Failure is Never an Option: Interview with John Catsimatidis, CEO of Red Apple Group

I recently went one-on-one with John Catsimatidis, owner, president, chairman, and CEO of Red Apple Group, and author of How Far Do You Want to Go: Lessons from a Common-Sense Billionaire.

Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?

John: I was a poor kid and began working at 14 years of age making keys and mixing paint in a hardware store for .90 cents an hour.  At that time, I wanted to take driving lessons, but they were $28.00 an hour, an impossible fee - that was my wake-up call:  find a way to meet my financial obligations and still have something left over to spend. 

I continued working in a small grocery store to pay for my NYU tuition. However, I completed four years of college 6 credits short when I got an offer to buy that store.  I worked tirelessly until the store started making real money. 

At that point, my eggman, Aaron Goldberg, told me about an empty store down the block on 87th Street.  I bought it and it became the first Red Apple. Thankful for my success, I wanted a name as American as good old American pie.  I continued to work day and night for the next five years until I had 10 stores and woke up one morning to find I had become a millionaire at the age of 25.  

To me failure was never an option.  I knew that I was responsible for my own future and my own destiny. I seized the opportunity to grow and to learn.  Success breeds success and confidence, and with every successful venture, I became more willing to seek other challenges in different fields and industries. 

Adam: How did you come up with your business ideas and know they were worth pursuing? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with and test business ideas?

John: I come up with business ideas by meeting with people, exchanging ideas and opinions with them, and I continue to nurture my willingness to read and learn.  I also study what makes others successful and why they fail.  Also, I have learned to trust my instincts.  Overwhelmingly, I have been successful, so my advice is:  Learn, grow, and have the courage to take risks.

Adam: In your experience, what are the keys to growing and scaling a business?

John: Always be looking for the next opportunity.  Build relationships - seek allies in unexpected places, and dream up mutually beneficial ideas. And remember to treat customers, suppliers, and business associates with respect and gratitude; get to know them better than they know themselves. 

Make sure you have proper management and a proper financial structure, so that you can move on secure in the fact that you have left your original business managed properly.

Adam: What do you believe are the defining qualities of an effective leader?

John: Hire the best people and give them the opportunity to grow.  Listen to people who challenge your views. Patience and common sense.

Adam: How can leaders and aspiring leaders take their leadership skills to the next level?

John: Make friends and allies and read deeply about the world and the business you are interested in.

Adam: What are your three best tips applicable to entrepreneurs, executives, and civic leaders?

John: Time is the most precious commodity we have so use it purposely. Help others at every opportunity; it benefits you as much as them. Always be looking for the next opportunity.

Adam: What is your best advice on building, leading, and managing teams?

John: Hire people who know more than you do, and inspire them to do their jobs. Mentors are hugely valuable, but take only the best from each of them. Failure is not an option – ever! Help others at every opportunity. You’ll benefit as much as they do.

Adam: What are your best tips on the topics of sales, marketing, and branding?

John: Know your products, your customers, and your vendors better than they know themselves, and treat them like family.

Adam: What is the single best piece of advice you have ever received?

John: My mother said to me, “When you’re in the middle of the dance floor, keep dancing.” Thanks, mom.

Adam: Is there anything else you would like to share?

John: Life is a journey. It truly keeps going. Stay engaged. And never forget what my father said to me: “Blink - and ten years go by.”


Adam Mendler is an entrepreneur, writer, speaker, educator, and nationally-recognized authority on leadership. Adam is the creator and host of the business and leadership podcast Thirty Minute Mentors, where he goes one on one with America's most successful people - Fortune 500 CEOs, founders of household name companies, Hall of Fame and Olympic gold medal-winning athletes, political and military leaders - for intimate half-hour conversations each week. A top leadership speaker, Adam draws upon his insights building and leading businesses and interviewing hundreds of America's top leaders as a top keynote speaker to businesses, universities, and non-profit organizations. Adam has written extensively on leadership and related topics, having authored over 70 articles published in major media outlets including Forbes, Inc. and HuffPost, and has conducted more than 500 one on one interviews with America’s top leaders through his collective media projects. Adam teaches graduate-level courses on leadership at UCLA and is an advisor to numerous companies and leaders. A Los Angeles native, Adam is a lifelong Angels fan and an avid backgammon player.

Follow Adam on Instagram and Twitter at @adammendler and on LinkedIn and listen and subscribe to Thirty Minute Mentors on your favorite podcasting app.