Co-founders of Back to the Roots, Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez, met at an ethics class at the University of California, Berkeley, in which they learned that gourmet mushrooms could be grown from recycled coffee grounds. This pricked their curiosity enough that they began to research such processes, and soon both had abandoned promising business careers and started Back to the Roots.
The mission of the company, as it is partly quoted here, is to “make food personal again through the passionate development of tools that educate and inspire, one family at a time.” Since starting their company in 2009 with a grow-at-home mushroom kit, Ahora and Velez have been hard at work spreading this innovative product idea and have been featured in media outlets such as Martha Stewart Living, the “Today Show,” and the New York Times. However, in a YouTube video featured on the site, both Arora and Velez assert that in spite of their hectic schedules as entrepreneurs, their main inspiration remains the possibility of changing the way families, especially children, think about food.
This mind-set and spirit is evident in their first product, the Organic Mushroom Farm, which promises that the customer can enjoy home-grown oyster mushrooms in 10 days. Although the product itself may not be something that any marketer would think of as appealing to children, the colorful packaging, with swaths of yellows and cartoon-like droplets of bright blue water by the direction to “Just add water,” the simple instructions (“Open, mist, harvest”), and the overall third-grade-science-class feel of the product are clearly aimed at attracting the younger members of the family and having them participate in the “farming.” The aim, as Velez asserts, is to perhaps inspire some child to do something different about the way families consume food when that child grows older.
The company’s second product, the Aquafarm — basically an aquaponics herb garden — is also geared toward the younger imagination. Ahora and Velez designed the water source as an old-fashioned fishbowl. This makes the Aquafarm a more complex system than a simple aquaponics garden. Rather, as the company puts it, it is a personal ecosystem in which the fish feed the plants and the plants help keep the water clean. On the company website, there is a video of a short and very simple lesson on the history and benefits of aquaponics, with oversized props and the type of visuals geared to a younger audience.
After the great success of the mushroom kit since its introduction in 2009, the company has continued to grow and presently holds $10 million in capital for future expansion. Ahora and Velez have been busy both promoting their products and concepts and developing new items to be released in the future. Ahora says that the constant hectic pace is what he enjoys about running the company, and both partners assert that they each help to motivate and manage the other, which so far has made for an ideal partnership to get out and spread their innovative ideas about food.
Insights From the Founder:
1. How did the idea to start Back to the Roots?
We came across the idea during our last semester in college – the idea that gourmet mushrooms can grow on entirely recycled coffee grounds!
2. How did you convince your partner(s)/financer(s) about your idea?
Hustle & passion – you’ve got to show you’re willing to sacrifice everything for what you believe in – you have to believe that your idea has to exist in the world and you’re willing to give it everything you have.
3. Did you finish college? What is the most valuable lesson you learned from there?
Yes – graduated! biggest lesson – learning to listen. speak like you’re right, listen like you’re wrong.
4. What is one piece of advice you would give to students who want to start a business while in school?
Focus – true focus is saying no to the things you really want to do! pick one thing and put every ounce of your heart and soul into it!
5. What are your future plans, both for yourself and Back to the Roots?
Continuing to do what we love with people we love!
Share This Story
The post Back to the Roots appeared first on Dorm Startups.