Originally published in the inaugural edition of Carroll Capital, the print publication of the Carroll School of Management at Boston College. .
Around the time his colleagues started thinking about getting MBAs, Jake Mazar 鈥�08 was daydreaming about learning how to farm. While it might have seemed like an outlandish idea for a former finance and economics double major, his desire to connect with the world around him led the way out of the office and into cofounding two companies, and .
Growing up in central Massachusetts, Mazar recalls spending plenty of time outside. He also remembers how his whole family would gather over home-cooked meals, often featuring ingredients from their garden. From an early age, he learned to appreciate the earth and the things that came from it.
Jake Mazar '08
He was drawn to Boston College particularly because of its values of service to others, but he initially had trouble connecting his classwork to the real world. 鈥淚t was hard to see how I get from a classroom to how I might use these skills in my future career,鈥� he says. Mazar felt largely unmoored by his college experience until his semester abroad in Cape Town, South Africa. Completely out of his comfort zone, Mazar felt so alive. 鈥淚 like feeling like I鈥檓 growing,鈥� he says. 鈥淐ape Town felt like a big, invigorating change for me.鈥�
A few years after graduation, he found himself back in Africa, consulting for the nonprofit , which promotes business solutions to poverty. Mazar had already been working in management consulting, but he craved something more mission-oriented. Working on a soybean farming study, Mazar鈥檚 days were rarely predictable鈥攁 reality he relished. Instead of sitting in a cubicle, some days he was on a motorbike, tracking down farmers to ask them questions. Not only was the work exciting, but he felt connected to his environment in a visceral way.
When Mazar returned to Boston in the spring of 2011 and joined clean technology company as a marketing specialist, he hoped to maintain that feeling of connection. While he aligned with EnerNOC鈥檚 environmental work, his traditional corporate role wasn鈥檛 clicking. 鈥淚 looked at my boss鈥檚 job and my boss鈥檚 boss鈥檚聽job,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t terrified me, the routine of it.鈥� He needed to make a big change鈥攏ot just a different role, but something completely new.
His younger sister ultimately convinced him to give farming a try. 鈥淚t was so hard to step off that well-worn path,鈥� he says. 鈥淚n hindsight, it was also one of the best decisions I ever made.鈥�
Mazar began his farming education with apprenticeships, including at Brookfield Farm in Amherst, where he worked in exchange for housing, food, and a stipend. 鈥淔arms need labor and they have knowledge to share,鈥� he says. 鈥淚t was hard work, but I found it very satisfying.鈥�
“I looked at my boss鈥檚 job and my boss鈥檚 boss鈥檚 job. It terrified me, the routine of it.”
During this time, the ideas for his next ventures were already starting to bloom. Hard cider producer Artifact Cider Project and farm-to-table catering company Wheelhouse, both cofounded by Mazar with friends, began as side projects while he was still an apprentice. 鈥淔arming is all about connecting to people and trying to make small changes within a community,鈥� he says. 鈥淭hat hopefully has ripple effects for how we engage with the planet.鈥�
Over nearly a decade, the businesses have changed scope many times. Mazar is no longer out in the field鈥攈is companies source more than 90 percent of their agricultural products from local farmers鈥攂ut he鈥檚 no less hands-on. 鈥淪ales, legal, accounting,鈥� he says, 鈥淚 make sure the businesses are healthy and growing by trying to make smart strategic decisions.鈥� Mazar says he draws especially on the softer skills he started defining in college. 鈥淎s an entrepreneur, so much time is just managing and communicating. Those are lifelong skills.鈥�
His advice for management students? Embrace the possibilities of the path ahead. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no right or wrong way鈥擨 think the only wrong way is if you鈥檙e stuck doing something that doesn鈥檛 feel aligned with who you want to be,鈥� Mazar says, smiling widely. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 the kind of person that wears slacks and loafers, you know. I like to be wild and free.鈥�
