Speaker 1: Welcome to Go, Ask Alli, a production of Shonda Land
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Speaker 1: been with friends and that happened and I paid my pants,
Speaker 1: I did lose the room, they did leave. I saw
Speaker 1: her light up and I was like, I'm just going
Speaker 1: to work, but we are here until one of our
Speaker 1: last breaths. I was just the one that was meant
Speaker 1: to take care of mamma. It's for me to remember
Speaker 1: every single day is that I always have a choice.
Speaker 1: Everyone always has a choice. Whenever somebody says no, you
Speaker 1: can't or there's no rules for you, or you have
Speaker 1: to look like this, I go. I'll show you. I'll
Speaker 1: show you. Welcome to Go, ask Allie. I'm Alli Wentworth
Speaker 1: and I have an idea for New Year's Eve. Besides
Speaker 1: a little champagne, I thought I'd have little chocolate cupcakes
Speaker 1: with silver balls on them. I know, very exciting, but
Speaker 1: I'm a baker and I love to make annies and
Speaker 1: Hello dollies and chocolate chip cookies and cakes. I mean,
Speaker 1: there's a reason George Stephanopoulos married me, and it's not
Speaker 1: because I have a great ass. Actually, on one of
Speaker 1: our first dates, I made a turkey bolonnaise, and a
Speaker 1: chocolate cake that had him get up on the table
Speaker 1: and howl at the moon. So I love anything baked,
Speaker 1: which is why I'm so excited for my guest today
Speaker 1: because she is the pre eminent cupcake creator, Candice Nelson.
Speaker 1: She's an entrepreneur, New York Times best selling author, and
Speaker 1: Wall Street Journal contributor. Through her most recent book, Sweet Success,
Speaker 1: Candice shares her recipe for turning passion into profit. Listen,
Speaker 1: if you've ever visited a revolutionary Sprinkles bakery or a
Speaker 1: Pizzana pizzeria that, my friends is Candice Nelson and you
Speaker 1: might know or has a judge on Netflix's Sugar Rush
Speaker 1: and Food Networks had one of my favorite shows, Cupcake Wars.
Speaker 1: She's a co creator and executive producer of Who Who's
Speaker 1: Best in Dough? Yep, Candice Nelson has it all going
Speaker 1: on both sweet and savory. Candice Nelson. So, I'm looking
Speaker 1: at you in a split screen on my computer and
Speaker 1: you have perfectly wavy hair dewey makeup. So thank you
Speaker 1: for looking so glamorous for us. It is my pleasure.
Speaker 1: I am honored to be here. Well, I'm so happy
Speaker 1: to be here. With you because I haven't seen you
Speaker 1: in like over ten years, and the last time I
Speaker 1: saw you, I had just stuffed a red, velvet sprinkled
Speaker 1: cupcake in my mouth. I had started a nonprofit in Washington,
Speaker 1: d c U called Baby Love, and you gave us
Speaker 1: a big fat check, and I thank you for that. Well,
Speaker 1: my goodness, that was a really fun event, and thank
Speaker 1: you for including us in that, of course, and so
Speaker 1: impressive to me because I thought, you know, here's a cupcake.
Speaker 1: We all love to eat, whether we're pretending to watch
Speaker 1: our weight or not. And you know, you were so
Speaker 1: from the beginning so philanthropic that I just thought, what
Speaker 1: incredible organization. And now, Candice Nelson, you are an empire.
Speaker 1: You are not just delicious cupcakes that I gave everybody
Speaker 1: whenever I could. But you have your book coming out,
Speaker 1: you have TV shows. I mean, there's a lot to
Speaker 1: dig into here, which I'm very excited about. But let's
Speaker 1: let's start from the beginning, because I like to I
Speaker 1: like to tell a story. So you're, what is it
Speaker 1: right to say, an investment banker? That's what you started out? Yes,
Speaker 1: I mean it real investment bankers would kind of raise
Speaker 1: their eyebrows at that because I was just out of
Speaker 1: undergrad So I was a financial analyst in corporate finance, um,
Speaker 1: working with all the bankers. Right, okay, so we'll call
Speaker 1: you a banker of sorts investment banking. Yes, you were
Speaker 1: wearing your ant tailor suit and your heels, and one
Speaker 1: day you just how didn't you know that? I just
Speaker 1: just to guess and you decided, you know, damn it,
Speaker 1: I want to bake. How did that happen? How did
Speaker 1: that decision come to you? And why didn't I do
Speaker 1: that when I could? I was sort of the unlikely entrepreneur.
