From a Nommery Dinner to Parsnip, a Brand Partnership Tool
by Parsnip
Erin Lenhardt and Sally Rogers are the co-founders of Parsnip, a startup that connects brands with partnership opportunities. Parsnip members use the tool to find values-aligned partners for giveaways, newsletter exchanges, guest blog posts, in-store demos, gift baskets or product placement at events.
Like most startup co-founders, Erin Lenhardt and Sally Rogers, the co-founders of Parsnip, frequently get asked, “How did you two meet?” They still get a chuckle when they respond: “We met networking.” The truth is, they did meet networking, but it was networking via Nommery, which really means they met over a good meal with great people.
It was February 2017. Erin was new(ish) to San Francisco and up for trying new things (especially when recommended by a food industry friend), and Sally was recently elected to the Board of Slow Food San Francisco, a non-profit devoted to the mission of good, clean, fair food for all. Sally had previously met with Melisa, the founder of Nommery, loved what Melisa was working on, and convinced the rest of the Board to support Nommery via a “get to know the Board” Nommery dinner at Dosa on Fillmore in San Francisco.
It was the first Nommery dinner for Erin and Sally, and the first Nommery dinner for the Board of Slow Food San Francisco. After realizing they worked on various businesses and activities in the food industry, they decided to meet up again. They frequently met up (over dinner, of course!) and exchanged notes on what they were working on and challenges they saw in the food system.
Eventually Erin and Sally received the opportunity to launch the Snacks category of the Good Food Awards in 2018. Through the planning of the Snacks category, and each noting that they were starting to contemplate what was next in their careers, they began to explore working on a project together.
A few months later, after regularly meeting, talking about challenges they felt across the food system and beyond, and digging into possible business opportunities that intrigued them, they acknowledged their mutual love for a good partnership and hatched Parsnip. They began in March 2018, going full-time in July 2018. Now, 750+ members later, with 500+ matches made, they are making a brand partnership tool (think: dating for brands). They work daily on how to effectively build their technology solution, how to craft the best user experience, and how to add more value to Parsnip members.
What began as a delightful Nommery dinner has evolved into Parsnip, impacting the way hundreds of brands think about working together. Erin and Sally still make sure they bring good food and drink into work sessions!
