Amie Kesler shares her quest for the perfect plant-based cookie cracker and how she’s grown her company, Carolyn’s Krisps with The Savvy Entrepreneur. She started with her favorite grandmother’s recipe for a cookie-crisp. All of her friends raved about it. And then she experimented with how to replace all of the traditional ingredients with plant-based ones.
Plant-based food is becoming increasingly popular, as it is healthier. It improves gut health, stabilizes blood sugar, helps lower cholesterol, and is higher in fiber.
She started making Carolyn’s Krisps (Carolyn was her grandmother) in a shared kitchen at The Hatchery, a Chicago-based incubator focused on food & beverage startups. Since then, she’s expanded to selling online and through several large retailers.
If you’ve dreamed of starting a food product business, Amy shares lots of tips and helpful suggestions.
Below is a transcript of the interview. Go here if you’d prefer to listen to the interview on demand.
Doris Nagel 0:41
Welcome to The Savvy Entrepreneur Show!
I’m Doris Nagel, your host for the next hour.
The show has two goals. First to share helpful information and resources. I’ve been an entrepreneur, I’ve counseled entrepreneurs, I have lots of friends who are entrepreneurs. I have made so many mistakes. I’ve seen a lot of mistakes. And so if I can help just one of you entrepreneurs out there not to make some of the mistakes I’ve made or seen that I’ve been successful.
The second goal is to inspire. I found being an entrepreneur, confusing and often lonely. You often have no idea if you’re on the right track or not, or where to turn for good advice.
To help with both of those goals, I have guests on the show every week, who are willing to share their stories and advice.
My guest this week is Amie Kesler. She is the CEO and self-proclaimed Chief Krisper of Carolyn’s Krisps who joins me this week to talk about her journey as an entrepreneur.
Amy, thanks so much for being on the show today. Welcome to the savvy Entrepreneur Show.
Amie Kesler
Hi, thank you for having me. I’m excited to be here.
Doris Nagel
I’m excited to have you tell people a little bit about yourself who you are as a person in your background, you know, what makes you tick?
Amie Kesler 2:14
Funny enough, my background is not in food at all, even though now I am running a CPG company. My background is really for the most of my career been based in kind of the creative arts. So graphic design art direction. Even since sustainable fashion design, and fashion styling have been a few different pads that I’ve gone in my career.
Doris Nagel
Well, that’s amazing. So obviously, you’re a very creative person for sure that,
Amie Kesler 2:50
I guess so, yes. What always has made me tick and anything I’ve done or pursued is this idea of one degree tivity. And, like you can, the ideas and kind of unique projects you can come up with, but also connection and really connecting people through art and design, or through whatever means.
that is and how you can really impact someone, even just down to like a small kind of touch point on the like on a daily basis, or maybe like a bigger art installation where people can connect with other people. But that theme like connection has truly been in everything I’ve done, which is really driven my current pursuit with Carolyn’s crisps?
Doris Nagel
Given what you’ve told me, and the fact that you’ve made the leap into a totally different area, and all the different things you’ve done on the creative side, tells me you are almost certainly a lifelong learner.
You’re somebody who just wants to keep your brain engaged and keep tackling new things and learning new things. Even in the little bit of time we’ve chatted, you don’t strike me as somebody who’s very happy just doing one thing, like cranking out a certain kind of graphic for example.
Amie Kesler 4:22
Yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head. That is a great way to put it. I really and I do, I’ve always kind of thrived. I say in a little bit of chaos sometimes. But yeah, the idea of everyday being different and, you know, constantly learning new things, and being able to just add to my toolbox and apply that in different ways is, is very important to me. And, yeah, it has been for, you know, as long as I can remember.
Doris Nagel
I think that’s a common theme that I’ve heard in talking with dozens and dozens and dozens of entrepreneurs for the show and just chatting and networking with people for potential guests on the show. Almost to a person, they just really relish the thought that they don’t know anything about an area, but are determined to learn about that.
And that’s not everybody. And, you know, it’s interesting, I’m, I’ve been a score, mentor score is part of the Small Business Administration, and it’s a great resource for people who are thinking about being an entrepreneur or starting their own business, but I had a number of people who wanted to start their own business. But I, I think they were, if they could look in the mirror, and really be honest, they were pretty happy, just, you know, having things laid out for them and doing the same thing. And, and I think, I think what you’re suggesting is a theme that I I’ve seen from lots of entrepreneurs, certainly the most successful ones is, you know, somebody says, Well, I don’t know anything about legally setting up a company. I guess I’ll go find that out, you know, and kind of relish that whole piece of it. Right?
Amie Kesler 6:12
Yeah, that’s really true. Like the end even, I guess, in any of the like, I guess, company based positions that I have had, every single one of those has been with a startup. So like a young company, where I could actually come in and learn an industry and really dig in and, you know, figure out ways to improve things or do things in a new way. Or I was like, maybe in it, like at one point in my life and a larger corporation, but it was still almost like a smaller startup into entity within that. And that’s what drew me to that position initially. So, yeah, if I’m looking back, like that is so true of, yeah, just like the learning and, you know, kind of wearing a lot of hats and being able to experiment, I think that’s a really big part of it, too.
Doris Nagel
And even make mistakes and maybe not be so good at certain things, but be comfortable with that, too.
Amie Kesler
That’s very true.
Doris Nagel
So you’re the Chief Krisper. What are you the Chief Krisper of, Amie?
Amie Kesler 7:16
Carolyn’s Krisps is my company, and it’s based on a third generation family recipe mad by Carolyn, my grandma. And our goal is to really reinvent how you snack. Our Krisps are 100% plant based and 100% ridiculously addictive cookie crackers.
Doris Nagel
Why are they plant based? Why is that important?
Amie Kesler 7:39
It goes back to my goals of connection and inclusivity. Carolyn Granny of course didn’t make them plant-based. But as we’re learning more sustainability-wise, and even dietary-wise, a lot of people are shifting that way — myself included.
I really wanted to make something that was good for the environment and good for everyone, and to prove that you can have something plant-based that is still extremely delicious and enjoyable. And one of the things I love is when people try our snacks, and they’re like,”Hey, this is a plant based snack, but you would never know!” And I love that because I think [Carolyn’s Krisps] do really change the opinion of what plant-based food, because I think in the past it’s kind of gotten a bad rap sometimes.
Doris Nagel
Tell people who might not know how your plant-based crisps are different today then the recipe your grandmother originally made.
Amie Kesler 8:46
Yes. We use plant-based cheese — it’s a coconut-based cheese — in all of our flavors, both sweet and savory. And we’ve also shifted from traditional dairy butter to plant-based butter, because there are so many more options today you know than there were in the past.
Doris Nagel
What is plant-based butter?
Amie Kesler 9:10
It’s made with a variety of plant oils. That could be avocado oil, or sunflower oil. Sometimes you’ll see canola oil.
Doris Nagel
What made you want to start this business? After all, lots of us have favorite cookie or pie or cake or whatever recipes that our grandmother or somebody in our family makes that we all love and remember.
But what made you want to take this product and turn it into a business?
Amie Kesler 9:55
It kind of happened by accident. When I first started making them, I was living in Wisconsin. One day, I needed a snack for a potluck. And I was talking to my mom, who told me, “Oh, you should take the crisps that granny used to make, They’re great for a potluck, and everyone really loves them.”
So I thought, “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” So I made them, and honestly, everyone was floored by them. It was because I grew up with them and loved it, but I just didn’t expect how much other people would love them.
From them, it just kind of snowballed. And this was before they were plant-based. So this was kind of like the beginning years ago. And I was making them and selling them in mason jars at the time. I was making them out of my kitchen, and I made some corporate gifts for a friend. And I was a part of a ton of art shows, and at one point, I didn’t have time to make a piece of art, but I had enough time to bake the crisps. And so I was selling food as art. [laughter]
And I sold more Krisps from that one art show than I had sold from my art at that point in time.
Doris Nagel
That’s exciting, but also a little depressing!
Amie Kesler 11:20
But at that point, I began to think that maybe there’s something here, you know.
