Meet Peter Greco | Owner/Founder of Pete’s Kombucha

We had the good fortune of connecting with Peter Greco and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Peter, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
My first thought was that I just wanted to try something different. Not necessarily product wise but life wise. I knew, even before the first time I brewed kombucha at all, that I didn’t want to be an employee under anyone. I have heard and experienced too many stories of crappy bosses power tripping, not liking me for not being a robot of an employee basically, etc. Also, many jobs I’ve had were either boring or way underpaid. I like being my own boss. I knew before starting that I would be failing, tripping and messing up a ton but in all of it a would learn a ton and be successful if I kept to it. I knew I would enjoy the mental challenge of it all. It’s similar to putting a puzzle together but each puzzle piece you either have to make yourself so it’ll fit or you have to go find it.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.

My work and my career? Let’s see. Well I’ve had a few jobs while I’ve been working on the Pete’s Kombucha. I worked as a retail associate, beertender, product design intern, photographer, Track & Field Coach and then a warehouse associate. Through the warehouse associate position I ended up getting paid to do more work but as a videographer, and backpack repair tailor for that company. I am still doing that right now and I am enjoying the skills I’m building from it.  Each job I have learned something different from that has helped me with my company. Sales, face to face marketing, upselling, collaboration, visual aesthetic and definitely patience to name a few.

What sets me apart? I am a Juggernaut. About 7-8 years ago I was studying with a very close buddy of mine, Hayden Murphy, for a calculus test and he told me something along the lines of, “Peter, you are one of the few, if not the most persistent person I have met. You don’t not stop. You just keep going.” He was talking about my 6+ hour long study sessions in a sense of “are you mental?”. We would call each other Juggernauts. During my second semester of junior year of college I averaged 4 hours of sleep per night according to my sleep tracker and I was on the track team too. In a nutshell I keep going and people know this about me. Stopping isn’t a thing. I will say I am much more healthy about how I go about my work now but in all honesty I’m pretty sure I was just really bad at calculus and I didn’t want to fail again. Losing sleep like I was is not a flex but it definitely showed my drive.

Most proud of? This is hard. I’m not sure. I’m proud that I want to do a lot of things in my life but I don’t know if that is what I’m most proud of. I am pursuing something I am passionate about rather than settling for a job just because it pays well. I am very proud of that.

How did I get to where I am today professionally and was it easy? I knew what I wanted, I knew who could help me and if I didn’t know someone I knew how to network well enough to find the right people to help me. I did work hard but I was also willing to take feedback both negative and positive. Failing and getting back up was already something I was used to. School was very rarely easy for me. I am not a guru by any means for what I do but I at least know what I’m getting myself into work ethic wise.

Overcoming challenges: Ask someone who is better at it than you. Build your network enough so you always know someone that knows how to do what you do not.

Lessons I’ve learned along the way: Giving away free Kombucha has given back to me a lot of priceless and unexpected knowledge and help. You give what you get is a damn true saying.

What do I want the world to know about me or my brand and story?
Myself: I love meeting new people
My brand and story: Your health is your number one priority in life

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?

If my best friend was visiting the area for a week this would be the itinerary. I love all of these places.

Monday:
Brunch at The French Press in Belmar: The Deluxe Burrito is so good.
Red Rocks if he cares to check that out.
5280 Burger Bar for Dinner.
Mountain Toad Brewery in the evening: I love their Kombucha.

Tuesday:
Bonfire Burritos for Breakfast
Emerald Lake Hike: Bring our cameras for sure
Taste of China for Dinner
Renegade Brewing Company in the evening: I love their Brown Ale.

Wednesday:
Brunch at Bacon Social House
Street Photography around Denver
Milk Market/Dairy Block
Comedy Works
Voodoo Donuts: They have Vegan donuts that actually taste good.

Thursday:
Santiagos for breakfast burritos for the trip to the mountain.
Snowboarding
Hang out at the Pool and Hot tub at X Denver

Friday:
The Woods restaurant in RINO
Check out the stores and art in RINO District
Bamboo Sushi or Red Ginger Sushi
Happy Camper Bar

Saturday:
Brunch at the Jelly Cafe
Rock Climbing pretty much anywhere
Check out Lookout Mountain for the view
Charlies Bar in the evening

Sunday:
Drive to Breckenridge and stop by the towns along the way

There is more I would do each day but this as is would be such a good time.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Oh definitely. I dedicate my shout out to Denver Startup Week, the insane amount of networking one can do during that event is jaw dropping. Through that week I acquired 5 mentors and met several other vendors for farmers markets. I also ended up getting a job through one of the people I met during the event. Denver Startup Week is definitely worth your time if you need to network for a job, form a team for a company and/or learn how to do it right. My sister Hallie as well. She will help me with brewing all the time and she has been helping me since the beginning. Finally, I dedicate my shout out to my other sister Tess who introduced me to brewing Kombucha. See full story at http://voyagedenver.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-peter-greco/

Website: petergrecodesign.com

Instagram: Instragram.com/freshgrec

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-greco-770670109

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/25peterg

Other: peteskombucha.com coming soon

Image Credits
Peter Greco