Speaker 1: I was raised in this family that was very risk averse.
Speaker 1: My dad was a corporate lawyer, very loyal employee. Over time,
Speaker 1: we were taught that education was the way, um, you know,
Speaker 1: get a job at a great company and climb the
Speaker 1: corporate ladder to success and stability. And so I was
Speaker 1: well on my way to doing that. I started at
Speaker 1: the investment bank as a financial analyst. Then I went
Speaker 1: to an internet startup. It was the dot com boom
Speaker 1: of the late nineties, and then two things happened. One,
Speaker 1: the dot com bust happened, So I was out of
Speaker 1: a job. So I had done all the quote unquote
Speaker 1: right things, and I was completely unemployed with no prospects.
Speaker 1: And then the next thing that happened not that long after.
Speaker 1: It was nine eleven, and so I mean it was
Speaker 1: just recently married. I was so excited about life and optimistic,
Speaker 1: and then all of a sudden there was this dark
Speaker 1: shadow over everything. But what it really crystallized for me
Speaker 1: was the fact that life can be really fleeting and
Speaker 1: there is no security and despite all your best intentions,
Speaker 1: your best laid plan, like it can all evaporate tomorrow.
Speaker 1: And so for me that was a really that was
Speaker 1: an AHA moment um. You know, I've done all the
Speaker 1: right things. I was without a job. I was now
Speaker 1: questioning what I wanted to do with my life. It
Speaker 1: was the first time I'd really asked myself that question,
Speaker 1: like what do I want to do? What do I
Speaker 1: want to do that brings me joy? And what do
Speaker 1: I want to do that actually has some meaning and
Speaker 1: gives back to the world, even if it's in a
Speaker 1: very small way, like a piece of cake. So I
Speaker 1: took my first step off that well trodden path, and
Speaker 1: I decided to go to pastry school instead of business school.
Speaker 1: So much more fun, by the way, so much more fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and were you always a baker? I mean I've always
Speaker 1: been a baker. I've been baking my whole life, and
Speaker 1: I've always baked with my kids. Even now that they're teenagers,
Speaker 1: I still forced them to bake with me. But so
Speaker 1: it is, it is something that you either gravitate towards
Speaker 1: and love to do or not. I find there's the
Speaker 1: bakers and the non bakers. I totally agree with you.
Speaker 1: I think there's definitely a divide, and I'm so happy
Speaker 1: you're on my side of the divide alley. I feel
Speaker 1: like we could start a baking gang, girl gang, you
Speaker 1: and me, um, you know, mean girl bakers. But I
Speaker 1: actually started baking with my mom, just like so many
Speaker 1: kids do. And but it was extra meaningful for me
Speaker 1: because I was growing up as an expat. I was
Speaker 1: living in Southeast Asia a lot of my childhood, and
Speaker 1: so you know, this was pre internet. This was back
Speaker 1: when long long distance calls were expensive and they dropped,
Speaker 1: and so really the only way for me to have
Speaker 1: a connection to my homeland was through food, and I
Speaker 1: couldn't get the foods that I craved from home, like
Speaker 1: there were no Rice Crispy treats at the corner store
Speaker 1: in made on Sumatra, so I had to learn to
Speaker 1: bake them myself. And I spent hours in the kitchen
Speaker 1: baking with my mom. We cooked from her m Joy
Speaker 1: of Cooking cookbook, and I still remember to this day
Speaker 1: it was like all stained and dog eared, and you
Speaker 1: could tell which recipes were our favorites. And you know,
Speaker 1: I made all the classics, like brownies and you know,
Speaker 1: rice Crispy treats, chocsate cookies, sheet cakes. Remember Cooca Cola cake?
Speaker 1: We may cola cake. I remember too. I remember my
Speaker 1: mother's cookbook and my grandmother's cookbook and there would be
Speaker 1: the old crane stationary with like notes written on it
Speaker 1: shoved in. For us it was the Fannie Farmer Cookbook.
