Wetzel’s Pretzels and Blaze Pizza share a key component: the same trail-blazing co-founder who scaled these companies to generate a combined total of $700 million in annual revenue. Crowding into Poly 209 on Thursday, Feb. 13, students and faculty listened intently to Rick Wetzel, hosted by the Entrepreneurship Club, as he shared his reflections from his entrepreneurial journey.

Wetzel studied marketing at the University of Tulsa before earning his MBA from the University of Southern California. Before creating his own startup, Wetzel worked many different jobs, including being the brand manager at Nestlé where he met his future business partner, Bill Phelps. During his visit to Poly, Wetzel discussed a wide range of topics from designing business models to dealing with competitors. The Entrepreneurship Club was founded by sophomore Cavon Hajimiri, who now leads the club alongside sophomore Arjun Dhadwal, Vice President.

“The focus of the talk was for our club members to see the amount of effort and time put into startups and receive high-level advice from a certified entrepreneur,” shared Haijimiri.

After the event, students who attended felt moved by the advice they received and learned about the realities of embarking on entrepreneurial ventures. Freshman Clive Chao said, “There were many great pieces of advice, but two of them resonated with me: First, you have to take risks in order to scale up, but it cannot be something that could be fatal to the company. Secondly, you should dedicate yourself to one business and do it extremely well.”

“I always thought making a business model happened ‘as you go’ or on the fly. I found it interesting how each of his businesses built on one another and how it gave him more credibility to get more funding and make larger businesses,” shared senior Theodore Kratter.