Podcast Host (1:54)

planner, but you didn't see it coming.

Melissa Benashai (1:57)

I did not. I didn't. But I still think it was the best thing that ever happened. And in general, of course, I've been now a part of Baked by Melissa for 18 years. And I genuinely believe that when you let somebody go, it's the best for both sides because everybody deserves to be in a role that they can succeed in.

Podcast Host (2:19)

When they called you in on the loudspeaker, did you go into an office and Was it a fast firing?

Melissa Benashai (2:25)

I went into the HR office. Yeah. And I like you were like, yeah, I'm getting promoted. I still keep in touch with the HR director who terminated my employment. She's wonderful and she supports baked by Melissa. I was fired for. I remember the reason just I felt like it was so unjust for leaving before 5pm or something, which was not the case. So I picked up the phone and called my brother crying. And without hesitation, he said, it's the best thing that ever happened to me. And to come to his office. He had just moved into his very first office in Manhattan. He's an entrepreneur. And so I got in a taxi and went up to 38th and 8th.

Podcast Host (3:02)

How did I mean? Because that clearly doesn't matter how old you are. Like when people get fired.

Melissa Benashai (3:07)

Rejection.

Podcast Host (3:08)

Oh, yeah.

Melissa Benashai (3:09)

Like not making the varsity volleyball team.

Podcast Host (3:11)

Brooke Baldwin, who was on and said, you know, she's still five years later trying to figure out what happened to her because it's really like a hard thing.

Melissa Benashai (3:18)

Rejection is very tough.

Podcast Host (3:19)

It always ends up being the best thing that ever happened to you.

Melissa Benashai (3:21)

It does.

Podcast Host (3:22)

So you go to your brother's office and what does he say to you?

Melissa Benashai (3:26)

He said, let's start a business, go home.

Podcast Host (3:29)

And what made him say that?

Melissa Benashai (3:30)

He always has new business ideas and at the time it was a dream of ours to start a business together. He would actually come up with ideas that really focused on my personality, I guess. I love cupcakes and at the time, always. And I used to bake them, actually when my brother would have a play date when we were little, I would bake them for him and his friends so they would hang out with me at a very young age. It's very strategic. Yeah. I've learned since that it was my early problem solving. That's how I chose to solve problems. And I still do today, but that's another story. So at the time of being fired, I was baking my tie dye cupcakes for everyone and anyone. If it was your birthday and I loved you, I baked you tie dye cupcakes. The first batch of tie dye dye cupcakes I made was when I was at my first job out of college about two years before I was fired. And they were grateful dead cupcakes. Red, white and blue tie dye cake with the steal your face piped on each one. And I just remember the feeling I got when I brought them into work to celebrate my coworker's birthday. And it was unmatched. A feeling that I wanted to continue to have Again and again. So naturally, I kept baking the tie dye cupcakes, and the product itself evolved into this, like, absolutely beautiful.

Podcast Host (4:48)

Were they always smaller?

Melissa Benashai (4:49)

No, they weren't. At the time of being fired, they were still muffin sized. And so my brother said, go home, bake your cupcakes. We'll start a business together, come up with three more flavors besides the tie dye. I stopped at the Food Emporium in Murray Hill, scored the aisles, which I love to do at any supermarket, and, you know, got the idea to put candy in the cupcakes to stuff them. So I went home, I baked the tie dye, cookie dough, peanut butter cup and s'. Mores. Still muffin sized cupcakes at the time. Wound up sending them into work with my best friend's little sister who was interning at Alison Borod pr. I said, carly, bring these in to work with you. If nothing else, you'll make friends, because all girls love cupcakes. She's texting me or bbming me. I had a BlackBerry at the time, like, oh, my God, everyone's obsessed with your cupcakes. Allison wants to put you in touch with her caterer. So I said, of course I have an email from Alison, like, who was a celebrity to me, and I wanted what she had. She had built her own business. She was the namesake. I wound up getting introduced to the caterer. He called me that very next day and asked me to come to his home for a tasting. And so I ran back to my room.

Podcast Host (5:59)

That was fast.

Melissa Benashai (6:00)

Yeah, that was very fast. I remember looking. I had a mirror in my little Murray Hill apartment kitchen. And I remember vividly, like, looking in the mirror and just crying happy tears. And because, you know, in the back of my mind, that was my goal for sending the cupcakes in to work with Carly. But I didn't imagine that it would happen. So I ran back to my brother's office. I told them about the tasting. I said, let's go in there. Like, we have a business already and he could be a part of it. My brother insisted the name of the company have a personal tie to it. I really wanted to call the company Baked. And he said, let's call it Baked by Melissa. You wouldn't know who Alison Brod is if her name wasn't in the name of it. He was a marketer. Yeah, he is. And his business partner at the time, my co founder, Matt, we grew up with, and I used to refer to Matt as my brother from another mother. He knew me so well. In minutes, he was Fiddling around on his computer. And he turns around his monitor, he said, what do you think of this as the logo? And it's the logo we have today, almost 20 years later. I went to the bakery, the Clover Deli, which was across the street from my apartment, and I asked them for flat pastry boxes. I used to stop in there all the time. They knew me by name, which is such a cool New York moment. We glued the logo on top of the pastry boxes. And for the tasting with the caterer, I decided to make them mini. Not yet bite size, without paper. They looked.

