
Back to the Roots is founded in 2009 by young entrepreneurs Alejandro Velez and Nikhil Arora during their last semester at UC Berkeley. They product gourmet mushroom kits that grow in soil composed of 100% recycled coffee grounds. In this interview, Co-Founder Nikhil Arora shares how their green business idea became a reality, from the early days of collecting used coffee grounds from local Berkeley coffee shops, to their partnerships with Peet’s Coffee and Whole Foods, to the $5 million business it is today. He also talks about the evolution of their product design, and how their urgent