Led company from kitchen startup to $12M acquisition by LSF in May 2021 at $6M+ run rate and 13 employees. Bootstrapped company for 9 years at roughly break even while competing full-time as a professional Ironman triathlete. Retired from triathlon in 2019, grew the company profitably while refining it’s overall strategy, and raised $2M in PE from Village Family Capital in 2020. Launched 23 food skus in 5 product lines, countless merch items. Developed incredibly strong brand affinity, including a 10k+ member ecommerce subscription community (The Picky Club) with the lowest churn rate of any brand in Recharge payments platform, and ~$450 2-year customer LTV, providing ~60% of revenue at acquisition. Oversaw P&L, including forecasting, creating and maintaining budget targets, GM goals, employee hiring plan, and general overhead spending. Balanced investment in growth with profitability needs. Oversaw national contracts with Trader Joes and REI, and regional with Whole Foods, UNFI, Kroger, etc. Directly hired 20+ employees, responsible for 30+ more. Oversaw seven contract manufacturing, multiple banking, IP, law, and accounting relationships. Set the (unofficial, but pretty sure it’s legit) 5k in a Dinosaur Suit World Record as Picky Barasaurus, the company's beloved mascot.

Led integration and growth of Picky Bars post acquisition, including brand, product, DTC and sales strategy. Led Picky Bars P&L, growth forecasting, general marketing strategy and product development within LSF. Launched two co-branded/co-produced products for the Picky Bars line under LSF. Oversaw the evolution and refinement of multiple cobranded strategies. Worked with LSF executive team to conduct strategic analysis on LSF brand and product positioning resulting in developing & launching LSF Protein Bar.

2x Ironman Champion, 10x Half Ironman Champion, 4x Top-20 finishes at Ironman and Half Ironman World Championships. 6-Time Wildflower Champion. One of the fastest US Ironman athletes ever. Appeared on the cover of Outside and Triathlete Magazine. Sponsored by and multiple ad campaigns for Red Bull, Specialized Bicycles, Descente, Pearl Izumi and Jaybird. Wore aviators a lot.

Writer of popular monthly column - The Triathlife, http://triathlon.competitor.com/tag/jesse-thomas

Consulting services in new product development & product marketing, consumer research & insights, and business model strategy & development. Clients include: - Perpetua Power: Renewable energy solutions for wireless sensors - Connect My Folks: Mobile social media platform for the elderly - AskLaurenFleshman.com: Athlete advice and blogging website - StoveTec: Low-cost, low emissions cooking stoves for 3rd world countries

• Lead the on-site & digital activation various experiential events, including Dodgers, Angels, NASCAR, UCLA Football, NHRA, California State Fair, and San Diego County Fair.

One of five co-founders of a Stanford startup developing fuel cells for outdoor products/apparel. During tenure, Ardica grew to eleven employees, and over $2.5M invested.• Managed complete design, development, and manufacturing of second consumer product, including an in-house production staff and contract manufacturers in US and China.• Created and conducted Ardica’s first User Testing and Field Testing Programs.