Paul Lagudi, a former professional Rugby Player turned entrepreneur, is the founder and president of the multi-million dollar Lagudi Fresh Food Group based in Las Vegas. He started his Produce company with just $30,000 and grew it into a million-dollar success within three years. Paul is a published author, having contributed to the book “Breaking Through” alongside 20 other successful entrepreneurs, sharing their insights on achieving breakthrough success.
Join us in this episode as we sit down with Paul and hear about his journey from athlete to business leader. Paul opens up about his failures, the valuable lessons he learned, and how his sports background still plays a big role in his leadership style. He shares his expertise in managing a thriving international business and having the right culture in hiring and retaining great employees. In this candid conversation, Paul reveals the key to staying motivated and avoiding complacency despite business success.
With Paul’s practical wisdom and relatable experiences, this episode is a must-listen for aspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders.
Why you have to check out today’s episode
- Learn about Paul’s unique approach to managing his team as a former Sports Player & how you can leverage it in your own business.
- Hear about Paul’s practical wisdom on mentorship, failure, motivation & the proper culture to acquire & retain good employees.
- Discover the secret to winning any game and staying on top of the competition
“You’re gonna be willing to say no, no to some winning moves because it may affect everything else. Know when to push it & know when to cut it.”– Paul Lagudi
Topics Covered:
00:40 Paul’s business approach to managing his team as a former sports player
01:32 How did Paul transition from being a Rugby Professional to building a Food
manufacturing company?
04:01 Paul’s insight on getting a mentor
05:00 The story of how he lost 10 grand in his first week in the business
06:22 Why Paul decided to start his business in Las Vegas
07:27 The difference between handling the Produce business in Australia versus the US
10:14 Advice to people who are looking to start an International business
11:34 Why failure is Paul’s biggest mentor
12:24 Paul shares his biggest leadership failures, learnings & advice
14:23 The secret to winning any game
15:13 Two reasons Paul sees his business expanding and succeeding in five years
16:40 Paul’s advice in hiring & retaining great people in this team
19:23 Short advice to self if Paul would be starting all over again
19:41 The remedy for staving off complacency as a successful leader
21:43 Paul’s business approach to staying hungry
Key Takeaways
“If you’re lean, mean & hungry, anything can happen”
“You have to give the sense of confidence that you know what you’re talking about, but be humble enough that people would want to help you.”
“Older people love to mentor a younger person—it’s good for the soul. If you have that connection, that’s the magic.”
“Sometimes you just gotta be willing to put yourself out there & be willing to fail. Fail your way to success.”
“Follow the money trail. Not everything you’re gonna do is gonna make you money or make you succeed or win. Know when to push it & when to cut it.”
“I never sell a product, I just make friends because I’m a believer that friends love to deal with friends and you work harder for a friend because you don’t wanna let ’em down.”
“Anyone who’s successful, in whatever walk of life, will tell you they’re one millimeter from losing it all. So it’s a tie rope. You’re never too big to fail.”
People/Resources Mentioned
- Lagudi Fresh Food Group: https://www.lagudis.com/
- Breaking Through: The World’s Leading Entrepreneurs and Professionals Share Their Insights for Achieving Breakthrough Success! https://www.amazon.com/Breaking-Through-Mikkel-Pitzner/dp/0991214331
Connect with Paul Lagudi
- Email:plagudi@lagudis.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lagudi-fresh-food-group/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lagudi_ffg/
Connect with Dr. Katrina Burrus
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katrinaburrus/
- Website: https://mkbconseil.ch/contact/
Full Interview Transcript
(Note: This transcript was created with an AI transcription service. Please forgive any transcription or grammatical errors. We probably sounded better in real life.)
Welcome to the Excellent International Leadership podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Katrina Burrus, and today we have deep pleasure to interview Paul Lagudi. Paul, welcome.
Paul Lagudi
Katrina, my pleasure to be here with you today.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
So you’re this, you’re the CEO of Lagudi fresh food group which manufactures food, and you serve most of Las Vegas hotels, is that right?
Paul Lagudi
That’s, that’s our business.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
That’s your business,
Paul Lagudi
The kitchen to the hotels.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
The kitchen to the hotels, and I’ve tried a few of those. Oh, my God, is it good.
So I wanted to ask you, how did your Australian and you started as a rugby player? So tell us a little bit about your leadership journey?
Paul Lagudi
Well, you know, for me, sport was a big part of my leadership. You mentioned rugby, it was a big part of my life, and through the years, I was a captain, and most times most years, and the way I run my business is very much similar to a sports team. In my case, a football team. It’s all about motivating people, identifying good leaders, who can train good people to do the best they can and best performance, and my job is really to keep people motivated and focused to hit the highest highest levels we can for our customers.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Right, right. But there’s a big gap between being a hotel, a rugby professional, and then coming to the US and starting a food manufacturing company. Tell us a bit about that journey.