Speaker 1: But you know, there is such a sense of history,
Speaker 1: and you know, culturally people hand down food recipes as
Speaker 1: kind of a way of of handing down history, and
Speaker 1: I think that that's true for every family. There are
Speaker 1: certain things in our family, certain dishes, um, my mother's
Speaker 1: cram caramel. That's like even the smell of it reminds
Speaker 1: me of my childhood. So I I completely get the
Speaker 1: nostalgia for food that we grew up with. It's so visceral.
Speaker 1: And you know those cookbooks, gosh, I hope you still
Speaker 1: have them with the notes, you know, the cards and
Speaker 1: just the notes right on the recipes themselves. There's those
Speaker 1: are such family heirlooms. And I always encourage people who have,
Speaker 1: you know, family members who are getting older that have
Speaker 1: their special secret recipe to really get in the kitchen
Speaker 1: with them and try to learn it or write it down,
Speaker 1: because it's always so sad to me when those recipes
Speaker 1: that are in someone's head get lost forever. Yes, except
Speaker 1: for my grandmother's prune whip. That's a recipe I let
Speaker 1: go that could be lost forever and no one was sad. No,
Speaker 1: nobody will miss it and nobody will be sad. Well
Speaker 1: with the name like prune went well exactly, they should
Speaker 1: have come up with something like very wings or you know,
Speaker 1: but no, it's prune whip and it is what it says,
Speaker 1: and nobody wants it. It was just bad marketing. Yes,
Speaker 1: so you go to pastry school and what was it
Speaker 1: about the cupcake that stood out for you so initially?
Speaker 1: I mean, I just loved going to pastry school. Initially,
Speaker 1: I was going just to test my interest, because a
Speaker 1: lot of us have I mean, look at you. You're
Speaker 1: a baker and you love it as a hobby you
Speaker 1: do with your family, But did you make a career
Speaker 1: out of it. No. A lot of people have passions
Speaker 1: and hobbies that aren't necessarily going to translate into a job.
Speaker 1: So I wanted to test my interest. I wanted to
Speaker 1: test whether I even liked getting up every single day,
Speaker 1: you know, putting on my chef whites and getting my
Speaker 1: hands sturdy and working with all these ingredients. It's physical work.
Speaker 1: It was the opposite of what I had been doing,
Speaker 1: which was crunching numbers at a desk, and I loved it.
Speaker 1: I loved it. Yeah. I mean I first of all
Speaker 1: went to this really sweet pastry school in San Francisco.
Speaker 1: It was like there was an organic garden in the back.
Speaker 1: There was sunlight streaming in. It was just like medicine
Speaker 1: for my soul at that point in life, well, particularly
Speaker 1: after nine eleven and you know all the tragedy that
Speaker 1: came from that. I would imagine that there was a
Speaker 1: little bit of sort of escapism and magic to being
Speaker 1: at that pastry school so much. Yeah, I wanted to
Speaker 1: live in a magical world of like chocolate and sugar
Speaker 1: and you know, hand pies, and I love how tangible
Speaker 1: it all was, you know, creating these delicious treats and
Speaker 1: then being able to hand them to someone to watch
Speaker 1: them enjoy it. That was so the simplicity of that
Speaker 1: really really spoke to me. Your cup gigs had, well,
Speaker 1: they are amazing, but at the time now, I think
Speaker 1: we're in a little bit of a recession. When you
Speaker 1: started this, and I would imagine there were a lot
Speaker 1: of naysayers saying, are you out of your mind you
Speaker 1: think that you can make a living making cupcakes, but
Speaker 1: that you had to have gotten tremendous feedback when people
Speaker 1: ate these cupcakes. That's exactly how it happened. So when
Speaker 1: I started considering the cupcake and sort of reinventing the
Speaker 1: cupcake and the idea of the first cupcakes only bakery
Speaker 1: came to me. Um, I realized that San Francisco, which
Speaker 1: is where my husband and I were living at the time,
Speaker 1: was not the place because you're right, we had just
Speaker 1: gone through the dot com bust. It was, you know,
Speaker 1: the economy was in the doldrums, and so we figured
Speaker 1: we had to set out for greener pastors, which ended
Speaker 1: up being Los Angeles. And we got there and a
Speaker 1: lot of our friends had moved down there at the time.
