The only downside being that it’s a rather old one, although I like to think that things like this can still happen in America.

The story concerns one Richard Montañez, who grew up in Cucamonga Valley, California, sharing a one-room cinderblock hut with 14 family members.

He dreaded school. Barely able to speak English, he’d cry to his mother as she was getting him ready for class.

In those classes, when asked, all the other students would eagerly shout out their dream job: Astronaut, Doctor, Racecar driver. Richard had nothing to say: “There was no dream where I came from.” Not surprisingly he dropped out of school in 4th grade and took odd jobs at farms and factories to help make ends meet.

Some years later, in 1976, a neighbor let him know of a job opening for a factory janitor at the Frito-Lay plant down the road. The $4/hour pay was more than he’d ever made.

As he was getting ready for his first day of work, his grandfather pulled him aside and said: “Make sure that floor shines. And let them know that a Montañez mopped it.” Richard made it his mission to be the best janitor Frito-Lay had ever seen, but he spent his off-time learning about the company’s products, manufacturing, marketing and more. He even asked salesmen if he could tag along and watch them sell Frito-Lay products to supermarkets and other retail outlets

By the mid-1980s Frito-Lay was starting to struggle. The CEO announced a new initiative to all 300,000 employees: “Act like an owner”. It sounds like the usual corporate bullshit in which workers are supposedly empowered to work more creatively and efficiently, but in this case it seems that the CEO and his lower-level executives meant what they said.

Montañez was one who did not cynically dismiss the idea. He listened. Then he called the CEO, and the conversation with the CEO’s assistant went something like this:

Assistant: “Mr. Enrico’s office. Who is this?”
Montañez: “Richard Montañez, in California”
Assistant:“You’re the VP overseeing CA?”
Montañez: “No, I work at the Rancho Cucamonga plant.”
Assistant:“Oh, so you’re the VP of Ops?”
Montañez: “No, I work inside the plant.”
Assistant: “You’re the manager?”
Montañez: “No. I’m the janitor.”

You would think the conversation would have ended at that point but as an example of the managment meaning what they said about “Act like an owner”, the CEO got on the line with Montañez, who presented a broad outline of his idea. The CEO thought it sounded good but warned Montañez that he would have to make a presentation to the senior management team, and set a meeting in two weeks time.

Stunned by the response, Richard went to a library and picked up a book on marketing strategies. Then, he started prepping, and two weeks later, he entered that boardroom. After taking a moment to catch his breath, he started telling them what he’d learned about Frito-Lay and the idea he’d been working on:

  • “I saw there was no product catering to Latinos.”
  • On the sales trips he shadowed he saw that in Latino neighborhoods Lays, Fritos, Ruffles, and Cheetos, were stocked right next to a shelf of Mexican spices. Frito-Lay had nothing spicy or hot.
  • The Latino market was ready to explode, Monteñez explained.
  • Inspired by elote – a Mexican street corn covered in spices – Richard had created his own snack.
  • He pulled out 100 plastic baggies and passed them around the boardroom. Each one contained Cheetos he’d taken from the factory and coated in his own mix of spices.
  • He’d even sealed the bags with a clothing iron, and had hand-drawn a logo on each one.

At this point the room went silent and then the CEO spoke up:

“Put that mop away, you’re coming with us”.

The end-result was Flamin’ Hot Cheetos, and it became one of the most successful launches in Frito-Lay history. They went on to become a viral, pop-culture sensation.

Richard became a VP and amassed a $20M fortune.

Not bad for a boy from Cucamonga. He is the subject of a planned biopic, Flamin’ Hot, directed by Eva Longoria.