Louisa Nicholson has over 20 years of experience in website development, strategy consultations, and advertising. She founded Every Vegan Recipe in 2020, an international platform that allows people to find and share plant-based recipes.
What is Every Vegan Recipe all about?
Every Vegan Recipe is a platform to allow publishing and sharing of plant-based recipes. The platform will launch as a website first with an app to follow. Every recipe shared or published will be categorized in nearly 100 ways, have extensive nutritional information displayed, and allow users to share, rate, and ask questions. Our audience is anyone who wants a recipe to cook with that includes only plant foods such as fruits, grains, vegetables, herbs, and tubers, whether you are a vegan, need a nice side dish, or a Meatless Monday recipe.
The #1 request every person has when seeking out new meals or a diet is always recipes and a hungry curiosity in how to cook new ingredients. I aim to make finding vegan recipes much easier while also allowing the person to include/exclude any ingredient they want to adhere to diet restrictions, like common food allergens. Vegan recipes were never represented well in publishing companies or recipe websites, usually only displaying salads. The truth is that plant-based food has been eaten by all cultures globally for thousands of years – the diversity in cuisine is extraordinary!
I also believe in creating a technology company that works to help solve problems. Not only is free access to information is a huge driver of this company, but so is the company model itself as the platform does not rely on a traditional advertising model by selling user’s information or pushing the user to interact with other websites that do so. The company is supported through users using the platform if they find value in it. This also means that the platform is ad-free.
Another set of problems I think the platform helps include: sustainability, educational reach, culture diversity, and nutrition. I could speak at length on any one of these topics, but I would also like to mention how information today is promoted primarily through monetary means. Whereas, on the platform, you can access recipes from people who cannot afford to promote their creations to compete against these traditional publishers.
The platform is currently under development and is releasing recipes weekly on all social channels in anticipation of the launch. People who may sign up on the website to join the VIP launch list will receive first access to the platform and a free membership plan for 1 year.
Tell us a little bit about your background and how you started your company?
My background is in computer programming, web design, business strategy, and marketing. I’ve worked for myself, businesses, non-profits, and agencies for over 20 years creating a variety of solutions including websites, catalogs, ads, etc. I’ve always helped provide a business strategy to organizations and I’ve co-founded a company in the past, so it was natural that eventually, I would lean towards opening my own company at some point.
I actually started planning to open Every Vegan Recipe after I went vegan and found out how hard it was to find recipes online. That pain is shared by millions of people around the world now. We’re told that vegans can only survive off of synthetic, manufactured, or lab-grown foods but that isn’t the truth or history of the diet, that narrative is being pushed for companies who want to sell their products.
In truth, I am really an advocate for natural and healthy living. I study anatomy, nutrition, biodynamic farming, psychology, and so many other topics related to harmony in organic systems. After a couple of years of being frustrated seeing that our industry was doing a disservice to vegans through the guise of food access or sustainability, while denying food access and manufacturing costs, I said I had to do something about it. Sometimes we all must take responsibility for the problems we see, so that’s what I’m doing. If not me, then who else? That’s what I think.
What were the top mistakes you made starting your business, and what did you learn from it?
The biggest mistake I made was thinking that I would find a lot of support from those most vocal in the vegan community. It turns out that the voices that were the loudest are also the ones benefitting the most by promoting unhealthy, and manufactured products. There is no incentive for them to help people cook at home, grow their food in their backyard or home, get access to seeds, or learn about different cuisines. I learned that these differences not only help differentiate my company and it will help me attract very vocal, strong brand ambassadors.
What is one thing that you do daily to grow as an entrepreneur?
Start each day in sheer awe of the possibility of your day. Not assuming you know everything or that you will do anything perfectly. You will learn more, do more, and become better than the previous day.
What are three books or courses you recommend for new entrepreneurs?
First things first, the best course you can take to learn about running a business is to work for a privately-owned business and see how it operates from the inside-out. That has been the best teacher for me.
I would recommend reading and studying, The Personal MBA, by Josh Kaufman. I also recommend reading a book by an author who holds an opposing viewpoint to a conclusion you came to, preferably in your industry.
What is the one thing you wish you knew before starting your business?
I underestimated the time needed to do marketing vs working on the business. I spend most of time marketing to build an audience, around 99% of my time currently. The saying, “if you build it, they will come,” is no longer true in our day in age. A new business has to compete with other businesses on so many levels, sometimes with much less funding. Building an audience will help me grow at launch versus launching and wondering where the people are.
If you only had 1000 dollars to start a new startup, knowing everything you know now, how would you spend it?
This is a great question. For me, I started with less money and operated like that for half a year, so it’s hard for me to think of a different way I could have operated if I used more than this! Everyone’s situation is completely different and in my case, my labor is used for the majority of the work right now in the beginning. What I did near the beginning was spend $100 to have a one-on-one discussion with a serial entrepreneur to get advice on how to start, where my focus should be, and to hear feedback. I think I would recommend everyone spending time and money talking to other people outside of their immediate circle when they first start as well.
What’s your best piece of advice for aspiring and new entrepreneurs?
Know that starting and operating your own business means you will wear many hats that bear a lot of responsibility for very little reward. Do the business because you need to, not because you want to, however, that need is defined for you.
What is your favorite quote?
Believe those who are seeking the truth. Doubt those who find it.
This quote is from Andre Gide and I think it’s a reflection of a state of mind you have when you’ve studied and executed a lot. A naive person learns a little bit and thinks they know everything. A wise person learns everything they can find and learns that not only do they know very little about the truth they seek, but that the entire study of the subject matter itself is in its infancy, most of the time even full of corruption, contradictions, and errors. People who claim they know absolute truth do a lot of harm in one way or another in the world, so he advises us to be wary of what they might say.
How is running a tech company different than what you thought it would be?
I am spending a significantly less amount of time doing actual tech than I thought! Being a team of one right now means I have to wear many hats and marketing is the most important thing to focus on right now, so I am doing very little tech.
How can readers get in touch with you?
You can go to www.everyveganrecipe.com where they can find more information about the company and sign up for the VIP list. You can find the company on most social networks by searching for Every Vegan Recipe.
Entrepreneur Interview: Kiara Nelson’s Journey to Full-Time Entrepreneurship