Speaker 1: Spent a weekend and went to a few parties, and
Speaker 1: all of the parties had the same cake. It was
Speaker 1: very bizarre. Really, they have cake in Los Angeles. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that was MythBuster or number one. Everyone is nobody eats
Speaker 1: cake in Los Angeles, but they do. But they were
Speaker 1: all eating the same cake. So I thought, Wow, I
Speaker 1: think there's room for a little competition in this market.
Speaker 1: So I started selling my cupcakes out of my home
Speaker 1: and people were like, you're crazy. I mean, no one
Speaker 1: in l A eats carbs. Also, by the way, it
Speaker 1: was the height of the South Beach diet. Yeah, I
Speaker 1: mean it was like the South Beach iet was on
Speaker 1: the New York Times Vesselling cookbook for like twenty weeks already.
Speaker 1: And as I drove around Los Angeles, I think coming
Speaker 1: from somewhere else and being kind of an outsider to
Speaker 1: l A was really an important part of the story
Speaker 1: because I was able to look at l A through
Speaker 1: fresh eyes and see that there were a whole lot
Speaker 1: of burger joints and donut shops on every corner. So
Speaker 1: I thought, you know what, I bet there's other people
Speaker 1: out there just like me who might be eating the
Speaker 1: burger without the bun, but it's because they're saving room
Speaker 1: for a really great dessert. And so I started baking
Speaker 1: cupcakes out of my kitchen, and sure enough, word spread
Speaker 1: and I developed this real cult following, even just out
Speaker 1: of my kitchen. So I was able to test my
Speaker 1: thesis on a small scale. And that was just all
Speaker 1: that was kind of all the traction I needed. That
Speaker 1: was all the proof of concept I needed to go
Speaker 1: for it. Okay, so what's an X step? Do you
Speaker 1: rent a space? Yes, so we rented a space. We
Speaker 1: first thought, and I say we because my husband, Charles
Speaker 1: was my co founder and all of this and and
Speaker 1: has been my partner through all of our businesses. Oh yeah,
Speaker 1: we're gonna get to that. We're going to get to that. Okay, Okay,
Speaker 1: So so we started looking for a location. But we
Speaker 1: had a lot of trouble with that because, as you said,
Speaker 1: I mean, it was a new idea cupcakes only bakery.
Speaker 1: We were reinventing the cupcake into something gourmet. Everyone thought
Speaker 1: it was ridiculous. Idea height of the low carb diet
Speaker 1: all of that, and so everybody said no. But we
Speaker 1: eventually found a spot, tiny little six hundred square foot
Speaker 1: front and back retail kitchen in Beverly Hills and we
Speaker 1: got to work transforming this little space. Everyone said, Beverly Hills, like,
Speaker 1: that doesn't sound very scrappy. I thought you guys were
Speaker 1: just like, you know, doing this sweet little cupcake shop.
Speaker 1: And we said, you know what, location, location, location, And
Speaker 1: by the way, we are reinventing the cupcake into something
Speaker 1: special and elevated and what's more perfect than a nine
Speaker 1: o two and oh zip coat exactly, And so that
Speaker 1: was the first Sprinkles. That was the first Sprinkles. Charles
Speaker 1: and I worked there every day. We spent a few
Speaker 1: nights on the kitchen floor, rolling up our aprons and
Speaker 1: going to sleep because there's no time to go home
Speaker 1: and get any shout I before we had to come
Speaker 1: back and turn the ovens on. It was like drinking
Speaker 1: from a fire hose from day one. And what was
Speaker 1: it in you and Charles that said, like we're going
Speaker 1: to persevere, this is going to happen, Like what is
Speaker 1: that little voice in your head that sort of pushed
Speaker 1: you to success. For so many people that want to
Speaker 1: start businesses and just go I can't. I can't sleep
Speaker 1: on the kitchen floor. Right The litmus test for me
Speaker 1: was will I regret it if I don't pursue this idea.
Speaker 1: Creative people have ideas all the time, and I don't
Speaker 1: recommend pursuing them all. You have to pursue the right
Speaker 1: one at the right time. But for us, us, we
Speaker 1: were really passionate about the idea I love to bake.
