Massimo and Marcello Migliara! - DE linkedin

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Are you fed up with the corporate bullshit holding you back? Welcome to Invest in Yourself, the digital Entrepreneur podcast. The ultimate launchpad for entrepreneurs ready to seize control and unleash their creative genius. Hosted by Phil Better, the podcast mogul, each week he's breaking the chains of conventional work with bold strategies, raw insights, and inspiring success stories from the entrepreneurs who took the risk and invested in themselves. This is your call to arms. Invest in yourself, break free from someone else's rules, and build the empire you deserve. Now let's dive headfirst into today's explosive episode.

Welcome back to another episode of Investing Yourself, the Digital Entrepreneur podcast. I am, of course, Phil Benner, the podcast mogul. And today we have a story that's going to resonate with pet owners and food enthusiasts alike. Today we're joined by two culinary experts whose passions for quality food has led them from the kitchen of fine restaurants to an inspiring mission for healthier pets, which as a dog lover, I just enjoy having on. After a decade in the culinary world, these twins entrepreneurs found a calling beyond the plate. Driven by the desire to see their dogs thrive. What began as a simple desire for their pet's wellness evolved into bh, a pioneering company in the human grade dog food industry. They've seen firsthand how the power of high quality cooked food can transform a dog's health and vitality.

Now they're on a mission to bring that same level of care to dogs everywhere. So get ready for a conversation that will change the status quo in pet nutrition and inspire a new standard for our furry family members. Let's dive in with Massimo and Marcello. Guys, thank you so much for being here.

Thank you for having us.

Hello. Hi. Thank you for having us.

Now you guys went from the kitchen of high class restaurants to the pet kitchen, which is a big change because normally we're used to as pet owners, we're used to going to the store, getting the kibble, just putting it in and not really thinking about what's going into our dogs or our pet's stomach and their nutrition. I want to know what made you guys decide to leave the. I'm going to say the crazy world of kitchens, because I, having worked in restaurants, I know how crazy some kitchens can get.

Oh, yeah, that's crazy isn't understanding.

I'm being polite. The crazy world of the high class kitchens to the furry kitchens. What made you guys decide to jump from that world?

So I'll start with myself. We have two dogs. One of them ended up being highly allergic to a lot of Foods. And we noticed this slowly as we're feeding both of them kibble. One of them, Hunter, he was very picky with his food. And the other guy was. Who has the allergies? He was having a lot of itchiness, rashing, was scratching himself a lot. And we're wondering, like, this is not right.

Something's up. Spoke to the vet about his shake. He's allergic. He probably has a lot of allergies. So give us some advice on how to process of elimination, figure out what he's allergic to, what he's not allergic to. And then it came to a point where, you know, what we have to cook his food. So a lot of these cable companies don't consider cross contamination or many other. What's the word?

Looking for.

I don't.

Yeah, they don't have high standards when it comes to. When it comes to cross contamination or inner contaminants. So we took it upon ourselves, obviously, as a mission. Obviously, being in the culinary world, we're very comfortable with cooking. We knew that we could take on challenge with the help with veterinarians. We spoke to also animal nutritionists to help us formulate our recipes for our dogs. So we started off with that. My brother started well with that with me.

Of course, we worked together. We cooked the food for his dogs, cooked the food for. For my dog. And over time, we're like, you know what, Learning about the food industry for dogs and knowing about all the problems that it has and how it's not regulated, and there's a lot of issues with what companies are putting in the food. We're like, there needs to be a change. We need to do something about this. We want to be able to have pet parents have trust and reliability of what they're feeding their dogs. So we decided to make a change and make a stand for dogs and fight for what they deserve, and they deserve real food.

They deserve food that makes them not only feel better, that helps them thrive. So, yes, the big change from doing, you know, culinary and doing fine dining. But there's one thing that hasn't changed is the passion.

Exactly.

I love this.

Yeah.

Such a gratifying feeling to know that what we're giving them, they honestly want to enjoy a lot. You see it in their faces when I. It's meal time. Honestly, usually I feed my dogs around 5:30. At 5:25, they're really lining up at their bowl waiting for.

Well, when you have two amazing chefs cooking for you, everybody's going to be lining up. Right. Especially so with with that transition from going from, you know, the high stakes, high pressure of a commercial kitchen of a restaurant, which we all know can be insane, if we ever been to a restaurant during a rush to kind of a more laid back kitchen, I would, I would probably see a little less stress, but there's still stress, obviously. What are some of the lessons you had to unlearn from cooking for humans to cooking with, for your pets?

