MOM’s Organic Market Founder Scott Nash Talks Social Activism and Branding on Bootstrapped

The Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship produces Bootstrapped, a podcast featuring founders, investors, and serial entrepreneurs. The podcast is hosted by Elana Fine, Executive Director of the Dingman Center, and Joe Bailey, Associate Research Professor at the Smith School. Each episode brings a different startup story to life with special guests offering advice and lessons learned on topics that range from fundraising and marketing to team formation and customer acquisition.

On this episode of Bootstrapped, we interviewed Scott Nash, founder and owner of MOM’s Organic Market. Nash started MOM’s Organic Market in 1987, selling produce out of his mother’s garage and using his sister’s Chevy Malibu to deliver grocery orders at night. Today, Nash has grown MOM’s Organic Market to a point where it has stores in four states and Washington D.C., employs more than 1,000 people and has a dedicated following of customers committed to its purpose of protecting and restoring the environment. In this episode, Nash discusses the slow and methodical approach to his growth, how branding is the most valuable aspect of MOM’s and how progressive and socially active values are integral to his business.

Nash is a Maryland native through and through, growing up in Beltsville and currently living in Chevy Chase. He developed a strong connection to the University of Maryland through his father who was a professor of business at the school. While he later ended up attending UMD, Nash left the university—like many other entrepreneurs—and began his organic grocery delivery service out of his mother’s garage.

To listen to this episode and gain further insights into the startup world, subscribe to Dingman Bootstrapped on iTunes or download the episodes on the Dingman Center website.