Thanks Minnesota Lynx!

Our team had a blast at the Minnesota Lynx game this past Friday and managed to sell over 60 bars!  Continuing to build the brand and push the product to the masses...great work.  Special thanks to Andrea Olson of the Lynx for helping us coordinate the booth!

Next up Minnesota Farmer's Market!  Thanks Cakedy Team: Kam, Shantay, Gabby and Josh!

Our Taste Test Commercial!

Get your Cakedys Now!

Website...check!
Delicious candy bars...check!
Hungry Customers...check!

We made it. The site is live, our production is in place and we're off! I was so excited yesterday when we went live I almost cried...well not cried, but you get my point! Anyways we've got a plethora of customer promo events to keep us busy over the next month. We'll also be running commercials in the Minneapolis area to introduce the bar!

Man, this feels good...what are you waiting for? Get your Cakedy now at cakedy.com

I thought this would be easier....

As I mentioned in an earlier blog post I am a serial entrepreneur.  I've got experience in running a startup (financing, marketing, sales, etc)...not a lot and my previous ventures haven't been very successful but I have real life experience.  That said I will admit that that experience doesn't seem to lend itself to running a startup candy bar company.  The two areas for which I thought would be easiest to manage have turned out to be incredibly complex...incredibly.

I WAS SPOILED
For my two previous websites I was privileged to work with a developer who was experienced, timely and incredibly professional.  The guy would set a deadline and then meet it.  If the site crashed he'd pick up his phone at 3AM and get right on it.  He had a host of clients and made a pretty penny as a solo contractor and after experiencing his customer service it was easy to see why.  The guy was "set it and forget it".  Meaning talk through your specs or issues with him and then no more worries.  Presto fixo!!!  Unfortunately he was unavailable (due to personal reasons) for our Cakedy ventures.  We've worked with awesome developers on this project, but it has required much more involvement than before.  I chalk up some of this to the newness of the relationship but nonetheless it is frustrating.  My personal style of management is to be very hands on with vendors/employees/partners at the outset until they are comfortable with what needs to be done.  But after some self reflection and discussion with internal team members I don't think that approach will work when it comes to our website this go around.  Being actively involved day to day will require somewhat of a mindset change for me, but like I keep telling our team, I truly believe in this product and I believe the extra effort will be worth it.

Happy 4th Weekend Everyone!

Law and Order LA

Just when I find my new Law and Order crush I hear she's moving or in this case failing to exists.  Goodbye L&O LA, I hardly new thee.

Turns out running a candy bar company...

...is harder than I thought.  We've missed two go to production deadlines for the website already and will likely only have about 10% of the candy bars needed to meet demand at the end of the month, yep 10%.  The problems?  Where to start?  Website bugs, vendors, pricing, personnel and transitions.  None of this is unexpected and our contingencies have kicked in as planned but it's frustrating for a person like me who likes to have things done yesterday.  I know, patience grasshopper, empires are not built in a day.  I guess the one plus of experiencing these problems now is that we are not wide (major local market visibility) yet so our mistakes are confined to a small subset of people who have already pledged patience.  I know the broader market will not be so forgiving, nor should they. 

Stay Positive!!!

I love being an entrepreneur...I really do.  I'm so much more excited for this venture than any others past.  I really feel like this could be the one.  The buzz is growing, the site is almost ready to go and the feedback continues to be positive. 

"And Cut"

I'm very excited about our commercial shoot on Saturday.  I wrote what I believe to be a very funny script and I just finished meeting with the talent and am very impressed.  Neither have acted before but I'm confident they will be able to pull it off!  We've also  got a professional director and producer who are excited and doing this for next to nothing.  I'm excited.  I can't wait to see how this turns out, have to be sure and let the talent and director do their thing...this isn't the boardroom so I'll need to be spectator.

New Music: Fitz Edition

A friend who's a reader complains:

"Ay man this was supposed to be a blog about your startup!"

