Today we’d like to introduce you to Adam Salomone.
Adam, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
The Food Loft launched in 2013 but it’s makings came to be many years before with a company called, The Harvard Common Press (HCP). HCP was one of the leading independent publishers of cookbooks in the US, based in Boston. I went to work for Harvard Common Press in 2007. Shortly after joining the company, I began working closely with the owner, Bruce Shaw, looking for ways to take our food content and expertise and find new business channels and partnerships. We soon began meeting and networking with many startups at the intersection of food and technology. These were companies doing work with recipe search, apps, digital media and more.
One such company that we met in 2008 was called Yummly. Yummly’s founder, Dave Feller, wanted to create the Google for recipe search. He developed a recipe platform that could learn user taste preferences the more they used the site. We saw important overlaps with our recipe program in what Dave was building, especially at a time when digital recipe search was encroaching on print cookbook sales. We ended up making a financial investment in the company in 2009.
And that was what started us on the path in food innovation. We ended up receiving a lot of inbound communication from other food startups, looking for funding, mentorship and partnership. So, from about 2009 onwards, my work has been a mix of working closely with food startups, sourcing investments and building out our innovation network.
In 2013, HCP was beginning to wind down (we ended up selling the company in 2016) and we saw a strategic opportunity to take our space in the South End and transform it into a community for food startups. The Food Loft was born. We launched in September 2013 as one of the first co-working spaces in the area specifically devoted to food startups.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It never is, with anything that you embark on. Developing a food-specific co-working space took a lot of time, care and attention. Startups have a lot of different needs and our thesis in launching the Loft was that food startups would have a lot of similar needs that would make a food co-working space successful. That’s largely been true but it also means, we compete with behemoths like WeWork, without their resources. So, we’ve had to think outside the box about how to attract and retain startups with value-added offerings that they can’t get elsewhere. It has been and continues to be, a learning experience.
So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the The Food Loft story. Tell us more about the business.
The Food Loft is a collaborative coworking community for food and foodtech entrepreneurs. We offer flexible, month-to-month leases for private and semi-private office space. While the physical community is our most notable feature, we’ve worked tirelessly to create a range of “virtual” services for food startups in Boston and beyond.
Our most notable and proudest accomplishment to date has been the launch of our mentor network. This is a group of 30+ business leaders who specialize in the food industry. They cover everything from sales, branding, marketing and distribution to ecommerce, fundraising and logistics. Our mentors have offered their time and expertise to our members, as a way to help build a stronger and more vibrant ecosystem to solve pressing food startup challenges. I think this is one of our biggest differentiators, as it allows us to tap into a brain trust of leaders who have seen just about every challenge.
Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Serendipity has played a huge role in where I’ve ended up with the Loft. To go from a small publishing company to angel investor/mentor in food innovation is a big leap. Smarter minds than ours could’ve methodically planned, a road map to get from point A to point B. And, it’s not to say, we didn’t have a vision in mind for what we wanted, but this entire journey has been a bit of good luck in driving us towards a trending area in food innovation.
And, we’ve benefited greatly from the fact that the food world is a small one. There are so many people willing to help, wanting to be part of something and ready to offer support and guidance. It’s been an amazing journey, in large part because of the people.
Pricing:
- Hot Desks start at $150 per month
- Semi-Private and Private Offices available from $500 per month
- Virtual Mentorship available for $100 per month
Contact Info:
- Address: 535 Albany Street, Floor 5
Boston, MA 02118 - Website: http://www.thefoodloft.com
- Phone: 617-423-5803
- Email: hannah@thefoodloft.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thefoodloft/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thefoodloft/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/thefoodloft
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-food-loft-boston?osq=the+food+loft
Getting in touch: BostonVoyager is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
