Getting back on the saddle

When I left my job one year ago to start Mulch, I asked one of the founders of my last company a question—

“What’s the hardest part of running a company?”

I thought he’d deliberate for a little, but without hesitation he looked me dead in the eye and said—

“In business there’s always going to be volatility. Ups and downs and ups and downs. Somedays, though, it won’t just be your business in crisis. You’ll be facing serious challenges in your personal life too. Keeping steady during that time will be the toughest part.”

I used to think that I understood what he meant, but now I know I didn’t.

The past few weeks have been pretty hectic in my personal life. I won’t get into all of the meat and potatoes (and touch wood, all is more or less settled now), but I realized I hugely overestimated my ability to juggle it all.

I ended up temporarily pausing a 30-day email series I was doing for the Rewilderness Club (paid community) — and that’s ok I guess — but it just made something really clear to me:

I’ve been approaching Mulch completely and totally wrong.

Up to this point, it’s been me sharing ideas, sending seeds, pushing the ball forward. I’ve been focused on creating a business and a product to rewild NYC. Me, me, me, I, I, I. And, when anything like this past few weeks happens, everything stalls.

And that’s stupid! And I’ve been a total goofball.

The mission of Mulch is to bring New Yorkers together to rewild the city…and that mission shouldn’t have a dependency on anyone, including me.

In a rush to figure out how to keep this going, I mistakenly focused on myself and creating a business/product/service instead of the most important job — bringing people together, nurturing a self-sustaining community, and getting the hell out of the way.

So that changes today.

If you’re interested in:

• urban planning / rewilding

• helping steer Mulch strategy

• leading initiatives like creating a rooftop farm or living wall

• or meeting folks who are interested ^ in person

You can now join our groupchat here. In the next coming days, we’re going to create sub-committees to figure out how to:

• Get 10,000 street trees stewarded in the urban forest

• Create a rooftop farm in the city

• Create a living wall

• Make joining a community garden really easy

• Streamline how to get tree guard permits

• Easily get gardening materials without having a car / transport

Learnings aside — I’m still amped. I believe a lighthearted, nature-filled New York City is well within reach, and I’m pumped out the path forward together.

Onwards,
Mayank