And pop culture and sports and anything else I feel like writing about. Don't forget you're reading my blog friend!

Here's some new music (I'm looking at you friend). Fitz and the Tantrums...act like you know...Skaggs is a bad girl!

Deep Fried Snickers....the fair has gone down under!

Check out the video!  The guy actually does a pretty good job...the action starts at around 5 minute mark.

It's Cake-Dee People

I was talking with a potential PR Director for our launch today when she uttered my worst fear "How do you pronounce it?" Ugh. As an MBA with 600 level marketing courses I should've known better. The first rule of product development is the giving it a name that people can PRONOUNCE. My sister just two days earlier had referred to it as Cake-a-dee and the PR interview was the final straw. I'm working with our designer to create a logo that clearly shows the CAKE as a word with the dy trailing, hopefully that will make it easier for consumers.

I love the name and can definitely see it as a national brand...but I guess I've got to figure this small piece out first, that or get used to uttering the phrase "no it's CAKE-DEE!"

Weekend Movie Review: Conspirator and Scream 4

Conspirator:  I'm a Civil War buff and huge fan of Lincoln so there wasn't a very high bar here, but if there was it would've met it.  The acting was first rate and to see the trial of Lincoln's conspirators recreated was pretty awesome (testifiers stood instead of sat in 1864).  I think in an effort to not inflame some moviegoers they didn't talk much about the root of the conspirators purpose in killing Lincoln.  Hollywood. 

Scream 4:   I'm pretty sure Wes Cravens just Punk'd me.  If not then and this cinematic presentation really is the 4th installment then I'm giving it a D.  It is the worst of the scream franchises.  Obviously 1 was awesome and 2 and 3 definitely held water.  This one was just gratuitous stabbings and really asks you to suspend belief.  If you're reading this and haven't seen it yet, wait for Netflix.

...a friend indeed!

A successful entrepreneur counted as a friend is probably the biggest asset you can have, save capital, as an entrepreneur.  They have contacts and procedures down pat, but most importantly they have a tried and true map!  A map that has led them from where YOU currently are to where YOU want to be.

Whether that map be scribed in ppt or still banging around in their cranium, it exist and getting your hands on it should be of primary concern.  I learned today that a partner for a firm long since in my past has his own food and beverage company.  Nice!!!  I did great work for him and have kept in touch...here's hoping he's open to sharing the way to treasure island!

My Baby Takes the Morning Train

From work to work.  I've started four other business in my short 31 years, each with varying degrees of success.  While they were different in a multitude of ways (textbook trading to video resume) the single constant was starting work when I got off of work!  By that I mean working my 9-5 and then my 6-9 (sometimes 10, 11 or 12).  It was and is mentally and physically taxing to be sure, but the chance that it pops and I become the employer not the employee is always worth it!  Here's a list of what I've got on my plate tonight:

1.  Draft two contracts
2.  Review system requirements
3.  Meet with lawyer on a myriad of issues
4.  Find a new manufacturer (more on this later)
5.  Draft budget for Phase 2 operations.
6.  Meet w/ product developer

Helper Profle: David Klein, The Candyman

The idea for the Cakedy candybar had been bouncing around in my head for a few months when I happened on an msn article about Roxy Klein a young candy apprentice in southern cal.  With a little research I found out her father, David Klein, was the inventor of Jelly Belly jelly beans - a pretty nice feather in your candyworld cap if you can get it.  On a whim I picked up the phone and dialed, getting Roxy on the line.  "Give me your number and I'll have someone get back to you." Was her retort.  Begrudgingly I forked over the number certain I'd never hear from David.  5 minutes later (I said 5) David is inside my head probing me with questions on the size, naming conventions, chocolate content and nougat flavor of a Cakedy candybar.

Needless to say David's been awesome.  His advice and guidance have been incredibly helpful in navigating the candyworld.  I definitely look forward to David's continued involvement as we take Cakedy from scrappy upstart to king of the candyworld!  Take a look at the trailer for David's documentary