Podcast Host (7:20)

Why? Why did you decide to do mini?

Melissa Benashai (7:22)

Quite honestly, I don't remember, but I did. And he took a bite of each one. And it was Ben who said, from a catering perspective, people lose their minds over little bite sized things. If you could figure out how to make these bite sizes. Oh my God. So I left his apartment, combed the streets, asked strangers, do you know where baking supplies stores are? They did. I found a temporary solution to make the cupcakes bite sized. A couple of weeks later was doing my very first event as Melissa of Baked by Melissa with Ben the caterer. We had business cards printed that had my name, my cell phone number, my home address. But sweet 27G instead of A. My parents were not thrilled and we created a website, bakedbymelissa.com, where you could actually order 100 cupcakes or more that I would bake out of my apartment and deliver using the subway. My brother and Matt built the website. We shot all of the images on my IKEA coffee table with a white bed sheet. And you could go to bakedbymelissa.com see this beautiful drool worthy rotating slideshow of our product order. 100 cupcakes that I would get on the subway. Yeah. And that's how we started.

Podcast Host (8:33)

So it reminds me of like a fake it till you make it very much story. Right. Cause you were pretending you were a whole business. You know, you're riding the subway, but probably acting like you were the delivery person.

Melissa Benashai (8:43)

I was getting off by people. Oh, you got pizza for me. Cause they were these like white pizza boxes that we would slap a baked by Melissa sticker on.

Podcast Host (8:51)

It's so interesting because your pivot from being fired to becoming baked by Melissa happened in like 48 hours.

Melissa Benashai (8:59)

It did like two to three weeks from between being. Yeah, very fast. It was so outside of my comfort zone and I was just wait, what does that mean?

Podcast Host (9:10)

Why was it outside your comfort zone? You loved baking.

Melissa Benashai (9:12)

I loved to bake. I was Just doing what my big brother told me to do literally every step of the way. I mean, I remember standing behind the cupcakes at that event and, you know, all those Alison Broad girls, like, oh, my God, these are so cute. Like, picking up a business card, I would cold call catering companies. And I had this script that my brother helped me write. Hi, this is Melissa from Baked by Melissa. I'd love to bring you a free tasting of my cupcakes. I felt like such a fraud sitting on the corner of my bed in my bedroom that had a fake wall, and they pictured me in a bakery, you know, and, yeah, it was so uncomfortable. I remember crying to my brother, who the hell do I think I am? Melissa. Baked by Melissa.

Podcast Host (9:57)

Why do you think you didn't have the confidence? Because you clearly knew how to bake and you were getting affirmation when you would show up for the tastings.

Melissa Benashai (10:06)

I mean, who has the. What women have confidence? I mean, like, I really. I. I feel like I've earned my confidence. And I don't mean to be negative towards women, but I think in the 18 years since founding Baked by Melissa, I have really done a 180. It has taken much longer than I think anyone on the outside looking in would imagine. I still. Today, the perception of me versus the reality of me is two completely different things. My job is very, very difficult and lonely and challenging. And then I paint a picture, you know, on social media, and I give interviews that make it sound like I started this business overnight.

Podcast Host (10:50)

I watched you on Social yesterday, like, you know, with the salad or announcing your new partnership with Blue Apron. Right. Nobody would think that you're not confident watching this now.

Melissa Benashai (11:01)

I'm confident, but I earned the confidence through experience. I actually. So my brother was the CEO of Baked by Melissa for the first eight years. And I don't know if you have siblings, but I do.

Podcast Host (11:10)

A younger sister.

Melissa Benashai (11:11)

Yeah. So he's my older brother. I very much did what he told me to do for a while. And.

Podcast Host (11:19)

Well, was that ever hard?

Melissa Benashai (11:20)

Very, very difficult.

Podcast Host (11:21)

I mean. Cause you're making it sound like he gave you a roadmap and you just followed. And it can't have been like that. Right. Because I also have a sibling. It's not always smooth sailing.

Melissa Benashai (11:31)

No, it's definitely not smooth sailing. And I think, you know, whether you have a sibling or you're a parent, it's almost like parenting a child with your sibling because you have this tremendous love for something that you created together. And as I was reminded often back then, There could only be one leader and one person who's ultimately responsible.

Podcast Host (11:55)

So was he the leader?

