Fresh to Death | Farmer’s Market Direct Founder, Steffanie VanderVeen

Steffanie VanderVeen founded her startup Farmer’s Market Direct in February of 2015. In a little over a year she has grown this idea into a new eCommerce platform that can be used to onboard vendors at farmer’s markets to sell their locally produced goods online to consumers. These consumers can shop anytime throughout the week and then pick up their goods at the local farmer’s market.

Steffanie used her 15 years of experience working as a software engineer developing eCommerce applications and websites to help develop her idea.

“I was the manager of a software team for 8 years and really love the mix of writing software and leading a team. I was able to use my skills as a software developer to create the website, and had a lot of help from the team to get it designed, developed and launched, but running a startup is definitely new territory for me, and I have had to learn a lot along the way,” says Vanderveen.

She’s also worked closely with Utah’s Sustainable Startups to prepare a well-researched go-to-market plan. Her pitch there last month brought down the house and she was named winner of the pitch contest and awarded a small cash prize.

“We are trying to get people to realize that buying local food is better than shopping at the grocery store. It’s better for you, your family, the economy, the environment, and can even be better for your pocket book too. We hope that our service can save people time and money, and help them eat better food, too.”

Farmer’s Market Direct debuted a few short months after its conception at the 2015 Wasatch Front Farmer’s Market at Wheeler Farm. Her success there has led to this year’s expansion into other Utah-based farmer’s markets: the Downtown Salt Lake City Farmer’s Market, Sugar House Farmer’s Market in Salt Lake City, and Park Silly Farmer’s Market in Park City.

Steffanie adds, “I have worked for the past year and a half to align the stars for this opportunity. I spent months just trying to get some face time with market managers, and then had to convince them to sign up. I now have the chance to run the ultimate test of my business model, if it works with the markets I have signed up here in Utah, it can work anywhere.”

The model for Farmer’s Market Direct is unique, asking shoppers to buy their items online and pick up in person at the market. The novel idea gives shoppers convenience and still drives traffic to the farmer’s market location.

“I am hoping that people who don’t normally have time to drive to the farmer’s market, park, and shop for two hours, but who want to eat locally will find value in our service,” Steffanie says. “We want to bring local food to the mainstream “Whole Foods” shopper, because these people are conscious about their food choices, but don’t have the extra time to spend shopping at the market.”

The balance that a service like Farmer’s Market Direct provides seems to be getting a lot of positive feedback.

“What I often hear is that we save time for busy moms and dads who want to provide the best for their family table but need a quick and easy way to do it,” says Steffanie.

Now for our freshest section: Quickfire Q&A

How did you get here from where you started?

I had a pretty unique opportunity to co-found my startup, Farmer’s Market Direct, with the software company I worked for, who was looking for some way to create more business within the eCommerce realm. I was able to use my skills as a software developer to create the website, and had a lot of help from the team to get it designed, developed and launched, but running a startup is definitely new territory for me, and I have had to learn a lot along the way.

What’s your current passion or passion project?

I am totally involved in getting my startup off the ground right now, its a seasonal business that launches with the farmer’s markets, and we are making a big push to get the four local markets we have signed up ready for opening day.

Why are you passionate about this NOW?

Because I have worked for the past year and a half to align the stars for this opportunity. I spent months just trying to get some face time with market managers, and then had to convince them to sign up. I now have the chance to run the ultimate test of my business model, if it works with the markets I have signed up here in Utah, it can work anywhere.

Is it economic?

I certainly hope that the business can scale and be profitable, but that’s certainly not likely to be the case this first year. In order to be profitable it has to scale, and in order for it to scale, people have to love the idea and want to use it.

Is it psychological?

People’s decisions regarding what foods to buy is always psychological. We hope to tap into the positive psychological drivers by fulfilling desires to eat healthier or be kinder to the planet. We hope to make people feel good about their purchase, they can support local producers and get delicious food but not have to go out of their way or be inconvenienced.

Since pursuing your current passion, what changes have you seen?

I pay a lot more attention to where the food I buy is from. I realize if I am promoting eating local, I should be doing it too. It makes me realize how hard it is to get local produce without going out of your way, yet each year when I attend the farmer’s market I see it in more and more abundance. It seems like such a disconnect.

Who or what is likely to be helped by what you do?

I am hoping that people who don’t normally have time to drive to the farmer’s market, park, and shop for 2 hours but want to eat locally will find value in our service. We want to bring local food to the mainstream “Whole Foods” shopper, because these people are conscious enough to be willing to spend some extra money on their food, but don’t have the extra time to spend shopping at the market. We save time for busy moms and dads who want to provide the best food for their families but need a quick and easy way to do it.

Tell us about the hardest day?

Getting rejected for the winter farmer’s market was probably the closest I was to throwing in the towel. With no way to continue the business I had worked, I really thought it was over. Instead, having the time over the winter to refine our approach and connect with the managers of the summer markets was probably the best thing that could have happened.

Tell me about the best day?

Conversely, getting the Downtown Salt Lake City Farmer’s Market manager to agree to try our service was probably the highest I felt. That was just after the Park Silly market had agreed to sign up, and all of a sudden I had the two largest markets in the state on board, in less than a week. I went from having no chance at a viable business to having the perfect scenario to test my business model.

What obstacles stand in your way?

Time is my biggest enemy. There is so much to do, and with a seasonal business, timing is everything. My biggest obstacle at this point is getting vendors signed up and getting their products online and ready for customers to order in time for summer market season.

What do you see for yourself and your passion project?

This project could just end up being a neat local business, and offer some great value to the communities in Salt Lake City and Park City, Utah, and I would consider that a great success. It’s possible that we may be able to find a model that works for other markets, and be able to expand to markets nationally, which would be amazing too. For me, it has been a great learning experience and I think having ran my own business will change my outlook on any software management work that I do going forward.

What item can you not make it through the workday without and why?

Coffee. I can’t think without it.

What’s your favorite genre/album/band/tune to work to?

Hmmm, I probably would have said techno or jazz before my daughter was born, but my 2 year old has really turned me on to classical music, especially violin concertos.

Favorite podcast?

No Meat Athlete or Katy Says, a natural movement podcast.

Any final advice for other Women in Tech or Media out there?

If you ever get a chance to follow a passion, take it. Take the risk, remember you can always go back to what you were doing before if things don’t work out. The insight and confidence you gain is amazing, and it will be an experience that affects all of your work in the future.

Anything else?

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to share my experience with other like-minded people!