Ed Currie
PuckerButt Pepper Company
Fort Mill, SC USA
"You’re allowed to make mistakes and you’re allowed to learn from those mistakes and go forward."
Career Roadmap
Ed's work combines: Food, Entrepreneurship, and Accomplishing Goals
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Day In The Life
Skills &
Education
Advice for getting started
When I left my bank job to go all in with my pepper company, I listened to my gut and heart instead of the doubt in my head. My father constantly told me to stop messing around with peppers and go back to my bank job. He was afraid I wouldn't be able to support my family. I thanked him for his input but tried to avoid his criticism as much as possible. If you know what you're doing is right by following your gut and heart, then that doubt actually gives you the opportunity to practice faith.
Here's the path I took:
High School
Bachelor's Degree
Central Michigan University
Life & Career Milestones
I've taken a lot of twists and turns
1.
I struggled with addiction from a young age—my parents warned me that I could die of heart disease or cancer and that I should do something about it if I wanted to continue with my lifestyle.
2.
I began researching healthy lifestyles and discovered that peppers were incredibly beneficial for our health.
3.
Realizing that peppers wouldn’t make me money, I graduated from college and started my career in the finance industry.
4.
I kept struggling with addiction for a long time but eventually went to rehab and got clean.
5.
I was still working in the finance industry but started working with peppers on the side.
6.
When I moved to South Carolina, I started growing peppers in my yard, creating salsa and hot sauce from those peppers, and selling them at farmers markets.
7.
I created PuckerButt Pepper Company, through which I created and sold pepper mash in bulk.
8.
I ultimately left the bank I worked for and put my all into my company—we struggled to stay afloat at first but eventually found success and even have a pepper recognized by Guinness World Records!
Defining Moments
How I responded to discouragement
THE NOISE
Messages from Parents:
Stop messing around with that pepper nonsense, get back to the bank, and take care of your family.
How I responded:
When I left my bank job to go all in with my pepper company, I listened to my gut and heart instead of the doubt in my head. My father constantly told me to stop messing around with peppers and go back to my bank job. He was afraid I wouldn't be able to support my family. I thanked him for his input but tried to avoid his criticism as much as possible. If you know what you're doing is right by following your gut and heart, then that doubt actually gives you the opportunity to practice faith.
Experiences and challenges that shaped me
My struggle with addiction started at a young age and lasted for a long time. I eventually went to rehab and got clean. I'm now able to focus all of my effort on my business and my family.
I left my finance job to put my all into PuckerButt Pepper Company. We really struggled at first. I used up all of my money and wasn't sure how I'd continue to pay my employees. Fortunately, our hard work and persistence earned us success!