
151: From Dish Sink to Owner: Ryan Novak on Building Chocolate Pizza Company
Ryan Novak started washing dishes at his hometown chocolate shop in Marcellus when he was just fifteen. Six years later, while still a student at Syracuse University's Whitman School of Management, he became the owner. Since 2010, Ryan has grown Chocolate Pizza Company into a nationally recognized gourmet chocolate brand that ships across the country and around the world, with features on ABC World News Tonight with David Muir, Food Network, Hallmark Channel, CNBC, and Forbes. In this conversation, we talk about what it really took to buy a business at twenty-one, how you take a small-town brand to a national stage, what happens the day after you're featured on network television, and the ideas behind his first book, Inner Armor: Why Passion, Resilience, and Character Shape Entrepreneurs and the Brands They Lead, launching October 14th. This episode is presented by Mooney Marketing Group. MMG is a full-service advertising agency right here in Syracuse, and they're the marketing and PR partner behind Chocolate Pizza Company. They work with law firms, car dealerships, healthcare providers, banking institutions, home services businesses, and more, executing campaigns across Central New York, the greater Upstate market, and nationally. Learn more at mooneymarketinggroup.com , or start the conversation with my friend Jake Etoll directly at jake@mooneymarketinggroup.com. Connect with Ryan and Chocolate Pizza Company: https://chocolatepizza.com/ Get Ryan’s book, Inner Armor Chocolate Pizza Company on Instagram: @chocolatepizzacompany Chocolate Pizza Company on Facebook: @chocolatepizzas Join us for Camp Collective, a weekend retreat for growth-minded women, November 13 to 15 at Vanderkamp. Use code CULTIVATE for $50 off your spot: https://luma.com/cny-k2uc Get your tickets to Cultivate Live on November 12 at Vanderkamp, an intimate evening featuring a keynote from Arel Moodie and a live podcast conversation with Jeff Knauss of Arcovo AI. Use code CULTIVATE25 for a special discount: https://luma.com/ebumpab6 📝 Follow Cultivate with Alex Canavan on Substack 🎥 Follow Cultivate with Alex Canavan on Instagram Apply to be a guest on Cultivate Connect with Alex Canavan, the host of Cultivate on her website , LinkedIn & Instagram This episode is brought to you by Diam Media Group