Okay, so some lessons we had to learn, obviously putting a lot more care in the exact ingredients that we're using. So in the restaurant industry, obviously we order from suppliers and usually it's not necessarily us that take care of it, it's the, the head, it's usually the person who takes care of the money. So we took a step back from ordering from just anybody and we actually went to talk to the companies when to talk to. We did our own research, knowing what exactly goes into the food and you know, if it's either, if it's how it's grown, how it's grown, if it's organic, what exercise are they using, if they're using them, how the animals are raised. These are all key factors of how nutrient dense the food is and how good it is for our dogs. And it works the same thing for us. There's a lot of correlations that we didn't necessarily realize or we didn't know that how similar the food that we eat and the food that our dogs eat affect our everyday life. So just on this journey, learning about dogs, we learned so much about ourselves and what we should be eating and the changes that we should be making, eating.

And overnight, like, we noticed the difference for ourselves and also in our dogs. So that's one big, I think one big thing we, we really learned for sure. You're sorry, did you have to send the same?

Oh, yeah. Basically going back to the source of where we're getting our food and who's making it, who's growing it, why, and their stories too, learning about that and learning about their passions. Not just buying from anybody and everybody, just, you know, going locally as well and supporting our local businesses and being able to thrive all together. I mean, as one. And being able to showcase not only that we make delicious food, but that we're getting it from local farmers, local suppliers, and that way everybody could thrive all together because we're in this, in.

A world that we're a community.

Right.

So want everyone to throw.

I want everyone to be doing well. Right.

So one really important thing that also we had to take a step Back. Well, restaurants, obviously, a lot of places, those serve foods from all over the world. Right. We get stuff imported every day. If it's not fruits, if it's not even vegetables. But the importance of not only eating local, but also eating the stuff that's fresh from, that's harvested recently. The difference that it makes in our bodies, from the point of our bodies are learning to not necessarily adapt, but with the changes of the season. So certain nutrients are more important in certain time frames of the year.

Right. So let's say, for example, this time of year, what's in season? We're looking at squashes, looking at pumpkin, even up until, like, cabbage, up until recently. These are all foods that are rich in nutrients because it's their best harvest time. So we want to eat stuff that is, you know, at its peak, at its best, will give us the most nutrients and will help us a little bit. Yeah, go ahead. Will help us for the upcoming months, prepare us for the winter months. This makes a huge difference in our dogs. This makes a huge difference in us as well.

And also the fact that when it's in season, it's more flavorful. You know, just eating blind vegetables.

And one. Yeah, that's another big one. It's the flavor. The flavor is the most important. We thrive for our dog's food to be flavorful as well, because obviously they want to enjoy.

We want them to enjoy eating as well. It's not a chore. It's not something that they. They drag the feet to do it. When we used to feed our dog Skibble, we used to have to fight with them to eat. Sometimes they were at least for two, three days. They don't want to know nothing. We used to think like, how come they don't want to eat? I don't understand.

Because they don't like the food.

It's simple.

I like that. I like how you're bringing the culinary high class to your pet's meals because they do deserve it. There are family members. They need to have that good food. It's not just nutrients fueled to keep us going for the day. We want to enjoy that. And instead of just eating grass, because dogs for some reason like grass. With trying to source local products for your, Your.

Your food for your, The. For the dogs and the better kibble for the animals. Have you run into any kind of, like, supply issues that you weren't fully prepared to deal with, or was it kind of like very smooth and you're like, wow, this is a surprise.

So I wouldn't say it Was, it was not very smooth. We had to do a lot of research. And you know, the problem is, is sometimes some places are a little bit far, so travel time if they to deliver, not so bit of driving around. Like these are things that we're slowly working out. And that's probably one of the biggest issues is just finding not only the places, but obviously like it needs to be, you know, we got to be able to get the produce as well and able to supply, you know, all the demand of our clients as well. So it comes a lot of playing around.

There's a lot of.

I'm sure you know this as well when it comes to entrepreneur. There's so many great ideas you have, but there's so many things you don't think of that might be a problem that you learn along the way. And you just learning how to adapt and being problem solving, you know, like figuring out, okay, maybe this place, we like this place, whatever. But you know what, it's. It's too far. It's not feasible for us to get there. So find somewhere else, maybe find a middle ground, maybe meet halfway. We.

These are things that we know as any entrepreneur, you learn along the way and you learn to. Your problem solving becomes better and better.

Right?

