VFA Networking: Two Degrees Food
When I was applying to Venture for America last fall, one of my greatest hopes was that I could become part of a network of passionate entrepreneurs. After spending four weeks in VFA Bootcamp at Brown University, I realize that this is one of the greatest strengths of the fellowship program. From training days with experts to mixers with start-up staffs and investors, I have had the opportunity to meet a wide range of people who are excited about entrepreneurship, and especially excited about the potential for Venture for America. By using this network, I had the opportunity to speak with Will Hauser, the Founder and President of Two Degrees Foods, who will act as my mentor in VFA.
Social entrepreneurship attracted me to Venture for America, as I wanted to combine value creating business with social initiatives. Two Degrees Foods combines these two values by donating a meal to a child in need every time it sells one of its bars. Will Hauser founded this company after working at Goldman Sachs for a year, and has never looked back. During our discussion, he spoke of the process of creating a company, from the business planning to the recipe design to the goal and vision of the organization. Even through the phone, I could hear his passion for creating and running a business. Like many other Ivy League graduates, he had gone into banking and found his work unfulfilling. He loved the start-up world and being able to control what he was doing and what he could accomplish. In his early twenties, he is already the President of his own company that is becoming a national success. At the coffee shop yesterday I saw his bars at the local coffee shop, and thought to myself that I was becoming part of a smaller world of start-ups.
Will was so excited about Venture for America's mission that I couldn't help but feel like I was about to start a crazy adventure that would challenge me to become a better person professionally and personally. This is exactly the network I was hoping for when I became a VFA Fellow. I would never be able to access the mentorship and experiences of young successful entrepreneurs without Venture for America, and I am looking forward to growing these relationships.
