Entrepreneurship comes easy to Amir Mostafavi, founder of Washington, D.C.-based juice, smoothie, and bowl concept South Block. Or at least it’s natural to him — even if it’s far from easy.
Mostafavi said he learned how to be an entrepreneur from his father, a first-generation immigrant from Iran who owned a video-rental store in the D.C. and Northern Virginia area back in the ’80s and ’90s. Watching his parents tirelessly work the stores and get to know loyal customers by name inspired Mostafavi to pursue his own entrepreneurship journey.
Well, eventually.
“Being an employee there was awesome, but I always felt like, ‘Man, the last thing I want to do is have my own business,’ because I saw how hard [my dad] worked,” he said.
The entrepreneur bug caught up with him in the early 2000s, when Mostafavi was led by his passion for fresh fruits and vegetables to open a juice bar, Campus Fresh, on the second floor of a gymnasium at D.C.’s George Washington University. After grinding to make that a success, Mostafavi opened the first South Block in 2011 and hasn’t looked back, scaling the business to 17 locations. Now, with a recent investment from Savory Fund secured, South Block is looking to expand on the East Coast.
Mostafavi joined the latest episode of Take-Away with Sam Oches to share his entrepreneurial journey, how he’s tackled the many challenges along the way, and why people on the proverbial “block” are so important to the brand’s success.
In this conversation, you’ll learn more about:
- Get involved in activities where your guest is involved
- Sometimes the simplest rules are the most important
- Being a little bit naïve can be great for your business
- Your ability to quickly adopt new items can trend-proof your business
- Your culture will never be 100% perfect, but you can work on improving it 100% of the time
- It’s important to celebrate all of your brand’s wins
Contact Sam Oches at [email protected].
