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One Tiny Oven To a $2M Cookie Business w/ Addison LaBonte of Sweet Addison’s (EP #112)

4 hours ago
2 min read

The Founderz Lounge Episode #112 with Addison LaBonte, founder of Sweet Addison’s.


Watch the full episode on Youtube:


One oven. A tiny mixer. A 700-square-foot apartment. Addison LaBonte didn’t have everything figured out when she started her gluten-free cookie business, but she started anyway.


Addison joins Don Varady and Steve Bon to share how she built Sweet Addison’s with a $5,000 investment, tested 27 cookie recipes, and learned expensive lessons about packaging and shipping. She breaks down how customer feedback, an engaged online community, and word-of-mouth marketing helped her grow a bootstrapped business while keeping 100% ownership.


From baking almost 50,000 cookies herself to building a team of 10, this is the founder story behind the pretty packaging.


Come for the banter. Leave thinking more like a founder.


Timestamps:

[00:00] Trailer

[02:03] From College Soccer to Gluten-Free Baking

[09:14] Starting Sweet Addison’s With $5,000

[12:02] Turning an Online Community Into Customers

[13:59] The $5,000 Packaging Mistake

[15:48] Would the Cookies Survive Shipping?

[19:50] Letting Customers Shape the Product Line

[23:33] From Baking Alone to Leading a Team of 10

[29:07] Shipping Costs and the Reality of Scaling

[32:57] Growing a Bootstrapped Business Past $2 Million

[36:20] Getting Featured in Forbes

[38:07] Word of Mouth, Social Media, and Food Photography

[42:31] What’s Next for Sweet Addison’s


Key Takeaways:

• “I didn't wanna wait until everything looked perfect before beginning.” ~Addison LaBonte


• “All they see is pretty packaging and a pretty website. They don't see everything behind it.” ~Don Varady


• “There's no better marketing than word of mouth.” ~Addison LaBonte


• “The best marketing is people showing the experience of the food, sharing it.” ~Steve Bon


• An online following can help you launch, but a bad product won’t bring customers back. ~Addison LaBonte


• “When it comes to food, people eat with their eyes first.” ~Addison LaBonte


Connect w/ Addison LaBonte:


Connect w/ Don and Steve:

Don Varady:


Steve Bon:

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