Building Slow, Clean, and Protecting Your Energy | Val Fishbain, Spread the Love Foods Co-Founder

In this episode of Executive Athlete, I sit down with Val Fishbain, co-founder and president of Spread the Love Foods, the family-owned, certified women and minority-owned clean food brand she started with her husband Zach after 8 years as an LA County social worker. What began as homemade peanut butter at their own wedding in 2013 is now on shelves at Whole Foods, Walmart, and Amazon, with an expanding presence in sports nutrition. We talk about managing energy like caseloads, why slow growth is a deliberate choice, the compartmentalization skills she carried from social work into entrepreneurship, how she protects her mornings and her marriage on purpose, and the rule she lives by: if it doesn't scream yes, say no. Timestamps: 00:04:11 What eight years as a social worker taught Val about leadership 00:06:08 Growing up in the Philippines and arriving in America at 14 00:07:20 Making homemade peanut butter as wedding favors and starting the company 00:15:53 Val’s slow morning routine and how she protects it 00:19:08 Working with professional sports teams and their dietitians 00:22:59 Using a visual compartmentalization tool from social work to manage energy 00:35:06 Choosing to stay slow and steady instead of scaling fast and selling out 00:42:42 The early lawsuit that nearly ended the company and what it built in them Connect with Val Fishbain: LinkedIn:   / valeriefishbain   Val Fishbain is the co-founder and president of Spread the Love Foods. She grew up in the Philippines, came to America at 14, and spent 8 years as an LA County social worker before she and her husband Zach started making peanut butter from scratch in their kitchen. The company is now a certified women and minority-owned brand on shelves at Whole Foods, Walmart, and Amazon, with a growing sports nutrition presence alongside professional teams. Val runs the business the same way she runs her life: slow, intentional, and only yes to the things that scream yes. Connect with Nicole: Stay connected with Nicole Ward for more insights on leadership, sales excellence, and the intersection of health and performance. Connect on LinkedIn:   / nicoleward111   Listen on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/5c0mQ7H... Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...