Long story short, I moved back to Chicago because I’ve lived here before, and just liked the area. At the time, I was doing my own-plant based and gluten-free diet exploration. And I really wanted to try to make these to include what I can eat, but also for others. I took them to friends who had had them before when they were the original. And granny, I love you and I’m sorry for saying this, but I had friends who told me, “I don’t know what you did, but yours are better.”
Doris Nagel
Does the name, Carolyn’s Krisps, come from your grandmother’s name?
Amie Kesler 12:04
Yes, her name was Carolyn.
Doris Nagel
Did Carolyn’s Krisps exist as a company when you were making them with the traditional recipe and doing this as a side hustle?
Amie Kesler 12:14
I used to call them Kessler’s Krisps, because my last name is Kessler. But my grandmother Carolyn was not a Kessler, and I wanted to get her name in it and really pay that like homage to her. So that was when I changed the name just in the last few years.
Doris Nagel
At what point did you decide you’d done enough experimentation and decide to see if you could make a business out of this?
Amie Kesler 12:41
It was so fast. I’m not kidding that it happened after a weekend of me taking this new recipe to my friends.
It happened during the pandemic. We drove to New York State because none of us no one had traveled in a really long time. And we talked about the Krisps the entire weekend. And I decided then, “Great! I’m gonna do it! Now’s the time!”
I have experience doing websites and obviously marketing & design & branding. And so when I came back from that trip, within a week, I had a website up and I was looking for a place to make the Krisps on more of a public scale than just doing it out of my house.
Doris Nagel
How did you go about doing that? I guess you can make a certain amount of Krisps in your kitchen, depending on where you want to sell them.
Because I’m sure there are regulatory requirements about producing foods. I don’t really know what those requirements are, but I’m guessing there are some, depending on where you sell it, or how you sell it. Talk a little bit about that.
Amie Kesler 13:50
Yeah, absolutely. So if you want to get into wholesale or get into grocery stores or specialty markets and places like that, you really do have to work out of a commercial kitchen. There is a cottage food law in Illinois, so I might be a little wrong. I think a change was made during the pandemic where they opened it up a little bit more, because so many people were needing to sell products to make money.
Doris Nagel
There’s also people that bring things to the farmer’s markets. And I’m guessing that not all of them at that sort of that kind of venue, especially given the small quantities, are producing at a commercial kitchen, either.
Amie Kesler 14:40
Yeah. I’m not completely sure what all the rules are at this moment. There definitely was a point, though, where if you made the cut, the cottage food law allowed you to make foods out of your house. You can’t sell online, and you couldn’t sell like across state lines. But you could sell in person or locally.
And at that point, maybe some markets were allowing it. But as far as I know now, everything does have to be produced in a commercial kitchen. For example, we’re going to be at the Wicker Park Farmers Market, which is one of the markets in Chicago and we had to be working out of a commercial kitchen to exhibit there.
Doris Nagel
This summer when I go to the farmers markets, I’ll have to chat up some of the people — you know, the cheese and the honey people and the jelly people, and chat them up and learn a little bit about what they have to do.
Why were you convinced that you could make this product yourself? I mean, you a lot of people would probably say I’ve got a great product, so I’m go find somebody to make it for me. Why did you choose to find a way to make it yourself?
Amie Kesler 15:56
I guess I felt like I grew up with these Krisps. They were just so close to me. I knew them in and out from me making them so often and testing and tinkering with the recipes that it felt right to just keep them in house for production.
And I also think that as we scale, there are some in between steps. Some people could go right to having someone else try to make them, but I really wanted to know what that process looks like. And as we scale it has been super beneficial to see where some of our pain points are with production – where equipment can help, and where more hands can help in the kitchen.
This way really helps me make business decisions, knowing the ins and outs of the whole production process. For example, what if we grate our own cheese? I just bought a very large industrial cheese grater which is a huge help but like the idea the idea of like the shreds of that depending on how long they are, how thick they are, it really changes the baking. So to just like quickly go ahead and give that to someone else’s, you know, your view would be sacrificing like quality and I wasn’t ready to do that.
