Raised on radio, Paul Guglielmo finds success as entrepreneur

Paul Guglielmo acknowledges he may have unknowingly exhibited entrepreneurial traits long before he became an entrepreneur.

In his youth Guglielmo dabbled in a few ventures, from being a wedding DJ to basketball league organizer.

“I’m conscious of the fact that I don’t have any skills,” says Guglielmo, who goes by Pauly, with a laugh. “But maybe I was really doing some entrepreneurial things without knowing it.”

There’s no denying that Guglielmo — the 41-year-old founder and CEO of Bergen, Genesee County-based Craft Cannery — is an entrepreneur now.

Earlier this year, the Small Business Council, a Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce affiliate, named Guglielmo as the winner in the “Under 25 Employees Category” of the 41st annual Business Person of the Year Awards.

Guglielmo, a Rochester Business Journal Forty Under 40 award winner, believes Craft Cannery fills a need in the market.

“Craft Cannery can reduce barriers to market,” he says. “We believe problems can be solved here and dreams can become reality.”

Guglielmo grew up in Conneaut, a town in the far northeastern corner of Ohio, within the Cleveland metropolitan area.

He later attended nearby John Carroll University where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 2005. While a student there, Guglielmo worked at the college radio station.

After college, he pursued a career in radio, staying in the Cleveland area for a couple of years with Clear Channel Radio.

When the business announced a round of layoffs, and the boss asked to see Guglielmo, he figured his time there was up.

That turned out not to be the case. Instead, he was asked if he would be interested in a job in the Rochester market.

Guglielmo didn’t even know where in New York Rochester was but took a chance and made the move in 2007.

“I was 24 years old and figured I’d give it a year,” he says.

It ended up being a longer stay.

Guglielmo would develop a following as a radio personality in the region, including working as co-host and producer of the Brother Wease Show, now on WAIO “Radio 95.1”, part of iHeart Media Inc.

He also became smitten with Rochester.

“I love the size of the city, the people here, everything about Rochester,” he says.

While working on the Wease show, Guglielmo started making and selling marinara sauce using a recipe handed down in his family. It began as a hobby then turned into a side hustle in 2014 with the founding of Guglielmo’s Sauce LLC.

The venture took off and Guglielmo had to decide about his career path.

“I was working 60 to 70 hours a week in radio and the sauce business was really starting to take off,” he says, adding that he believed one of his jobs would eventually boil over.

He loved both but ultimately made a choice to commit to Guglielmo’s Sauce, which is now available in over 500 stores, including Wegmans, Tops and Whole Foods, and hundreds of locally owned small businesses across the Northeast.

“In my heart of hearts, I wanted so badly to be an entrepreneur,” he says. “Running a business gives me a thrill that I didn’t get from radio.”

Around that time, Guglielmo and Tom Riggio, a veteran businessman in the food and drink industry, purchased Permac, now Craft Cannery.

Craft Cannery makes pasta sauces, barbecue sauces, salad dressings, oils, marinades and more for local and regional food brands, retailers and restaurants.

The business also partners with small- and medium-sized businesses throughout the Greater Rochester region to bring their recipes to market.

Craft Cannery has become a go-to for businesses seeking top-quality bottling services dedicated to helping aspiring entrepreneurs by providing an affordable entry point and minimizing start-up challenges.

Its private label manufacturing capabilities are also in demand by larger companies.

Steve Chichelli, Italian foods category manager at Wegmans, has known Guglielmo about six years and works with him to develop some of Wegmans’ brand private label products.

“Pauly is driven by his passion to create great-tasting products for our community and that passion is a big part of his success and who he is as a leader,” Chichelli says.

Guglielmo is also honest with himself and others about his strengths and weaknesses, Chichelli adds, and that has helped him learn from others and build strong relationships throughout the industry.

“He leads by example, not only in his work, but also in how he gives back to the community and that goes hand in hand with Wegmans’ values,” Chichelli says.

Craft Cannery recently took on a new venture, launching Craft Cannery Brands in 2023. A separate division, Craft Cannery Brands is responsible for creating, growing and distributing select brands, including Guglielmo’s pasta sauces, Salsacuse and the line SLOW brands.

The company’s growth has led to the need for more space.

The business is completing an expansion that nearly doubled the building’s footprint and allowed for a full-time food service packaging line for bulk-food service in gallon jugs and buckets — mostly for restaurants — in addition to a new glass bottling line.

A sizable portion of the $1.5 million construction project was paid for with the $500,000 the business received in 2022 as a winner of the annual Grow-NY Competition.

The workforce has also increased because of the company’s growth, with Craft Cannery employing nearly 20 workers.

Guglielmo describes his leadership style as evolving, saying he has made some changes along the way. He now takes an individualized approach to leadership, depending on the needs of his employees.

Riggio, who has known Guglielmo for almost a decade, spoke of his dedication to the employees, noting Guglielmo leads by example.

“There is nothing in that business that he has not done from running the processing room to cleaning the bathrooms to shoveling snow,” Riggio says. “Pauly has evolved as a leader over the last few years and continually is looking to learn how he can be an even better leader.”

Moving forward, Guglielmo will continue to focus on the fundamentals of the business. It’s a mindset he learned from Riggio, who often talks about going a mile deep, rather than a mile wide.

“I’d rather be great at one thing rather than mediocre at five things,” Guglielmo says. “We say it all the time – we make sauce that goes in glass jars, that’s what we do.”

Outside of work, Guglielmo believes in giving back.

He serves on the Board of Directors for Rochester Rotary (and is its president for 2024-2025), Big Brothers Big Sisters, The Rochester Broadway Theater League and St. Ann’s Foundation.

Tracey Dreisbach, executive director of Rochester Rotary, calls Guglielmo a natural leader.

“His charisma and energy get everyone around him excited about the task at hand,” she says, adding Guglielmo also listens and solicits feedback from people to make sure he is providing the most benefit to the organization and the community.

Guglielmo is the first to volunteer, she says.

For example, Guglielmo was instrumental in helping raise funds for a garden at the Rochester Rotary Sunshine Camp where campers could grow vegetables that could be used in their meals.

He is also a regular supporter of Roberto Clemente School 8 — a school Rotary adopted in Rochester — donating food for its pantry and providing cooking classes on healthy eating for students.

“He is always willing to lend a hand,” Dreisbach says.

[email protected] / (585) 653-4021

Name: Paul Guglielmo

Title: Founder and CEO, Craft Cannery

Age: 41

Education: B.S. in psychology from John Carroll University, 2005

Residence: Brighton

Family: Wife, Ryann, sons Leo, 6 and (newborn) Giorgi

Hobbies: Cooking meals, watching sports, enjoying family time

Quote: In my heart of hearts, I wanted so badly to be an entrepreneur. Running a business gives me a thrill that I didn’t get from radio.