Founder of Buckaroo Chew on Faith, Purpose, and Building a Natural Baby Brand

Summary

Living Your Legacy Podcast

Episode: Founder of Buckaroo Chew on Faith, Purpose, and Building a Natural Baby Brand

Host: Maria Gutierrez (with Rudy Mawer credited)
Guest: Jamie Ackerman, Founder of Buckaroo Chew
Date: April 24, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode spotlights Jamie Ackerman, founder of Buckaroo Chew, a natural, vegetable-tanned leather teething solution for babies. Through candid discussion, Jamie shares her journey—a blend of faith, resilience, personal transformation, and entrepreneurial drive. The conversation touches on the origins of Buckaroo Chew, the role faith played in Jamie’s personal and business life, her Western roots, and her commitment to empowering other families. Listeners are treated to practical advice on finding purpose, listening to divine guidance, and the realities of building a value-driven brand.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Inspiration and Mission Behind Buckaroo Chew

• Product Detail: Buckaroo Chew is an all-natural baby teething chew made from vegetable-tanned leather, shaped like a puzzle piece and enhanced with chamomile tallow for soothing and nutrition (02:06–03:14).
  • “It’s an all natural baby teething chew made out of vegetable tanned leather…It's a puzzle piece shape for easy chewing and grabbing.” (Jamie, 02:10)
  • “We actually add chamomile tallow…chamomile throughout history has been used for helping inflammation soothing. The tallow has a lot of vitamins and minerals…It's not just. It seems simple and the ingredients are simple, but it has a really high impact.” (Jamie, 02:43)
• Universal Appeal: Although designed for babies, Jamie notes adults and others have found uses for Buckaroo Chew, making it a versatile, healthful product (02:22).

2. Jamie’s Journey: Faith, Purpose, and Miracles

• Infertility and Divine Intervention: Jamie and her husband faced years of infertility before a pivotal church moment led to a “miracle child”—her daughter, the inspiration for Buckaroo Chew (03:41–05:57).
  • “My daughter's a miracle child. We couldn't have kids and We've been married seven years at the time…The pastor asked us if we wanted kids…he prophesied saying next year…you’ll be holding a baby…Two months later, three months later, I was pregnant.” (Jamie, 03:41–05:27)
  • Memorable reveal: Jamie surprised her husband with the pregnancy news on their anniversary trip in Costa Rica (05:36–05:57).
• Faith’s Role in Business: Jamie stresses the centrality of faith and being open to divine signals in her entrepreneurial path.
  • “I gave to God. I'm like, God, if this is what you want me to do, whatever, I'll do it…this leather bracelet and was like, I don't know why I'm giving this to you. I don't want to, but I feel like I'm supposed to…To me, it was just confirmation that I was supposed to go forward with leather making stuff.” (Jamie, 08:40)

3. Roots and Values: The Western Ethos

• Upbringing: Jamie’s Western and rural Oregon background deeply informs her brand identity and ambition (06:38–07:30).
  • “I grew up in the middle of nowhere…in Oregon…No cell phone service…I was the only one in the family who wanted horses…and at 10, I was able to get my first horse. They're like my help me recenter myself and like, find my joy…” (Jamie, 06:38–07:11)
• Future Vision: Jamie dreams of building her own ranch—a nurturing space for her family and a place to give others opportunities (07:11–07:30).

4. From Necessity to Invention

• Origin Story: The idea for Buckaroo Chew arose from observing her daughter chew on unsafe horse tack, prompting Jamie to seek a natural, clean solution (07:49–08:32).
  • “She was chewing on my horse tack, so it’s dirty…So we found a scrap of leather at a shop front…I was just looking at it because she was all over, and I'm like, we need to, like, make something with this.” (Jamie, 07:49)
• Entrepreneurial Path: Initial reluctance gave way to confirmation and support from friends and strangers, fueling Jamie’s resolve to build the business (08:40).

