ABOUT
Maura Rapkin is the owner of Napkin LLC. Maura believes in the power of teamwork and empathy.
Maura is a NYC chef, western PA farmer, and small business owner guided by principles of community engagement and enlightened hospitality. She is passionate about conceiving solutions for a socially just, equitable, sustainable, environmentally conscious food system.
She started her career in 2011 as a sustainability-oriented chef in New York. She worked as a chef and manager in hospitality businesses including Michelin-rated restaurants The Modern and Blue Hill at Stone Barns, internationally renowned Breads Bakery, and premier catering company Abigail Kirsch. Maura received her MBA and Masters in Food Studies from Chatham University's sustainability program. Napkin LLC began as a consulting company when she saw a need emerge for lean, agile, and sustainable business solutions in the food and agriculture sector.
Napkin LLC considers the greater context in which small businesses function, and applies hands-on expertise to help them thrive. Napkin focuses on solutions-oriented business planning while considering profits, hospitality, and sustainability.
Danny Chin, Unity College
Maura is a fantastic collaborator with the ability to guide individuals at all stages of business development—ideation, planning, execution. She served as the subject matter expert (SME) to co-develop a course where students design their own sustainable businesses. The activities and learning materials she generated guided students as they considered big picture questions of their business (mission, vision, value proposition) as well as the seemingly small details that can make or break a business (logo, supply chain, partnerships). Furthermore, Her breadth and depth of experience allowed her to incorporate ideas and examples across the food and agriculture industries. I know she can bring these same practices to her consulting work to help clients grow or improve their businesses.