Oxford Entrepreneur Turns Fresh Juice Into a Thriving Business
Over the last year, you might’ve heard, tasted, or even seen student entrepreneur, Nate Occilien-Similien 26Ox, promote his business, Taste & See, throughout his time here at Oxford.
Through various classes, workshops, and partnerships at Oxford, the local business has become a hit with students and the broader Oxford community. Starting March 16, Taste and See will now be available at Coffee Camper.
While Taste & See has become a staple on campus, its roots go all the way back to Nate’s sophomore year of high school, where he was encouraged by a classmate to join the local school farmers market. Nate was initially hesitant as the business didn’t even have a logo or name yet, but with his father’s previous entrepreneurial experience guiding him, Nate decided to take the leap and set up a table at the market.
“I went, and we sold out. We completely sold out,” Nate recalls. “The reactions on people's faces are really what got me. That was the first light bulb moment.”
That success was just the start of a budding business that would flourish and hydrate the surrounding area. The father-and-son duo would go on to expand into more community markets, receiving positive feedback and increasing demand for fresh juice options, as there weren’t many within a 50-mile radius. This demand gave the business its identity, but it was Nate’s mother who provided its name. Inspired by Psalm 34:8, the brand became "Taste & See"—a nod to the family’s faith and a promise of high-quality products.
Before the farmers’ market, Nate admitted he didn’t have extensive business or entrepreneurial experience, especially since he was only a high school sophomore. He says, “I have always had that ambition to just do something big, do something great from early on.” When his mom suggested he apply to the Disney Dreamers Academy Program, he almost didn’t. He applied and got in, and it was when he was selected as one of only 100 students nationwide to participate in the entrepreneurship pathway that his ambition grew.
"I fell in love with entrepreneurship through that [The Disney Dreamers Academy]. There were workshops, seminars, and million-dollar business owners. I got to bounce ideas off of them and really get a feel for what it’s like to build something bigger than yourself."
He left the experience with a clear realization that he wanted to build a business capable of doing something great. The Disney Dreamers Academy provided Nate with the toolkit he needed to launch Taste and See. Since launching the business nearly four years ago, Nate and his father have participated in numerous community farmers’ markets, selling their products and promoting healthy habits. They've also expanded their original menu, which featured The Pineapple Refresher, to include over 10 different juice flavors.
When Nate arrived at Oxford College, he brought more than just his love and drive for entrepreneurship; he brought a proven business model combined with a strong motivation to build it into something greater. However, transitioning a local family business into a collegiate environment required a new level of strategy.
As Nate continued building Taste and See, he wove the business into the very fabric of campus life, taking advantage of the college’s unique resources to sharpen the skills he had already developed. Nate credits the Oxford community with helping him grow both as an entrepreneur and as a business owner. The entrepreneurial resources at Oxford, such as the Center for Pathways and Purpose, where Nate participated in Side Hustle 1.0, provided him with the insights needed to level up his brand. Through the four-week immersive program featuring Oxford alumni and Georgia-based business leaders, this experience pushed Nate to move past dreaming and confront some of his weaknesses, think more critically about the scale of his venture, and refine his short-term goals. "It helped me channel my focus," Nate explains. "It made me think about my weak points—what are the fears I’m not looking at because I want to stay in 'la-la land' instead of looking at what really is."
The program concluded with a Shark Tank–style pitch competition, where Nate successfully secured seed money, marking his first-ever professional pitch victory. Beyond the funding, the program connected him with a network of like-minded student entrepreneurs and mentors who helped him transition from being just a founder to a strategic leader, a shift that allows him to navigate the balance of being a full-time student.
“It's almost like entrepreneurship is embedded in my everyday tasks, even while I'm in school. Balancing the weight of school, obviously doing well in college, and having the internal drive to grow the business.”
And it was successful. The Oxford community continued to support his business through various tangible means, with faculty departments and campus organizations ordering for meetings and events, and students frequently becoming customers throughout his time here at Oxford. Nate quickly gained a reputation around campus as ‘The Juice Guy.’
As Nate approaches his last few weeks here at Oxford before going to the Atlanta campus, he has secured a spot in a permanent campus fixture like Coffee Camper, which was no small feat. It required the hustle and big-picture mindset Nate had been refining since setting foot on campus. "I had to show them that the demand was already there," Nate explains. It wasn't just about the juice; it was about showing how Taste & See fit the lifestyle of the students who are already grabbing their morning coffee.
For Nate, this launch is the fulfillment of the ambition he felt in high school: building something bigger than himself. As he prepares to graduate, his goal remains clear: to ensure that healthy, fresh options aren't just a luxury and something that you can find outside of campus, but that’s a standard and something that you can also find right here within our home away from home.
