237: Career Conversations: Why going it alone doesn't mean doing it all
Does being an entrepreneur in the food sector mean doing everything yourself? Not according to Ayesah Grover, CEO and founder of strp'd, a company that makes flour, milk and flakes out of tigernuts. In the episode of the Career Conversations series, Ayesha tells Elisa Roche that collaboration and outsourcing are hugely important: "I don't think anyone can do absolutely everything." She says, although she is a one-woman team, she outsources some of her social media content, product development and package design. That doesn't mean being hands-off though: "I'm very involved in every process." In this episode, Ayesha reveals what tigernuts actually are, and how she came to find them and turn them into a number of successful products. She also tells us how she benefited from joining the Amazon Launchpad programme, and how disaster turned to success when the first Covid lockdown hit just as she was about to launch her brand new product. Ayesha Grover, CEO and Founder, strp'd After a number of years working in London, graduating with an MBA in NYC and launching a fitness business in Mumbai, Ayesha finally returned to the city where she grew up - Lagos, Nigeria. Whilst working in Nigeria, she discovered an incredible super-ingredient: tigernuts! Don’t be fooled by the name, tigernuts are NOT nuts, nor do they come from tigers but in fact are nutrient-dense tubers. Ayesha was intrigued by this allergen-friendly superfood that tasted delicious and proved to be a powerhouse of plant-based nutrition. She launched tigernut-based brand, strp’d in 2020 for everyone to enjoy delicious foods, regardless of dietary restrictions.