Melissa Benashai (11:56)

For the first eight years, he was the leader. And there were many times where we didn't agree, and that was really challenging, not only for me, not only for my brother, but also for our parents. There were many family dinners in Chelsea that didn't end on a positive note.

Podcast Host (12:12)

Okay, so tell me a messy story from that period so that I can picture it.

Melissa Benashai (12:16)

There were so many. And one of the biggest learnings as a founder is managing your emotions and really keeping them in check. Never respond when you're feeling emotional hard with a sibling. Very hard. I remember calling my dad, crying one day after, like, throwing my phone against the wall, and he. My dad. And there are so many sayings, like, what makes metal steel, baby? Extreme heat? Or like, you know, you're gonna wake up tomorrow and it's a new day. Like, it's not the end of the world, but you really feel like it's the end of the world when you're having really big challenges, whether it's the direction that people want to take the business in, or even on the product development side, or even crafting the story of how we started Baked by Melissa. I'm one of five co founders who to give the credit to. Oh, my God, it was so much. And I really just always try and do the right thing.

Podcast Host (13:13)

I'm taking you back. You throw the phone against the wall.

Melissa Benashai (13:16)

Yeah. And my dad would say, don't. Tomorrow is a new day. Take a deep breath. Don't respond right now.

Podcast Host (13:23)

But it feels so personal, especially if it's your business.

Melissa Benashai (13:25)

Yeah. I mean, even today, I've learned lots of different, I guess, coping mechanisms, like deep breath in. Hold it for four seconds. Deep breath, box breathing. It's really important to just get yourself through those states of heightened emotion. Never respond when you're feeling that way and go to sleep or smoke a joint or do whatever you need to do to.

Podcast Host (13:48)

I'm still working through an angry moment. I'm holding onto it for two weeks. Let's see how I do.

Melissa Benashai (13:52)

It's impossible. You can. It only works against you. But I've also learned that those moments where you feel the lowest, those are the. You know, it's going on.

Podcast Host (14:02)

Well, that's the growth.

Melissa Benashai (14:03)

Right.

Podcast Host (14:03)

The growth is in the things that are hard, not when it's so easy.

Melissa Benashai (14:05)

That's exactly right. And you learn from each one of those challenging moments. Yeah. So my brother was CEO for the first eight years, then we hired.

Podcast Host (14:13)

Okay, so what made you decide not to have him be CEO? Or what made him decide not to be CEO? Like, what brought the transition?

Melissa Benashai (14:20)

He made him go off and continue to create. He's a creator, like an entrepreneur, like a stage one entrepreneur.

Podcast Host (14:27)

And was that scary, losing him in that way?

Melissa Benashai (14:30)

It was very uncomfortable. I knew it was what the business needed. I knew it was what he needed. And I, at the time, had decided to prioritize my family.

Podcast Host (14:43)

Oh, so, okay, so those are two conflicting things.

Melissa Benashai (14:47)

No, they weren't. He needed to go off and continue to create, and the business needed him to. And I had decided to start a family because I wasn't.

Podcast Host (14:59)

So a different priority. I mean, the business, in some ways was a baby.

Melissa Benashai (15:02)

Yeah, for sure. But you can only have one priority, one top priority. And my priority was family. My brother, my relationship with my brother, my parents, all of it. And I think knowing what your top priority is and keeping that North Star and being true to yourself and your values is incredibly important. And so we wound up. My brother moved on. We hired his replacement, a new CEO.

Podcast Host (15:31)

Still not you as CEO.

Melissa Benashai (15:33)

Still not me. And his replacement. It was scary because I trust my brother. Yeah, he's my brother.

Podcast Host (15:39)

The one good thing about working with family is you have implicit trust.

Melissa Benashai (15:43)

That's exactly right. His replacement wound up being a wonderful partner to me. Teacher, incredibly positive attitude.

Podcast Host (15:51)

Somebody who had experience in the business.

Melissa Benashai (15:54)

No, I mean had experience in business. His background was Everlast Worldwide and models.

Podcast Host (16:01)

So retail scaling.

Melissa Benashai (16:03)

Yeah, retail, exactly. And he just had such a great attitude. And he brought me back to life, and he taught me the P and L balance sheet, cash flow, things that I hadn't really had experience in. Because.

Podcast Host (16:16)

Did you avoid that stuff when you were going through it? You weren't interested in it? I mean, I know that I had parents who were business people and. And funny, I ended up going into business partly because I had student loans, but for a long time, I resisted having to look at the balance.

Melissa Benashai (16:31)

Yeah, well, it's not the fun part. That's how I felt, because I'm the face of the brand. I'm responsible for the product. I had so many other things that I could focus on, but without a true understanding of the finances, you don't know your business. Seth taught me that. My CEO who came in after Brian, and it was such a wonderful experience. He was a true partner to me. And I felt like I had such an awesome job because I got to do the fun stuff. I had somebody who held himself accountable for the P and L, as do I. Of course. So I guess he started in September 2016, which was a few months after I started my family.