Paul Lagudi
Well, for me, it was quite interesting. I like to think for me, I had the gift of cancer. You know, I got cancer in 1999, malignant cancer, and loss my left kidney, so life became very precious,and when I had a second chance, I always want to live in America and I like to Las Vegas, but of all places. So I moved to Las Vegas, and and then I started my business on $30,000. I graduate high school, you know, it came from the school of hard knocks and, and sport was a big thing for me,and I was in a family business that was my father was a great leader and was told me a lot. and so I started my business on $30,000. True story, I walked in the Circus Circus, in a want to sell whole produce, you know, cases of tomatoes and lettuce, and the chef said to me, can you slice it, dice it? Shred it? I didn’t have a clue what he was talking about
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Haha
Paul Lagudi
Absolutely. He says, Well, what do we need to do? So just show me how to do it and he did and that was the beginning for us and it just got to show me that you know, if you’re willing, and I like to use the words lean mean and hungry, anything can happen.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
But he did have confidence in you because he didn’t know you, and you probably didn’t even know how to do it. So he showed you and had that confidence.
Paul Lagudi
He totally did. It might have been my accent at the time, everyone seemed to like my accent from Australia. So I think they might have opted it. But you know, in all the true sense. When I approached him, I came from a place of confidence. You know, one thing I noticed most people want to help other people,but they want you to be successful. So you have to give the sense of confidence that you know what you’re talking about, but humble enough that they want to help you.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Oh, so tell us a little bit more of how you managed is that fine line of giving
Paul Lagudi
Very, very true. I think that’s a big thing in business,and I think young people really need to understand that when most people in their art, or older people love to mentor, a younger person. It’s good for the soul. So if you can tap into those intangibles with somebody and have that connection, but also had the maturity of knowing your product. So therefore they’ve got the confidence that you can do the job, but also feel that they can guide you and be a part of your journey, that’s the magic,that’s what makes it happen.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Right. So really, that’s a good thing. It’s good for the soul to help others.
Paul Lagudi
Thank you very much
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Oh, so you had some confidence because I mean, you were helping your father that was also in the food manufacturing company in Australia. Is that correct?
Paul Lagudi
That is correct. That is correct. I grew up from the school of hard knocks, and went work with my father in the wholesale markets and that’s the wholesale produce markets in Australia.Ever since a little fell out through holidays and school holidays, and, and then going in there full time and so I had some experience in produce, but I didn’t have experiencing cut produce, and it’s very different because when you get to cut produce, you’re given a finished product. When we serve whole produce, you’re given a raw material. So, I was actually stepping on the other side of that industry now that was new to me,and I caught on pretty quick,but I will say it was a bit daunting, because you start instead of selling a box of tomatoes for $9, for example, you’re going to figure out the yields and the loss and the and, and the workable yield product. It’s again of cents.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
So what help you out with that? Was it your prior experience, or it’s a trial and error?
Paul Lagudi
It was trial and error. My first week in business, I lost $10,000.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
oh
Paul Lagudi
So you’ll learn pretty quick when you take a hit of a 10 grand and the first week.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yes.
Paul Lagudi
I was last time I lost money.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yeah, but you were very attentive, you came to Las Vegas, why Las Vegas.
Paul Lagudi
You know, I had one friend in Las Vegas that I was pretty intrigued with, who was actually one of the original owners of Caesars Palace had a very small piece of it his name was Dean Chandelle,and he ended up being the godfather to my daughter, and my son’s name today, you know, he had a very big impact on me. I was very, it was more of an old timer in Vegas, on the colorful years of what Vegas was built on, and I was very intrigued and I saw opportunity in Las Vegas, it was still one of those places in beginning of 2000, that you could come here and earn a great living and be able to buy an affordable house, and indeed it was compared to Australia, for example. Today, it’s a lot more expensive here compared to Australia, it’s still very cheap. So, you know, so I assume it was a place on the go and probably live a life that I really would enjoy choose to live.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
So this is an international leadership podcast. So I’d be very curious to know, how did you manage the food manufacturing business in Australia compared to here,in the US? You mentioned a price difference already.
Paul Lagudi
Yes. Well, I’ll tell you what’s very different not a whole lot of differences. I mean, you’re still trading and dealing with people, right? In Australia, it’s very close to Asia. So we did a lot of business with Asia, in China and Taiwan. America is more of a secondary source for Asia, because we’re so far away. Although at certain times of the year, Australia may not have the product in America does. So they would send product from here that’s in the produce world. I’ve found tonight the world is very small. You know, I’m one of the biggest importers of plant based shrimp from Taiwan and I supply people on we have people in Dubai and and even as far as Eastern Europe have contacted us for product and that product there. I’m also distribute, what didn’t really distribute, I’m more of an importer and sell to distributors. So that just gives you an idea of, of the magnitude of international were really it’s no different. To be honest, it’s just a company I was gonna say currencies are different, but not really everybody was doing American dollars, doesn’t matter where you are. Everybody wants to deal in American dollars.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Really. So the cultural aspect, the difference in a way of doing business is not that big an impediment.