Yeah. When you first started reaching out to, I'm guessing you're going to like farms, local farms, local places like that. When you started informing them that you were cooking for dogs, what were some of the reactions you were getting from your suppliers? Because I'm pretty sure they're like, we usually send to restaurants for humans, not dogs and cats.

Yeah, some of them were excited. Some of them were a bit surprised. Obviously there's some people who are very pet friendly and very pet oriented. Other people, not so much. But I mean, when it comes down to it, they're always happy to help and inform us of what they offer and how they go about. Because a lot of times they have passion for what they do, especially in these little places and whatnot. So they love just to talk about why, why do you do it and how they do it and what are they using. Right.

So it was a bit of mixed, mixed feelings between some people. Most people were very, you know, welcoming and very, you know, encouraging. Say, you know what? I've never heard of this. This is really cool. It's a great idea. I'd love to help you out. Let's work together, talk a bit more about it, meet them in person. People not as enthusiastic, but still willing to expand and know and, and learn something different.

Because I'm not everyone's a dog person, to be honest with you, or a cat person or animal person.

But, you know, that's okay as they all have a common goal is, you know, to produce a good product that's, you know, that's beneficial for all of us. Right. So. But then they didn't think about it. They're like, yeah, it's, you know what, it benefits humans too. Why can't we benefit dogs as well? So in that aspect, yeah, they're. They're definitely, you know, they're more than willing to help us and, you know, work with us, Work with us and, you know, make it, you know, as best as they can or make it work and make it feasible. That was honestly very good results on.

That end when you first ventured into this, because I'm guessing your parents were kind of like, what are you doing? You're leaving somewhat of a safety of a. I'm not going to say corporate job, but safety of a business that tends to restaurants in Montreal, once they're established, they. They go for a long time. It's rare that they'll. They'll have that dip unless we have another 20, 20, obviously. But what was the reaction from friends and family when you were like, hey, we're leaving the kitchen to go to the dog kitchen and the animal kitchen and start our own little business to help our pets.

So believe it or not, honestly, a lot of people were very enthusiastic about. A lot of people actually, you know, told us to do it as, you know, as the next move, maybe for us to be entrepreneurs and work in this field. They saw how much we cared about our dog and saw the impact it made on them. And they're like, you know what, this is actually a great business idea to help dogs versus in Montreal and maybe expand to other parts of Canada and maybe if you can, even in the United States. So they were very encouraging. I think everybody in our family and friends really encouraged us to do it.

They continue to support us to this day, honestly. Yeah, I'm very grateful to have a very supportive community around us that not only encourage us, but are willing to learn as well what to give, because we have a lot of family with the dogs, for sure, and they're learning and they're making changes as well and doing the necessary steps that we think are important and beneficial for our dogs as well. So it's a learning process for them as well, and us giving them information, us helping them and giving them some food and trial and error, of course, and whatnot.

We became the go to any dog advice that anybody has now. And we obviously, with their help as well, we have made different, you know, samples of food or whatever. And we give it to our, you know, our close friends, our family members, to the dogs to try and see how they like it, see how they react to it. And so it was a give or take. You give them the knowledge, they help us, you know, make our. Make sure they're tasty, make sure it appeals to all dogs.

I love that. I love how they're. They're technically your. Your sampling proof before it goes out to the masses with this, because I understand, I know when you're doing food trucks or you have restaurants, you have to have a very sterilized kitchen or a very specialized kitchen. How is it in Canada or in Montreal specifically for when you're cooking for animals, do they still have the same regulations that are necessary for the animals for the food preparation, or is it a lot more lax than for the humans?

Yeah, it's definitely a lot more like relaxed. And for the humans, I mean, there's not many regulations. There are like basic standards, of course. Yeah. But it's more up to the independent companies to really, you know, implement proper procedure. And these companies, obviously, the. The ones that do it, they really express their procedures and stuff and, you know, they list it makes it more appealing for. For the consumer.

For the consumer. So the standards are not there. So it helped us, for us, of course, being in the food industry, knowing what the standards are and doing the retitute the appropriate courses to be in the food industry to, you know, maintain a standard of what cleanliness was. So this for us is like second nature. So we know how not to cross contaminate. We know the proper measures to keep the cleanliness and making sure that, you know, everything is in order and, you know, proper. Proper maintenance of machines and, you know.

Produce and a lot of things that for sure are not as regulated in dogs. But we make sure to keep these standards just the same for our food, for our dogs and for humans as well.