Speaker 1: My passion fueled me. It was contagious it, you know,
Speaker 1: all of a sudden, I had suppliers who are rooting
Speaker 1: for me, employees who wanted to work with me, and
Speaker 1: customers who wanted to spread the word. There was just
Speaker 1: something about what we were doing that was so authentic
Speaker 1: and genuine that it's spread like wildfire. And also it's different.
Speaker 1: We were flying in the face of what people knew,
Speaker 1: and and so that got people talking as well. And
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, it sounds like it's I can't
Speaker 1: not do this. You know, they're sometimes some things in
Speaker 1: life where you go, I can't not marry this person,
Speaker 1: I can't not pursue this goal. I can't and that
Speaker 1: sounds like one of those things. So let's talk about
Speaker 1: how one works with one spouse, because it is a
Speaker 1: fascinating idea to me. And I have been married for
Speaker 1: over twenty years. Um, but we've started working together in
Speaker 1: a few things and it's actually fantastic. Dick, I think
Speaker 1: it's fantastic. But um and I think it works well
Speaker 1: now that we're almost empty nesters too. It's kind of
Speaker 1: our next chapter. But you guys started out as partners,
Speaker 1: So can you can you tell me a little of
Speaker 1: the good, the bad, and the ugly about you know,
Speaker 1: for for the people listening who think, oh, maybe me
Speaker 1: and my partner will start a dot dot dot, most
Speaker 1: of my friends were like, no way, hell no, um no.
Speaker 1: For for Charles and myself. You know, what's interesting is
Speaker 1: that we actually met in investment banking. We weren't dating
Speaker 1: at the time, but we kind of were able to
Speaker 1: see each other in a work environment already in a
Speaker 1: very highly stressful work environment with lots and lots of hours,
Speaker 1: and even at the time, you know, back in the day,
Speaker 1: we were able to get by with like a great
Speaker 1: work ethic, positive attitude, and at the end of the
Speaker 1: day when you're miserable, just a sense of humor. And
Speaker 1: I know that that's what you have in spades. Ali,
Speaker 1: That's all I have, Candice. It's just one of many
Speaker 1: a me and qualities. But it's so important. It's so
Speaker 1: important because it's really all about, at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, conflict resolution. Like you know, Charles and I
Speaker 1: each have our lanes, which is super helpful. And we
Speaker 1: both love what we do. So when people say don't
Speaker 1: bring home your work, like, we break that rule all
Speaker 1: the time because we love what we're doing. We talk
Speaker 1: about it at the dinner table. We include our kids
Speaker 1: in the conversation, which is super fun now and you
Speaker 1: don't feel like all that time spent is too much time,
Speaker 1: you know what I mean? Like, there's no mystery when
Speaker 1: you're with Yeah, there is no mystery. You are completely
Speaker 1: right about that. But I think at the end of
Speaker 1: the day, we just really enjoy each other's company. We're
Speaker 1: friends and we have fun together and um, ultimately we're
Speaker 1: very We're aligned holistically on our life right. Family is important,
Speaker 1: our businesses are important, and we each have each other's back.
Speaker 1: So if someone has an important meeting or there's a
Speaker 1: restaurant opening and you're you know, our kid is sick.
Speaker 1: Somebody's got to be on to take our son to
Speaker 1: the doctor. Who's it going to be um, And we're
Speaker 1: eat there for each other during those moments, Like the
Speaker 1: highs are high in entrepreneurship and the lows are really low.
Speaker 1: So having that person by your side to like support
Speaker 1: you and also celebrate your winds in your house, you know,
Speaker 1: it's pretty pretty awesome. Yeah. I was gonna say that
Speaker 1: starting a business I think with a partner is probably
Speaker 1: very exciting, you know, the newness of it all. And
Speaker 1: now you guys are an empire, so it's not like
Speaker 1: you're you know, you're not sharing a desk all day,
Speaker 1: like you said, you know, people are in meetings and
Speaker 1: doing this, so it's almost like you've got two different jobs.
Speaker 1: I would imagine. Absolutely. Now I have to, like, we
Speaker 1: have to schedule time together. Okay, yes, okay, I got it.
