Founded by Bariangela Segovia and Maliyah Bass, The Roll Academy provides an immersive experience for its customers. Participants are walked through the process of creating the popular treat. The women started as childhood friends and have grown into entrepreneurs offering a one-of-a-kind experience found nowhere else in the country.
Segovia spoke with BLACK ENTERPRISE about the evolution of Roll Academy, initial business challenges, and giving back to their Tennessee community for National Ice Cream Day, July 20.
What first inspired you to pursue such a niche business?
We went on a spring break trip to New York, at the time, rolled ice cream was trending. The experience was just super captivating. We had never seen anything like it and the line was wrapped around the building. As we were eating our ice cream, we were like ‘this is so cool, but we can make it better.’
After graduating from Belmont and Middle Tennessee State and finding the corporate world unfulfilling, you and Bass decided to revisit a business idea born during spring break—launching a rolled ice cream truck with just a $1,500 investment and a van from a local church. What were some of the biggest challenges you faced in those early days as first-time entrepreneurs?
We have specific ice plates that we use that were not easily accessible for us to purchase. We had to contact someone in China to get this machine. So, there was a language barrier. Once we finally got the machines, we didn’t know how to work them. We quickly got on YouTube and Google. We watched the technique of others and how they did it and just kind of mimicked it.
How did you figure out where your market is and which areas were prime?
Maria’s parents have been in the food truck industry for a while. They helped us with the ropes of everything. Also, Nashville is a city that has a high presence of food trucks. We went around to different popular parks. We searched online for different festivals to enter into.
You branched out from the bus and opened a physical location in 2020? Was it a smooth transition?
One of the biggest challenges was funding, construction, different contracts and right permits. You have to have money to do those things.
When did you realize that beyond providing rolled ice cream you should also provide a hands-on experience?
Customers were very intrigued by the process; they had cameras out videoing the entire process. They asked, ‘how is this even possible?’ ‘What type of cold plate is that like?’ ‘Is it nitrogen?’ All the questions and the curiosity from our consumers led me to think that they would love to have that hands on, face to face experience themselves.
The first iteration of the Roll academy was created in your, now closed, Germantown storefront. It is now a full-service academy that includes instruction on technique and education.
It was a hit, date nights, birthday parties, girl night out, everyone wanted to do it.
In what ways do you ensure this experience is accessible and fun for all ages?
We try to keep the experience down to a minimum when it comes to difficulty level. We have non-diary options people can come to if they’re lactose or gluten free. It’s a broad spectrum of accessibility, from the actual physical activity to the actual product. We make sure that it fits your needs for who you are as an individual.
How do you envision scaling The Roll Academy in the next 3–5 years?
There’s definitely plans to branch out. However, right now we are trying to create and build on the foundation that we have and get as many people as possible into our current location.
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To celebrate National Ice Cream Day Rolled4Ever partnered with Grammy-nominated record producer Tay Keith to give away free ice cream to Tennessee residents. The Roll Bus will be parked at the Nashville Farmers Market from 12 P.M.-2 P.M. Additionally, for those interested in the Roll Academy experience the physical location is also in the Nashville Farmers Market.
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