Jessica Steel

Back to the Roots is an organic gardening company founded by Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez. Back to the Roots has an award-winning line of organic soils, seeds, plant foods, raised beds, and indoor gardening kits. The duo co-founded Back to the Roots in college after discovering how to grow gourmet mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. Since then, the organic gardening company has evolved from an urban mushroom farm in Oakland, CA to a thriving national brand and the fastest-growing gardening company in the country. With a mission to reconnect families back to their food and the land, Nikhil and Alejandro are transforming the gardening industry by making it easy for anyone, anywhere to grow their own food. The organic gardening products are currently distributed in over 15,000 stores including Walmart, The Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, and Whole Foods, as well as on Amazon. The founders have been recognized globally for their efforts in sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship, appearing on lists including Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies”, BusinessWeek’s “Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25”, Inc.’s “30 Under 30”, Inc. 500, Forbes’ “30 Under 30”, CNN’s “10 Next Entrepreneurs to Watch”, BBC’s Top Global Social Entrepreneurs, Forbes 40 Under 40, EY Entrepreneur of the Year and President Obama’s Champions of Change. They have delivered multiple TEDx Talks, UC Berkeley’s Business School commencement address, and have been featured on CNBC Mad Money, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, WSJ, Huffington Post, and the NY Times.

Back to the Roots is an organic gardening company founded by Nikhil Arora and Alejandro Velez. Back to the Roots has an award-winning line of organic soils, seeds, plant foods, raised beds, and indoor gardening kits. The duo co-founded Back to the Roots in college after discovering how to grow gourmet mushrooms on recycled coffee grounds. Since then, the organic gardening company has evolved from an urban mushroom farm in Oakland, CA to a thriving national brand and the fastest-growing gardening company in the country. With a mission to reconnect families back to their food and the land, Nikhil and Alejandro are transforming the gardening industry by making it easy for anyone, anywhere to grow their own food. The organic gardening products are currently distributed in over 15,000 stores including Walmart, The Home Depot, Target, Lowe’s, Tractor Supply, and Whole Foods, as well as on Amazon. The founders have been recognized globally for their efforts in sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship, appearing on lists including Fast Company’s “Most Innovative Companies”, BusinessWeek’s “Top 25 Entrepreneurs Under 25”, Inc.’s “30 Under 30”, Inc. 500, Forbes’ “30 Under 30”, CNN’s “10 Next Entrepreneurs to Watch”, BBC’s Top Global Social Entrepreneurs, Forbes 40 Under 40, EY Entrepreneur of the Year and President Obama’s Champions of Change. They have delivered multiple TEDx Talks, UC Berkeley’s Business School commencement address, and have been featured on CNBC Mad Money, CNN, Forbes, Bloomberg, Fox News, ABC News, NBC News, WSJ, Huffington Post, and the NY Times.