Photo by Jay Goldz
MARK LAFAY is proof that the cliche “there are no second acts in American lives” is pure bunk. The Purdue grad built a music promotion company while he was still in college, touring the world with bands for nearly a decade. Then he turned to the tech industry, eventually building a social network that—years later—many sought to replicate as users turned away from Meta and X (formerly Twitter). After 10 years, he realized that his days spent seeking startup investors needed to end.
“I was like, ‘You know what? I want to do something that’s the exact opposite [of tech],’” LaFay says. “I was a hunter from a very young age, and I became pretty passionate about barbecue, and curing meats, and doing all that stuff.” He didn’t know much about the rules and regulations behind turning that hobby into a business, but explains, “I thought, I’ll figure it out as I go. So I dove right in.”
The seeds of what would become Old Major Market were planted when LaFay started “selling bacon on the back of my pickup truck to my neighbors,” he says. The popularity of his house-cured staple gave him a path forward. “I decided I needed to focus on sausage. I wasn’t interested in charcuterie. I was interested in what people are eating at every single meal.”
These days, Old Major’s operation is so big that LaFay can produce charcuterie—and loads of other products he likely never dreamed of when he was dealing bacon off his truck, such as seafood and specialty butters. And his venture is only getting bigger. “People really understand that local can be better, from both a quality perspective and an economic one. We help local farmers stay in business, and they connect us with the meat we need to feed our customers. It’s how it used to be and how it can be again.”