Yeah, there is definitely an uprise in the dog companies, but there's still a lot of companies that. You'll see it, you'll see it in their pet food labels. They'll say, make it tame. Except, like, for example, it's a beef meal, make it tame. Chicken, make it ding. Turkey, make it in this. So there's obviously something going on there that, you know, they can't guarantee. And this has to go back to so many different, you know, protocols that they're not following.

I'm not going to start, you know, like accusing instead of blaming. There's something going on there that they're not doing right.

Yeah. So we're just trying to make sure that every dog can eat our food and there's no worries of anything and everyone can enjoy it whether you have an allergy or not. And there's no worry about that as well because that's really what we started with, with this is because I don't say allergies. So we really want to make sure that every dog could enjoy our meals without having to suffer the consequences of, you know, the reactions and other things.

That don't really have.

I love that, I love how you're, you're upping the standards that are necessary for our animals so that they can, they can have the quality that we, we eat because hey, they're, they're family members at the end of the day. They may be four legged family members, but they're still family members.

They are, they definitely are. They definitely deserve the best. Honestly. They give us so much life, they give us so much joy and we want them to live as long as possible. Right. So why would we, you know, take a step back into nutrition and you know, mom made them thrive when we could, you know, give them what they need and they'll not only have better attitude, they'll have just a better way of life and they'll live longer. And not only that, they'll save you a lot of money on the, on the best deals. Yeah.

So you do say people think that you're spending more money giving them real food obviously compared to what, what kibble is made of. So. But in the long run between event bills, you'll save the thing. It was a statistic done in the States. You could save up to $2,000 a year in vendors by just making that change. So, you know, there's a, you need, you know, sometimes they say you need to spend a little bit more and just save a little bit more money. You know what I mean?

Yeah. I'm reminded of a saying that when it comes to talking about poor people or if you don't have the money, if you can't go to the dentist, to cleaning today, next year you're paying for a root canal. So if you're not giving your dog the good food, you know, you're taking a year off their life or you're, you're damaging, you're, you're paying for it later, which is, which is never fun. I want to Know, because you're twin entrepreneurs, which is the first time I've had twins on the podcast talk about businesses. I'm wondering because it's a unique dynamic, what are some of the more memorable instances that helped you bond over running this business or have. Have you seen some, you know, spikes of issues, you know, the, the budding of a head since you guys are twins?

Yeah. So it's definitely a very interesting we'll call it concept between twins working together.

Growing up.

We've always been very close. We were always in the same classes. We're even in sports together. Played sports as far as even on the same, you know, on the same line. We play hockey growing up. So they always. Coaches always press on the same line. I mean it's a, it's a no brainer.

You see chemistry between two brothers and you know they'll, they see they have a vision of themselves and you know, where their placement and everything is just, you know, is unmatched compared to anybody else. So it's like always on the same page. We're always on the same page in that aspect. For example, if you look at professional athletes in the NHL that were twins like the Sandines, I don't familiar with the, you know, look at them then.

Only was these back over connects did.

A genius move of you know, grafting them at the same time they put them on the same line to play together because you know, it's not, there's reasons for this. Right. So obviously like anything else, it has its pros and cons. I mean being very comfortable with each other and there's. I would be lying to you right now if we said we never argue, never fight. It's just learning how to communicate properly, you know, learning how to deal with stresses. And you know, it's, it's all a learning process and it's all about, you know, building. Building your, you know, your.

What's the word I'm looking for but and building in all aspects of your life. You know what I mean?

It's communication is definitely very key and.

It'S in any, any form of, any form of relationship. But yeah, this is a form of relationship. Obviously it's a, not only is it a partnership, it's a, it's a brotherhood. So there's a lot that goes into it and there's a lot of work that needs to be done obviously together, but obviously on our own as well to be able to make this work. Because if you're not doing that work, it's, it affects your business. It Affects all aspects of your life. So these are things we, you know, had to learn and we had to, you know, adapt. And so obviously we're still working on it.

You know, I mean, there's still some days where I'm more stressed than him, he's more stressed than me. Other stresses in life, sometimes you're a bit on edge. But we started to learn how to know, let things go, be more understanding. And honestly, the communication part, I cannot stress it enough, is super important because sometimes you gotta listen, stabs, you gotta speak, sometimes you gotta understand. Okay, maybe he, I'm right, maybe he's right. But how can we explain it in a different way for them to understand as well? It's super key for any communication in any, any relationship. Honestly, it's very, very important. So that's one thing.

An advice I'll give to everyone is in any business relationship, partnership, Internet communication is really, really important. Not only how you communicate, but how you listen as well. Just as important.

