Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Andrew Towle, General Partner at NextGen Nutrition Investment Partners, located in Greenwich, CT, USA.
What's your business, and who are your customers?
We are an emerging investment fund focused on early-stage highly disruptive food companies.
Tell us about yourself
I spent my career in packaged goods, working for well-known companies like Procter & Gamble, Heinz, Georgia Pacific, and Kellogg's. About half of my professional time has been spent on food brands, the rest on other categories such as laundry detergent and household paper products (like paper towels and bath tissue). I have also spent about half of my career outside the US, having built businesses in Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and Australia.
My partner Jim Cali and I started NextGen Nutrition to help highly disruptive food companies achieve their full potential by leveraging our extraordinary experience as business operators. We are convinced, as our own investors, that our unique set of experiences and networks running food companies gives us a competitive advantage in managing an investment fund. This difference is apparent in how we generate deal flow and make our investment choices and how we work with founders to achieve their true business potential. The work to make the best possible choices for our investors is incredibly motivating and exciting work!
What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?
We are still early in our journey as an investment fund. We are very excited about the companies we have invested in so far and have enormous confidence in their value-creation potential for our investors.
What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?
Time management! As a new company, we always have more to do than time to do it! Prioritization is absolutely essential.
What are the top tips you'd give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?
- Manage your time to always focus on the most important things.
- Everything takes longer and costs more than you expect. Plan accordingly.
- Never stop networking - you never know when someone in your network can help you succeed.
Where can people find you and your business?
Website: https://www.ngninvestmentpartners.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/atowle/
If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.
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