Paul Lagudi
Well, you know what the culture of individuals is very different for you and I was just explaining this to my son the other day that because we import bananas from Ecuador, and we supply big retailers in Florida and I’m based on the East Coast. I’m based in Las Vegas, right, but there’s also customers in Germany. Who one thing I’ll say with people that we’ve dealt with in Germany, they’re spot on all the time. They’re very they take a lot of pride in being correct in what they say. I can deal with other parts of your that honors, prideful in being correct in what they say. So it’s kind my interest in how you got all different cultures have different personas,but at the end of the day, we’re all buying a product and selling a product.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Okay,
Paul Lagudi
Is the universal language of the items that we were dealing.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yes. So if someone were coming new to the international business, as a leader, what advice would you give him or her?
Paul Lagudi
I would say, first of all, be understanding to people’s cultures and where they’re from and try and understand what that country or culture eat, especially in the food industry, right? We’re talking food industry, what they eat, because there’s, there’s certain, like, for example, plantains are very popular in certain countries, but especially Latin American countries not as much in, for example, America, except in the Latin community areas. So understanding, and that’s just one example. Understanding what people eat, will give you more understanding of what to supply.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
And to back for what you said, I, when I interviewed the past CEO, and chairman of Nestle, he would say, we have global products, but we adapted to the cultural food preferences, according to where we
Paul Lagudi
100% a great way to put it that’s exactly correct.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
So, that’s one of the issues. So,so who were your mentors in this process? You mentioned one, when you came to Las Vegas, you mentioned your father was there anybody else in the process that helped you out? that you learned from?
Paul Lagudi
To be quite honest with you, they were the people that I learned from. Sometimes you just got to do it and you get experiences by doing it, and going through the process. I found you learn from mistakes and being willing to have a go at something, sometimes you just got to be willing to, to put yourself out there and be willing to fail fail your way to success.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
So what biggest leadership failures have you had and what helped to get over?
Paul Lagudi
Well, I would say some of the, we’ve tried some different items that we’ve invested money in different food products that we bought, maybe ago, and you know, I was importing some different pastries and different products from Europe, and cost me a lot of money. There was Fredo was COVID, there was a lot of different issues,and what really helped me get over it was by cutting my loss, catch a loss and let your profits run near to the whole stock market, saying but it’s very true. Follow the money trail, not everything you’re going to do is going to make you money or make you succeed or win,but you got to be willing to know when to cut it. You’ve been know when to push it in, and sometimes things don’t work out at first. You’ve got to assess is worth the long run,and if it isn’t you don’t I like to diversify in different items in what I do because nine times out of 10 I’m going to get five out of 10 that are going to win.
Dr. Katrina Burrus 13:38
I see
Paul Lagudi
5 dogs that don’t, it’s okay.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yeah, I see because you seem very determined person coming out from Australia to the US was 30,000,and having a 10,000 you know, loss at one point that that’s very difficult. So ,you’re determined, and at the same time, you’re ready to cut your loss. So ,when do you do what? So, but you said it in some degrees that you accept to, to use constantly experimenting,and if you have one or two things that don’t go wrong, and just cut your losses that it’s or
Paul Lagudi
Am gonna tell you this. You better be resilient, you better be persistent be resilient, you got to be persistent. The secret to winning is whoever lost the longest wins. Just stay in the game. Whatever you do, you get to stay in the game and be flexible enough to be able to pivot into something a little different to maybe what you set out to do you know and what that may be you may be in a certain industry that you might want to a master a certain area and that may lead you to something else that you end up mastering where you initially went into is not to be so be very flexible, very open minded, but you’re gonna be resilient. It’s not easy. My,my, my saying is you’re allowed to get upset, you’re allowed to get down, you’re never allowed to quit, and get back up and keep going.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yes, and we can see from behind you and your screen, everything that’s happening. So you have quite a success developing your company. So,how do you see it evolve in the next five years?
Paul Lagudi
Our business in the next 12 months is going to quadruple in the next five years, it’s going to be tremendous,and and the reason that’s gonna happen is, first of all, we have a great culture within our team, you know, number one, like you can’t do without good people. You can’t do without good people giving them good incentive to win just like you. So, that’s number one, we have a great culture. Number two, we’re very open minded and looking at different projects, to what what fits our model, you got to be willing to say no, no to some, some winning moves, because it may affect everything else, you know, so you got to be aware of that, but I think that I’m very, very bullish and excited about the future, and where we’re going, and we keep making friends, you know, I never sell a product, I just make friends because I’m a believer, and friends love to deal with friends, and you work harder for a friend, you don’t want to let them down. So,
Dr. Katrina Burrus 16:34
Yeah.