I love that I want to touch on because being a chef in a restaurant, there's certain things you can do to invest in yourself to become better. You know, your knife skills, understanding how to, you know, take care of the products and all that. But moving into the entrepreneurial world, even if it's in the same kind of, you're just moving over category into the dog, human grade dog food, you know, it's, there's still that, but what else? Because you're starting a business, what have you guys done to invest in yourselves to become the better version of the business owners? Because I'm pretty sure you guys are near the top of your level as chefs having, and obviously you're starting new again in the, the dog food. But there's a lot of similarities there. But as a business owners, what have you guys done to invest in yourselves to become better?

A lot of research, a lot of reading. So having a lot of books now.

So yeah, reading very important. I read so many different books on so many different aspects. I touch either, you know, how to business, how to worrying less do marketing, how to sales, how to be an owner, how to, you know, how to work with a team, communication.

It's mostly about communication at any aspect, not just about business itself, but going back to what I said before. Communication, how to read people, how to know how to talk to people. Some people, they take things a certain way and other people, they, they're being a little more on the edges. So how to work with different characters, super important.

And yeah, other things as well. Therapy, people Think that therapy is only for. For crazy people. That's not a big misconception with, with therapy, honestly, a lot of big companies, big corporations, big entrepreneurs, they all do some type of therapy. Even at the beginning. It teaches you so much about life, teaches you so much about so many different aspects, you know, and just, you know, being more self aware, super important. If you're not self aware, it affects all aspects of your life, right? It's not only you want therapy. You could do like life coaching.

You could do either other forms of life coaching, because obviously, like, life coaching could be very expensive, especially at the beginning. So like just working on your inner parts, very, very important. And also working another very important one that people maybe talk about as much. But exercise, super important, super important when dealing with stress. Like, I can't even explain to you how much it's helped us. We went to obviously being chefs as well, eating all this delicious food all the time. It's very easy to make it get.

Out of control, right?

You're always surrounded by all this gourmet of food and super rich, super flavorful.

Butterfly, of course, and not necessarily obvious for you.

So we reached a point when we were not like working on our health at all and just working a lot, trying to learn as much in the food industry. So we took a big hit on our health and we became. Gained a lot of weight, became very unhealthy, until we both realized, like, no, this is not the life we want to live. We want to make these changes for ourselves. Started eating, exercising, big chefs as well. It helped us a lot to be able to learn about what, how to make those changes in food, how to portion our food properly, making sure we're eating enough. And like I said, exercising, I. I definitely exercise a lot.

Sometimes it could be maybe a little bit too much, but I just enjoy moving so much. It's still continuing to play hock. I go to the gym all the time as well. Can I even explain to you how much it. It helps?

It's blowing blood, your steam, that you have everything built up. You know, you just let go. You forget you have that hour of training, that hour of my sport that you play. You forget about everything else and you just, you know, I do a lot.

Of inner work when I'm at the gym. People sometimes think I'm crazy. I don't listen to music, nothing. If I could, I'll put earplugs in just to listen to my thoughts. And I.

Very controversial. A lot of people think that we're crazy, but you Know I'm not a fan of listening to music while I train. I like to be.

It's a distraction. I don't want to be distracted. I want to be focused. I want what I'm doing and too I want to be able to process things that happen throughout the day. Maybe I was sitting too busy at certain point to process something. It really makes me become, you know, go into myself and more so far it's more self aware of what's happening and you know, think about certain situations. How can I, you know, maybe get a little different, done it differently, worked a bit better and don't. It's not a.

It's not a. It's not a time to be hard on yourself. It's just a point of like, you know, reflection. Reflection, Learning how to be. Yeah.

At the same time we enjoy exercising. So it's. Yeah. So it's a time for ourselves to have that peace and tranquility, you know, and do what we need to do for our body and then at the same time for our mind as well, just to rejuvenate and obviously many others aspects of the training itself. For the sport itself. That brings benefits into your life. And benefits as well.

Yeah, that's it. And for very important while being entrepreneurs, obviously it gets very cloudy. It's very hard. Sometimes you get so fixed on working on your business that it pretty much consumes your life and you just abandon all other aspects of your life. And it could work out to a certain point, but at a certain point it's gonna destroy you. So you need to find balance. It'll bite you in the ass for sure.

Balance is super important. It's very important. I cannot stress that enough. Honestly, working in restaurants, it, like you said, it gets hectic, it gets crazy. The hours along. I cannot tell you how many weeks we've done. 70 plus hours and neglecting every other aspect of our life besides work. Yeah, we've got better.

