Founder Spotlight: Monica Salhotra (Do Anything Foods)
Meet Monica Salhotra
Company:
Do Anything Foods provides delicious, veggie-rich shortcuts that make healthy eating approachable. Invigorate leftovers, reinvent classic recipes, dip, dress, and marinade, these versatile sauces celebrate the vibrant flavors and nutritional content of vegetables in the most delicious way.
Startup Stage:
We’ve largely bootstrapped our business, with only a very small friends and family round.
Location:
New York, New York, USA
When did you launch the business?
2018
What led you to where you are today?
Do Anything Foods was born out of the challenge I faced when I became a working parent and wanted to offer my kids delicious, healthy meals (most of the time!) to help them grow up to be “good eaters”. I started taking the leftover veggies in my fridge at the end of the week; a bunch of greens would turn into a pesto; root veggies into a soup or creamy sauce; a mishmash of lots of veggies would turn into a delicious pasta sauce. We’d use this versatile sauce throughout the week to get a meal on the table that the whole family (kids and adults!) would enjoy.
What do you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?
Early on, one of the best ways to find your entrepreneurial path is to chat with as many people in the industry as you can. You’d be surprised how many people are willing to offer a small amount of time and priceless expertise to someone asking thoughtful questions. Often folks will sign off on a meeting or email with “if there’s any way I can be helpful, feel free to reach out” – keep those people in mind and reach out to them when something in their wheelhouse comes up! Often the various pieces of advice will be conflicting, but we wouldn’t be where we are without insights and guidance from our network. Community is so important, and none of us should go it alone.
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make regarding your business so far?
It’s always tempting to choose growth at any cost; we are always chomping at the bit to expand our retail footprint and launch more products etc. One of our biggest challenges has been slowing ourselves down to ensure that we’re focused, that we’re delivering the best possible products, and supporting our retailer partners. At the end of 2020, we were preparing to launch a new line of products and decided to put the project on hold to double down on our existing products that were selling so well. While we were sad to make that choice (because we wanted to see these out in the world!) we are grateful we did because a few months later the pandemic hit and our new product launch would have been infinitely more challenging.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
By supporting this community and continuing to grow this network of amazing entrepreneurs by spreading the word about VEGPRENEUR and giving back where we can.
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
We are always looking for ways to connect with others in our community. Community is an integral part of growth, we look forward to learning from others and working together to create a positive impact on our world.
Fun fact about you:
I’ve lived and worked abroad for many years; in fact, my three kids were all born abroad in London and Hong Kong.
Read More On Our Blog
