Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in food and beverages but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Ran Goel, founder, and CEO of Fresh City, located in Toronto, ON, Canada.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
Fresh City is an alternative food system: healthier, fairer, kinder. We are an urban farm, farm-to-table kitchen, and grocer with both physical and digital channels.
Tell us about yourself
I was a Wall Street investment lawyer before starting Fresh City. I had started reading about food and realized that it was at the crossroad of many of our most pressing issues: climate change, biodiversity, public health, labour rights, and so forth. I decided that I wanted to be part of the movement trying to create a better food system. I founded Fresh City with a vision of creating a better life through food. Almost eleven years later, we still farm and still source meticulously.
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
I am proud of two big things. One that we have been able to stay true to our original vision even as we have evolved and pivoted along the way. Two, that notwithstanding the punishing hours and stress that being a food entrepreneur involved, I have been very involved in my children's lives.
What's one of the hardest things that come with being a business owner?
It can be lonely and very stressful. I have been blessed with a great support network from our investors to family and friends. But at the end of the day, the stress of meeting payroll and making pivotal decisions rests on my shoulders. That never goes away.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
One, make sure you want to be an entrepreneur -- there are many ways to make an impact or be creative that don't require the risk and stress of going at it alone. Two, make sure you have a good support network for those difficult days, as there will inevitably be many of those. Three, have an idea of where you are going but be very open to different ways of getting there.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.freshcityfarms.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/freshcityfarms
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/freshcityfarms/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rangoel/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solopreneur that you'd like to share, then email community@subkit.com; we'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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