We're really good at what we did. But at the same time it took.

A toll on your life. Take a toll on your healthy support and everything of your relationships outside of work as well. Balance can stress that enough balance super important.

I love that. I love how you touch on a few things that are super important therapy. One is if I died. I'm a huge proponent of therapy since I started in 2020 and I think it's the best thing for people just to learn more about who they are and how the past can actually influence your future in ways that you never know. I'm surprised about the lack of music or lack of podcasts or distractions, as you put it, while you're working out. That is something I haven't, I can't do. I just get distracted by everything else if I don't have something just talking to me when I'm working out. But I can understand it.

It is a place to have your subconscious start pumping out the answers that you are looking for. I do it with yoga. Yoga is for me. That's where I get to think when I'm working out. I need to hear that muscle. I need to have that metal boosting me up to get me going. Because working out is a little bit of a chore for me. But I understand lack of distraction.

That's for yoga for me. So I get that.

Yeah, yoga is definitely amazing. That's another good one. I, I've had a bit of trouble getting into. I'm. I would love to get more into it, even meditating as well. Very similar. Right. So those are two great tools of getting in, you know, like you said in yourself and, you know, getting in your thoughts as well.

I. I'm curious because you guys are still relatively young entrepreneurs in this game with a new business or where do you guys see yourself in 10 years from now with BH and with your guys as during your entrepreneurial venture? Where do you want to be in like 10 years on 10 years?

We would like to want, obviously be able to sell at least across Canada and having, you know, good quality food for our dogs. As you know, I'd be able to touch as many places as possible. And we want to also be able to not only host seminars, do more podcasts, and also have our own platform that, that gives the knowledge and gives the information that pet parents need to better and learn and better their dog. So we want to not only be able to supply with food, but we also want to teach, want to be able to create that environment for people and get, as you know, I want to be able to grab people from all different expertise in this industry and be able to have a platform where everybody could, you know, requiring to go on it and be able to not.

Only cook for them for, for their dogs, but be able to, to learn, to learn how, how to take care of the dog, how to feed a dog, different treats, you know, recipes, activities they can do.

Yeah.

Even from toys and exercises and different.

And all aspects.

Yeah, training as well. And just have everything in one place where people can, you know, I know where to go, I know where to learn, I know how to to get all its information together and be able to give my dog a better life. So we just want to inform and teach as many people as we can on what they need to do to give their dog the best they can give.

I love that, I love that goal to be the central point of knowledge for pet owners, dogs, cats, all those fun animals so that the, the pet owners can take care. Just like, you know, you go to the doctor or the pediatrician for your children, you gotta have a place where you can go for your, your, your, your pet children.

Of course, yes.

Is there. Has there been a situation where or an issue pop up that you were really like, oh my God, how do we deal? Like nearly put the kibosh, if you will, or 86th using some restaurant turns there. 86 the idea of continuing down this or making it a business. Like obviously you're probably going to continue cooking for your pets because that's very important, they're your children. But for other people, was there maybe a moment where you're like, this isn't going to continue. We're going to have to scale back to just doing maybe just for friends and family, but mainly for our dogs before going out to the world.

I wouldn't necessarily say there was a point that we wanted to like that we needed to cut it back. I would say we did. Obviously there's hiccups as well. We're dealing with the food stuff and finding the proper food. Also. One of our things that we had to take a little bit of a step back before moving forward was finding the appropriate packaging that made sense for the consumer. It also made sense for us, for us as well. I don't want to just put it in any old container.

It's got to be something that is one safe, two is convenient. So we've been working a lot on that to get to 86. A lot of ideas outside for the packaging, but over trial and error. But overall we haven't really had any, I would say major setbacks that really make us made a second guess what we're doing. I can't say. Obviously there, there are people that we've spoken to that maybe weren't enthusiastic about for the most part. Like everyone that we've spoken to about this, especially people that have their own pets, they're super interested in learning and knowing what's better for their do right as soon as it touches their heart.

Right.

Their dogs have a special place in their heart. So as soon as they hear that, oh, I could do these little, these little tricks, these Little tips to help my dog just live a little bit of a better life or help certain issues that they're having. People are all ears. You know what I mean? And it's just amazing to see these people. We love, we love to talk to them. We love them and with all our hearts that they're willing to make at least small changes is to grow the health of their dog.

So about little things, a lot of little things make a big difference.

