Entrepreneur Spotlight: Pat McAuley, Founder of Eat Green Make Green
Pat McAuley is a familiar face - you may recognize him from an earlier post on this blog where he discussed his dating app, Hint. It is often said that the first few endeavors of an entrepreneur won't necessarily end up being their true calling, and this is so true when it comes to Pat. After several ventures including Hint and also co-founding the Weymouth based brewery, Barrel House Z, Pat discovered his calling by following his passions with Eat Green Make Green.
There is a larger discussion surrounding health and wellness in the US these days, and Pat was sick of seeing friends and family struggle with weight, health issues and take medications for problems that were caused by their diet. Pat now works with men and women all over the world to reduce inflammation, lose weight, dodge disease, feel their best, and thrive into old age.
Pat explains how eating green changed his life and how it could change yours too!
Tell us about Eat Green Make Green
Two years ago, I started messing around with my diet. I simply started with replacing my eggs and toast for breakfast with a green smoothie full of greens and fruits. I noticed I felt so much better and had so much more energy throughout the day, so I decided to replace lunch as well. After a week of cleansing, if you will, I started really paying attention to how certain foods made me feel. It didn't take long for me to realize any time I ate meat or dairy, I felt like a beached whale and my energy plummeted. So I eliminated them from my diet. Within weeks of doing so, all kinds of bodily issues I had battled for years (allergies, asthma, arthritis, and more!) disappeared. It had such an emotional and profound affect on my life that I dropped everything I was doing (including being a part of an amazing craft beer startup) and I knew I had to share what I learned in the hope of positively impacting others' lives.
Why at no point in my life did a doctor, nutritionist, parent, coach, mentor, or anyone tell me about the power of eating whole plant foods? Why didn't I know until now? Why did I have to find out all on my own? When I had health issues, I was always prescribed medications, inhalers, and creams that I would have to use for the rest of my life. We live in a society that, when something is wrong, we go to the doctor and get prescribed something to treat our symptoms. But what is the underlying cause of those symptoms? It is our diet and lifestyle, period. Why didn't someone just say "hey, just quit the meat and dairy and eat whole plant foods and all your health issues will go away"?
Since no one else is educating people about the power of food, I knew I had to. That's why I started my latest venture, Eat Green Make Green. Over the past two years I have learned from some of the best doctors and scientists on this topic. In short, I have become obsessed and determined to help others. With my background in technology, I knew I could approach the problem in a unique way. Eat Green Make Green is a health coaching business but also an educational platform for those interested in adopting a plant-based lifestyle. In order to reach and help as many people as possible, I developed an online seven-week course called "7 Weeks For The Rest of Your Life" that teaches people how to adopt a healthy lifestyle for years to come. I teach my clients how to shop, cook, exercise, breath, and take full control of their health. I now work with men and women all over the world and it is so rewarding to see my clients finally get down to their desired weight, kick medications, heal body pains, reverse heart disease and even cancers, simply by making a change in what they eat and do on a daily basis.
There is so much crap out there about health and nutrition and people are extremely confused. When, in reality, the solution to all our health issues is right in front of us. It's what we choose to eat and do on a daily basis, period. Eat Green Make Green is all about helping men and women skip the drugs, the surgeries, and all the sadness that comes with it and give them the power to thrive into old age and be around for the ones they love.
What was your background prior to Eat Green Make Green?
This is the third entrepreneurial project I've been involved with. In 2012, I founded a dating application company called Hint, which I am still involved with today in Singapore. After Hint, I helped start a craft beer company called Barrel House Z in Weymouth, MA. I would still be at Barrel House Z if my health revelation did not take place. I am someone who will always follow my passions, and I knew I had to start Eat Green Make Green.
What was the tipping point that led you to entrepreneurship?
I had a job right out of college working for a large general contracting company. I lasted 4 months. The thought of spending my days working on things that have no real meaning to me, just doesn't make sense to me. I truly believe I'm on this earth to make a difference, and filling out excel sheets for 40 hours a week isn't going to accomplish that. After that first job, I promised myself I would never take a job or dedicate my time to something that didn't have real meaning to me. Thus my entrepreneurial career began.
What roadblocks did you overcome to reach the point that you are at today?
Two big roadblocks for me were (and still are) mindset and money. I really had to let go of caring what others think. Once I was able to do that, I freed myself to just go for it. I've also been broke and in debt a number of times in the past five years. I've had to move back home multiple times (I'm extremely lucky to have the support of my family). I've had negative amounts in my bank account and that's really the worst it can get. What I've realized from failing is, when I step back and think about it, it's really not that bad. Being broke and living back home is the worst it can possibly get for me. In that scenario, I am still more fortunate and blessed than 99.9% of the world. I've experienced failure countless times, and every time I get through it and come out the other side. So I don't worry or even think about failing anymore. That allows me to follow my passions and aim big.
How would you define success in terms of entrepreneurship?
In terms of entrepreneurship in general, success is really about freedom. Freedom to call my own shots, freedom to pursue what's important to me, and freedom to be me. When you're able to support yourself, and you're not dependent on anyone else or any other entity, that's freedom.
Right now, with Eat Green Make Green, I define success as how many lives I can change. In the past, I've focused on money as a success benchmark and I think that's a mistake. I now focus on the outcome I provide - changing lives. I know that if I'm changing as many lives as possible, that financial success is an inevitable by-product of that.
What are your plans for the future?
I do think I have found my true calling in Eat Green Make Green. My plan for the future is simply to scale it and impact as many lives as possible. There are all kinds of ways I see it expanding from health trips, to restaurants, to a beverage company... I'm excited about it.
Do you have any advice for up-and-coming entrepreneurs?
It's such an incredible time to be an entrepreneur, where you can sell a product or service from behind a computer screen to millions of people anywhere in the world. You will never have all the answers. The most successful people on the planet don't have all the answers either. So stop looking for answers and asking for advice and just take action! Don't let fear or doubt cripple you from taking action.
Connect with Pat and check out his website, podcast and book!