What if the thing that keeps your business alive isn’t a perfect plan but your ability to pivot, stay curious, and take risks along the way? Zoya Biglary, the founder of Fysh Foods, didn’t set out to become the internet’s fruit peeler but when her savings started to run out and her product needed a lifeline, she turned to the one thing she always relied on: the drive to figure it out.

Host Andrea Marquez dives into how Zoya created a sustainable raw fish alternative from her home kitchen, used content creation to keep the business alive, and navigated major shipping and product setbacks. If you’ve ever felt like you had to “know more” before starting, this episode will help you rethink what qualifies you to begin.

Got a bold leap of your own? Share it with us in an Apple Podcasts review, Spotify comment, or email us at thisissmallbusiness@amazon.com – you might hear it in a future episode.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

(01:54) What drives a founder to start a business from scratch? Zoya shares how her early exposure to social entrepreneurship shaped her path and led her to start Fysh Foods.

(07:58) How do you develop a food product with no background? Zoya breaks down how she co-developed her early formulas and landed in Erewhon.

(12:58) How do you fund a business when money runs out? Discover how Zoya went viral on TikTok and turned content into capital.

(19:00) Dreamed of getting on Shark Tank to grow your business? Zoya got there but still made $0 profit. She explains what went wrong and what she learned.

(22:25) What do you do when your product doesn’t scale? Zoya walks through her shift from DTC to wholesale, how she re-engineered her product to cut costs and expand, and the costly lessons along the way.

(29:12) Feeling stuck as a founder? Zoya shares how staying curious, even when things felt impossible, kept her moving through fear and uncertainty.