Yeah, you wouldn't. I love little changes that you can make even to the gets to get started. People obviously very nervous to make a big change from like kibble to like whole food. People have obviously so many questions. There's so much unknown about it as well. For more, for the most part. So getting an I'm just informed we're starting with small changes makes a huge difference. And then slowly, slowly learning, you know, when they get more comfortable, you know, it's.

It's a process. Right. Like anything else. So that's why we want to have a platform that we can provide that information for them as well. So that's why doing stuff like this too helps us educate people. And we're obviously like, we're planning to do two seminars in the beginning of the new year to have a place that people could come and they could ask us questions and we could, you know, answer all the questions, provide them with all the information they need to answer. Yeah. And some to be able to start where they can start, how they can make their own meals for their dogs and so on and so forth.

Right. So we just want to. We just want to educate as much people as possible to make those changes.

Going back on your question a bit, but not specific on that topic. Not necessarily a setback, but once I remember one of the. This something that always will stick with me for the rest of my life. We did our first popup, if you will, with this company called awesome. Super amazing people. Really nice. They were super welcoming. Gave us a lot of tips, tricks and information and not just about the dog food industry, but about entrepreneurship and everything.

Hats off to them. They were super nice. Amazing. And anyway, so going back to my story, we had this girl that came up to us. I talked to us a bit about what we do, whatever. She was a bit intrigued. She had a dog herself. And when she saw what we were doing and whatnot, she was a bit puzzled and she was like.

And she said, she said this in French. And it still to this day sticks to me. She's so common. They share like she basically Was like telling us like, is it just dog? It's just a dog. Why? So that's something that like kind of hit me a bit personally. I was like, you know, it's not just a dog, but everyone has their entire opinion. But that will stick with the rest of my life. And I know that.

I just want to prove her wrong even more than. More than just a dog.

It's. Yeah. That was the only, that was the only time we've ever had.

Nearly negative feedback. It's.

It's not, that's it.

It's not negative. It's just a difference of opinion because exactly like I look at it like as they're living there are my family member. They're, they're, they're my child if I have my own dog or they're my brother when it was my parents dog. But when they did pass away, it, it's still a dog. You know, you're not gonna hurt a lot. It hurts, it hurt a hell of a lot. When you have like 15 years with a, with a pet and then you see it, it shuffle off the mortal kadle. Yeah, I can understand.

It's hard to wrap my head around it, but I can see people going, oh, it's just a dog. You know, like it's, it's nothing. But for other people, like, for like people, cat ladies, you know, this, this is my child. This is like they're my birthday.

It's a family member. And for me it's the story. I say it's a family member. That's why it's like, that's whether it's a bird, it's part of the family. It hurts to see them go. They're. Especially when they're, you know, there for so many years. Like I said 15 years, sometimes even longer.

You know, it's. You're just so used to having this happy, go lucky, you know, person in your life.

Yeah.

It affects you no matter what.

The way I like to see it is. Yes. They don't live say like as long as life is us and it is a small period in our life, so it is a fraction of our lifetime. But for them it's their whole life. So true. You know what I mean? Yeah. So it's. You want them for their whole life to live, live, you know, as, as happy as possible and as enjoyment and give them, give them as much enjoyment as possible.

I try to take my dog on so many adventures because you're you all the world. Their, their eyes to the world are only as big as you let it be. So if you show them a small part of the world, that's the only.

World would ever know.

But if you get to meet them, explore, you know, they'll have, they get to experience a lot more, they get to enjoy life a lot more and you get to see them in a lot more happier mood and growing. Just seeing the smile on my dog's face, just taking him around everywhere, it's just, it's unmatched the happiness that it brings you. It's like for like a child, you.

Know, when you make your kid, you.

Make them experience new things to make them do different things. You get them children toys or whatever. Like it's just, it puts a smile on their face, it makes them happy. The same thing with dogs. Obviously they can't express it the way maybe children can. But you know, as a pet parent, you definitely know your dog is happy. Your dog is sad, right? Like she, she sent it.

I remember a time taking my, taking one of my dogs out, he, he broke his tail. He was so happy, wagging so much and we were scared like oh my God, what happened to his tail? The dog, the, the vet was just like, yeah, you made him too happy.

You made.

We, we are coming up to the end of the episode which I despise because you guys are bringing so much joy and I can see the love you have just from the way you guys are talking about pets. But I want to know. I have your 10 year. They are rambunctious as all hell, they're just bouncing off the walls. But I would love to know what piece of advice you guys would love to be able to hand back to your 10 year old selves that you think would help them later on in life.

