Erik Oberholtzer of Cohere on Founding Tender Greens, Food for Good, and Creating Fast Casual

This week’s guest is long-time chef Erik Oberholtzer, co-founder of Tender Greens, a revolutionary “fast casual” food brand. Now, as managing partner at Cohere, he helps other founders scale food brands making a positive impact.  

But before finding success as a chef, entrepreneur, and author, Erik was at Temple University working towards an undergrad psychology degree. In need of money, he took a concierge job at the Four Seasons Hotel in Philadelphia. 

The position required someone well-informed on the city’s culinary scene – the best restaurants, bars, cocktail lounges – so Erik immersed himself in that world.The experience ignited a newfound passion for food, and soon Erik was off to culinary school and much, much more. 

Join us to hear how Erik found himself on a mission to democratize food. 

Episode Highlights 

00:00 Erik on the early days of starting a business.  

00:53 Introducing Erik Obertholtzer and Tender Greens 

02:58 Growing up, developing a passion for food, and culinary school 

08:40 Early culinary career, the food scene, and entering the restaurant industry 

16:47 Career leading up to founding Tender Greens and the origin story

25:25 Fun startup stories, hardships, and scaling the business

29:57 Leaving Tender Greens, consulting, and Erik’s work at Cohere

37:55 Aligning purpose with profits and the democratization of food

42:50 Conclusion and end credits 

To learn more about Cohere, visit https://www.coherestudio.co/

Follow Erik Oberholtzer on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/erik-oberholtzer-930a934/

Have a great idea or a guest in mind for a future conversation? Connect with Conor Gaughan on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ckgone/

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Consensus in Conversation is a podcast by Consensus Digital Media produced in association with Reasonable Volume.