MOMA founder Tom Mercer: On How The Savvy Entrepreneur Operates

Working as a management consultant in London, Tom Mercer spent most of his days dreaming up business ideas. But, it wasn’t until he spotted a gap in the market for grab and go breakfasts, that the budding entrepreneur set the wheels in motion.

Developing the idea further, Mercer settled on a liquid mixture of yogurt, oats and fruit (the very first draft of MOMA’s Oatie Shake), before he embarked on a guerrilla style sampling session at Waterloo, one of London’s busiest commuter hubs.

He’d stay up through the night chopping fruit, blending it with oats and yogurts, breaking numerous blenders and pouring into water bottles he’d picked up from Tesco. Two hundred bottles later, with a trestle table set up outside the station, Mercer and his friends began exchanging bottles for email addresses.

Leaving the corporate world for good in August 2005, by November Mercer was given the go ahead to sell his product at Waterloo East station. One converted filing cabinet, an old BT van, and a railway arch later, MOMA sold its first breakfast to the city of London’s commuters in the February of 2006.

Opening two further sites in Vauxhall and Canary Wharf, Mercer spent the next few months getting up at 1.45am, starting work in the company’s railway arch kitchens at 2.30am and then selling at 6.30am. And the hard work paid off.

By the summer of 2008 MOMA had grown to nine stalls and sold into offices and retailers including Selfridges. But unfortunately, the recession hit.

Commuters weren’t prepared to spend that little bit extra on a healthy breakfast outside of the home, so Mecer decided to shift his focus. Moving away from the stalls and onto retailers, MOMA soon pulled in some great wins in the form of Waitrose, Ocado, and Virgin Atlantic.

Since then the business has been through two redesigns, three city wide marketing campaigns, numerous retail listings and grown its team substantially.

Becoming the number 1 Bircher Muesli brand in the U.K., with an annual turnover of 3.4m, MOMA is sold in supermarkets, trains and coffee shops across the country.

And although the journey hasn’t been easy, for Mercer this is just the beginning.

Despite the challenges, setbacks and revisions, Mercer argues that for any entrepreneur there are five key processes that are essential for turning your concept into a success, here he explains how a savvy entrepreneur operates.

Be Objective

Remain ruthlessly objective about your product or service. Is it really good? Is there a big enough market? Will people pay enough? What is the competition like? Can you deliver a consistent product at a price that leaves a good margin?

Innovate and improve

Always look for ways to improve on your core offering, by keeping on top of market trends. And, whilst not losing focus, spend time looking at innovation and how you can bring new people into your market.

Build a great team

The skills and attitude within your team are key to being successful. Really think about where the gaps lie and how different team members can complement each other.

Get a mentor

Someone who has been there and done it can be a huge help, a source of sound advice, and can save you a lot of time.

Know your objectives

Understand why you’re in your business and for how long. This will determine how fast you grow, what risks and compromises you take and how much funding you will require.