Meet Kay Stilb | Owner, Blits Mushroom Company

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kay Stilb and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Kay, we’d love to hear more about how you thought about starting your own business?
We see the potential in everything, and for us, turning a hobby into a business was a natural progression. My husband has a steady job, but as my children grew into school-age, independent beings, I needed something. I was missing my drive, my passion for all things. I had poured so much of my energy into raising two, amazing little people, that I forgot who I was a bit in the process. I began looking for jobs, but nothing made me excited or motivated. When we first started growing mushrooms for ourselves, we quickly realized their popularity as our friends and extended family were clamoring for samples any chance they could get. My husband suggested I market the mushrooms and potentially make a small business out of our growing hobby. I resisted at first, not sure if I wanted to commit to a full time job, and certainly debating how I could still be a good mom while also running a business on the side. After I decided that this could be a “now or never” moment, I agreed to give it a whirl. So, for us, Athens was the right choice to test the waters with our product. We started with one restaurant, who quickly referred us to another and, before we knew it, we were taking off! We have never looked back! I now work full-time from our home-based grow operation, specializing in marketing, sales, and managing our grow house team. I have been able to balance my time between boss lady and mama, not with ease, but with support. Sometimes you just have to follow your gut, and when you’re surrounded by people who encourage you, it can make all the difference in your success.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
I own Blits Mushroom Company, a mushroom wholesale company located in Gwinnett County, GA. With my husband, Mike, we cultivate specialty mushrooms and distribute them throughout the state of Georgia alongside our distribution partner, Farmers & Fishermen Purveyors. We run a 1,200 square foot grow house and produce between 300-400 pounds of mushrooms per week. We specialize in Oyster mushroom varieties (white, blue, gold and pink), but are most proud to be one of the only wholesale growers in Georgia cultivating Maitake mushrooms. Through our partnership with Farmer’s and Fishermen we are able to get our product to restaurants and grocery stores all over the state.

Nothing about growing mushrooms is easy, let’s just get that out of the way. Every time you think things are going smoothly, there’s always some hurdle waiting to surprise you. Mushrooms are fickle. They can grow perfectly for months, then suddenly refuse to grow. Having a backup plan is the key to success in this facet of farming. I spend lots of my time in the grow house assessing what each weeks potential yields will be and how to make them work based on client orders. Growing mushrooms consistently and at large numbers can be tricky, but as we expand we’re always learning and evolving to counteract any new challenges.

Meeting business goals we set for ourselves early on in our start up, has kept us on track and motivated to keep moving forward and expanding. Each month we set a goal for how many mushrooms we want to grow and how many we want to sell. Hitting goals is so important to keeping forward momentum in our business.

My philosophy of getting to know each chef we partner with personally and having a relationship with them lets both parties feel comfortable reaching out at any time, which helps us maintain our professionalism and puts a face to our business. I want all our clients to know this is a family business that truly cares about them as a client. I try to visit every restaurant we partner with, so I can speak with chefs, managers and staff personally. Every chef gets my direct cell number to ensure they can reach me at any time to place or change an order. I absolutely love meeting all our chefs, and creating bonds with them is one of the best parts of my job.

Blits Mushroom Company is a small operation, but we pour our hearts into it every single day. We don’t take vacations. We don’t get days off. We work hard, but it’s because we’re so invested in what we do. We always want to have the best quality mushrooms and the newest and most desired species.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
This is too easy. Athens has my heart, so we’re going there for sure. We would stay at the Ath-BNB because it’s in a killer location and within walking distance to some fabulous restaurants. We would hit up the BEST brunch in Athens at Heirloom Cafe, followed by a trip the the Athens Farmer’s Market to shop for amazing local art, food and fun! Next we would visit the botanical gardens, which is something I do quite often because I could never get sick of its expansive beauty. Also, they have an incredible light show at the holidays that is not to be missed. Next we’d head back into town and grab a pick-me-up latte and delectable pastry from Independent Baking Company. And, lastly, its a toss up for me between dinner at Five and Ten with the incomparable Chef Will Cantrell or stuffing my face with pasta at The Expat with the amazing Chef Kenny Nguyen. Both restaurants offer incredible cocktails paired with unforgettable entrees! We’d end the night grabbing truffles to-go from Condor Chocolates. That is the absolute best day in Athens.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Without the support of our first restaurant partners, we would have never been able to grow as fast as we have. I’d love to recognize Heirloom Cafe, who were our absolute first clients. Jessica Rothaker has an incredible kitchen staff, full of friendly faces and downright great people, we owe a lot to them! Next is Five and Ten, with one of my favorite chefs, Will Cantrell. They have been HUGE supporters of us since the very beginning and forged our relationship with our brilliant distributor, Farmers and Fishermen Purveyors. Rani Bolton of Farmers and Fishermen deserves a huge shoutout. Without her brilliance and expertise, we would be lost!  Through our partnership with F&F, we were able to meet Matt Ratcliffe of Hamp & Harry’s, who has fully embraced our business and championed our mushrooms every step of the way, plus he’s simply a great human! Nick Leahy, of Nick’s Westside, The Usual, and Bar{n} integrated our mushrooms into his three restaurants beautifully, and his support has meant the world to us. And, last but certainly not least, is our families. Without them and their constant support and advice, we wouldn’t be nearly as far as we are. This whole venture has been blessed by support and we truly feel lucky for all the support we have. Thank you ALL

Website: blitsmushroomcompany.com

Instagram: @blitsmushroomcompany

Facebook: Facebook.com/blitsmushroomcompany