Count Baked by Melissa founder Melissa Ben-Ishai is among the entrepreneurial success stories founded on breaking out of the corporate rat race.
Before starting her company, Ben-Ishai worked at an advertising agency in New York City — a role she felt unfulfilled. The day she was fired was an “aha moment,” she told CNBC recently. She visited her brother at work, and he suggested they start a business selling her cakes. They quickly created a website and took pictures of the cupcakes using a white sheet of paper as the background.
In 2008, Ben-Ishai was doing it all: hand-delivering cakes to tasters, calling caterers from her bedroom, and once she received an order, boarding the subway with a white cardboard box filled with her trademark dyed sweets. . At the time, every cupcake came from the kitchen of her small New York City apartment.
Baked by Melissa The city would be sprinkled with bite-sized cakes in painted boxes for the next few years, with its big break coming when the owner of Barry’s Café, who had fallen in love with the bite-sized cakes, offered Ben-Ishai the opportunity to use his commercial kitchen in exchange for selling him cakes at the price of New York City’s holiday markets. .
“Seven months after founding the company, my father drove up from Bergen County and helped me move all my stuff from my small kitchen down to the basement at Barry’s Café,” she recalled at a recent CNBC event.
The café owner became a shareholder in Baked by Melissa, and the company was able to continue using the space for years. Ben-Ishai says foot traffic was already lucrative, but as the press began to spread, people lined up at the corner. A year after moving to Barry’s Café, Baked by Melissa opened its second location in Union Square.
Photography by Sarah Lindsay
since then, Baked by Melissa It has become a global company with 14 brick-and-mortar locations, nationwide delivery and more than 2.5 million followers on TikTok. Ben-Ishai also took over as CEO and recently published her second cookbook, “Come Hungry.”
Social media has become increasingly important in building a “cupcake empire.”
In 2021 Ben Ishai Green Goddess salad recipe. It went viral on TikTok and It became the #6 most searched recipe on Google nationwidewith 1.6 million searches in 2022. The recipe, which was recreated by celebrities like Cardi B and Lizzo, led to Ben-Ishai. Appears on the Today Show He later posted a recipe for “Green Goddess” ranch, which received nearly two million more views than the original recipe. Now fans are watching the recipes and routines that Ben-Ishai shares On TikTok.
“Social media can be an amazing tool,” she told CNBC in an email. “You can do anything (when) you keep the right attitude…show up every day (aka make it your job), listen to your audience and work to create quality content.”
Ben-Ishai declined to comment on how A TikTok banned in the US It will affect her.
Being a cookbook author fueled by social media success has helped Ben Ishai transcend the cupcake brand.
“I wanted to share this philosophy and way of eating that prioritizes nutritious ingredients in every meal,” she said. “I hope readers gain a sense of confidence in the kitchen through my recipes, so they can use them with any ingredients in the future.”
Obstacles to success for founders and executives
Studies show that women face significant barriers to entrepreneurship, with much less access to funding than male founders, and a high level of skepticism from the male-dominated investment world. There are some signs of improvement, though High rate of new business creation among women entrepreneursand More women are investing in companies founded by women. These capital market issues contribute to research showing that women often lack the confidence to start a business, although research also shows that women-run businesses often outperform the market, creating jobs. ETFs track women-led companies.
Ben-Ishai said she faced gender-based obstacles firsthand.
“It’s hard to succeed at work regardless of your gender,” she said. “(But) I found some challenges to be more specific to females. I think men are often confident, while women lack confidence. I didn’t become CEO of the company that bears my name until 2019, and even when I was appointed to the position, I thought I couldn’t do it. “I was wrong.”
Ben-Ishai is now a successful CEO and social media personality, and has built a unique brand of his own. The freedom and unpredictability of entrepreneurship also makes her feel good — she says she loves getting out of her comfort zone and putting out fires.
“I’m hugging her,” she said. “This is when we learn and grow the most.”