Podcast Host (17:11)

How many kids?

Melissa Benashai (17:12)

I have two daughters today.

Podcast Host (17:14)

Do they love cupcakes?

Melissa Benashai (17:15)

It's funny. Yeah, I guess, like they're like, you know, they, they have their share of cupcakes. So one of them just like takes the icing off. They both only like one or two flavors. It's very funny. They love to bake and they love to be in the kitchen with me. And they love chocolate. Yeah. So he was our CEO for about two and a half years and one day he couldn't be anymore.

Podcast Host (17:37)

Why?

Melissa Benashai (17:38)

Personal reasons to him.

Podcast Host (17:39)

Yeah. So also hard, like a second loss in some ways.

Melissa Benashai (17:45)

Oh, yeah.

Podcast Host (17:46)

That's when you stepped in as CEO finally.

Melissa Benashai (17:49)

Yeah. So my board, we had a call at 6pm on Dec. 5, 2019, right

Podcast Host (17:56)

before COVID Right before.

Melissa Benashai (17:57)

Right before COVID Right. And I had just. I had a six month old and a two year old, almost two year old at home. And I get on the call and they were like, so Melissa will be the CEO. And I was like. And I remember like tears welling up and, and I'm mouthing to my husband,

Podcast Host (18:14)

they're making me see.

Melissa Benashai (18:16)

And he was like, amazing. And you're like, no, not amazing. Yeah. I didn't know what, you know, what I knew. I knew how incredible of an opportunity it was for me to be. I was catapulted outside of my comfort zone. I remember I was up all night crafting the story that we were going to tell the team with my investor, who I'm so fortunate to have because he believed in me. He believed in me when I didn't. And he really does today even. It's a very special relationship that we have.

Podcast Host (18:45)

How did you find that investor?

Melissa Benashai (18:47)

He cold called us many times.

Podcast Host (18:50)

And yeah, I mean, this does seem like a Cinderella story, I just want to say, but I know it was messy.

Melissa Benashai (18:55)

Oh, it's so messy. Oh my God, it's so messy because

Podcast Host (18:58)

you're like, okay, 48 hours after being fired, I start this business. It's amazing. I don't have to do the hard things.

Melissa Benashai (19:03)

I do the things I love, which is also hard. Okay, what's hard about that? I wasn't, I didn't have a voice.

Podcast Host (19:11)

What do you mean?

Melissa Benashai (19:12)

In the early days, you said they

Podcast Host (19:15)

gave you that opportunity, but it was your business.

Melissa Benashai (19:17)

That's correct. What the hell is wrong with me? Why didn't I think I should be the CEO of the business bears my name, that I have Built from the ground up that I know, like a parent. Like, when I became a mom, the first thing I realized is that I've been having maternal instincts for Baked by Melissa since the day we founded it. Like, how? What is wrong with me? Why didn't I think I was worthy?

Podcast Host (19:39)

Why?

Melissa Benashai (19:39)

And why am I giving everyone else credit for making me see, yeah, 100%, it's just who I am. I really don't think of myself, but I'm working on that because it is very important to not only understand how I feel about things and go after what I, Melissa, believe I need for both myself and my business.

Podcast Host (19:59)

You know, it's interesting because oftentimes. And I. I've definitely talked about this, oftentimes I would go into a company, I might have a senior role, but I. My way of presenting is very casual. And sometimes in corporate, I would see how people were really polished and restrained and sort of in control, Right. And I would think to myself, like, should I be like that? Or, you know, they kind of were more masculine in terms of how they presented, which definitely.

Melissa Benashai (20:24)

And half those people don't even know what they're talking about.

Podcast Host (20:26)

I know, but they did a really good job. But they never seem so poised and like, they had it all together. And I would be like, should I be more like that? Because, like, maybe I'm too bubbly and friendly. How have you resolved that for yourself? Because in some ways, that's what you're. You know, it's like, I want to be liked.

Melissa Benashai (20:41)

Right?

Podcast Host (20:41)

It's like I want to be one with the team.

Melissa Benashai (20:43)

I've really gone through an awakening over these years. So with that, the second CEO, Seth, we did market research. In July 2017, we spent all this money. Agency came in, they presented, and they basically said, the heart of the brand lives within Melissa. And whatever Melissa feels is what you should do. But basically, we spent like $100,000 to be told that. But it was such a powerful moment for me, and it gave me a little bit of confidence. And my CEO at the time had been telling me that, too. And he would come to me with all of his questions, and he was really empowering me. And then I became CEO. I have two superpowers. Number one, I know what I don't know. And number two, I. Maybe to a fault, probably. Yeah, for sure. And then number two, I know how to ask for help, and I know, like, who to ask for help. So I did a lot of that in the early days of becoming CEO, which taught me that it's not rocket science.