Doris Nagel
What we where do you currently market and sell your products?
Amie Kesler 17:16
We do sell online on our website: Carolynskrisps.com. We are also in all of the Chicago Foxtrots. They have 13 locations — soon to be 15 — and a few smaller retailers like Andale Market in Andersonville, and Urban Market which is a new grocery store in River West. And then we’re in Here Here Market, an online retailer that does some cool things, like gift baskets and different pairings.
Doris Nagel
You mentioned you’re still doing things like farmers markets, too?
Amie Kesler 17:53
Yes. Last year, unfortunately, by the time I applied to get into a kitchen and got everything kind of up and running, it was already June. So we were a little late to consistently go to farmers markets.
But this year, we were able to apply a little sooner and get ourselves a consistent location and not have to be bouncing around as much as we did last summer.
Doris Nagel
I’m sure that will be a lot of fun. It must be rewarding to see people order online and to see them in stores. But I’m sure actually handing samples to tons and tons of people, and then getting their reactions and seeing the smile on their face. It’s gotta be a lot of fun.
Amie Kesler 18:39
Oh, I love it. I love it so much. It really makes my day to be able to have that face to face time with customers. It’s definitely one of my favorite parts.
Doris Nagel
You mentioned you found a space. Talk about where and how you found your space.
Amie Kesler 18:57
We work out of The Hatchery, which is in East Garfield Park in Chicago. Honestly, I found them through Googling and looking at commercial kitchens in Chicago.
And they have a wonderful incubator program that I got into. And the whole idea behind it is they really help brands who are new to market, they really help you take those steps to set yourself up. They are fantastic with connecting you. If I have a question, they are so quick to help and point you in the right direction to find an answer.
So it’s been really pivotal for us to have that at our fingertips.
Doris Nagel
They focus on just food and beverage, right?
Amie Kesler 19:45
Correct. Yeah. And there’s a little mix of us. Some of us are CPG focused. Some of us are more into catering and like, you know, kind of ghost restaurant type style. So there’s a little bit of everything. But yes, everything is food and beverage based.
Doris Nagel
How did you find funding for all this?
Amie Kesler 20:05
So currently, we are self-funded. I knew I wanted to start something. And for a while I wasn’t sure how or what. You know, the Krisps had always kind of been there for a while, but they weren’t solidified yet. And so I had a little bit of savings, and then right now, you know, family investment.
Doris Nagel
What have you learned so far, in terms of building the business? What kind of roadblocks or bumps that weren’t expected have you been dealing with?
Amie Kesler 20:40
I like to say that every day is a new challenge. You know, I heard somebody say on another podcast that really, being an entrepreneur is about daily problem solving. And that couldn’t be truer.
For example, we definitely had some struggles with some of our ingredients, like sourcing the larger amounts, especially with the recent supply chain issues.
But I think the learning for me — I don’t know if I’d call them roadblocks, but rather learnings is the problem solving as you grow. Like me trying to figure out how much flour I need. Now we buy 55-pound bags, whereas before I was not doing that. Finding your different distributors and how important that is and getting in with them as a small company like ours because distributors don’t want to take a big risk on small companies all the time.
So I think it’s just the constant needing to ask questions, but also follow ups. Learning it’s okay to keep following up with people if you don’t hear back from them right away. I just like learning as I go.
Doris Nagel
What I think resistant it sounds like is, is a key thing that most entrepreneurs have to deal with.
Amie Kesler 22:08
Yeah. And I’m such a yes person, to the to the point where I’m always saying, “Let’s figure it out.”
And that has been great, because we’ve had so many opportunities. We’ve done some really cool different kinds of partnerships. Even launching a factory in January was huge for us. There’s always a little bit of “Oh, gosh, how are we going to do this?”
Doris Nagel
I was wondering if that “yes”mentality has gotten you in trouble a time or two?
Amie Kesler 22:41
Knock on wood, not quite yet!
Doris Nagel
Good!
You mentioned The Hatchery earlier as a great resource for you. Have there been other sources or resources that you’ve tapped into that have been helpful along the way?
