VCU news

By Leila Ugincius

The Virginia Commonwealth University School of Business ended this semester’s Ten-Ten Talk series with a special treat: Gelati Celesti owner Steve Rosser.

Before Rosser presented his 10-minute talk to about 50 students, faculty and staff, he offered free samples from the Gelati Celesti ice cream truck to passers-by outside of Snead Hall. Rosser loves to give free samples because he knows people will come back for more if it’s a superior product.

One of the many initiatives the School of Business has enacted to support EPIC, its strategic plan, the Ten-Ten Talks brings distinguished speakers to deliver an informal talk on innovation and creativity. Speakers present 10 slides in 10 minutes, followed by 10 questions from the audience. Rosser began his presentation by pointing out that one usually equates innovation with startups, yet his company is 32 years old.

Mistakes happen. You just can't be successful all the time.

“How about old businesses,” he said. “Old businesses can certainly use creativity to recharge what they’re doing. And that’s exactly what we’ve done. … As all of you know, if you don't have the tolerance for risk, you’re just not going to try to be creative. Because you're going to get burned from time to time. Mistakes happen. You just can't be successful all the time.”

When Rosser purchased the company in 2010, he had nearly 30 years of sales and marketing experience at Reynolds Metals and Luck Stone under his belt. While he knew there was a small core of customers who had great passion for the product, he couldn’t have known that the frozen-yogurt craze was about to take off. “I bought this company,” he said, “then Sweet Frog opened and they were like mushroom plants on every corner.”

Yet, in the time Rosser has owned the company, sales have quadrupled. Rosser attributes the success to three areas that apply to all businesses: the product itself, the customer service experience and the physical environment. He believes in the quality of his product, which he calls truly different, with a different texture from any other ice cream.

“We provide a few moments of pure joy,” he said. “This is not a food company. This is ice cream. This is not nutritious. It’s a treat. But if we can provide you with a few moments of pure joy, you’re going to come back.”

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