Podcast Host (21:39)

And when did you get a coach?

Melissa Benashai (21:42)

More recently, actually.

Podcast Host (21:43)

So it took you a while to ask for that kind of a help?

Melissa Benashai (21:46)

Yeah, it did. One of my best friends was like, you need to talk, it's hers. And she was like, you need her. You need her.

Podcast Host (21:54)

And has that been helpful?

Melissa Benashai (21:55)

Oh, my God, yeah.

Podcast Host (21:58)

Really?

Melissa Benashai (21:58)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (21:59)

What is the magic Unlocked? Cause it feels like everybody has a coach. I never really had a coach.

Melissa Benashai (22:03)

I never had a coach. I had a therapist. And I think we got to a point where she could no longer really help me on the business side of things.

Podcast Host (22:11)

What's the difference between a therapist and a coach?

Melissa Benashai (22:13)

Not much really. My coach just doesn't follow rules and she can see through people. She had my number. She gave me a couple of different assignments to think all the way back to my childhood. She told me what type of problem solver I am. She made me really look at my day to day and dissect it. And through these two thought exercises, I was like, oh my God.

Podcast Host (22:37)

Well, wait a second. Sorry. What does that mean? Oh my God. What?

Melissa Benashai (22:40)

Did you realize that I needed an assistant? I needed help.

Podcast Host (22:43)

You didn't have an assistant all this time?

Melissa Benashai (22:45)

Nope. I still don't actually.

Podcast Host (22:47)

Wait. Okay.

Melissa Benashai (22:48)

I hired an assistant. It didn't work and. But okay.

Podcast Host (22:51)

Anybody listening? Melissa's looking for an assistant.

Melissa Benashai (22:54)

I make mistakes all the time, but I think the most important thing is when you make a mistake to be able to recognize, I made a mistake, what am I going to do about it?

Podcast Host (23:03)

But it's almost like you don't think you're worthy of having an assistant. Right? Because when I talk to lots of people, they know about getting the support they need in order to be able to level up. Right. It's like, didn't you deserve an assistant?

Melissa Benashai (23:16)

My upbringing through. Baby, you're running a hundred million dollar company. I'm a martyr. I was really put under a microscope for a very long time. I have to lead by example as the face of the brand, like even the smallest things.

Podcast Host (23:28)

That seems like so much pressure.

Melissa Benashai (23:30)

So much pressure. I feel a lot of pressure every day, especially in the role of CEO. And now I'm a cookbook author, a content creator, a mom and a CEO. It's too much. I don't recommend it. I don't want my kids to be CEOs, if I'm being honest.

Podcast Host (23:45)

So we had on the points guy, Brian Kelly, and he succeeded early. You know, he ends up being CEO. And one of the things he, Brian said was that he got to a point with CEO that he went to his board and said, you know what? I don't want to be CEO anymore. I actually think there's somebody better to be CEO. He'd been CEO, and they were like, we were waiting for you to come to that conclusion. And he said, I'm just going to lean into the things that are my superpower. And he is also the face of the brand and is living his best life not doing the things that he doesn't want to do. I mean, of course, he got to CEO and then he decided that maybe he wanted to live his life differently,

Melissa Benashai (24:24)

which is not an easy thing to do.

Podcast Host (24:26)

Hard.

Melissa Benashai (24:27)

And it's very important to be able to do that.

Podcast Host (24:30)

Do you imagine ever getting to that point?

Melissa Benashai (24:32)

I do. You know, when you are stretched across so many verticals of a very complicated business? I mean, we manufacture our product. We have retail b2b.e. Com, wholesale shipping.

Podcast Host (24:42)

You do so much shipping.

Melissa Benashai (24:43)

Yeah, we do it all.

Podcast Host (24:45)

It's operationally very heavy. It's not just baking in the kitchen.

Melissa Benashai (24:49)

Sure. And when you're the CEO, you have to make some really difficult decisions. You. You can't prioritize relationships. You have to prioritize the business, and that could make you dead inside.

Podcast Host (24:59)

It's hard.

Melissa Benashai (25:00)

It's very difficult.

Podcast Host (25:01)

I want to go back to, they tell you your CEO, you're having a panic attack, but you lean in.

Melissa Benashai (25:08)

I listened to Rocky on my way to the subway the next morning.

Podcast Host (25:11)

Oh, that's your walk on music.

Melissa Benashai (25:14)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (25:15)

Eye of the tiger. And then Covid hits.

Melissa Benashai (25:19)

Covid. I love a chat. I thrive in high pressure. I really love it.

Podcast Host (25:28)

You're such a contradiction, Right? At the one hand, you didn't wanna use your voice. On the other hand, you love a good fight.

