Former USC Summer Programs Student Builds Impact-Focused Snack Brand

When Augustine Awadalla took an entrepreneurship course at USC Summer Programs last year, he was ready to be challenged.

But the 17-year-old didn’t expect to enjoy college-level courses so much that he’d leave high school a year early — or that he’d make connections with people who would mentor him throughout his entrepreneurship journey.

These days, Augustine’s life looks a lot different from just one year ago. He’s attending community college after taking an exam to exit high school during junior year. And, most exciting of all, he is busy growing an impact-focused snack brand he co-founded alongside three other teens.

The Quest for a Protein-Packed Snack

Augustine founded Halos Snacks with three other teenagers: his brother Matthew, 15, and their two best friends Isaac and Josh, who are 16 and 14. For the four teens, who have been friends since infancy, inspiration struck as they searched for the perfect protein-rich snack to fuel their frequent trips to the gym.

“The four of us work out probably five to six times a week, as much as we can,” Augustine said. “We really love it. And every protein chip that we tried or protein snack on the market had either a chalky aftertaste, was overly sweet, very salty or didn’t taste good.”

So, the quartet set out to create an alternative: Halos Snacks, protein-packed puffs that taste like Cheetos. In the process, they gained valuable experience in building a business.

“Both of my parents are entrepreneurs, and I’ve been blessed to be raised around that mentality my whole life,” Augustine said. “So, we’re all teenagers, and we created this to combine our love for health and nutrition and fitness and giving back…”

From the very beginning, it was also important to the four co-founders that their company make a positive impact on the world. Each purchase helps feed a child in need.

“We come from a family of immigrants,” Augustine said. “Our grandparents immigrated around the same time from Egypt. …And now the four of us are very close friends. [Our grandparents] always instilled in us from a young age, on both sides of our family, [that] you have to be cognizant of every decision you make, because people around the world are really struggling.”

The journey was not without difficulties. Since all four Halos Snacks founders were in high school, they faced the challenge of balancing schoolwork with creating the snack brand. At recess and lunch, while their friends were having fun, it was time to “put our heads down and get all of our [school] work done,” Augustine recounted.

The teens’ free time was also filled with taste testing batches of samples from their manufacturer and giving feedback, as well as brainstorming branding, coordinating packaging with a designer, making lists of possible retailers and planning social media marketing.

An Unforgettable Phone Call

In the middle of launching Halos, Augustine took the “Exploring Entrepreneurship” summer program, taught by USC Marshall School of Business professor Glenn Fox.

On the first day of class, his professor outlined one of the biggest assignments of the summer — an assignment that changed Augustine’s trajectory.

Students were tasked with interviewing a founder who they didn’t have family ties to. This ruled out a lot of people for Augustine, whose parents are both entrepreneurs with entrepreneur friends.

But Augustine had another — seemingly impossible — idea: to speak to Costco’s founder and former CEO, James Sinegal.

“I always like to shoot for the stars and give it my all, no matter what the task is,” Augustine said.

So, he began tracking down email addresses of Costco employees and cold emailing them. He made sure to mention that he was a student at USC, since Fox advised him that it would help open doors.

“And sure enough, one woman responded to me, and all she said was, ‘Can I have your phone number?’” Augustine said.

The quest to interview Costco’s founder was not easy, however. Augustine still remembers missing Sinegal’s first call.

“I see a voicemail, and it’s like, ‘Hi, Augie. This is Jim Sinegal calling from Costco,” Augustine said. “And I’m looking at my friends. I’m like, ‘Guys, I just made the biggest mistake of my life.’”

Augustine’s second chance came during a lecture.

“It’s dead silent. You could hear a pin drop, and the founder of Costco calls me,” Augustine remembered. “I sprinted upstairs. I’m like, ‘No way I can miss this call twice.’ So, I answered it, and then we had our interview. And it was one of the most extraordinary experiences of my life.”

Although the class assignment was complete, the interview was so inspiring that Augustine decided to reach out to two more founders of companies he admired: Noah Nazarian of Bahamii date bars and Cole Schaefer of SMACKIN’ Sunflower Seeds. Both entrepreneurs continue to stay in touch and mentor Augustine to this day.

“Augie was a leader in the class, always staying after with questions, and going just so far above and beyond every assignment’s basic guideline,” Fox, his summer programs professor, said. “He provides a roadmap for how to stand out as a student and young entrepreneur.”

A Full-Circle Moment

Augustine’s pre-college experience at USC left a lasting impact. Six months after returning home from summer programs, in the middle of his junior year, he left high school for good by taking an exit exam.

He told his parents that he wanted to continue building his business and learning at a college level as he had at USC.

“He related so much more to the classes, the content and the experience versus what he was doing in high school,” said Monica Awadalla, Augustine’s mother. “He’s found…a path forward that’s very unusual, but it’s awesome and I am proud of him.”

Now, Augustine plans to start as a junior in business school around the time he would have graduated high school.

“USC was the catalyst for that. [It was] extra fuel on the fire,” Augustine said.

In the meantime, Augustine and his co-founders have officially launched Halos and traveled to the Sweets & Snacks Expo, where he met even more like-minded entrepreneurs and gained interest from retailers. In a full-circle moment, he also got to meet one of the founders he’d interviewed during his summer program — and give him Halos to try.

Augustine also sent samples of Halos to Fox “to thank him for the wonderful experience [and] all the mentorship he’s given me.”

Fox noted that many students from “Exploring Entrepreneurship” are already running businesses when they join the class, while others are exploring their curiosity about becoming founders. “This class is a great place for both,” Fox said.

Augustine advises future USC Summer Programs students who want to pursue entrepreneurship to “give it their all.”

“I know that’s sort of an overused phrase, but I feel like when you really put your head down and work hard, you can truly achieve anything.”

Learn more about USC Pre-College Programs today.