Behind the Scenes at Whole Foods

Students pursuing an entrepreneurship minor through McCombs gain startup perspective during summer program

On a field trip to Whole Foods Market’s headquarters in Austin, undergraduates in the Blair and Bubba Moffett Family Summer Entrepreneurship Academy (SEA) learned from University of Texas alumni now in the food retail industry about the value of an entrepreneurial mindset, preparing them to innovate whether in startups, established companies, or their own future ventures.

Seventeen UT undergraduates from a wide variety of majors across campus took the eight-week in-person intensive program in June and July. Four of the five required courses for an entrepreneurship minor can be completed by participating in SEA, a program of the Harkey Institute for Entrepreneurial Studies.

Experiential learning is a key part of the program, said Kriti Gopal, senior student program coordinator in the Harkey Institute. Students come up with venture ideas, conduct market research, build pitch decks, and pitch their ideas to volunteer mentors. Proposed startups this summer included an app for reserving equipment at the gym, a lifejacket that turns a bright color in the water, an artificial intelligence platform that answers medical questions based on an individual’s records, and a platform for students to sublease their apartments during school breaks.

“I wanted our students to have all the necessary tools and resources that would equip them and make them confident to pursue any options, whether it is launching their own entrepreneurial venture, finding an internship, or landing a job after graduation,” Gopal said.

The field trip (one of two this summer, including Capital Factory, an innovation hub in downtown Austin) sparked conversations with UT alumni about their roles in one of Austin’s most successful startups.

Whole Foods started on North Lamar Boulevard in 1980 with 19 employees, and even though it’s now owned by Amazon, alumni who work there told students it still has a distinct people-first culture and a reputation for trying new things. They offered tips on UT resources that set them up for success.

The panel included Abbey Appel, UT ’19, senior category merchant; Ashley Doctor, BBA ’21, senior program manager in strategic business planning; Morgan Tamez, UT ’14, exclusive brands category merchant, and Kim Vo, UT ’19, campus recruiter.

Madhu Sharoff, whose Kimbala chai is on Whole Foods shelves, told students how he pivoted from a career in aviation to launch and grow his own company.

Diyaa Dossani, a sophomore radio-television-film major who participated, said she hadn’t expected to be fascinated by the food retail industry but came away with lessons valuable for any career.

“It can be simple things like drive and resilience and staying true to your roots in your company,” she said. “I think for a lot of us, it was a good example of the work that we can do, both in the entrepreneurship program and in our own majors and colleges, that will get us to a place where we get to make a change in the world.”

Applications for the Harkey Institute’s 2026 SEA will open this fall. Interested students may contact Gopal at kriti.gopal@mccombs.utexas.edu.

SEA is one of several programs offered by the Harkey Institute to support UT undergraduate students with entrepreneurial aspirations. Others include: funding for student founders through the Entrepreneur Summer Fellowship; professional guidance through the Undergraduate Mentor Program; and early access to UT’s startup ecosystem through Entrepreneurship Living Learning Community for first-year Longhorns.

Story by Sally Parker