What if the meal you grew up with is what gets you through the hardest parts of building a company?
In this episode of Founders Fridge, host Heidi Knoblauch talks with Sumorwuo Zaza, co-founder of Nickel Pass, about how childhood meals, family rituals, and Liberian food traditions shaped his journey as a founder.
Zaza grew up in a household where “food is medicine.” Meals weren’t just about eating—they were preparation for the day, the work, and the future. From big bowls of rice and stew to Friday night burgers and once-in-a-while celebration pizza, every dish carried purpose.
Now, as he leads Nickel Pass—a B2B software platform that gives professionals single sign-on access to hundreds of premium news and data sources—Zaza still leans on those lessons. When things are going well, he celebrates with a burger. When things are tough, he returns to the basics: rice, greens, and focus.
This episode is about how food connects who we are to how we build—and how early rituals can carry founders through the hardest seasons of entrepreneurship.
🎧 Listen to learn:
How Nickel Pass evolved from a blockchain micropayments idea to a patented SaaS platform
Why Zaza believes food and leadership are deeply linked
The story behind “food is medicine” and how it shaped his approach to building
What’s actually in his fridge today
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