Check Out Paolo Andino’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Paolo Andino.

Hi Paolo, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Well, as an actor you are always looking for work between gigs and my side hustle story begins with baking cookies in New York City about 30 years ago. Several spots were popping up in those days with chocolate chip cookie offerings. However I found some too dry, some too sweet, some too oily and others still lacking in the essential… chocolate chips! So I set about to make my version of the perfect chocolate chip cookie. I say ‘my version’ because after so many years the one thing I’ve learned is that this is a subjective topic! I began selling the cookies in NYC to family and friends but quickly ran out of a customer base. No Facebook or Instagram in those days so the cookies transitioned into birthday gifts and pot lucks, but the business side died off. Until Covid. My cousin, who has always loved the cookies suggested I start selling them on Instagram. She was on hiatus from her job and the world was standing still so we joined forces and began a cottage business from my apartment in Weho which is still where I ship from and offer curbside pick up.

As the doors opened and Covid began to fade the next step was to expand where I sold the cookies. I started at various farmer’s markets throughout the city, and for a time things were truly popping! But the markets began to add more and more cookie vendors and soon there were up to 10 cookie vendors vying for the appetites of the same market shoppers. I also noticed that in SoCal many people wanted a ‘gluten free’ cookie or a ‘sugar free’ cookie or a ‘dairy free’ cookie. Mine is a good old fashioned buttery, toffee topped morsel of yumminess… and it wasn’t fitting the bill. So I looked around the market and noticed that the people who were really killing it were the food vendors. The ones selling lunch items. In late 2023 I decided pivot to a cultural favorite, the Cuban Sandwich, and ‘El Sandwish Cubano’ was born. I include a free guava chocolate chip cookie with every sandwich in honor of my original business, Don’t Touch My Cookies, but now I sell the cookies exclusively online, to caterers and at a local coffee shop called Javista on Santa Monica Boulevard.

For the past three years the “Sandwishes” have been selling very well and I was even featured on NPR in their Food Fridays segment. But then the markets started adding more and more food vendors to their roster and the clientele that was once shared by eight vendors (cha-ching) is now shared by 21 (womp-womp)! Once again I needed a sales boost. So back to the drawing board I go, but this time I have a partner. In the midsts of being an entrepreneur I met and started dating the most wonderful person on earth. In just 6 months I went from “I will never date again and definitely NEVER live with anyone again, ever!” to “I have never felt this way before will you please date me and also will you move in with me!” My boyfriend Josh has joined me in life and in all my business endeavors and we now manage both businesses together. So with Josh on board we are tackling all our challenges together. About two months ago Josh suggested we start our third endeavor, a craft business making custom magnets on the spot from people’s personal pictures. Josh is a screenwriter and his focus is on horror movies. And so Monster Magnets was born. We created a puppet, Mo the Monster, who is the star of our social media and with my friends in the film industry I got a very talented cinematographer, Ric Serena from Serena Creative to shoot our inaugural Instagram video; an 80’s style sitcom opener complete with laugh track and asides to camera. It’s kind of like the Nanny if you remember that opener. And the whole vibe of the company is nostalgic 80’s; MonsterMagnets.Co. Now we sell our cookies online. We cater the Cubans and still sell them at farmer’s markets, and do as many events for the Monster Magnets as we can. Weddings, Bar Mitzvahs, Awards Mixers, Kids Parties! All this keeps us pretty busy and yes, we do like to spend all that time together! 🙂

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
The biggest challenges have always been having enough clients. At the markets it was always a struggle to sell what we made. The frustration was not selling to our capacity. And not making enough money. That lead us to pivot, to expand and try new things. Now I would say the biggest challenge is to find the people who want to hire us. Event organizers, mommy groups on Facebook, word of mouth, these are all avenues we are exploring. It has made me stronger. Where I would want to fold into a ball and give up before is now replaced by a feeling of “I will not give up.” Fear has less of a hold on me, but I still need more clients! lol. So if the challenges are still there, managing them has become easier.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I am still an actor first. That part of my career has been slower than normal these last two years. And at 56 I ask myself what my destiny is, what my purpose is. And has it passed me by? I don’t know. I still have my representation and I will never give up acting. I try to live a healthy mix of ambition and dreams mixed with finding joy in what I have now. There is always a lot to be thankful for and I don’t want to feel like my life was a waste because I didn’t become an A-list actor. My focus these days is in creating the life I want even if it’s in small ways, rather than focusing on what I’m missing. I don’t want to live in the frustration or the lack. So I brought out my easel and decided to start painting again. And do things that inspire joy on the daily. The conversations I have with people. And also I think just realizing that big events don’t define my life. But it’s more a mix of little things. The people I get to talk to and meet, the ones I get to inspire. The home life I’m blessed with. And the dreams for more I share with Josh. I am trying to stay anchored & aware. If that makes sense.

Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love that we can be watching a TV show about a fantastic pasta place and realize it’s a mile away, get dressed and just pop over! Being in a big city is fun and diverse. I love feeling accepted and surrounded by like minded people, feeling safe. I love the new food spots that keep popping up. And I love that you can create your own way here. People will respond if they like what you’re doing. There’s an electricity here. And the weather!

I guess the thing I like least is some people’s sense of entitlement. It comes with the territory I guess. There’s a lot of ego here too and some very insecure people like to show they’re better than you. Fortunately, we don’t see too much of that, but every so ofter… ugh! And the traffic. Gross!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.donttouchmycookies.com, www.elsandwishcubano.com, and www.monstermagnets.co
• Instagram: @dont_touchmycookies, @elsandwishcubano, @monstermagnets.co, @paoloandino
• Yelp: Don’t Touch My Cookies

Image Credits
Jennifer Serena