Nate Mucha is a graduate and a professor at Grove City College. He graduated from Grove City College in 2008 with a degree in philosophy. Later he graduated from Kent State University with his M.F.A. After graduation, he founded Each + Every. Located in Kent, Ohio, Each + Every is a “multidisciplinary” design business created to provide “rich and collaborative” experiences with their clients.
I had the privilege of speaking with Professor Mucha to learn more about both him and his business. I inquired about his background and how he went from a philosophy major to a design expert. Professor Mucha explained that design and philosophy are quite similar. Both seek to understand people and answer the “why and how”.
Being both a manager and a business owner can have its struggles and rewards. Professor Mucha had the opportunity to mentor many of his current employees in their undergraduate programs. It was rewarding for him to watch his students grow and develop. He watched them flourish from young adults to married adults who are starting their own families. For clients, he enjoys being able to help them discover their vision and take them to the “next level” in their career or industry.
Professor Mucha also explained the challenges of his position. As a business owner, he carries the burden of taking care of his employees and making sure their needs are properly met. By nature, people are complex and have different viewpoints on what company benefits should look like, and corresponding needs. They have their own personalities, values and beliefs that make it difficult to make people happy while also encouraging productivity.
I also asked him how his faith has impacted the company culture and how he was able to incorporate his faith into his workplace. Professor Mucha explained that while it is not a requirement, many of his staff are Christians. Each + Every is uniquely positioned to understand religious and religious-based organizations. He also expressed that regardless of faith, gender, race, or belief system, he encourages respect, fairness and openness in his company. His team shares similar religious beliefs which makes conversation of that nature flow easily, but not everyone shares the same political, or social beliefs. They are able to respect each others’ opinions and have conversations, not debates. When integrating his faith, he expresses it through the way he treats his employees and the quality of conversations he has with his employees in clients. He and his team care for their clients and each other.
At its core, Each + Every is in the business of people. They seek to understand their customers, help their customers understand their own vision, and finally, to execute their vision. The company is excellent in understanding how design connects people to companies, products, and ideas as well as executing them in the way they need to be executed.
To conclude, Professor Mucha explained that while there isn’t a formal design major or minor, design is connected to topics studied here at Grove City College. It helps to understand the world and people around us. Professor Mucha described his experience as a professor and being able to work with students of different backgrounds and majors. Design is important regardless of discipline. With design, we think about the environment we create, the things we put in it and how we understand the world and each other. Grove City College equips its students with a holistic approach to life and matters. It helps to foster design.