A.J. Marcinek co-founded CropShop while attending Endicott College and hasn’t looked back since graduating in Spring 2019. The young entrepreneur’s hot startup is already thriving at fulfilling its mission to bridge the gap between chefs and local sustainable sources of food in the Boston area. As the CEO of CropShop, Marcinek is responsible for the business and customer-facing roles — including personally picking up and delivering products from farms to kitchens — while cofounder Cam Bleck is responsible for software engineering with an operational knack.
While at Endicott, Marcinek competed in the college’s Spark Tank, a startup competition in which CropShop won first place. He has a tenacious attitude that may come from his years playing junior hockey and collegiate hockey.
As an Endicott undergrad, Marcinek worked closely with previous Boston Speaks Up guest Deirdre Sartorelli at the Angel Center for Entrepreneurship where he learned what investors would be looking for and how best to position CropShop for the future. Now, CropShop works with local restaurants and farmers all over the greater Boston area including Ledger, Oak + Rowan, La Chanterelle, Alprilla Farm, Appleton Farms, and Mehaffey Farm. CropShop recently unveiled its new digital platform at https://cropshopmarket.com/.
Enjoy a condensed version of our podcast discussion as a written Q&A below.
Where did you grow up? Byron Center, Michigan - just outside of Grand Rapids.
How would you sum up your childhood? Incredible and a little unusual; chasing my hockey dreams, my parents going to extreme lengths to support them, and traveling throughout North America every weekend was incredible. But the travel and time we put it wasn’t exactly normal in hindsight.
Who most inspired you to become an entrepreneur? That’s tough, I think Elon Musk. It’s been more of a blend of people who set out to do something different, unique, and created a new path which always inspired me. Musicians, founders, writers, all alike.
How did growing up playing hockey influence your decisions? It influenced me in every way, how to be a team player, how to be on time, taking accountability, and how to handle adversity. All of these influence how I make decisions and act as an individual.
What was the biggest challenge being a student, athlete and an entrepreneur at the same time? Trying to master time was challenging. It was fun though - school was a great middle ground for the transition from hockey player to co-founder.
How would you describe your battles with the concussions you received playing hockey? It wasn’t easy and something I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy. But like most adversity people face I came out on top, with added perspective and appreciation for how precious life and health are.
Have your thoughts on contact sports for youth changed since dealing with your own concussions? Not really, I think added awareness and education on the subject will cause players to play differently over time — less dirty, more thoughtful. But hitting is apart of the game, a reason I loved playing it, and not everyone deals with concussions.
What have you learned about the value of startup mentorship? I think at early stages it’s crucial to have people in your corner; those who believe in you, your company, and desire to make something out of nothing. It can be a lonely process and an emotional rollercoaster - talking through situations, obstacles, and strategies with ones who’ve been there has been extremely important for me.
Who’s your biggest mentor today? Bill Hewitt - most recently CEO of Exari (acquired by Coupa).
What motivated you to make the jump to start CropShop? I was ready to jump into a new endeavor.
Why focus on sustainable local food? When I (and the rest of us) started to become more aware of our current food system from people like Michael Pollan, and documentaries like Food, Inc, I was angry. I even built a massive garden at my parents house to rebel. That culminated into a fascination with the culinary world and when I had the idea for CropShop - the two came together and I felt the need to go for it.
What would you be doing if you weren’t leading CropShop? Probably tinkering around on another idea with Cam.
How did your time at Endicott change future life choices? It altered my whole path - I came in wanting to play pro-hockey after school, and went out with a startup and a cofounder on a mission. I’m not sure Endicott is fully responsible for that - but it played a large role.
What do you appreciate most about your cofounder Cam Bleck? His passion and commitment to go on this journey together of making something out of nothing. His technical skills and ability to build our software isn’t bad either.
What is the most important thing people should look for when seeking out a startup partner? I think shared desire to do something extraordinary, and balancing skill-sets.
What immediate challenge would CropShop like tackle next? Continue to get fresh greens to kitchens throughout Boston’s winter!
Why do you believe Boston is the right city for CropShop to thrive? The problem we are trying to solve persists here - and Boston’s consumers are no exception to wanting fresh, quality, and local food more and more.
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