Story of Intrapreneurship, Montañez - Cheetos, Flamin Hot - Pepsico

10 Takeaways from Hot Flame - Pepsi Cheetos Story

Inspired on a true story, not all true, but great insights for business growth.

This movie is a fantastic portrayal of both entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship. Richard Montañez starts as a cleaner in the industry and grows into a visionary because of his connection to food production, specifically the Doritos production line within PepsiCo. His journey highlights several key points:

1. Always Give Your Best

• Richard Montañez always gave his best no matter what task he was given. As a cleaner, he approached his work with energy and motivation, consistently putting in his best effort every day.
• First to arrive, last to leave;
• Always heads up;
• Always motivated.

2. Open Mindset & Mentorship

• He maintained an open mindset, building a relationship with a machine engineer. By helping the engineer, he gained a mentor who taught him everything he needed to advance his career. Like when a challenge comes up, never give-up, always question yourself what is the next step, how you can solve the problem to go for the next step.
• Always asking questions;
• Always trying to understand more.

3. Family Support

• Montañez’s family played a crucial role. His wife was always supportive, believing in him, offering advice, and providing energy and encouragement, especially regarding their kids.
• Wife and Kids together;
• During weekends working together.

4. Growth & Visionary Mindset

• He had a growth mindset, always thinking about how he could grow, constantly looking at situations from a visionary perspective. He had a vision to innovate Cheetos souce for what could work as he present with the product and passionate about helping the industry and protecting jobs.
• Vision to find solutions;
• Vision to avoid loosing.

5. Sense of Ownership

• He had a strong sense of ownership. He took control of challenging situations, stepping up to lead and reversing difficult circumstances.
• When they launch the Hot Cheetos the sales were not good, because the market did not know the product. He took control and figure out how to distribute, when he got the idea to ask everybodies help to distribute the product.

6. Never Giving Up

• Montañez never gave up. Even when faced with challenges in proving his vision, he persevered. His mentor’s advice to always ask, "What is the next step?" helped him to keep progressing in difficult situations.
• Always in challengefull situations ask your mentors.

7. Resilience

• His resilience was remarkable. Despite many challenges throughout his career, his determination and connection to his family ensured his success.
• Look for today’s job, do your best TODAY;
• Don’t loose time thinking about tomorrow, live the present.

8. Spousal Support

• His wife played a significant role in his success, helping take care of the family and believing in him. Her trust and shared responsibilities were essential to his progress.
• His wife always believe, support and most important made him believe in himself.

9. Overcoming Negative Influences

• Montañez’s father had a fixed mindset and never believed in him. Realizing that his father’s negativity was holding him back, Montañez took control of his life, marking the start of his real growth.
• Sometimes we need to avoid the little noise on our head;
• We need to have courage to face our familly and disrup.

10. Solutions are Around Us

• The movie highlights how solutions are often right in front of us. Montañez’s idea of adding sauces to Doritos came from his connection to the Mexican community, and the lesson is to focus on what's around you rather than others’ situations.
• Look around you;
• Don’t look far, look close.

11. Market Share and new products

• The movie explains how we should visualize market share and recognize new potential for product launches. Since Montañez was deeply connected to the Mexican community, he understood how the product needed to be adapted to resonate with them—specifically, by incorporating hot sauce.
• In other words, when we are close to our customers and attuned to their behaviors—such as how they use our products and what they mix them with—we can gain valuable insights. This understanding enables us to identify new adaptations and develop innovative products that meet customer needs effectively.

12. The Ideas are on the floor

• Being present on the factory floor is crucial for gaining valuable insights into the product. As an executive, it’s essential to stay close to the production process. If you remain disconnected from the floor, you may miss critical details about what your product needs. Understanding the day-to-day operations and challenges faced by the production team allows executives to identify gaps and opportunities for improvement, ultimately leading to better product development.