Ethan Karp Gets Frank with Harvey Nelson (S02E04)

Partner Content
Wednesday, October 29, 2025

It started with a muffin shop in a crumbling building in downtown Akron. It grew into a national custom bakery supplier serving chains like McDonald’s. Harvey Nelson is the co-founder of Main Street Gourmet, a manufacturing entrepreneur who’s reinvented his company more than once — including buying it back after a venture capital sale went sideways.

On today’s episode, Ethan and Harvey talk about creative grit, betting on people, and the leadership philosophy that helped grow a startup bakery into a multimillion-dollar powerhouse.

About the Make-It Podcast

Earlier this year, the Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network (MAGNET) launched its new podcast series “MAKE IT: Frank Conversations on the Future of Manufacturing,” featuring frank and insightful conversations between MAGNET president and CEO Ethan Karp and Northeast Ohio manufacturing leaders.

“I’m super excited about these podcasts,” says Karp. “They come out of asking, ‘How do we take our blood pressure in this industry?’ to know what needs to happen. We ask these manufacturing leaders how they run their companies and what’s important in this region and we hope these stories about their companies will impact our community.”

The complete, up-to-date set of Make It! podcasts can be found on MAGNET's Podcasts page.