410: From Office Space Mushrooms to a Gardening Revolution with the Cofounders of Back to the Roots

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez started Back to the Roots by asking the same question in their business class–how can you grow mushrooms from used coffee grounds? So instead of taking their jobs in investment baking, the 2 friends began their journey of building an organic gardening brand for the next generation. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Back to the Roots is America’s #1 organic gardening company and doubled its business 4 years in a row. They offer a wide range of grow kits, seeds, soil, and more to empower people to experience the magic of growing their food from inside their homes. </span></p> <p> </p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Listen to Nathan chat with Nikhil and Alejandro about:</span></p> <p> </p> <ul> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Walking into a Whole Foods and pitching their first product </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Growing their first mushrooms in a rented office space</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Hitting their first million in revenue off sources of waste</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Why going to a farmer’s market is the best lesson for business</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Transitioning from selling products to empowering growers </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Navigating the accelerated growth of the industry during COVID-19</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Their relationship as cofounders over the past decade </span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">Working with retailers like Home Depot, Target, and Walmart</span></li> <li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><span sty