Speaker 1: We're not tripping over each other anymore. We were in
Speaker 1: the early days, for sure, But but the early days
Speaker 1: there is something very exciting about that too. Starting something
Speaker 1: new so exciting, And I have to say, you know,
Speaker 1: I'm almost embarrassed to say it now, but at the
Speaker 1: time I'm not sure I had the confidence um to
Speaker 1: start a business on my own. Understand that I didn't.
Speaker 1: I didn't come from that world. I didn't know what
Speaker 1: I was doing. I mean, not that Charles knew what
Speaker 1: he was doing. His only restaurant experience was basically eating
Speaker 1: in one right, But just to have his support and
Speaker 1: know that, like I had someone who was right there
Speaker 1: by my side who believed in me, was really important.
Speaker 1: There's a lot more to come after the short break
Speaker 1: and we're back. So Sprinkles just became this unbelievable phenomenon.
Speaker 1: And so then comes the genius idea of the A
Speaker 1: T M. Cupcake. Now, first of all, explain that concept,
Speaker 1: because you know you were making fresh cupcakes every day,
Speaker 1: So explain the concept of an A T M cupcake machine,
Speaker 1: of which I have frequented many times. So okay, So
Speaker 1: when we first opened our doors, our idea quickly went
Speaker 1: from that's the stupid craziest idea I've ever heard of,
Speaker 1: to all of a sudden, it was phenomenon. We were
Speaker 1: known for lines out the door, and there were cupcake
Speaker 1: bakeries popping up everywhere across the air cut. By the way,
Speaker 1: in France, there was a cupcake bakery in Paris, which
Speaker 1: I was like, the French don't need cupcakes, they have
Speaker 1: all that other great stuff exactly. And so you know,
Speaker 1: all of a sudden we were looking around and we
Speaker 1: thought we gotta move the needle again. I mean, we
Speaker 1: got to differentiate ourselves somehow. Um, all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: we're one in a crowded pack, like, what is Sprinkles
Speaker 1: going to do next? Because we really thought of ourselves
Speaker 1: as innovators at the end of the day, you know,
Speaker 1: we were bringing this sort of um innovators perspective to
Speaker 1: the bakery industry. There were so many things that we
Speaker 1: sort of disrupted about it, and um, so we thought, Okay,
Speaker 1: we gotta disrupt again. We gotta be innovators again. And
Speaker 1: our real guiding mission and why we Sprinkles was really
Speaker 1: just to bring joy and delight in connection to people.
Speaker 1: And so I think we were always trying to entertain
Speaker 1: these ideas of what's going to delight people, what's going
Speaker 1: to sort of, you know, tickle their imagination. I came
Speaker 1: home from a party one night late. I was pregnant
Speaker 1: with my second son. I had literally eaten dark chocolate
Speaker 1: cupcakes through both of my pregnancies. It was gross. It
Speaker 1: was so there were so many cupcakes involved, and I
Speaker 1: had a craving for a cupcake. There were none in
Speaker 1: the house. I started to get a little whiny about it.
Speaker 1: And because Charles and I like to embrace what I
Speaker 1: call the crazy ideas, we started batting around the idea
Speaker 1: of like, what if there was a way to get
Speaker 1: a cupcake anytime day or night. And then we were like, actually,
Speaker 1: we pay rent twenty four hours a day, like there
Speaker 1: really should be a way to do that and monetize.
Speaker 1: So that's when we came up with the idea of
Speaker 1: like the twenty four hour vending machine. That was ultimately
Speaker 1: dubbed the cupcake a dam And so I would have
Speaker 1: to imagine when you and Charles are sitting there, you know,
Speaker 1: eating leftovers in the kitchen, and you're burping because you're pregnant,
Speaker 1: and you said, what about an A T M cupcake machine?
Speaker 1: You guys probably were hysterically laughing for a while, right,
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, I mean the logistics alone, well, we had
Speaker 1: seen sort of a very high end, fancy vending machine
Speaker 1: at some hotel, and you know, so that that had
Speaker 1: kind of wormed its way into our subconscious and so
Speaker 1: we were kind of thinking about, well, what if you
Speaker 1: did that, but you put put cupcakes. And so we
Speaker 1: looked around the next day UM online just to see
Speaker 1: if we could find the company who had created that
Speaker 1: high end vending machine. They were based in Europe and
Speaker 1: we co developed this cupcake vending machine with them. So
Speaker 1: I want to understand how the machine works quickly. So
Speaker 1: the cupcakes are there, and are they stalked every day?
