There are a lot of exciting things happening in Sacramento right now, including the farm to fork movement, signs of growth in the central city and our ever-evolving art scene. We also have a burgeoning startup community, and small companies are springing up all over the city (and online). In order to help highlight these, The Sacramento Press will be featuring monthly a local startup we think is worth keeping an eye on.
To kick things off, who better to start with than 8-year-old Nicolas Come, who pulled up his chair to the farm to fork to table last November when he pitched his idea at Hacker Lab’s Cereal Hack II.
Nicolas sought to help his friends and other kids get healthy. His product? Nicolas’Garden, an online platform for exchanging healthy recipes and healthy tips for kids and families that includes a gamification component – just to keep things fun.
At Cereal Hack II Nicolas, with the help of his father, Stephane Come, was able to put together a team of five and, though he didn’t take home first prize, Nicolas’Garden was founded in December of last year.
“Feedback from beta users has revealed that while for kids, adults really like the app to find easy-to-make and healthy recipes for the entire family,” said Stephane Come. “Our steps by steps (with pictures), appeals to everyone.”
Six months later, the dedication that brought father and son to Cereal Hack II has yet to wane. They’ve received a bit of seed money, and will launch a mobile app on May 19th at Soil Born Farms open house, A Day on the Farm.
We asked Nicolas and Stephane to tell us a bit more about their product, their journey, how son inspired father (and vice versa), and where they are headed next.
SP: How did you come up with idea for your startup? Was there an “ah-ha” moment?
Nicolas: I was working in the garden with my dad, and he was telling me about all the vegetables we planted and how they are good for you. I told him that I wanted to share this with all my friends online, and their friends. I asked him if we could make a website. He said that I should pitch my idea to a local hackathon and see if some programmers would be interested. I got a team and we won 2nd place. A few days later, a local company called my dad to help us write the mobile app. I’m excited that it is done and that my friends and their friends will be able to use it.
SP: What has been the biggest challenge so far?
Nicolas: We need to provide as many healthy options as possible. We have been working on gathering recipes, but it is slow. Hopefully when we are live and people come to our site, they will want to help us and submit more recipes.
SP: Are there any key individuals outside of your organization that have been of great help to your startup? What has helped you get to where you are right now?
Stephane: There are many wonderful people here in Sacramento willing to help. First, this would have not been possible without the Hacker Lab for hosting the Cereal Hack hackathon. Gina Lujan spearheaded this effort, and it gave us the opportunity to present an idea and get it started. During that weekend, Devon Latzen, Jay Miller and Kathryn Lastufka joined Nicolas’ team and worked under his direction. Next, AppMatrix Inc., a local mobile app provider reached out to us soon thereafter and helped us create the app and the website we have today. Page9 Inc. for the support of the idea and some seed funding. also, Tracy Saville and Drisha Leggitt of Possibility Media have embraced our efforts and are helping promote not only the app, but Nicolas’ vision. And last but not least our energetic Mayor Kevin Johnson for enabling the Farm to Form movement and declaring Sacramento the Capital of Farm to Fork.
SP: What are you most looking forward to for the app launch on the 19th at Soil Born Farms?
Stephane: We can’t wait to meet the kids and their parents and help them find yummy recipes that are easy to make. While somewhat stealth, we have received much interest from local chefs about uploading their recipes on our platform. We are going to make sure healthy foods are fun!
SP: What advice would you share with early stage or new entrepreneurs?
Stephane: I think both efforts can be very challenging. They key is to vet your idea first, have a clear picture of the vision, and being able to mockup a prototype with the resources on hand before going too far and spending much money. The 32-hours at the hackathon enabled us to get to this point and get instant feedback from the judges and the audience. In our case, we were very lucky that both funding and talent came to us, because the people behind it believed in the mission and the potential to help many families.
SP: What advice would you share with early stage or new entrepreneurs?
Stephane: I outlined some advice on the SARTA blog earlier this year, but I would add this – be ready! Be ready to accept that not everyone will like your idea. Be ready to adapt your plan quickly based on what you learn along the way. Be ready for your idea to take longer than planned. Be ready for the ups and downs. Be ready to embrace it!
SP: Stephane, how do you feel about your son’s budding entrepreneurship?
Stephane: When Nicolas was born, I left my day job at a large software company to be with my family each night instead of traveling. My son was my inspiration for entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship is a way of life, it’s the “how to” mantra instead of the “why not.” My job as a dad is to prepare my kids to leave the house at age 18. If they can’t be on their own, I failed. Here are a few steps that I believe contributed to Nicolas’ entrepreneurial spirit:
- Teach: Teach your kids something new everyday. At home, in nature, at the grocery store, on the soccer field. Every moment can teach us something. Use these moments.
- Listen: Listen to your kids and their ideas. Some are silly, some are great, but none are impossible. Don’t ignore what they have to say. They don’t have the same constraint as you do, and that can be a good thing.
- Enable: Enable your kids to pursue their imagination. Take the time to be involved, to discuss and participate. Create projects for them. Allow them to fail and allow them to succeed.
- Support: Don’t just shut down an idea because you don’t have time. Support it. Find a way to make it happen. They will remember it for a lifetime.
One night I was tired, it was almost time for bed and Nicolas said, “Dad, can we start my company?” I wanted to answer with, “not tonight!”, but what message would that send? Nicolas then picked up my laptop, opened it in front of me and said, “Can you help me now?” That night we only purchased nicolasgarden.com domain, but for Nicolas, we started his company! I will never forget the expression on his face.
SP: What are your thoughts on Sacramento’s startup community? What do you think are the strengths and weaknesses of the community? What would personally like to see?
Stephane: Just a couple of years ago, the words “startup” and “Sacramento” were seldom used in the same sentence. Today, numerous local and online communities are here to support entrepreneurs and startups. From the Urban Hive, Hacker Lab, SARTA – to name a few – and the hundreds of meetups with volunteers giving their time to help and inspire people, Sacramento is stepping up to the startup scene. The main strength is the momentum going on right now. We need to sustain it and we will see some success stories emerge. On the flipside, Sacramento is a large government town and is still very risk-averse. I’m encouraged to see people and groups rise up like the Sacramento Entrepreneurship Academy, the UCEA, the Sacramento Angels and a few venture capital firms like Velocity Ventures.
SP: What do you need most right now?
Stephane: RIght now, recipes and outreach are our main currencies. We are looking for trusted users that can contribute healthy recipes to our site and share them with their online friends. As a movement for healthier kids, we are also planning to add features to the app to get people and local communities connected. We are actively looking for sponsorships and/or partnerships to develop these features this year. Help us make Nicolas’Garden not just another app, but a cause kids want to be part of. Help us make a difference. Help us bring back the family around the table and have fun.
SP: Anything you’d like to add?
Stephane: This story is a testament that if you believe you can achieve something great and start with just the first few steps, anything is possible. This was a young boy’s idea with someone telling him that if this was important to him, he needed to take action – and he did. Nicolas and his team would like to thank the local community and everyone participating in enabling Nicolas’ vision.
Got a recipe that might make Nicolas’ cut? Email the recipe and photos to nicolas [at] nicolasgarden.com
Have a startup in mind that you’d like to see featured? Nominate them by sending an email to startup [at] sacramentopress.com. Be sure to include “Startup of the Month” in the subject line.
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