324: "Why I simply love working with start-ups"

<div>"Pick an area that's either a hobby of yours or something you invest in yourself day-to-day, be that time or money," says Nat Cooper, freelance <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/article/the-ultimate-guide-to-setting-up-your-food-drinks-brand/">start-up consultant</a>. "That's what's always worked for me. Thinking about products I really like, reaching out and seeing what the opportunity is."<br> <br> And it is an approach that has worked wonders for Nat.<br> <br> Her career has seen her work with a number of different start-ups within the food and drink industry, and for the past few years she has been able to go it alone as a consultant.<br> <br> She also does regular work as Head of OOH at the crisp-making company <a href="https://simplyroastedcrisps.co.uk/">Simply Roasted</a>.<br> <br> But, as we often find on the Career Conversations podcast series, her career path looked like it would go in a very different direction when she first started out.<br> <br> <a href="https://foodmatterslive.com/live-event-series-careers/"><strong>Find out more about the up-coming Food Matters Live careers event series<br> </strong></a><br> "I was really interested in the property sector and ended up doing real estate management at university," she says. "I ended up trying to explore a couple of other industries and stumbled across a position at a food and drink brand."<br> <br> That brand was <a href="https://vitacoco.com/">Vita Coco</a> and Nat says she loved working there: "Like most entry level roles, you end up getting into anything and everything to do with the business."<br> <br> One highlight saw her representing the company at London Fashion Week: "I could get into quite a lot of VIP areas. I felt very cool and important at the grand old age of 23!"<br> <br> Despite enjoying her time at Vita Coco, she decided she needed a break from London life, wanted to learn to surf, and to do more yoga. So she booked a one-way flight to Morocco.<br> <br> Nat still managed to find relevant work out there and after six months sh