Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Troy Smothermon. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Hi Troy, thanks for joining us today. How did you come up with the idea for your business?

I would say that this business started with a friendship. My friend Josh (Co-founder Josh Levine) and I went to college together at UCSB graduating in 2003. We played club soccer together and became close friends when traveling to Spain to study abroad. After college we remained close and went our separate ways career wise. At the time of the World Cup in South Africa (2010), Josh and I took a trip together. We discussed our lives, goals and dreams in great detail. Both of us wanted to pursue our own business and we were unsure where to start. We ended up getting a really unique opportunity to live rent free in South Lake Tahoe for 6 months in the winter of 2010 / 11. There is where we brainstormed some ideas for starting our own business. We each had a few ideas to bring to the table. Myself, being a licensed construction contractor and Josh, being a brand-marketing tech we had some good experience to talk through ideas. We both shared positive experiences with urban agriculture. Josh grew up on a small farm in Southern California and I had grown my own food when living with my parents in San Jose, CA. So, we decided to start a company that built organic gardens and introduced homeowners to growing their own food. From 2011 until 2019 we started over 5000 home gardens for our clients in the South Bay Area. Along the way, we made some unique connections and our business grew and changed. Today, we are the number one supplier of employee gardening programs at companies around the world.

Troy, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

After college I returned to my home town, San Jose, CA. I lived with my parents and began life in the “real world”. My first “real” job was as an apprentice to a home developer / construction company. I spent 6 years learning the ropes building houses, gaining experience and ultimately earning a California contractors license. After the home mortgage crisis in 2008 I was ready to go out on my own and start my own company. But, the economic circumstances and general uncertainty turned me off to the idea. I decided to take a year off and travel instead. This was the best decision of my life. I explored SE Asian countries, Indonesia, and Australia over the next year. There I saw people connecting with the land and growing their own food. I saw local economies thriving on locally-grown produce. It made an impression on me and I wanted to share the feeling with others.

Once Josh and I started our business I was able to use my CA contractor’s license to build gardens for our residential clients. My experience both growing food and building houses gave me the tools I needed to start our clients on the path to being successful home-growers.

Now myself and StartOrganic use those same skills to start organic gardens and comprehensive gardening programs for corporate clients all over the world. After 15 years, we have perfected the art of growing food and educating people in the ways of organic gardening.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

Our business has pivoted more times that I care to admit. We have struggled with so many aspects related to small business ownership from: generating leads, seasonality of sales, keeping employees busy, and remaining profitable.

The biggest pivot we made was about 2 years prior to Covid 19. Josh Levine (StartOrganic Co-founder) and I had talked for years about consolidating our expertise into an online platform so we could share our experiences. We build our business around personal (and in-person) connections. I personally visited and spoke to more than 10,000 individuals at their homes about starting a garden between 2011 and 2019. It was a rewarding and positive experience but it was grueling. Day after day we found leads, met clients in person, and built gardens.

We began to realize that we would be able to reach a far bigger audience by offering online courses. So, in the 2 years leading up to Covid, we consolidated our experiences and filmed, edited and created 2 online courses to teach individuals how to grow their own food. Then Covid hit. We were ready. Timing is everything.

Today, we use those same courses and plenty of fresh content to engage employees in organic gardening programs at some of the most influential companies in the world.

Can you talk to us about how you funded your business?

We never borrowed money to start our business.

We started SUPER small; my pickup truck, Josh and I and a few tools. It hurt. Physically, emotionally, and monetarily, it was the roughest 6 years of my life. Marketing was door to door or word of mouth.

StartOrganic was the most “grassroots” business idea. The business and idea of growing your own food in Silicon Valley had to spread organically.

I do not have the energy to do this kind of business again. But, I can say that it was all worth it.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.startorganic.org
• Instagram: @startorganic
• Facebook: startorganic
• Linkedin: startorganic
• Youtube: @startorganic (StartOrganic vegetable garden service)

Image Credits

Josh Levine