5. Building the Brand: Growth, Social Media, & Manufacturing

• Rapid Growth: Buckaroo Chew began with a Kickstarter in March; since then, it has shipped to 10 countries and is quickly expanding (09:39–10:01).
• Day-to-Day & Authenticity: Jamie discusses documenting her journey for social media, overcoming the embarrassment of constant filming, and the importance of transparent storytelling (10:01–10:40).
  • “More than I love to do…my husband [is] actually like getting the phone out and taking video and I forget about it…then, you know, I have to get over the embarrassing factor that we're always filming everywhere.” (Jamie, 10:09)

6. Purpose, Self-Worth, and Spiritual Openness

• Advice for Listeners: Jamie encourages listeners to overcome self-doubt and be open to guidance—faith-based or otherwise—as a path to discovering purpose (11:24–12:13).
  • “For a really long time…over half my life, I really struggled with what my purpose was, and I let that be my driving factor. And so that led down really dark paths…but once I started, like, realizing I'm not worthless, you know, that's kind of what leads you to finding your own path.” (Jamie, 11:24)
  • “The only way I can do it and the only way I've gotten where I've gotten is because of Jesus. And if that's just not where they're at yet, just stop hating yourself first.” (Jamie, 11:49)
  • Notable Host Refrain: “This, too, will pass. Just give yourself a moment.” (Maria, 12:13)

7. What to Expect from Jamie’s “Women in Power” Episode

• Deeper Dive: Jamie previews her upcoming episode, promising deeper insights into her journey, the mistakes she learned from, and her hope that others can find their calling more quickly (12:29–13:06).
  • “I'm gonna go more in depth on my history, my past, the mistakes I mentioned, and what brought me to finding my calling, which is, like you said, this is the start, but it’s building businesses and helping people build businesses, and I've never felt more confident in that, but that took a long time to figure out, and I really hope people can get there a lot faster than I did…” (Jamie, 12:29)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Faith and Destiny:
  “God’s giving you a choice right now. You need to decide if you want kids.” – Jamie retelling her pastor’s words (04:10)
• On Finding Purpose:
  “Stop hating yourself first…I think that’s the first step of, like, finding that. What can you find? And honestly, my answer is Jesus…” – Jamie (11:49)
• On Starting:
  “I gave to God. I’m like, God, if this is what you want me to do, whatever, I’ll do it. I'll put in the work, but make it easy.” – Jamie (08:40)
• On Building Confidence:
  “I've never felt more confident in that, but that took a long time to figure out, and I really hope people can get there a lot faster than I did…” – Jamie (12:41)

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Timestamps for Major Segments

• [02:06] - Buckaroo Chew product explanation and mission
• [03:41] - Jamie’s fertility story and divine intervention
• [07:49] - Product’s practical origin: solving her daughter’s teething
• [08:40] - Faith, confirmation, and how entrepreneurship came together
• [09:39] - Scaling up: from Kickstarter to global reach
• [10:01] - Behind the scenes: documenting and growing through social media
• [11:24] - Jamie’s advice on purpose, faith, and self-worth
• [12:29] - What to expect in Jamie’s upcoming “Women in Power” episode

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Summary

Through heartfelt reflection and grounded advice, Jamie Ackerman’s story illustrates how faith, clarity of purpose, and a commitment to simple but meaningful solutions can lead to products—and legacies—that benefit families worldwide. Her journey from rural Oregon to founder of a growing baby brand, shaped by spiritual conviction and entrepreneurial hustle, offers listeners both motivation and comfort: your calling might arise from a challenge, and the path to purpose is uniquely your own.

Transcript

[A]

She is the founder of Buckaroo Chew. What a name.

[B]

The name's catchy, so it works. But also it's based off western and that's kind of like my roots. But yeah, it's an all natural baby teething chew made out of vegetable tanned leather. It seems simple and the ingredients are simple, but it has a really high impact.