Amie Kesler 22:58
Yes, The Hatchery has been amazing. Beyond that, just other entrepreneurs I’ve met along the way. I always think it’s a community that is amazing in itself. Everywhere from friends who have relatives that are in the food and beverage industry, to friends of friends of friends.
I feel like I have been so lucky to have other people that are willing to make connections with people that might be able to help. And then those people have just been so wonderful to talk tom whether it is some funding question or related to new hires, or just generally setting our business up for success.
I’m constantly shocked at the people that have come into my life through the six degrees of separation. They have really been pivotal in giving advice and insights on areas thatprior to this didn’t know anything about.
Doris Nagel
I think that’s part of the entrepreneurial journey. I don’t care how smart you are, or how many different things you’ve done, there will be aspects of running and growing a business that you don’t know about. And so you either have to learn, or you have to find somebody else to help you who has some of those skills, right?
Amie Kesler 24:22
Yeah. And I’ve also learned every company is so different. You can ask the same question to 10 people, and you might get 10 different answers of how they handled it.
So a lot of it is really taking what I’m learning and hearing and applying it in a way that I think is best for our company. And it might not be exactly how someone else did it, but it’s where we’re at and what we can do, and what feels the best right now.
Doris Nagel
Talk about how your business has grown since you made that fateful trip to New York.
Amie Kesler 24:59
It’s been great. As I mentioned, we launched less than a year ago. So we’ve been mainly working with Illinois retailers, but we’ve also had Foxtrot, and our online sales are constantly growing. I love the strategic, creative partnerships we’ve gotten to do. We did one with Pretty Cool Ice Cream last summer, which is a local ice cream shop. They featured our Krisps in one of their ice cream bars.
And coming up soon, we will be in Pop Up Grocer in their new DC location. They’re a really, really cool concept. The whole idea was to pop up all like in different cities where smaller brands, you know, can’t normally might not have that like footprint quite yet. And so they’re really bringing these small, or like, like less distributed brands to special pop ups that they do and they’re month long. And so we’ll be on the East Coast for the first time, which is pretty awesome. I’m from the East Coast. I’m really excited about it!
Doris Nagel
I don’t blame you!
But what is this concept? I’ve not heard of it. Do they pop up on corners of places or in parking lots or??
Amie Kesler
What they do is they will rent an existing space for a month.
Doris Nagel
Kind of like Harry and David would have a pop-up shop at Christmas time to sell their pears and MooseMunch?
Amie Kesler 26:31
Exactly. They take an empty storefront and activate it with the grocery store for a month.
Doris Nagel
How do they decide what kind of brands to carry? Because my guess is they there’s a bazillion out there that that would love to be featured.
Amie Kesler 26:49
You can apply through their website. They sometimes will have an open call for brands depending on the city. So those are the main two ways to get in touch with them.
Doris Nagel
Well, congrats on being selected to be part of that. That’s, really exciting!
What do you see as the future for the business? I mean, where do you see Carolyn’s crisps in, say, a couple of years if you’re successful?
Amie Kesler 27:19
My ideal would be for our Krisps to be distributed and in lots of grocery stores all over the country. And even beyond, I guess. I really would like to see larger scale production. And larger distribution.
Doris Nagel
What steps need to happen in order for that to become a reality?
Amie Kesler 27:42
It really is looking at production improvements, and just how we can position ourselves better for retail. We actually just got our own private kitchen, which is really exciting.
But [that means] figuring out what the machinery might look like for that, and the manpower or woman power, if you will. We just have to figure out how to constantly up the ante on the quantities we’re producing.
Doris Nagel
You mentioned a private kitchen. Is that at The Hatchery, or does The Hatchery really only support small scale production?
Amie Kesler 28:20
It’s a little bit of both. We started in the shared kitchen, which you rent by the hour, and you have to book it via an online system.
But then they also have various sizes of private kitchens that you have almost like a lease agreement with them.
Doris Nagel
But when you reach a certain size, have you kind of outgrown The Hatchery or are there some businesses there who produce pretty significant scale of product?
