Entepreneur Chris Tidmarsh profiled in Wall Street Journal

Post Reply New Topic

Chris Tidmarsh co-owns Green Bridge Growers, a commercial greenhouse in north central Indiana that provides herbs, lettuces and nasturtiums to local restaurants, and sunflowers and cosmos to florists.

The 30-year-old created the company in 2013 with his mother—and co-owner— Jan Pilarski, after a promising job as an environmental researcher ended abruptly because he had difficulties communicating. That left him with the choice of either trying to find a more suitable job or, with the help of his family, creating a business that would capitalize on his skills.

They chose the latter. “My mom does most of the administration,” says Mr. Tidmarsh, including accounting, marketing and sales. He perfects the spacing between rows of kale and spinach, and keeps close tabs on water chemistry and soil acidity. He spends hours researching natural and effective pesticides to deal with aphids. The solution: 4,500 ladybugs.

Ms. Pilarski often explains how they created and run the business to groups of parents whose children have autism, to show that it is possible. “There is a deep, deep need for hope and jobs,” she says.

He is a mentor to those working alongside him. The results are promising. Green Bridge is projecting revenue of $80,000 and profit of $30,000 in fiscal year 2018. In fiscal 2020, when an expansion is complete, it expects to reach $220,000 in revenue and $72,000 in profit.

In other ways, though, his journey is very different. Other entrepreneurs may know what they can’t handle and delegate those tasks to others. But they know how to execute their vision. That is difficult for Mr. Tidmarsh. He has a dream but leans on his mother and a network of supporters to plot and fulfill it.