Fridays at Four - About

When I was growing up, I wasn't good at anything. I didn't feel stupid, there was just nothing I excelled at or stuck with. It wasn't until I started my business that I thought I was good at something. That my ideas were good. That I could let my personality out and share my excitement and people would respond. It was transformative and continues to be. Starting a business isn't about money. It's about showing yourself and the world that your ideas are good.

But it's a lonely road in those first days of starting a project. I've been there. Many times. Fridays at Four is what I wish I'd had when I started. It's a partner (Hai our AI) who remembers everything about your business, understands your struggles and strengths, helps you stay on track, and can answer all the questions you're too afraid to ask. It gets you unstuck and moving forward.

My first business was...

My first business was selling wild mushrooms I foraged in the woods to fancy restaurants in San Francisco. I would knock on the back doors of kitchens with a five pound crate of mushrooms and ask to speak with the chef. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. I didn't know what to price them. I didn't know if chefs would even buy them. I didn't know how to figure out if I was making any money. I didn't know how to hire employees. I didn't know really anything about business.

I knew that I had a good idea so I tried it, but I had so many questions that no one could answer. The questions are the same whether you're foraging mushrooms, opening a salon, or starting a consulting practice. What do I charge? How do I find customers? Am I doing this right?

Twenty years later...

I've raised $150,000 on Kickstarter, started The Underground Market that helped hundreds of food businesses get started—and landed me on the front page of the New York Times—and opened Forage Kitchen, an incubator space for food startups. I've always been inspired to create spaces that gave people the confidence to pursue something they dreamed of. I almost think of them as little bubbles of comfort. Inside that bubble it's safe to pursue something you might be embarrassed even to dream.

Fridays at Four is that space turned digital. Starting a business is hard. Most people will tell you you're wrong. Most people are scared to do it themselves, so they don't want you to either. It takes real strength to keep pushing forward beneath that pressure. You're reading this now because you know, just know, you have what it takes to make it happen. You just need a little support.