Amie Kesler 28:53
For a CPG company like ours, moving to a larger facility will definitely be in the cards at some point. I think once you start getting larger, you need bigger and more equipment and just needing that space. I don’t think their largest kitchen can hold that for us.
Doris Nagel
Talk about some of the other aspects of scaling. You mentioned the private kitchen, but what are some of the other aspects of the business that you need to probably rethink or re-engineer to be able to start producing at the scale you’d like?
Amie Kesler 29:32
Yes. So everything we do right now is hand forked. We make them very traditionally — think about a peanut butter cookie that maybe you made with your grandma. We have a way we do forking for our crisps.
So we’re trying to figure out a way to speed that up, to be honest. And I think it’s going to be a little bit of combination of equipment and more hands helping to make those cookie crackers.
Doris Nagel
I didn’t think about that. I guess I sort of thought, “Oh, there must be equipment readymade out there” But there may not be?
Amie Kesler 30:08
At the moment, we are doing our research. So TBD.
Doris Nagel
And then there’s the hiring process. That sometimes has some challenges of its own. Talk about your thoughts on that.
Amie Kesler 30:24
Right now, we really have people coming in and out. But really starting to formalize that is another big goal within the next few months: finding the kind of consistent hands-on help to be in the kitchen. And even someone to help manage the production is going to be huge.
But another great thing about The Hatchery is that they also provide support with that aspect – the search and hiring process. Plus there’s some great organizations they work with that are also nonprofits that help hire locally in the area.
So we’re working with them to make that happen as well.
Doris Nagel
Wow, that is a great asset.
You’re selling online, and your sales are increasing. You make that sound like that’s no big deal: “Oh, I created a website. And now we’ve got ecommerce,” like that’s easy. But a lot of businesses really struggle with that.
Has that been a challenge for you? Or if not, what do you attribute your success to?
Amie Kesler 31:30
I think it’s just that I’m constantly learning about ways to optimize and ways to reach those customers. From our email marketing and social media, and how that all plays into ordering through our website.
And even when we’re sending things out: what is top of mind, and what’s the action step? I think my background in marketing has helped that a lot. But I almost look at it as kind of a little game to be won. Okay, if I do this, how much will this help? Or where are we seeing this lift? And how are we driving people to that website? Approaching it in that way makes it really fun and exciting.
Doris Nagel
But that means you have to have some of what I call “back office” things in place.
I mean, it’s not like you get a bunch of orders, and Amie shows up at the kitchen and mixes a batch of stuff and then, you know, shoves it in some packaging, and hopefully you got some boxes and some tape. It’s a bit more complicated than that, I’m guessing.
Amie Kesler 32:45
That’s true. I always envisioned playing, like jumping from one step to the other. Like, when I was first starting, I was like, “Okay, great. We’re going to open this website.” And I think within the first day of ordering, because I had, you know, a lot of word of mouth that I was restarting Kesler’s Krisps as Carolyn’s Krisps, we had 50 orders in the first week,
Doris Nagel
That’s great until you realize you don’t even have 50 boxes — what am I gonna do, right?
Amie Kesler 33:25
Right. But then I’m like, “Okay, what do I have to do?” It’s that action way of thinking and you’re like, Okay, so you I have two boxes, I need this instead, and back to what I was saying about the ingredients, as you grow, running around in the grocery store isn’t a sustainable way to do things.
Doris Nagel
Probably not. You’re running to Staples to get tape for your boxes or any of that kind of stuff.
Amie Kesler 33:52
Exactly. You really have to try to forecast the number of boxes you need and what else you need. And if you don’t have it, how are you going to get it pretty quickly?
Doris Nagel
Aren’t their services that actually do fulfillment for E commerce orders? Or do you do all those yourself still?
Amie Kesler 34:11
Currently, we do them ourselves. We have a UPS pickup right out in the kitchen. So we can literally drop the boxes off back there, and they go out the same day.
Doris Nagel
I’m just amazed at how you make it all sound easy.
