Our visit to ZZ Diesel gave us a great look at what can happen when an entrepreneurial mindset, strong relationships and a willingness to keep evolving come together.

Jacob shared that only about 20% of ZZ Diesel’s business is diesel mechanic work—the rest is online sales, which grew tremendously from 2019 to 2023.

A major theme of the morning? Connections. From Schaeffer’s Oil to Beck’s Hybrids and opportunities that came through people he already knew: “I made connections through my connections.”

We also got to see ZZ Diesel’s growing manufacturing capabilities and learn about Forged Diesel Products, a brand they’ve developed around tried-and-true diesel parts and products they know work.

“If you can dream it, you can make it—you just have to figure out how to make it all work together.”

Thank you to Jacob and the ZZ Diesel team for hosting Kokomo CEO!