Nantucket Nectars, Plum TV founder emphasizes passion as key to success

Wilkes University welcomed Tom Scott, co-founder of Nantucket Nectars and CEO of Plum TV, as guest speaker for the Allan P. Kirby Center Lecture Series last Wednesday, October 17. Scott, an entrepreneur, offered his story of the rewards and challenges he faced as his small business, Nantucket Nectars, became a multi-million dollar franchise. Scott's story, "The Journey of the Entrepreneurial Spirit" tells of "two ordinary guys in an extraordinary situation."

"I think he has a compelling story to tell. He fell into being an entrepreneur, was good at it, and loved it. He's very vocal about being passionate with the product he created, and I think he will be able to capture the attention of students by letting them know that a young person can be successful," said Dr. Jeffrey Alves, professor of entrepreneurship and free enterprise.

Tom Scott, and his partner, Tom First, entered the juice world after they attempted to recreate a juice with a peach nectar flavor. After mixing different combinations of peach juice and water, the two men developed a delicious recipe. Within ten years, Scott and First developed their juice into a successful company with no business, marketing, or beverage industry experience. Despite the enormous success of the company, it was not always an easy journey.

"Winning in business is like getting a 96, [but] if you get a 92, you lose," Scott said. It took several years before Nantucket Nectars even turned a profit. At first, the business was actually losing money because its primary focus was to create a quality product for the consumer, not to make a profit margin. However, when the partners were in danger of losing their line of credit, and subsequently their business, something had to be done. Scott explained, "We knew we had to run the business a new way. I said I wouldn't shave my beard, the CFO said he would ride his bike to work, and a woman who worked for the company agreed to workout everyday until we turned a profit. In March of that year, we succeeded. It seemed like it happened when we gave it everything we had." For ten years Tom Scott and his partner kept Nantucket Nectars prospering. However, it wasn't the profit that drove them to success. Scott stated, "The notion of having fun is central to me. I focused on enjoying myself and trying to create a life around it." Scott believes that it is not the profit that should create the drive in people, but instead, the passion for the type of product the company produces. "If you want to make a 'same as,' why would anyone want to buy it? You have to make 'a better than.'"

The solution to make the product they created stand out among others was called, The Quality Juice Evolution Solution. Their goal was to make their juice "as good as the juice you drank from the fruit of the tree you sat underneath." The end result of this solution was over thirty types of juices, teas, and lemonades, all made with high quality all-natural ingredients. The company quickly grew from a small business to a multi-million dollar franchise.

Nantucket Nectars was hailed by Inc. Magazine as one of the top 20 fastest growing private companies in America and now employs more than 100 people. Several awards were also granted to Scott because of the enormous success he achieved as co-founder of Nantucket Nectars. These include the Mercury Award for Advertising, Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award, several leadership and design awards, and a feature in the documentary film Lemonade Stories.

However, Scott and his partner began to lose interest in the company. Instead of waking up each day to the excitement and challenge of something new, Scott realized that he wasn't having as much fun. "I fell out of love and the day came where it was time to stop." The two partners sold Nantucket Nectars to Cadbury Schweppes for an estimated $100 million.

After the two men sold the juice company to Cadbury Schweppes, Tom Scott went on to launch Plum TV, a lifestyle television channel created in 2002 produced largely in vacation communities, marketed toward residents and tourists of the area. Scott stated, "I don't know where this is going to go. I could be out of business in a year or flying high in the air. Stay tuned."