That’s Sister Nancy.
She goes by “Sister” because she’s a nun.
Sound crazy, but we work with her every Wednesday morning. (Of all the things I could’ve imagined I’d be doing when I left my company 6 months ago, I’d never have fathomed the possibility that I’d be rolling out bagels next to a nun at 5:30a.m.)
It’s not normal. But, it’s a pretty awesome quirk that’ll always be a part of our business’ origin story. Even better, I take it as a sign that One Mighty Mill has the holy spirit on our side.
Let me clarify. Sister Nancy doesn’t work for One Mighty Mill nor is she helping us with product development (outside of being a loyal taste-tester). As noted in previous blog posts, we’ve been cooking and testing recipes twice a week for the last few months. So, Nancy runs the “commercial” kitchen where we’ve been renting space for our testing. And by “commercial”, I really mean a local High School cafeteria. It’s a school that’s just a couple of blocks from my apartment and the one where I’m volunteering to teach this class on entrepreneurship to a great group of high school kids from Boston’s underserved neighborhoods. Since it’s all about applied learning (i.e. education through experiences), the cafeteria is a key part of the curriculum. While I don’t teach class in the kitchen, it’s important that the kids see us working in their environment and have a tangible connection to the products, process and people. In a very real way, it exposes them to the start-up stage of a new business.
The whole thing isn’t just good for the students. It’s pretty ideal for me. The cafeteria is a 3-minute walk from my house, it’s spacious with all the equipment we need, and it’s filled with kids who we enlist for real-time taste-testing and feedback.
On top of all that, we get to work with Sister Nancy every week. At 78 years old, she is the definition of vivacious. It’s still dark and cold outside when we see each other before dawn on Wednesdays. But, every single morning, Sister Nancy fills that kitchen with warmth, enthusiasm, and heart (and hilarious stories of growing up in Southie). She serves breakfast and lunch to more than 400 kids. And in some subliminal way, she serves One Mighty Mill positive energy and goodness. It’s the kind of stuff that can only help us think good thoughts about what we’re building and keep us believing in the dream.
I got next! 