Holy Moly co-founder Tom Walker on buyers, delists and Clintons

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Gaz Booth and Tom Walker, Co-founders of Holy Moly.JPG

Name: Tom Walker

Job title: Co-founder

Company: Holy Moly

What was your first job? I set up my first business when I was 14, which was a mobile disco for kids parties. I used to ask my parents for bits of equipment for birthdays and Christmases (what 14-year-old wouldn’t want a smoke machine for their 14th birthday!?). I’d advertise in local corner shop windows and my dad would act as roadie, driving me to gigs and sitting outside in the car reading the paper.

As soon as I could get a ‘proper job’ at 16, I took on a weekend role at Clinton Cards in my local shopping centre – to help pay for more kit for my business. I remember my first day a customer approached me asking for the bereavement section… I’d never come across the term, so as I stood there looking clueless the customer barked “dead people”. I was mortified.

What’s been your worst job interview? My business degree at Aston University had a year’s internship. I was lucky enough to get an interview with Innocent. This would have been around 2005, so quite early in its journey.

It was a brand I hugely admired and in many ways it inspired much of what we do at Holy Moly. I remember coming completely unstuck on an elaborate mental arithmetic question – something I’m dreadful at. It felt like hours of silence as their eyes burnt into me whilst I fumbled counting the digits on my fingers and toes, whilst getting increasingly red and clammy…

By the end of the interview I was so relieved to be leaving the room, when I was kindly offered some products for my journey home I stupidly replied: “Nah, I don’t really drink smoothies.” I didn’t get the job.

“It doesn’t feel like a job. It’s my baby, my passion, it’s all I do and think about”

What was the first music single you bought? Whilst I can’t remember the first single, my first album was Now That’s What I Call Music 27 – which makes me feel very old. Released in 1994, I used it in my DJ sets. It contained classics like M People’s Moving On Up and Reel 2 Real’s I Like To Move It.

How do you describe your job to your friends? For me it doesn’t feel like a job. It’s my baby, my passion, it’s all I do and think about. I’d typically describe it to friends as a rollercoaster. I have some of the most satisfying days of my life but also some of the most difficult and stressful. But I wouldn’t change it for the world.

What is the most rewarding part of your job? Probably when I visit our avocado growers in Mexico and South America. They’re typically multi-generational farmers and we use their wonky avos that would otherwise go to waste. It’s incredible to see the many hundreds of jobs we support in these rural communities, and witnessing the passion and love they have for their produce and environment.

What is the least rewarding part? Supermarket delists! I know it’s just business, but it’s so hard not to take it personally – even nine years in, it’s still no easier.

What is your motto in life? Follow your gut and have confidence in yourself, even if you don’t have all the answers. We started Holy Moly with zero experience in the food industry. We built the business through gut feeling, determination and leaps of faith at times. We were never put off because we didn’t have all the answers, data or insight to hand.

Holy Moly Guacamole Original High Res (1)

If you were allowed one dream perk, what would it be? Travelling as much as possible.

I love travelling, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures. I’ve been lucky with Holy Moly, having spent lots of time in South America and Mexico. But there are still so many more places I’d love to discover – which I hope to do as we grow internationally.

Do you have any phobias? Wasps! One went up my trouser leg when I was little and I’ve been terrified of them since.

If you could change one thing in grocery, what would it be? I love working in the grocery industry and find most people are hugely passionate about what they do and are supportive of each other.

Occasionally you might come across an old-school buyer who deploys the classic hard-ball negotiation techniques – which I don’t think is the most conducive way of reaching a good, mutually beneficial deal. But fortunately most of that seems to have been left in the past, as partnership is valued over transactional relationships.

What luxury would you have on a desert island? This is awful, but probably my iPhone. When it’s your business it’s almost impossible to switch off, however hard you try.

What animal most reflects your personality? Perhaps a panda as they’re calm, thoughtful, reserved and patient.

What’s your favourite film and why? The Truman Show. I loved Jim Carrey when I was growing up in the 90s (he had so many goodies like The Mask, The Cable Guy, Ace Ventura), and this film was so different when it came out.

What has been the most embarrassing moment in your life? Back when I had a ‘proper job’ I worked in the consumer marketing team at BT. We were taken out for a big lunch by one of our ad agencies, just before I had a big presentation that afternoon. I was sat down presenting in front of dozens of colleagues and I remember thinking, “wow, people seem really engaged – I must be nailing this…”

Turns out, after overindulging that lunchtime, my shirt had inadvertently popped all the way open – much to my horror when I only realised at the very end of the presentation. Turns out that’s what they were all looking at.

Which celebrity would you most like to work with and why? Gordon Ramsay, as a friend spotted him tucking into a pot of Holy Moly guacamole aboard a BA flight last week. He knows good food, so I took that as a big compliment.

What would your death row meal be? Fillet steak, home-made chips and a glass of red.