Pipe Dream sat down with Mason Wartman, owner of Rosa’s Fresh Pizza in Philadelphia, before his TEDx speech. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Pipe Dream: Why did you decide to come to Binghamton University and give a TEDx talk?
Mason Wartman: I thought it was a great venue, and it would be a cool opportunity to put the ideas behind Rosa’s Pizza out there in a more academic sense, and get more exposure and get more people to replicate our efforts.
PD: Why did you leave your Wall Street job to open Rosa’s? Why pizza?
MW: I had plateaued at my job, and I wasn’t learning as much. I always like learning new things and I love business and so this seemed like the next logical step.
I didn’t really know how to do anything, but I saw the success of dollar pizza stores in New York and Manhattan. The people that work in these places do really well. So I thought that if they can figure it out, I can, too. And when you’re making pizza, even your mistakes taste like cheese.
PD: How did the pay it forward program get started?
MW: One day, a customer walked in who knew that we served a lot of homeless people, and he asked if anyone ever came in short. I told him that they did, and he offered to pre-purchase a slice for the next person who came in short. So I then ran out and got post it notes and intended to keep track of the program with them. The rest is kind of history. All the attention focused on us for this has driven donations way up and has gotten the word out to the homeless community so we can serve a lot more of them, too.
PD: How did you decide on the topic for your talk?
MW: I wanted it to be about what Rosa’s does, because obviously I’m most knowledgeable about that. I also wanted it to be an idea that would encourage action. I thought that the subject matter encouraged other people to get out there, extend their horizons and maybe encouraged them to implement a similar business model in their communities.
PD: What suggestions do you have for people who want to try and implement a similar initiative?
MW: Start really small and simple. Just pizza — just one thing. Do one thing and do it really well, and then you can expand. When Rosa’s started, we did one thing and we actually did it very poorly. It took time to do very well, but then we did it and now we do more. We pay it forward, we make t-shirts, sweatshirts and we have a big social media presence. All that stemmed from doing one thing and doing it well.
PD: What is one thing you want the audience to take away from your talk?
MW: Even the smallest bit of kindness can have a huge effect on somebody’s life.