If you have ever felt like you were a terrible employee, maybe you have what it takes to be a great entrepreneur. Heather Saffer the founder of Dollop Gourmet shares her story about finding success via entrepreneurship. Heather was a winner on Food Network’s hit TV show Cupcake Wars and appeared on the Shark Tank TV show. Heather shares her advice on the best thing an aspiring entrepreneur can do to find success.
Growing up I struggled to find activities I would say I excelled at. When I started working I kept either quitting or getting fired so I started to wonder if there was a better path for me. While I didn’t have much experience in the kitchen I knew I enjoyed eating desserts and I loved cupcakes. So I started a small gourmet cupcake business called The Cupcake Dreamery, which was great for a short time before a bad business partnership took everything downhill.
When I started over I opened a little storefront and launched Dollop Gourmet. From the beginning, I set my sights on getting on Food Network’s TV show Cupcake Wars. In 2012, I was chosen to be on the show and subsequently won. After that our business boomed and I started thinking about what’s next, that’s when I started to consider pursuing the Shark Tank TV show.
Getting on Shark Tank can be a bit of a process, from the application to all the documents you have to submit during the vetting stage. When I was invited to be on the show I was supposed to film in June but when I expected to receive the call about my plane ticket I was told instead that I wasn’t going and I could try again for the next filming.
Thankfully I finally did make it on the show and while the Shark Tank can be a bit overwhelming my main concern was if they were going to like the taste of my icing. I was able to secure an offer from both Kevin O’Leary and Barbara Corcoran. Going into the tank I knew that I wanted to make at least one counter to any offer I received. So after Barbara offered $75,000 for 30 percent I countered with $75,000 for 25 percent and she accepted the offer.
After Shark Tank, I didn’t hear anything from Barbara’s team for a while. When I did hear from her team we began another long due diligence process that took 4 to 5 months to complete. At the end of the day, I decided it wasn’t a good fit for me so I didn’t move forward with the offer. The Shark Tank effect is real though and once your episode airs you get a large volume of orders that come pouring in.
After Shark Tank I kept expanding the business and leveraging the Shark Tank experience to get more publicity, I also wrote my second cookbook and brought in some investors via an accelerator program. Then I decided I was ready to make a transition out of the business and I was able to make a deal with a great Canadian company that has been in the frosting and glazes business for over 40 years.
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