What are your ultimate plans for the business, if you have even gotten that far? What do you see for the business in the future? Is this a company that you think is going to expand its product lines and become a much bigger food company? Are you thinking you’ll be a target for maybe a bigger food company to acquire?
Amie Kesler 34:56
Yeah, I like to call it the Krisp empire that we’re building – I have really big plans. You can maybe ask me again in a few months if I feel the same way, but right now, I have this vision of building out a production facility where we can make the Krisps very efficiently and quickly.
But also, I love the idea of have the creating jobs locally and building a facility that has a really great opportunity to give back to the community.
But I’m not immune maybe down the line to potentially selling at some point. I guess that’s hard to say right now. As a woman in business, if there ever was a selling opportunity, in my heart I would love it to be sold to another woman.
Doris Nagel
Well, there’s certainly lots of different things that could make sense. You could partner with companies to expand the range of products, or experiment with different flavors. I think the garlic and herb Krisp sounds yummy. I’m just, you know, brainstorming.
Amie Kesler 36:13
Yeah, me as well. We are doing an event on the 25th [2022] at Andale Market in Andersonville. We’re going to have a voting competition for our newest flavor. Right now, we have two sweet flavors, including cinnamon sugar maple pecan. And then our savory flavor is cheddar, which is Carolyn’s original flavor that I always had growing up.
So we’re going to have a few different flavors to sample and then everyone that comes –it’ll be open to the public — can vote for their favorite and then we’ll launch that the winning flavor.
Doris Nagel
Fun!
Looking back on your journey so far, though, what advice would you give to other women entrepreneurs in particular? What kinds of things would you tell them to think about, based on your journey so far?
Amie Kesler 37:13
The main thing is that everything takes a little longer than you might think. And I think there’s something about just doing something and then adjusting as you go.
That is a big mantra I live by, because it’s easy to see all these brands that are really well put together and have been around much longer and feel this huge impostor syndrome.
So I do think it’s important to get something out in the world and test it. And then adjust. You know, I have learned so much along the way, even about our flavors, or what people think of the texture, even down to what they think of it from an experiential point of view, So really just go for it. And don’t overthink it too much.
Doris Nagel
That is perfect advice. We were chatting before the show, and I was telling you about one of my past clients who had a similar story – he had a recipe from his grandmother for an amazing bundt cake. Everybody loved the bundt cakes, and he had different flavors of bundt cakes. And he had even figured out demographics, who liked what kind of bundt cakes, but he could never stop noodling.
He just couldn’t take the next steps to figure out what to do to actually turn it into a business. And I think there’s a lot of people out there who are like that. They’ve got a great idea, but lack the willingness to just jump in, as you said, and just see what happens. To take one step, then take another step is, I think is a pretty fundamental trait that you need to have to be to be an entrepreneur.
Amie Kesler 39:09
And I think you said, I made it sound easy, but it’s not easy. There are very lonely times. You’re by yourself building this, and people think you’re crazy, and you ask yourself, “What am I doing?” So you really have to believe in it too. And it requires a lot of self-trust to be say,” Okay, I’m just gonna do it. And we’re gonna figure it out.”
Doris Nagel
Right. And I found that I needed to kind of shut myself off from certain family members and certain people who were filling my head with too many doubts.
Have you had that experience, too, at times?
Amie Kesler 40:10
Yeah, definitely. I was working as a freelance art director and got to a point where I was ready to leave that position and focus on the Krisps full time.
And I definitely got questions like, “So you’re doing what with it? Or just “Huh”. And yeah, and there were moments when I felt, “Oh, gosh, am I bonkers doing this? What if it doesn’t work out?”
But I kept thinking about the flip side: “Yeah, but what if it does?” And that was more exciting.
Doris Nagel
Absolutely. Do you see yourself pitching for funding anytime soon? Or are you going to try to remain self-funded?
Amie Kesler 40:46
I definitely would like to do more pitch competitions. We did one at the end of last year at The Hatchery, and won, which actually helped us get our private kitchen. There was a voting prize for fan favorite. And we got the fan favorite vote!
Doris Nagel
Congratulations! Good for you! What a great vote of confidence!