[A]

Jamie Ackerman is a bold, faith driven

[B]

entrepreneur and the founder of Buckaroo Chew.

[A]

Drawing from her journey of personal transformation, she builds purpose led products that support families blending wellness, sustainability and motherhood to create solutions that nurture both children and the values that shape them. What can you tell folks that aren't aware of the divine? How can people open up their hearts to that?

[B]

Over half my life I really struggled with what my purpose was and I let that be my driving factor. And so that led down really dark paths. But once I started, like realizing I'm not worthless, you know, that's kind of what leads you to finding your own path.

[A]

It spans the globe like a super high cold Internet. Elvis Presley. Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win. The Living youg Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy that's extraordinary. The impossible. Oh, that is sensational. Open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream. Welcome back to another episode of the Living your Legacy podcast. For inside success, I'm Maria Gutierrez. Joining me today is Jamie Ackerman. She is the founder of Buckaroo Chew.

[B]

Buckaroo Chew.

[A]

Right on. She is today's woman in power. She's about to actually film her episode in a short few moments, but we kidnapped her and sat her in this chair so we could talk to her.

[B]

Her.

[A]

Jamie, how are you?

[B]

I'm great. How are you?

[A]

Fantastic, thanks for asking. So, Buckaroo Chew, where do we begin? What a name.

[B]

Well, I. The name's catchy, so it works. But also it's based off western and that's kind of like my roots is Western per se. But yeah, it's a all natural baby teething two made out of vegetable tanned leather. And it's really simple and basic. It is right here. It's a puzzle piece shape for easy chewing and grabbing so babies can chew on it and it's honestly for all ages. Weirdly enough, adults chew on it too. And you know, people losing their teeth, all these things, I mean it can help anyone. We just focus on for when babies have their teeth coming in because it can be Painful. So we actually add chamomile tallow into the backside of the leather too, which adds some soothing. Like chamomile throughout history has been used for helping inflammation soothing. The tallow has a lot of vitamins and minerals. So there's A, B, C and E vitamins, some D vitamin. There's fatty acids that are good for brain growth. It's good for jaw development. I mean, it's not just. It seems simple and the ingredients are simple, but it has a really high impact.

[A]

Is it wrong that I'm sort of salivating as you're holding it up? Because I have a tendency to chew on it. I was going to say, can I demo it right now? Actually, that's a prop. This is a show for. This is a family show, right? No, seriously. I have a tendency to chew random things like coiling cables. The one thing that strings off the thing I'll put in my mouth and start.

[B]

Yeah, it's natural. It's a lot of people's habits. And so now we made it beneficial.

[A]

Yeah. That's amazing. Let's talk about the origin story. How did this begin?

[B]

Well, my daughter's a miracle child. We couldn't have kids and We've been married seven years at the time. We got married at 19 and 20. So we're little folk.

[A]

Yeah, right on the old fashioned way. Cool.

[B]

But we couldn't have kids for a long time and we had. Actually, our marriage itself is a miracle. We went through some really hard stuff, came out on top and doing amazing, better than ever. But we started going to this new church and the pastor asked us if we wanted kids. And I just like, I was like, what do you mean? Well, it was like an altar call thing, but I was like, what do you mean, want kids? I can't have them. So I was like, you know, like, it's not really a choice. If we want kids, we'll adopt or something. Sure. And he was like, well, like, God's giving you a choice right now. You need to decide if you want kids. And I was like, oh, he just

[A]

decided to show up right now.

