Now a 28-year-old alumni of Iowa State University and Sigma Chi Fraternity, Nick is enjoying his successful career as a co-founder of the new website and app, GoGreekNow. When speaking to him during an interview, Nick provided a little insight of how he got going with GoGreekNow and what he hopes to accomplish with the site. With an open mind, Nick and his professional partner, Mark Hagen, run their company a little edgier than the average.
A few years back, Nick was on the phone with his fraternity brother and long time friend, Mark Hagen, while stuck in traffic. The conversation took a more professional turn when they started to discuss how the Greek system could benefit from being updated in the digital world. Although many Greek chapters use social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Tumblr to promote Greek life, many times these posts are pushed onto the back burner and go without notice due to the overwhelming amount of non-Greeks. With this in mind, Nick states "that spurred the idea that what if the Greek community had their own platform that focused on all the things Greeks really want to know and see. Things like who are the other Greeks on my campus, what are people doing for events, parties, socials, recruitment, philanthropy events, how can I find my brothers and sisters at other campuses, what goes on in the Greek communities at other colleges, and so on."
Taking this simple idea, Nick Scott and Mark Hagen chose to do their research on the topic. Realizing there was no type of social media specified for only members of Greek life, they chose to proceed in creating a website that later turned into an app that is "specific to Greeks, tailored to college students, and got rid of all the clutter of the other social platforms." This allows Greeks to freely post about their lifestyle without the criticism and negativity of non-Greek students.
With the company becoming larger, they had to start making more important decisions including the way they run their business. “At first I thought I wanted to run and own some huge company that made money. As I've grown through life and in business, I've learned to realize that there is a lot more satisfaction from doing what you want with who you want in business, and enjoying your work rather then going for the paycheck," says Nick.
Being young at heart, he enjoys keeping the business professional but in light humor and with excitement. Rather than having the employees of Go Greek Now dread going to work every day, both co-founders strive to take an edgier approach by believing that their employees will benefit and be more successful in a fun and open workplace. "I think we are unique in that way because we are fraternity and sorority based. We are able to run it differently than any other company because the sense of community is stronger since we are all connected by Greek life," says Nick.
After maturing with the business, Nick realized that the back story of how he treats his employees is that "if you re-define what 'success' is for yourself, you can realize that making people happy and expanding their experiences in life is much more fulfilling than just trying to increase your paycheck." These two men truly run Go Greek Now by a quote stated by Harold Geneen, “I don’t believe in just ordering people to do things. You have to sort of grab an oar and row with them."
Progressing into a popularly used social network, Go Greek Now has become a place that Greeks post pictures like Instagram, statuses like Facebook, and can read articles that relate to Greek life like TSM or TFM. It has become a one-stop app for Greeks on over 150 campuses in the United States.
When asked if he would do it the same all over again, Nick Scott quickly responded, "absolutely."