Melissa Benashai (25:35)

I do. And even when we were going through the transition, I went into my investor's office, and I was like, don't worry. Everything's going to be okay. I'm very. I believe. And yeah. So Covid hits. It's so crazy because we were actually at the bakery for a photo shoot. We shoot all of our product at the bakery on whatever. It was March 12th, and I remember saying to my team, come over. Like, let's order in dinner at my house. And on the way back to my apartment, they canceled school. And it was the last time we saw each other for months. I remember my parents coming to drop my kids off. They had picked them up from daycare that day. And standing on the far end of my living room, we had cooties because they were worried about germs and Covid, I guess. Yeah. So my team came over. We had our last meal. It was so just intuitive and listening to my gut. And it was a very challenging few weeks. We were seeing sales decline leading up to when the whole world really went remote. But maybe a week or so prior, I brought my team in. It's like pounding on the. On the table. Like, people aren't celebrating in person. Like they're stocking up on toilet paper. We have to change our messaging. We have to connect with our customer. So we changed our marketing messaging to stock up on cupcakes. And if you can't be there to celebrate in person, send cupcakes. We wound up growing E comm 98% in 2020.

Podcast Host (27:05)

That is an amazing story. I know.

Melissa Benashai (27:06)

And I would stop at nothing because it's mine that gave me my wings. It really showed me that it's not anything you could learn in a textbook, but it's grit. It's listening to your gut, and it's asking for help when you need it or when you don't have the answer. Bringing your team together and when you do have the answer, really standing up for what you know is right for your business. That's something I needed to learn.

Podcast Host (27:32)

You found your voice.

Melissa Benashai (27:34)

Yes, I did. After I heard Hoda say once, like, at something I saw her speak at, like, that she earned her confidence through her experience. And it's so wise. How else do you become confident? If you're confident without earning it through experience, it's probably something else.

Podcast Host (27:54)

So if you were a kid graduating from. A young person graduating from college today, what advice would you have for them?

Melissa Benashai (28:03)

I think listen to your heart and try and do the things that make you feel good.

Podcast Host (28:09)

And then if somebody's pivoting right. I read all the time about people being laid off or leaving their jobs for various reasons. Given what's happening, you know, you're kind of this incredible story of like a messy moment that turns into an amazing moment. What advice do you have for somebody who sort of just been told that they don't have a job?

Melissa Benashai (28:28)

Well, it's still messy, to be clear, and go find a new one. We live in an age where you have the world at your fingertips.

Podcast Host (28:39)

What does that mean?

Melissa Benashai (28:40)

It means that, like, as an example, I hate to hear people complain about not liking their job. Drives me crazy. Great. Why go find a new job? Like, use your fingertips and go find a new job. It's so easy. I don't.

Podcast Host (28:54)

Well, maybe not easy.

Melissa Benashai (28:56)

Maybe not easy. That's Totally fair. But you are in control of your own destiny. And I think it's easy to complain and blame others for the way that you feel, but it's much more challenging to hold yourself accountable for yourself and your happiness and your success. And I think doing that is ultimately what leads to it.

Podcast Host (29:16)

How did you learn that?

Melissa Benashai (29:17)

I'll tell you, actually, I was reading a book called the Games People Play. It's about emotional intelligence. I was standing on the subway platform, and I remember I had this epiphany, and everybody has a different level of emotional intelligence. The only thing I can control is myself and the way I respond. I can't control anything else in this world. And I really started practicing that immediately, and it changed my life.

Podcast Host (29:46)

Oh, I like that. I'm gonna have to look at that book.

Melissa Benashai (29:47)

Yeah, I made my husband read it.

Podcast Host (29:49)

Everybody feels out of control these days, so we could maybe all use it.

Melissa Benashai (29:53)

So go to the gym. You know, like, you need to figure out what you need to do for you to make yourself feel whole and happy. Because the chaos is going nowhere, it seems.

Podcast Host (30:02)

So when you look forward, which do you do that? Do you. Do you, like, look ahead and say to yourself, like, okay, I can see not being CEO. I can see myself doing something different.

Melissa Benashai (30:11)

I do look ahead. I go really fast, I've been told. And so I could see the future, but not necessarily how to get there. My best team members are the ones that can fill that gap, if that makes sense.

Podcast Host (30:24)

Okay, so what do you see?

Melissa Benashai (30:26)

I mean, in what regard? I see a lot of things.

Podcast Host (30:28)

Okay, let's go. It's like actually being with a futurist.

Melissa Benashai (30:32)

No, I don't. I think that my definition of success is happiness, and I think it's not sustainable for me to do all of these things and do them well.

Podcast Host (30:42)

So you say happiness, and I always worry about that word, actually, because we're not always in a state of, like, joy. That's not what you mean.