[B]

But he like, but yeah, you need it. And he's like, I'll come back. And I'm like, okay. So like kind of on the spot, but I was just like, what do you mean I have a choice? You know? So I talked to my husband and he was like, well, yeah, I want kids. Which was also, you know, like, after stuff we've been through, we didn't discuss it because we were still like healing in Our marriage. And so I was like, okay. So when the pastor came back, I was like, well, we, we want kids. Like, kind of hesitant, you know. Yes, I guess I was like, what are you gonna do about it? You know. But he prayed over us and you know, just healing. And he prophesied saying next year, he actually said, january, you'll be holding a baby. And he was like, either by natural or by like, sure, adoption. He's like, I'm just telling you you're gonna be holding a baby. And I was like, okay. And I kind of. Whatever. Sounds good. Yeah. And two months later, three months later, I was pregnant and I told my husband on our seven year anniversary. So we were traveling at the time and I like to this whole video of like, hey, tell people hi. You know, and then we're in Costa Rica. And so on that video. And I was like, he was like, hi, we're in Costa Rica for seven years. And I was like, hey, we're pregnant. And then he, I, he's a goofy guy.

[A]

Oh God.

[B]

So I was expecting like, what? Yeah, he just started crying, no idea how to react. I was like, stop to film. It's like, okay, that's awesome.

[A]

What an amazing blessing. Yeah, it's really interesting how the Lord works. It's just like, okay, you're all ready for this divine intervention and I told you so. And fast forward to today and because of a moment, which we'll get back to, you're sitting here now about to film your episode, and you're in the middle of south beach, like literally on the corner of Washington 12. I got a harp back. You mentioned Western, like the western way of living. Let's talk about that. Because when you say Western, I'm like, you mean the, the television shows that I would watch and the movies that I grew up on. Was your life. Like, talk about.

[B]

That's my dream life. That's, you know, my goal.

[A]

Okay, well, there you go. Give it, Give us the fraction of that.

[B]

Give us.

[A]

What is your, what was your upbringing like?

[B]

I grew up in the middle of nowhere, but in Oregon. It wasn't eastern Oregon, it was in the valley. So there's a lot of tall trees, very heavy foresting, and we lived on the end of a middle nowhere. No cell phone service. I'm not that old. But we had dial up for a long time, like that's all you could get. So. But I had h. I was the only one in the family who wanted horses essentially and worked my way to get to them. And so at 10, I was able to get my first horse, and I just love them. And I'm. They're like my help me recenter myself and like, find my joy and stuff. So it's, I would say, like, my idea of western. Like, I wish I grew up on, like a whole ranch setup. I didn't, so. But I want to create that for my daughter. So our goal is to get to, you know, build our own ranch and all this stuff and provide other people with jobs and opportunities.

[A]

So, yeah, anytime I can get away from Miami or anything that's loud and concrete into the wilderness, the better. Like, I love larping. I love renaissance festivals. Like, when I saw that, I immediately connected with me. Like, I get it. What was that? You talked about your daughter teething and you came up with a solution. What was that process like for you, that discovery?

[B]

Yeah, she was chewing on my horse tack, so it's dirty. I don't clean as much as I should. There's chemicals on it. So I wanted to figure out a way to have it be better. And we were actually at a renaissance fair when I was like, let's get her, like, a scrap of leather for something, because she was, like, drooling. So we found a scrap of leather at a shop front and then tent set up, you know, And I was just looking at it because she was all over, and I'm like, we need to, like, make something with this. And my friend said the same thing. She, like, later on, she was like, you should sell something like this. I'm like, yeah, but, you know, it's funny because I didn't want to. I knew it'd be like a ton of work, and I. I'm all for hard work, but I had a lot of. A lot of other stuff going on at the time.

[A]

And there's the God doing the thing again. Hey, why don't we just do this, like, very nonchalant, casually as an angel's whispering in your ear.

