every little store, diner, burger joint and also just park in front of a gym. This is all natural, so it’s great for bodybuilders and others who eat really ‘clean.’ No need for them to have bland food.

Funchess: How well do you take advice?

Lopez: I’m pretty hard-headed, I’m not going to lie. I’m at a point in my life where I know what I have and what I can do. But I do know I need help, so if I have to bite my tongue sometimes, I’m willing to do that.

Funchess: Funding for your startup?

Lopez: It’s very low overhead. There’s no cooking involved so the costs are just in the ingredients, labels, jars and some equipment. I’m using savings and starting small, and I have one investor who’s known me for years and is helping me fund my equipment. Getting my store open will probably cost $10,000 to $20,000, but I’m taking this global, so that will take more.

Funchess: How has your prison history affected you so far with the company?

Lopez: I get some negativity sometimes, but really it only comes from people I’ve already known. I don’t have anything to hide; I’ve done my time. I don’t brag about it but if it comes up, I just say what I’ve been through and try to show that a person can overcome anything.

Funchess’ take: So what I think is interesting about George is his tenaciousness - he’s got that and it’s an important ingredient for success. What he still needs is capital and the contacts for distribution. When you bring on investors, you’re not working your business plan any more, you’re working theirs. As long as he understands that, he can be successful. I also hope he focuses his target market at first. The smaller the target, the easier it is to market to them, so the trick is to narrow it down to the smallest size that will allow you to make money, and then build from there. In George’s case, that might be the health and fitness market.