Creating Change: Nat West on Entrepreneurship, Community, and Public Service

This week, I sit down with Nat West, founder and former CEO of Reverend Nat’s Hard Cider, a pioneering craft cider company in Portland, Oregon. Over 12 years, Nat helped shape the city’s thriving cider scene before making the bold decision to close his business, despite its post-pandemic stability. Seeking a change, Nat spent six months driving a public city bus—a dream he’d always had—and rediscovered his love for Portland, a city (my city) often misunderstood in national media. Inspired by this experience, a friend encouraged him to run for city council during a pivotal moment of governmental restructuring in Portland. Though we don’t always agree on the solutions, I admire Nat’s passion for public service and his unique entrepreneurial perspective. In this conversation, we explore what motivates someone to shift from business to public service and what it’s like to be on the cusp of a new political journey. Let’s get to it.

In this episode:

(00:00) - Intro
(06:02) - The art and science of cider-making
(11:51) - Growing the business vs enjoying the craft
(14:20) - On the importance of marketing
(20:34) - Challenges and changes during the pandemic
(32:25) - The moment Nat realized it was time to move on
(36:40) - Nat’s approach to building culture in his team
(49:17) - Moving on from a business
(54:47) - Seeing the city as a bus driver
(01:08:02) - Running for city council
(01:15:21) - Defining the role of a city councilor
(01:19:02) - Nat’s collaborative approach to politics
(01:22:49) - Challenges and opportunities for small businesses
(01:25:36) - A vision for Portland’s future
(01:39:56) - Nat’s beautiful future
(01:43:14) - Who Nat is becoming

Key Takeaways

Creativity in Business is Key: Nat emphasizes that creativity and experimentation were central to his cider-making process. His approach was more artistic than scientific, which allowed him to push the boundaries of what was possible, even if it sometimes led to failure (e.g., the infamous leg of lamb cider experiment). Creativity isn’t just about success; it’s about trying new things, learning, and evolving.
External Change Requires Internal Adaptability: Nat discusses how he had to adapt his business during challenging times, particularly during the pandemic when he shifted his focus to home delivery. Being flexible and responsive to changing circumstances was crucial for his business’s survival, and he even found renewed passion in the process. This adaptability is a key lesson for anyone in business.
Marketing Matters as Much as Product: In today’s world, being a great product maker is not enough; marketing is equally important. Nat describes Reverend Nat’s as “a marketing company, not a cider company”. For entrepreneurs, the ability to market well can be just as important as the product itself.
Passion Drives Success, but It Has Limits: Nat started his cider company out of passion, but that waned over time. Passion is a powerful motivator, but it can diminish, and knowing when to step back or pivot is important. Nat’s decision to close the company wasn’t due to financial failure, but because he realized he no longer had the passion to continue.
End with Integrity: Nat’s decision to close Reverend Nat’s was intentional and graceful. He ensured that the business ended on a high note by compensating his staff well, maintaining high product quality until the end, and planning a smooth closure. It’s important to maintain integrity in a business, even in its final stages.

Quotes

“I’ve always approached my cider-making with more art than science. I’ve always been more of a chef than a chemist… And that’s just the way I approached my work. I did so many things that were just so off the beaten track, and there were so many failures and successes. It was a whole lot of fun.” ~ Nat West

“I think a lot of times in consumer goods we’re not product makers, we’re social media people, we’re marketing people. Unless you really embrace your role as a marketer, I think it’s really, really hard to be a product creator.” ~ Nat West

“I really like to talk and collaborate and learn from other people. One of my strengths on the council will be identifying what other people's strengths are, despite what they think their strengths are, and making sure that they're always working to their strengths and not asking them to do something that they're not good at.” ~ Nat West

“I was using cider as a vehicle to help other people. And now there's no cider involved—it's just literally helping people every day. And I'm just really excited to be able to listen to people and to have my hands on those levers of power and be like, okay, you want it like this? Okay, let's do that.” ~ Nat West

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