Today we’d like to introduce you to Andrew Everett.
Hi Andrew, so excited to have you on the platform. So, before we get into questions about your work life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today.
I became interested in entrepreneurship during my time as an undergrad student living in Los Angeles around 2009-’11. Apple’s App Store launched in 2008, ushering in the, “there’s an app for that” era which ultimately led me to The University of California, Santa Cruz where I could entrench myself in start-up culture near ground zero. In the end, I found that start-up culture in the traditional sense wasn’t for me. At the time, it favored the well-moneyed, or well-connected, and I was neither of those things.
My entrepreneurial dreams quickly became a side hustle, tamped down by the post-college reality of balancing life and bills. I was on a career track at a real estate marketing company, telling myself often that I’d circle back to building my own business when the time was right. I told myself that for the next five years.
The 2020 Pandemic was an absolute gut check. Like someone was shaking me, yelling, “are you going to grab the reins of your life, or is this really it!? By the end of the year, albeit a painful transition, I had left the comfort of steady pay to start GreenSpot Urban– a web app that allows you to shop your local farmers market in 1-hour delivery windows.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I think things are rarely smooth, if ever when starting any business let alone one that hasn’t been tested before. The biggest struggles have come from the trial and error of taking a simple idea and turning it into a tangible business. With GreenSpot Urban, I wear every hat, from web developer to delivery driver. You have to let go of how you expect things to be, adapt, and just get the work done even if you aren’t entirely sure you’re headed in the right direction. You’re the one blazing the trail, so you have to rely on your own creativity and intuition rather than replicating solutions that already exist.
The farmer’s market is all about change. It’s one of the reasons I love it, but it also presents major challenges when your business is to deliver it. It’s a place where products are constantly changing with the seasons, and vendors come and go as they balance their life circumstances with the need to make a living. I aim to keep up with that change and bring the experience of shopping at the farmers market to a wider local audience.
As you know, we’re big fans of GreenSpot Urban. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
If I could shop at the farmers market every time, I needed to go to the grocery store, I would. Before I started GreenSpot Urban that wasn’t possible. The farmers market, with its incredible abundance of quality local produce, has always been quite an effort to be in attendance. It’s a planned visit on a weekend day off, where I have the mental patience to find parking and some extra cash in my pocket–once every few months if I was lucky. If you’re shopping for more than a couple of apples, navigating back out of a crowded farmers market with several bags of groceries to your parking spot a block away can be a challenge (even with a cart). Now, try and do this every single week.
Our mission at GreenSpot Urban is to make the world better through local food. We’re making it realistic to shop at your local farmers market over your traditional big-name grocer by providing the convenience of delivery to your door from local farmers markets running 4 times weekly. Many of the same market farmers and vendors all attend the markets in Little Italy, Hillcrest, and North Park and they bring the same high-quality produce to each of them.
We are not a CSA. These are amazing opportunities to invest in our local farms, but we aim to provide access to as much of the farmers’ market as possible rather than support just a select few farmers and vendors. We shop your order directly from the farmers market, carefully picking the highest quality produce. Because we’re shopping the market in real-time, we also have a finger on the pulse of what may have popped up on a whim, and we’re always happy to go find a product at the farmers market if you don’t see it on our site.
With the rise of online grocery shopping, it’s becoming more and more convenient to get high-quality produce delivered right to your door. GreenSpot Urban is making it easier than ever to shop at your local farmers market, so you can support your community and get healthy, delicious food all at the same time.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
I always try to remember that happiness doesn’t live in the past or the future. It’s a choice you make at a given moment. My family, new experiences, and new opportunities continue to be the biggest drivers of happiness for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.greenspoturban.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/greenspoturban
Image Credits
Jonathan Everett