I would go first, I would say trust the process for me or is a big one, you know, just you know, knowing that times could be tough. Obviously there's obviously hiccups and there's things that happen but, but trust the process. Have you know, be positive and be self aware and do the inner work. You know, maybe for a 10 year old self they might not understand that at first but once they get older they'll, it'll resonate with them a lot more. And the more they go through life, the more you'll realize how important it is. You know there's a lot of things until a 10 year old and you know, maybe not understand at first but, but once they get older and they start experiencing life, you'll ignore. For myself it started resonating a lot more as they were older, I got, I don't know what you have to think.

For me, it's never stop learning. There's still so much you need to learn. If you think you're good at something, there's someone out there that's better you at it. So there's always something to learn from someone. And more importantly, there's always something to learn what not to do as well. Which sometimes is even a more important lesson to learn, learn.

So that's a really good one too. Never stop learning.

Never stop learning. That's really important till this day. Like I might be good at cooking, but being an entrepreneur, definitely not. It's good and it's a process. Like you said, trust the process. Just keep learning, keep pushing forward. Have, be confident in yourself, have faith in yourself and stand by what you, what you, what you do.

So yeah, stand by what you do.

Stand on business as they say. Guys, I'm going to jump off stage here. I want you to talk to my audience, let them know if they're in the Montreal area or if they're looking for information on how to start cooking better for their dogs, doing human grade food for their pets. I'm going to jump off stage, let them know where they can find you, follow you and stay connected with you guys. The floor is yours.

Perfect. Hello everyone. So if you're looking for just some advice to make little tips, learn little tips, make a difference in your, in your daughter's life, you could check us out on instagram @it's canonbehash. Or you could go on our website at www.canbe.com. if you're in the Montreal area, you could give us a follow and look out for our two seminars that we were looking to do in the new year. So in these seminars we're going to touch topics such as tips and tricks on how to make small changes for your food, for your dog's food, how to have a proper breakdown of what they should be eating, the percentages and everything. We'll give you recipes, we'll talk about different types of nutrition, talk about even as far as more in depth of specific treats and so on and so forth. So I would highly recommend checking out those seminars.

I know will be just full of information so you could, we'll post, be.

Posting on our website on our social media as well. My brother mentioned Instagram as Facebook as well. You could find us, just keep an eye out for when we're going to be posting our, our dates for our seminars and you know, feel free to Always message us if you have any questions, any concerns, or you just want to chat and learn a bit about what we have to offer or anything you want to learn in general.

You could message us whenever and we'll be more than happy to help you as much as we can. And if I can leave you guys the one tip to help you just better, you can go and trace it just a little bit if you're feeding your dog kibble. Kibble talkers that you could make at home that are super simple, just, just sauteing some meat and just putting it on top, even other vegetables, just a little bit, sprinkle on top just to give them real whole food nutrients makes a world of a difference. Another fan favorite I have is bone broth. Put bone broth in their food, help moisten their kibble a little bit. Those are all amazing starting steps to making your dogs live and thrive a lot better. Thank you so much.

Thank you very much, guys.

Oh, Massimo, Marcelo, I can't thank you enough for being here. Just chatting with you guys and learning just, just that tip with the bone broth and sauteing some fresh meat or veggies to take the kibble to the next level and get them used to human grade food. I thank you so much for being here, guys and I was so glad that I have you guys on the podcast.

Thank you for having us. It's been a pleasure, honestly, getting to know you a bit. We like your podcast and what you're doing and how you're trying to teach everyone in different aspects. So we love that. We love that.

Thank you so much. Thank you guys to the audience. Make sure you check out the show notes down below to connect with both Massimo and Marcelo and their amazing dog company. If you are in the Montreal area or if you want to take your food for your pet to the next level, they're more than happy to help you there with the in the show notes, the links for everything and of course the link will be for the seminars as well so you guys can purchase those tickets or end up there. I want to thank you all for listening. Thank you guys to the twins for being on the podcast and sharing their story. And as always, remember to invest in yourself.

Thanks for joining us on Invest in Yourself, the digital entrepreneur podcast. The podcast mogul reminds you that your journey to freedom and success starts with one powerful move. Investing in yourself. If today's episode sparked your fire, hit that follow button on Spotify and drop us a comment. Share your wins, your challenges and what drives you to boy break free from the corporate grind. Remember, you're your best investment. Always invest in yourself because your potential is limitless. Until next time, keep hustling and take control of your destiny.