Running a business on its own can be a daunting task, but when Nathan Moskowitz '23, co-owner of Nate’s Cookies, left for Copenhagen to study abroad, Kevin Coelho and Paris Taliadouros stepped up to held down the fort.
Running a business can be daunting. It requires lots of focus, time and attention, so when Nathan Moskowitz ’23, co-owner of Nate’s Cookies, left for Copenhagen to study abroad, Kevin Coelho ’23 and Paris Taliadouros ’23 stepped up and held down the fort here on campus.
Even with time zone barriers, the three Elon seniors all maintained communication and ensured that Nate’s Cookies not only survived but thrived in the fall 2021 semester.
Nate’s Cookies is a cookie purveyor with unique flavors and combinations that have served the Elon community since 2021. It has gained a reputation as a popular sweet shop vendor at Elon with a mission to help raise funds for suicide awareness and prevention. A portion of the proceeds is donated to various charities relating to this cause.
So how did they manage with one of their co-owners over 4,000 miles away?
“It was pretty hands-off from my end. Kevin and Paris, the two other owners, really stepped up and did a lot of work,” Moskowitz said.
The three collaborated on key issues, but the day-to-day operations were handled by Coelho and Taliadouros back at Elon.
“A lot of the overarching general decisions were left to me and Paris,” Coelho said. “I always handled the financial and operational side of things. But, I managed the weekly orders, pop-ups and mostly everything else. We only contacted Nathan when something was actually changing the company. Whether it was a new partnership, a new group of people that we were working with or a new vendor we were selling to. It was just updating him with summaries of things but managing the business certainly fell to me and Paris.”
Time zone barriers were also something to consider, with Taliadouros adding, “We pretty much had to figure everything out by ourselves because with the time difference, Nathan would most likely be asleep.”
Coelho and Taliadouros focused on collaborations with Elon Dining, Oak House, Marketplace Under the Oaks (now Oak Originals), Greek Life and professors. Additionally, they had to give people what they really wanted – cookies.
“Twice a week, Paris and I would bake cookies on Tuesday and Thursday nights spending five, six hours making all of the cookies,” Coelho said.
“When we were in the kitchen, we would prepare everything that we needed. Sometimes a challenge would arise, or we would mess up because neither of us were bakers or worked in culinary,” Taliadouros said.
But, the two were determined to make a great product and their determination paid off.
“I believe I was prepared for when Nathan went abroad just because besides managing other things, I was still doing the job I was doing beforehand. I will say there was a lot of extra and added work as far as the cookies go and the process of making them,” Coelho said.
The two sold cookies at Homecoming, Family Weekend and many other pop-ups during the fall 2021 semester at the Doherty Center. Additionally, they continued growing their business, collaborations and employees.
“I am proud of what Kevin and I have accomplished during the time that Nathan was abroad. To be honest, we did not think we could handle it but we did,” Taliadouros said.
With all three owners back on campus and ready for their senior year, what’s next for Nate’s Cookies? Nate’s Cookies leaders are looking forward to continuing what they know best and serving the Elon community. “This semester we are really focused on being the most efficient well-oiled machine,” Moskowitz explained.
As for after graduation, Moskowitz, Coelho and Taliadouros aren’t 100% sure about the direction Nate’s Cookies will go.
“We are unsure what we want to do. We have to start thinking about it and coming up with a plan. But as of right now, we are just trying to grow as much as possible,” Taliadouros said.
With communication, expectations and a determined group, Nate’s Cookies is standing strong at Elon and the surrounding community. The Doherty Center, Oak Originals and Elon are looking forward to seeing, and tasting, Nate’s Cookies this coming year.