Amie Kesler 41:11
Thank you. That was really exciting, and another learning — you know, the chapter on pitching and making a deck and getting all of that information together in one place to present. So I hope I can do it again soon.
Doris Nagel
Do you see yourself actually pitching for outside funding anytime soon, or still to be determined?
Amie Kesler 41:35
That’s still to be determined. But I am always keeping my eyes open for opportunities like that. Because as you grow, the amount of upfront capital [you need] grows as well.
Doris Nagel
Yes, for sure.
I’ve talked to lots of entrepreneurs, some who have taken each route. There have been ones who have pitched and gotten outside funding and were able to grow faster. But that sometimes has some of its own challenges. And then I’ve talked to lots of entrepreneurs who just continue to bootstrap. And maybe they don’t grow as fast, or they to get even more creative sometimes, but for them control is more important.
So, I’m not sure there’s a right or wrong answer. I think it really depends on the entrepreneur and the business and what your hopes and dreams are.
Amie Kesler 42:33
And that is a great example of what we’re talking about earlier — that you can ask so many different people their advice on funding, which is something I’ve been taking in just as much information as I can get. And, you know, everyone does it differently. And like you said, there isn’t necessarily a right or wrong answer. It’s just the path you choose.
Doris Nagel
Yes, I think that’s right.
Amy, how can people get a hold of your Krisps or learn more about your company and your products?
Amie Kesler
I would suggest first to go to Carolyn’sKrisps.com.
And if you are local in Chicago, by visiting Foxtrot or Andale Market or Urban Market. And if you’re in DC on the East Coast, I would highly recommend checking out Pop Up Grocer. They will be there from May 6 until June 6.
Doris Nagel
That sounds like a wonderful venue. I’m going to look for that. Are they in the Chicago area yet or just on the east coast so far?
Amie Kesler
They did a pop up in Chicago last summer. And I have heard that they’re actually opening a brick-and-mortar location in New York, because that’s where they are originally based. But they’ve bopped around. They were in Miami most recently.
Doris Nagel
Well, check out her website, folks, and look for Carolyn’s Krisps in stores near you.
Amy, thanks so much for sharing your journey and some insights on being an entrepreneur and the story of your company. I really appreciate it. Thanks for being on The Savvy Entrepreneur!
Amie Kesler
Yes, thank you so much. I am so honored to be included!
Doris Nagel
Well, I’m honored to have you on the show, and I definitely need to make a trip to The Hatchery one of these days and maybe have a chance to meet you in person and sample one of those yummy Krisps. My stomach is growling as we’re talking about these yummy Krisps, and I definitely want to try them soon.
Amie Kesler
Love that!
Doris Nagel
Before we wrap up this week’s show, I want to put in a couple of plugs of my own.
First, you can find lots of free helpful information resources on my consulting website globalocityservices.com. Check out my site where there are lots of free blogs, tools, ebooks, infographics for entrepreneurs and small business people.
You’ll also find an archive of all the past savvy entrepreneur shows with lots of tips and helpful suggestions from literally dozens and dozens of past guests on the show, all who’ve been through a journey similar to your own. I’ve also created a dedicated website for the show aptly titled thesavvyentrepreneur.org. And I’ll be moving more and more content there, so keep an eye out!
Finally, check out my new dedicated YouTube channel called The Savvy Entrepreneur Radio Show, where you can listen to and even download past episodes of the show.
Listen to some of the past shows like them, even comment on them, and follow my channel. So you’ll be sure to catch future shows as they’re posted. You will be supporting the work of The Savvy Entrepreneur, and also lots and lots of your fellow entrepreneurs who really will appreciate your help and getting the word out about all the great things they’re doing.
I’d love to hear from you. I always welcome comments, questions, suggestions. You want to be a guest or you know someone who would be a great guest or you just want to shoot the breeze. Email me anytime at dnagel@thesavvyentrepreneur.org. You’ll always get a response back from me.
Thanks so much for listening this week. Tune in next week at 11am Central noon/Eastern time, where I’ll feature another great guest and topic.
But until then, I’m Doris Nagel, wishing you happy entrepreneuring!
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