Description

Sam Ratto is the founder of Videri Chocolate Factory in Raleigh, NC, and recently started Golf Golf Golf, an indoor golf simulator business. In this episode, Sam shares his winding path from surfing & skateboarding culture, launching a bean-to-bar chocolate company, and building a new hospitality venture around his love of golf. He talks about the realities of small business finance, lessons learned from failures, and how he balances entrepreneurial risk with personal stability. One key takeaway: The creative path to entrepreneurship isn’t linear—financial discipline and resilience help make bold risks possible.

Sam's question for me: what is going to happen with tariffs in the next 12 months?

Key takeaways:

1. Sam reflects on his unusual career path—from surfer & skateboarding industry work, to marketing & touring, and eventually to chocolate making.
2. He highlights lessons from running a business: the importance of self-motivation, honesty with oneself and employees, and the heavy mental load of constant financial stress.
3. Sam shares how he learned disciplined personal money habits from his fiancé, including paying off credit card debt and adopting cost-cutting practices like packing a lunch.
4. Golf Golf Golf emerged from his love of golf and recognition that indoor simulators offered a hospitality-driven, lower-overhead business in a growing market.
5. He connects golf to entrepreneurship, noting both require persistence, resilience, and the ability to face setbacks with optimism (and a lesson from his grandmother).

Links
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Videri Chocolate Factory – Sam’s chocolate business in Raleigh, NC

Golf Golf Golf – His indoor golf simulator business

Simon Sinek Podcast – Referenced for entrepreneurship insights

Mark Twain: A Life by Ron Chernow – Biography Sam mentioned listening to

Tree Farm Golf Club – South Carolina golf course he cited as a model of hospitality