Melissa Benashai (30:48)

Oh, no, I'm not always in a state of joy. Far from that.

Podcast Host (30:51)

But, like, what is happiness to you?

Melissa Benashai (30:53)

Well, for me, for a very long time, and I'll say I'm still there right now, is finding fulfillment through work. I work really hard, and I really enjoy it, not only for baked by Melissa, but also for my family. I think I inherited this, like, way of being where, like, I don't know how to sit. I don't want to sit. Although when my husband is on the couch, I find it so annoying. And, like, I ask him to do things because I'm constantly in a state of doing. I love that. I love the busy working hard form.

Podcast Host (31:25)

It makes my family crazy. They're like, why can't you sit still?

Melissa Benashai (31:29)

Then? Who's gonna do all of these things?

Podcast Host (31:31)

I know, but I love.

Melissa Benashai (31:32)

Yeah, Like, I dread the day that I'm not, like, needed that way. Although I'll find other things and I'll probably enjoy it just as much, if not more so for me right now, that's what happiness is. I think I'm evolving as a human, and I know it's not sustainable to be working my ass off. And I have nothing to prove to anybody, you know, maybe yourself. I think I have. I think I have proved to myself.

Podcast Host (31:57)

So you wave a magic wand, you're not CEO anymore. Baked by Melissa is doing amazingly. You're still connected. What's the next challenge that you'd like?

Melissa Benashai (32:05)

I think I'm always a part of Baked by Melissa for, you know, for the immediate future. I'm also a content creator and a cookbook author. We just announced my next cookbook that comes out in April. It's available for pre order now. It's called Come Eat. Because that's what I say to my. My family and my neighbors when I make something delicious, and I want them to come eat it. And I do that all the time. And I really love. I love creating, I love cooking, I love baking.

Podcast Host (32:34)

Because now you've moved on to salads.

Melissa Benashai (32:36)

Yeah, food, all of it. I just follow my heart. So I guess I don't know what's next, but I'm very good at relinquishing control when it's necessary.

Podcast Host (32:51)

What does that mean? Because on the one hand, I bet you do like control, and so I think it's uncomfortable. Yeah. What's the mix between, like, control and letting it go?

Melissa Benashai (33:01)

I think it's important to recognize where your superpowers are and go towards them.

Podcast Host (33:07)

Okay, so wait, what's your superpower?

Melissa Benashai (33:10)

Creating.

Podcast Host (33:11)

So as an entrepreneur, you have a lot of priorities, but you said you have this ability to be laser focused. How do you think about prioritizing?

Melissa Benashai (33:21)

Well, my family is my top priority. My definition of family has changed since we founded Baked by Melissa. My family.

Podcast Host (33:27)

What does that mean?

Melissa Benashai (33:27)

Is my husband and my two children, they're my top priority.

Podcast Host (33:31)

And your husband works with you?

Melissa Benashai (33:32)

He does, yeah.

Podcast Host (33:34)

So it's kind of intertwined.

Melissa Benashai (33:35)

It is. I think it's so wonderful actually to have somebody that you can share the challenges, with, but also the wins with. And we grew up together. We faced many Many of the challenges really together, he kept me sane. You know, if he wasn't there by my side, maybe I would have thought I was crazy. But like, he was like, no, no, this is not my job as the CEO and co founder. Working in the business is to maximize the value of my shareholders equity. That's what I'm laser focused on.

Podcast Host (34:06)

You're talking like a CEO.

Melissa Benashai (34:07)

It's amazing. Yeah, that's my job. Yeah, it's a little contradicting at times. And I spend 20% of my time. Every Thursday is content day.

Podcast Host (34:20)

So you bank the content.

Melissa Benashai (34:21)

I create seven to nine recipes. My commitment to my community is to post a recipe a day. I've done that for the past six years.

Podcast Host (34:31)

It's a lot of work.

Melissa Benashai (34:32)

Five plus years. Yeah, it's a lot of work. Most creators just have that as a full time job. Yeah, yeah, it's a lot of work. It really is a recipe for burnout, I'll tell you. But I think you have to get to a place where it becomes nearly impossible to make change and do what the business needs. But also maybe what I need, people

Podcast Host (34:55)

who don't know how to have a voice outside of like the traditional world. Right. There's people I meet who still say, oh, I don't know why you're on social media. Like, I don't have anything to say or I. That makes me uncomfortable. A lot of women still feel that way. What do you have to say to them about that?

