Hey Jake!
My name is Jonathan cardenas
Three months ago, I moved to Maui for a job at The Maui News. The more research I did on Hawaii, the more intriguing stories I came across, from Max Holloway, the “Forbidden Island,” to why Maui is the windsurfing hub of the world. However, none have captured my imagination quite like your story and that of Maui Nui Venison. All it took was for my coworker Gary to tell me about the Axis Deer problem, and my curiosity took it from there. I ended up listening to over ten hours of your interviews (everything I could find). Jake, you have a lot of interesting things to say/mental models, chief among them being:
Free Pizza: The ability to ask any question — no matter how "dumb" it might seem — is a superpower. I kept thinking: imagine if you hadn’t asked the USDA about selling the meat you harvest. Or even earlier, if you hadn’t asked your Dutch teammates, “does this mean we get free pizza?”
Data Reigns Supreme: I am struck by how seriously you take data at Maui Nui. Harvesting without detailed tracking would be irresponsible — and you’ve built a system that combines field data, weather patterns, and machine learning to predict harvest sites. That’s incredible.
Nutritional Density: Your vision of food labels showing nutritional density is one I hope comes true. It’s clear that nutritional density really stems from the nutrition of place. Axis Deer on Haleakalā is a great wedge to have a bigger discussion on the quality of food we eat.
Fanatical Fans: In a world obsessed with scaling, it’s refreshing to hear your take — not every business needs to grow endlessly. You only want to attract people who really get it, and you do this through storytelling and through pricing that “you’re embarrassed to say out loud.”
Community: I’ve come to believe that a company either helps the community it serves or harms it. There’s no middle ground. Maui Nui clearly does good — not just through ecological balance, but through your response to moments like COVID and the Lahaina fire. Your Holo ʻAi and Kamaʻāina programs are so beneficial to the community (fingers crossed I can score a Kama’āina box to try Venison).
I have a million questions I’d love to ask—from volleyball and Rainbow Lake to ice cap surfing, lava cowboys, CPG, and investor expectations—but I’ll stick to just one today.
In your interviews, you recommend four books (three of which I’ve since read): The Ideal Team Player, Confessions of the Pricing Man, and Little Red Book of Selling. These books are right up my alley!!!
I’m 25, always learning, and doing my best to surround myself with people who push me to grow.
Being direct, you are sick Jake!
Would you be open to starting a book club with me—biweekly, monthly, even annually?