[B]

Yeah, exactly. So. Well, but it was funny because, like, I, like, totally just, like, was. I gave to God. I'm like, God, if this is what you want me to do, whatever, I'll do it. I'm like, I'll put in the work, but make it easy. So this guy came up with that simple. This guy came up that. And handed me this leather bracelet and was like, I don't know why I'm giving this to you. I don't want to, but I feel like I'm supposed to. And I was like, okay. But to me, it was just confirmation That I was supposed to go forward with leather making stuff. And so that's how it started. And like I, I asked, it's been a lot of hard work, but it's been easy. Like I built this from ground up and I didn't know what I was doing and. But every time I come back or learn something, I'm like, oh, I was already doing that. So like, you know, like, it's, it's just been working out, flowing and growing where we've sold all over the US easily. So we started last August, actually officially and last March we had a Kickstarter to help get some funds going.

[A]

I saw.

[B]

And so, yeah, but it's been, we're, we've shipped to 10 countries and everything. So like we're, we're growing really quickly and I'm excited about it. We want to have our like, own manufacturing on site and all of that. So like we currently do hand make everything, but we want to like really grow this business and have it be worldwide and just help all the families with it.

[A]

I gotta ask, how, how much of this are you documenting? What's your day to day? Like with social media, with cameras and filming this entire journey?

[B]

More than I love to do.

[A]

So at least you're doing it. That's good. Yeah. I was like, I hope you're really telling your story day to day.

[B]

I'm getting better at it. And I have other companies too, and businesses and so like one thing is never connected to the other. Everything's very random.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

But my. I have a friend who helps with social media and so she is better and so is my husband actually like getting the phone out and taking video and I forget about it. So. And then, you know, I have to get over the embarrassing factor that we're always filming everywhere.

[A]

So you have to. Yeah, it's, it's, it's funny because I'm sure you and I are relatively in the ballpark same age. Like we grew up on relative, like reality TV when it was real. Like you'd have to stand around film for hours and something would happen. Like the Osbornes real world Road Rules on mtv. And now years later, everyone's just holding up their phone.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Fabricating reality and. Which leads me kind of to like my last couple of questions before we wrap up. Like it very. It seems like you're walking a divine path and you're recognizing the signs. You're seeing your why very easily. So I'm very. I can safely assume this is your very first project. There's going to be many, many more. So congratulations to you. What can you tell folks that aren't aware of the divine or of the messages that are right underneath their nose? How can people open up their hearts to that?

[B]

Well, for a really long time, and I'm not that old, but it's over half my life, I really struggled with what my purpose was, and I let that be my driving factor. And so that led down really dark paths and some really big mistakes.

[A]

Sure.

[B]

But once I started, like, realizing I'm not worthless, you know, that's kind of what leads you to finding your own path. And so, like, even, you know, for me, I. The only way I can do it and the only way I've gotten where I've gotten is because of Jesus. And if that's just not where they're at yet, just stop hating yourself first. And I think that's the first step of, like, finding that. What can you find? And honestly, my answer is Jesus, so

[A]

this, too, will pass.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Just give yourself a moment. But, yeah. James, what can folks learn about you in your episode? I know we briefly spoke about this in the beginning, but I kind of wanted to take a small preview and just wrap us out on your episode on your podcast. What will we learn in your episode of Women in Power?

[B]

Well, I'm gonna go more in depth on my history, my past, the mistakes I mentioned, and what brought me to finding my calling, which is, like you said, this is the start, but it's building businesses and helping people build businesses, and I've never felt more confident in that, but that took a long time to figure out, and I really hope people can get there a lot faster than I did, so hopefully they can learn from my mistakes. Um, so that's what the episode will be focusing on, is my really random life. And they can learn from my mistakes and not have to repeat any of them, and hopefully they'll have a lot easier life because of it.

[A]

Right on. Well, I appreciate your time and energy, and I appreciate your guidance already. This is such a clever, clever, but simple and impactful invention.

[B]

Thank you.

[A]

And it's. Thank your daughter for. For being in your life and in this story.

[B]

Yeah, definitely.

[A]

Right on. So, Jamie, thanks again. I'm Ray Gutierrez. For Inside Success, this is Jamie Ackerman. Keep living your legacy. And for Inside Success, I am Rig Gutierrez.