Melissa Benashai (35:14)

Well, same. The reason I'm on social media, like my face is because my team was creating content for TikTok, this new social media channel that I did not like and I didn't feel that I had actionable feedback for them. And so I said, you know, I love social media. At the time, I like, I've been posting to Bake by Melissa since Instagram was created. I felt like I needed to learn the app so I could give my team feedback. And I created an account, Melissa Benashai, where I would just like post recipes that I was making for dessert. I love dessert. I eat it every night. And then dinner, whatever. And the engagement on The Melissa Benashai TikTok was much better than the content my team was posting for Baked by Melissa. So on a whim one night I made a salad and I posted it to Baked by Melissa. And the next morning I woke up, I was like, oh, let me see how the salad did. And it had like 30 million views. So it was like more of a. Oh. As an entrepreneur you recognize the opportunity the community is providing you with in this moment and you, it's up to you. Do you take it or do you just leave it there? And then convincing my team that posting salads to the baked by Melissa social media account is what's best for our business.

Podcast Host (36:30)

Like that's not what our brand is about.

Melissa Benashai (36:32)

Well, it's not, but you. Okay, I literally had this conversation. Oh my God. As a CEO, I feel like you have the same conversation over and over again. That's like a big part of your job. Would you rather grow a community of people who come to us for something and create that connection or do you want to post cupcake content because they're

Podcast Host (36:52)

like, well it's not me on brand,

Melissa Benashai (36:54)

it's I every time. And that year one was about, about building the community and just like really building the community.

Podcast Host (36:59)

What does that mean to you?

Melissa Benashai (37:00)

Building the community, showing up consistency and quality every day. I think I'm an addict. Like it's not a good thing. I'm addicted to productivity and I love it and I love creating. So it's just the perfect storm. I love social media. It's a place to go to be inspired. It's also a double edged sword and there are things that aren't good about

Podcast Host (37:23)

it for sure because that moment when you post the salad and it goes viral to you, you're thinking about your community and your community actually is willing to be expansive about you, not just limit you to cupcakes.

Melissa Benashai (37:35)

Yeah. I think a lot of people in the community don't really draw the line between the two and I work on really bringing like closing that gap. But the truth is these people, this community of now, millions of people have given me an opportunity and my business an opportunity. They've been breathed new life into me and also my business. Most videos I sign off and say love you, I love you, I love you. Like thank you. Really. I am in such a unique position as a creator who had a product first. I don't have to work with brands to pay the bills. I have a full time job and so it allows me to be the most genuine and authentic version of myself and also work with the brands that I really trust and have loved for many in my whole life.

Podcast Host (38:30)

Because you're doing a lot more collaborations now.

Melissa Benashai (38:32)

We do a ton of collaborations. We learned how to parlay some of these brand partnerships into product collaborations. So we have a partnership with kinder where like my kids favorite.

Podcast Host (38:43)

Who doesn't love Kinder?

Melissa Benashai (38:44)

Yeah, who doesn't love Kinder? We also, you know we had one with hundred grand. Crunch Bar Baby Ruth around Halloween, Tabasco, Cabot Simply Lemonade. Like, there's so many. And we have another one coming out soon. I think it'll be available when this comes out. Like with Essie now. Polished brand that I've been wearing my entire life. Essie Winegarden is someone I reached out to in the early days of being baked by Melissa so I could understand from her, like, what it's like to be the face of a brand. Yeah. So it's just beyond my wildest dreams, and I have the community to thank.

Podcast Host (39:22)

Okay, so we're gonna do rapid fire. Your messiest moment on a scale of 1 to 10?

Melissa Benashai (39:27)

12. The last time you cried, like, December 26th, just recently. Yeah.

Podcast Host (39:34)

What'd you cry about?

Melissa Benashai (39:35)

How heavy it all is to my husband.

Podcast Host (39:39)

Because it's heavy.

Melissa Benashai (39:40)

Yeah.

Podcast Host (39:41)

What would you tell someone to do before 35?

Melissa Benashai (39:43)

What would I tell somebody to do before 35? Whatever your heart desires.

Podcast Host (39:49)

What's one advice for someone who's having a crisis of confidence?

Melissa Benashai (39:55)

Go for a run.

Podcast Host (39:56)

Go for a run. It clears your head.

Melissa Benashai (39:58)

Oh, yeah. I wish I could do it more.

Podcast Host (40:01)

Thank you so much for coming on. I mean, thank you. The cupcakes are amazing, but I think really, what's more amazing is your resilience and your willingness to just lean in.

Melissa Benashai (40:11)

Thanks.

Podcast Host (40:11)

And I love that you found your voice.

Melissa Benashai (40:13)

Thank you.

Podcast Host (40:13)

It's amazing that you didn't have it sooner because it was in there.

Melissa Benashai (40:16)

I know. I think we all have a voice, and I hope my story and my experience help you find yours quicker than I found mine.

Podcast Host (40:24)

Thank you for making it to the end of the episode. I know that, like me, you're going to be listening and I running to go buy a cupcake from baked by Melissa and trying for many different flavors. Remember, share like and tell 10 friends because that's how we're going to keep going and sharing all the messy stories behind success.