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Nathan Stuck finds a new passion educating UGA students on B Local Georgia
By Catherine Eastman
Nathan Stuck takes a photo on his first day of teaching his experiential B Corp classes at the University of Georgia in August 2021 in front of his home. (Photo Courtesy of Nathan Stuck)
Nathan Stuck, an important figure in the world of B Corp, sips on an iced coffee after his return to Athens from the Champions Retreat in Philadelphia where he celebrated his many involvements in the B Corp community on Friday. (Photo/Catherine Eastman)
Wearing jeans, a t-shirt and a baseball hat, Nathan Stuck leans causally against the desk as graduate business students file into the lecture hall for a seminar on B Corp. His warm smile from his full, chestnut-colored beard welcomes students as they take their seats.
Stuck is a current part-time lecturer at the University of Georgia, founder and chief operating officer of Profitable Purpose Counseling, and founder and board chair of B Local Georgia. When he graduated in 2004 from the Terry College of Business he never imagined coming back to UGA to teach.
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In his early years of entering the workforce, he worked in the trucking industry, moved to Las Vegas to play poker and worked in sales and marketing. He felt lost and unattracted to the culture of the business world, like he was spending five to 10 years figuring out how to use his degree in a way that would give him purpose without succumbing to the capitalism of the business world.
“I think it started kind of the never-ending quest to find purpose in my work and meaning and something I actually enjoyed doing,” said Stuck.
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In 2015, after being laid off twice, Stuck felt defeated and decided to pump the brakes on working and return to UGA to get his MBA in international marketing. It wasn’t long after Stuck completed the MBA program that he was given the opportunity to teach at UGA.
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“My experience was so good that I just felt like an obligation to, like, continue to be involved,” said Stuck.
Currently, Stuck teaches experiential-based better corporation classes within UGA’s MBA program. His curriculum consists of three lectures and one project. He strives to teach how to check the boxes for B Corp certification and how to properly implement them.
“He just kinda helped change my perception of what I thought graduate business school would be and what corporate America would be like,” said Michael Johnson, a past student and current fellow board member of B Local Georgia. “And I really appreciated that because he really helped build that bridge for me between my old past, or my obviously old past, but my, you know, past work with where I was heading.”
Johnson recently graduated from UGA’s MBA program and knows Stuck as a mentor, fellow board member and past professor. He is inspired by Stuck’s ”infectious nature” and willingness to put himself out there. Stuck has introduced Johnson to people in the industry, included Johnson in calls with people from his non-profit community and invited him to network events in Atlanta.
Jake Mosley, director of student services in the MBA program, considers Stuck to be a “serial networker.”
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“So I think that’s what stands out to me when I think about Nathan as a student in our program is how open he was to learning about every opportunity,” said Mosley. “He didn’t do everything, but he wanted to make sure nothing slipped by.”
Stuck used his past experiences to create his own business. He noticed a gap in Georgia’s business culture and decided to establish the B Corp Organization, B Local Georgia. He later started Profitable Purpose Counseling because people kept approaching him and asking to be B Corp certified.
Jeff Jones, one of Stuck’s old bosses, was his “biggest champion” when making these decisions. He gave Stuck the confidence he needed to build his brand.
“It’s been very rewarding,” said Stuck. “The last three months were pretty awesome to see it all come full circle with a lot of hard work, a lot of tears.”
Now Stuck is in the process of discovering his next stage of growth. He hopes to offer his services to companies in the early stages that may be underserved. His book “Happy Monday” offers tangible takeaways and advice for finding your dream career.
Nathan Stuck journals about his time at the Champions Retreat in his notebook full of reflections and stories such as the epilogue and prologue of his published book, “Happy Monday” on Sunday at Sips Espresso Cafe. (Photo/Catherine Eastman)
Why I wrote this story:
Nathan Stuck is a very successful and well-respected member of the B Corp community. He is making a positive change in the world of business and helping students to do the same. He is very genuine in his efforts to share the mission of his companies and commitments. He has also taken many opportunities to share his story such as, publishing his own book and speaking on many panels.