Dearest Nomster Family-
The time has come for me to say goodbye, or really, ta-ta for now.
This is going to be a long one, so here’s the tl;dr (“too long; didn’t read”) summary:
The Nomster site will remain up for a while, so keep on cooking! But no new content will be added.
I’m closing down the Nomster Shop, so everything in the store is 50% off!!! If you’re looking for a Valentines present, a birthday present, or want to be the biggest Christmas overachiever, act now! Once everything is sold out, it’s gone forever. (note: this does not include the cookbook as that is sold through Amazon)
Everything in the store is 50% off!
Before I get to the mushy stuff, the important stuff: everything in the Nomster Shop is 50% off! We’ve got aprons, recipe books, and kids cooking tools, and everything is currently a steal! Order now because once it’s sold out, it’s gone forever. Order by Monday 2/10 if you’d like it to arrive for Valentine’s Day.
A Look Back
Nomster Chef has been a labor of love since I first had the idea in 2013. I spent a year in grad school developing it, and then put it aside for the year after school because taking a leap into the unknown of entrepreneurship was terrifying. But Nate Nomster kept calling me back, and I decided to try to make a go of it when I applied and was accepted into an EdTech startup incubator in 2016.
I have had some really incredible experiences at Nomster Chef. I got to feel like a cool tech entrepreneur in an incubator. I ran a successful Kickstarter (and was named Worldwide Project of the Day)! I had the opportunity to be in the room with some really big deal people, pitching Nomster Chef as a TV series and as a business partnership. I got a cookbook deal! I learned so many skills, from the mundane (how to use Quickbooks) to the profound (how to get over my imposter syndrome and think of myself as “a creative”).
Most importantly, when I think of the last 3 years, I think of all the people I got to work with as a result of Nomster Chef. I collaborated with an incredible team of professionals, mentored 21 talented college interns, received mentorship from really smart people, and met so many wonderful families from across the country as a result of this work. I am forever indebted to so many people that helped me realize this dream.
Why are you saying goodbye?
The short and sweet answer is that I was never able to make the economics of Nomster Chef work. (I might do a post-mortem blog post on why I think I failed, would you be interested in that? Let me know if any other business nerds are out there!).
What’s next?
The website will remain up for a while, so please keep on cooking! We have 21 fully illustrated recipes in our recipe library and 60+ recipes on the blog. And of course the cookbook will be available as long as the publisher keeps it in print.
I am looking for my next work adventure! I’m freelancing with companies that make products in the kid, family, and education space. If you’re interested in working with me, my personal website is www.ashleymoulton.com, check me out there!
(If you know any non-profits or businesses that might want to use Nomster content, please send a note to ashley @ nomsterchef.com. Let’s chat! And if any of you know any executives at Whole Foods that might want to put Nate Nomster’s face on a veggie display, let me know, ha!)
Keep in touch
Want to get very, very occasional emails from me when I’m looking for user testers for new products or for when I announce my next book project (spoiler: coming later in 2020!)? Sign up for my newsletter here.
Want to see ideas I have for my next project? Follow me on Insta at @ashbossketchbook.
Thank you
There are so many people that deserve so many thanks. I will attempt to cover everyone here but I’m sure I will leave someone out!
Thank you to my team: Kelly Jones for bringing the Nomster characters to life, Ashley Smith for providing nutrition feedback, Jamie Krenn for making sure the recipes were teaching kids the right things, and Monica Meng for supporting Nomster in every possible way.
Thank you to my college interns. You decided to spend your intern time working with little old me instead of for big media names, and I am forever grateful. You have ended up at places like Food Network, Meredith, Viacom, Nickelodeon… I am so proud of each of you. In alphabetical order: Alena Gallagher, Amarylis Jimenez, Caitlin Noonan, Colleen Euclide, Dana Kang, Jordan Herson, Katie Holzman, Ifah Pantitanonta, Julia Tricola, Justin Jacksen, Leah Anthony, Lincoln Gardner, Louis Levanti, Mallory Sugita, Morriah Lisowski, Preston Arment, Raquel Jacobs, Rose Lee, Sara Belcher, Shawn Nguyen, and Suah Kim.
Thank you to everyone at Stanford: particularly Karin Forssell, the LDT faculty, the d.school faculty, for helping me bring the idea to fruition. To the LDT class of 2015 for convincing me that I should take this beyond a school project. Thank you to the EDSi incubator team- you kickstarted this whole journey. To my professional colleagues who introduced me to people and provided much-needed business advice.
Thank you to all of the people who volunteered so much of their time and heart in supporting Nomster Chef. Special shout-outs to the Hung family, the Der family, the Smith family, Andrea Branchini, and all of you who volunteered time and time again to test recipes.
And of course, thank you to all the family and friends who supported me. To Dan Moulton, who did everything from keeping a roof over my head to running the camera for my Kickstarter video, this literally would not have been possible without you. And to everyone in my life who told me that I was brave, not stupid, for trying this.
To everyone I’ve mentioned and those I forgot, your support means more than you’ll ever know.
Okay, I’m off to grab a box of tissues. But don’t forget- everything in the store’s 50% off!
Xoxo,
Ashley
