Podcast Title: How I Built This with Guy Raz
Episode: Advice Line with Caitlin Smith of Simple Mills
Release Date: January 23, 2025
Host: Guy Raz
Guest: Caitlin Smith, Founder and CEO of Simple Mills

Introduction

In this episode of How I Built This with Guy Raz, host Guy Raz welcomes back Caitlin Smith, the founder and CEO of Simple Mills. Caitlin shares her journey from humble beginnings in her kitchen to building a successful natural food brand available in over 30,000 stores nationwide. The episode delves into Caitlin's experiences with innovation, leadership, and overcoming the challenges of scaling a business.

Caitlin Smith's Entrepreneurial Journey

Starting Small:
Caitlin recounts how her passion for healthy eating began in her early 20s while working at a consulting firm. Constant travel led her to consume unhealthy food, prompting her to experiment with grain-free, gluten-free, and paleo-friendly recipes during her free time.

"It did. Yeah, it started in my kitchen and it's come a really long way. Today we are the number one largest natural cracker, cookie and baking mix brand in the Natural channel."
— Caitlin Smith [04:54]

Building the Brand:
From a single muffin recipe, Caitlin expanded Simple Mills into a diverse product lineup, including crackers, thins, waffle mixes, and cookies. Her commitment to using nutrient-dense ingredients and ensuring great taste has been pivotal to the brand's success.

"We really think, first of all, we have to be able to solve a problem for people. So it can't just be something that's nice to have, or it really has to solve a real consumer need."
— Caitlin Smith [07:15]

Securing Funding:
Caitlin discusses the arduous journey of securing funding, highlighting the importance of resilience and creativity. She shares anecdotes about meeting potential investors in unexpected places, emphasizing the need to persist despite setbacks.

"The funding journey is just grueling, and I think today it's probably even harder than it was back when I was founding the company."
— Caitlin Smith [05:38]

Advice Line: Supporting Fellow Entrepreneurs

The heart of the episode lies in the "Advice Line" segment, where Caitlin and Guy Raz provide guidance to aspiring entrepreneurs facing various challenges.

Caller 1: Scott Vandenbroucke of Upcycle Foods

Background:
Scott founded Upcycle Foods, producing pretzels made from spent grains—a byproduct of the brewing process. His innovative approach aims to promote sustainability by repurposing ingredients that would otherwise go to waste.

Challenges:
Scott struggles with scaling production and finding a reliable manufacturing partner capable of handling his unique pretzel-making process.

Advice Provided:

• Adaptability in Production: Caitlin suggests modifying the product to fit existing manufacturing equipment, thereby broadening the pool of potential partners.

  "Maybe the pretzel is the fourth or fifth product, but the first product is something that is just a little bit easier to get off the ground."
  — Caitlin Smith [15:27]

• Strategic Networking: Emphasizing the importance of building relationships within the industry, Caitlin encourages Scott to align his product development with manufacturers' existing capabilities.

• Persistence: Scott echoes the value of resilience, sharing how overcoming initial setbacks led him to more suitable manufacturing partnerships.

  "If I were you personally, I would think about, okay, how do we best fit this into the production equipment that these contract manufacturers are already going to have."
  — Scott Vandenbroucke [13:54]

Caller 2: Marissa Gurdian of Grumpy Dad Sauce Company

Background:
Marissa started Grumpy Dad Sauce Company after an accidental surplus of extremely hot peppers. Her mission is to create hot sauces tailored for those who believe they "don't like hot sauce," with products named humorously to reflect family dynamics.

Challenges:
Marissa seeks advice on whether to fully commit to her business or maintain a part-time job to ensure financial stability.

Advice Provided:

• Focus and Commitment: Caitlin advises Marissa to prioritize her business as her primary focus, suggesting that scaling requires dedicating sufficient time and resources.

  "If you can look at this and say, all right, for five years, this thing is not going to pay my bills, but I want to pursue this, and I really think there's potential here, then you kind of reverse engineer it and figure out what you need to do."
  — Caitlin Smith [35:04]

• Leveraging Family: Encouraging Marissa to involve her son in the business, Caitlin recommends utilizing his skills in marketing and social media to enhance brand presence.

  "Sic them on that. Say, figure this out, make it easy to order it online, clean up the website, make it a little nicer. Just start there."
  — Caitlin Smith [34:05]

• Strategic Scaling: Scott underscores the importance of making the business the top priority, sharing his own experience of prioritizing his company over a demanding job to accelerate growth.

  "This is my number one, it supersedes all else. And so where there is a conflict between this and that, Simple Mills wins."
  — Scott Vandenbroucke [31:39]

Caller 3: Marissa Gurdian of Sweet Paws

Background:
Marissa launched Sweet Paws, a pet products company focused on innovative and stylish silicone essentials for pets. Her flagship product, the Better Bag opener, addresses the common frustration of opening dog waste bags.

Challenges:
Marissa seeks advice on selecting the most effective marketing platform within a limited budget of $5,000 to $8,000 to maximize outreach for her new product.

Advice Provided:

• Targeted Advertising: Caitlin recommends focusing marketing efforts on platforms where the target audience is most active, such as pet-focused podcasts or niche social media channels.

  "There have to be podcasts that have, you know, 10 to 50,000 listeners a week, let's say, that are pet podcasts."
  — Caitlin Smith [48:22]

• Leveraging Existing Partnerships: Scott suggests utilizing platforms like Chewy's in-house marketing tools to reach customers already interested in pet products.

  "Things we thought about when we had a very tiny marketing budget was really spending those dollars as close to the person who's going to buy it as possible."
  — Scott Vandenbroucke [46:13]

• Influencer Marketing and Community Engagement: Emphasizing the power of influencer endorsements, Caitlin advises collaborating with popular pet influencers to authentically promote the product.

  "There are so many things that you could do with that on social media. And from a branding perspective, it's such a brilliant base to build on."
  — Scott Vandenbroucke [35:50]

Conclusion

The episode wraps up with Caitlin reflecting on her entrepreneurial journey and offering parting advice to aspiring business owners. She emphasizes the importance of continuous learning, resilience, and strategic prioritization in building a successful brand.

"One of the greatest parts being an entrepreneur and building a growing business is that you get to learn so much. And so to lean into that, not feel like you have to have all the answers. I think in the early days, I felt like I needed to know the answer to everything. And the fact is you don't."
— Caitlin Smith [53:39]

Additionally, Caitlin announces a significant milestone for Simple Mills—the acquisition by Flowers Foods for nearly $800 million, marking a major achievement in her entrepreneurial journey.

Notable Moments

• Scaling Challenges: Caitlin discusses the complexities of transitioning from kitchen production to large-scale manufacturing, highlighting the necessity of adapting products to fit existing equipment.

• Family Involvement: Emphasizing the role of family, Caitlin advises entrepreneurs to integrate family members into their business strategies to enhance brand authenticity and operational efficiency.

• Strategic Marketing: The conversation underscores the importance of targeted marketing, especially for startups with limited budgets, advocating for platforms that directly reach the intended audience.

This episode serves as a masterclass in navigating the multifaceted challenges of entrepreneurship, from product development and funding to scaling operations and strategic marketing. Caitlin Smith's insights, coupled with practical advice for fellow entrepreneurs, provide invaluable lessons for anyone looking to build and sustain a successful business.