Paul Lagudi
that’s, you know, that’s, that’s worked for us and worked for me, and I’m very excited about it.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
And you had also mentioned that you in given the situation today where it’s very hard to hire personnel, that you’ve been able to keep your personnel, very faithful and had no problem with that. So what’s your secret?
Paul Lagudi
The secret is, first of all, reward people accordingly. You know, if we go through hard times, your team goes through hard times, when you’re winning, your team’s got to win, we all move together as one,and everybody wants to be respected, appreciated, and rewarded well for the work they do,and very much try to do that,and more than that, everyone who works for us, we care about, we get involved with them, I get to know who they are as people, because as people we can’t perform every day, you know, we’re human,and I think that’s understanding where someone’s coming from. Next, I found that, especially in the last four months to be the human factor is very important. So, why especially in the last four months? Well, because the last four months, you know, we’ve had COVID, and we’ve had a lot of dramatic things happen in this world where it’s not just country world, that’s taken a lot of effect on people that I think they people have been very concerned,and, and down, and I think we have hope and excitement and purpose and the chairman have another event or a goal to work for is is very positive in a human’s life and you don’t have that. It’s very difficult.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
And for having visited your your company, I would say that one of the things that really struck me is that you give opportunities to people, when you see talent, you give them a lot of rein to be creative by themselves and to try new things, and that also to go back to the human desire to realize themselves, I think you’ve tapped into that.
Paul Lagudi
You’re 100% Correct, and I will say this, it’s exciting, and very rewarding to give someone an opportunity, who may not find it in many areas, because whatever may have been or may not been given that opportunity, they might not have had a different walk of life,and to give him someone an opportunity that really shine that’s pretty pretty rewarding. I will say that and they do a phenomenal job.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yes, for having seen it also. So if you have to start over what advice would you give yourself
Paul Lagudi
Be ready to be very resilient and never give up. Persist, persist, persist,
Dr. Katrina Burrus
okay, and now you have a very successful company. How do you make sure that somebody else doesn’t want to buy you out?
Paul Lagudi
At, at how do I say that one more time? I’m sorry.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
So how do you make sure to stay independent or is your
Paul Lagudi
Okay, and someone buy me out? Well, if they got the right dollar, they’ll buy me a bed, but but to be honest with you, we need to stay hungry. We need to always be climbing the mountain because when you’re on top of the mountain, you’re not as hungry and then the other guys who are your competitors, who want to climb that mountain together be more hungrier. So I think it’s very important to be humble, stay hungry and just be very thankful every day where you are and where you want to go to.
Dr. Katrina Burrus 20:31
So what’s the remedy for not being complacent? When you’re successful, like you are?
Paul Lagudi
Stay hungry
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Especially if coming from a food company.
Paul Lagudi
Exactly, exactly right. Anyone who’s successful, anybody, I don’t care who you tell me, whatever walk of life. They will tell you. They’re one millimeter of losing it all. So it’s a Thai word,and that means you have to stay focused and you have to always because anyone who’s complacent think about it any country, any country, any leaders in the world that have ever got complacent. The Roman Empire got complacent at one point in time in history, and look what happened there. So, anyone who gets complacent can fall, you’re never too big to fail and I think if you have the, the attitude of I’m a student of the game, and constantly learning, and constantly appreciative, and constantly striving, we will have that not to be repetitive, but to stay hungry attitude, you know.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
My last question will be how do you stay motivated, hungry and excited about your business?
Paul Lagudi
Well, I’ll tell you now. I’m in business with my son, which is exciting more, even more so than that. It’s exciting to see such a young team I have excited for the future, and building for the future that keeps me very motivated, very hungry, and I get excited with their motivation and dreams. So, I’m very inspired by my my own team, and that’s pretty cool. You know, probably wouldn’t have fought that, and I totally.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Yes, well, okay.Yeah, I appreciate it. So it’s nice to have family be involved in your business. Very much, though. Extra purpose. Extra reason. Right? Yeah.
Paul Lagudi
Totally it totally and and I gotta tell a lot of your staff members that you give opportunity to become part of your family, you know, you around them as much as your family. So, it’s the human connection still pretty cool.
Dr. Katrina Burrus 22:57
Yes, it sounds like it’s something that has helped to keep your employees faithful and with you. Yeah.
Paul Lagudi
Absolutely.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Well, I want to thank you very much for taking the time in your busy schedule for this interview. Thank you very much, Paul.
Paul Lagudi
Thank you, Katrina. I really appreciate it and I look forward to seeing you again.
Dr. Katrina Burrus
Okay, take care.
Paul Lagudi
Take care, that’s it.