Speaker 1: Every hour? Like? Does that work? A couple of times
Speaker 1: a day? They're fresh, they're in individual boxes, and it's
Speaker 1: anytime day or night. And we used to have actually
Speaker 1: like a cupcake cam out there back in the day
Speaker 1: and we could see, like at three in the morning
Speaker 1: all the people rubber machine. It was pretty fun. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I'm sure all the women with pms and all the
Speaker 1: drunk frat boys must have loved that idea, UM because
Speaker 1: when you know, a pedestrian like myself thought about the
Speaker 1: cupcake a t M. I thought, how does that work?
Speaker 1: How are they fresh, where are they coming from, who's
Speaker 1: behind the curtain? All those kinds of things, Because that's
Speaker 1: that's what would sort of block me from pursuing that
Speaker 1: as an actual reality, I would just say, well, how
Speaker 1: could you possibly dot dot dot right? And there you
Speaker 1: did it right? And so I think that's the cruxt entrepreneurship,
Speaker 1: really right. It's pushing past that initial obstacle of m hmm,
Speaker 1: that's probably gonna be hard, or that's impossible, or nobody
Speaker 1: has done that before two leaning into I bet we
Speaker 1: could figure it out, or what would that look like,
Speaker 1: or let's talk about it a little more, let's explore it,
Speaker 1: you know. And So this idea of just sort of
Speaker 1: you know, what if thinking and leaning into that, I
Speaker 1: think is what's so fun for me about entrepreneurship and
Speaker 1: what I encourage other people to sort of take away
Speaker 1: from my journey. I would say, what if is a
Speaker 1: big part of your plan? Like what if to me
Speaker 1: is because because now I'm going to ask you about
Speaker 1: the pizza dough, because I now I'm understanding that at home,
Speaker 1: you and Charles are sitting around going, Okay, what's next,
Speaker 1: what's next? What if we did what? You know, we
Speaker 1: love pizza, So tell me about pizza. You could have
Speaker 1: gone to another pastry, could have gone to another pastry,
Speaker 1: but listen, it's dough, but it's savory dough. Yes, but
Speaker 1: this was a situation where I encountered another incredibly passionate chef,
Speaker 1: Um Charles, and they were at a pizza party. We
Speaker 1: love pizza, who doesn't. I love anything carb related, anything
Speaker 1: you can pick up with your hands and enjoy. And
Speaker 1: took one bite to this pizza, said to myself, wow,
Speaker 1: who made this? And you know, sought out Danielle Uditi,
Speaker 1: who's are now head chef of Pizzana. He proceeded to
Speaker 1: tell me that he had just come from Naples, Italy
Speaker 1: with two hundred dollars in his pocket and his nana's
Speaker 1: like sour dough starter. He had smuggled it into the
Speaker 1: States and luckily had not been cough by customs because
Speaker 1: that is the basis of all our Pizzana dough. It
Speaker 1: has literally a piece of his family history. And everybody wow.
Speaker 1: So again people thought it was a dumb idea. L
Speaker 1: A is not known for good pizza, you know, as
Speaker 1: a New Yorker alley like l A pizza was like
Speaker 1: a laughing stock. Yes, but listen, I lived in l
Speaker 1: A for thirteen years and it used to drive me
Speaker 1: insane that I couldn't get a good slice of pizza
Speaker 1: in Los Angeles. Yes, it was the first thing I
Speaker 1: ate in New York, right, and I'm so happy that
Speaker 1: that has changed. And really there's been quite an explosion
Speaker 1: of pizza in El A recently, and it's really exciting,
Speaker 1: all kinds of pizza, and the pizza we call neo
Speaker 1: Neapolitan because true Neapolitan, you know, it's kind of soupy
Speaker 1: in the middle. You need a fork and knife. But
Speaker 1: this has that great shoe and char that Neapolitan do does.
Speaker 1: But you can pick it up and it holds. Because
Speaker 1: we Americans we like to eat with our hands. I
Speaker 1: don't know why, but we do. We're casual. We're very casual.
Speaker 1: We're a little we're a little backed up on the
Speaker 1: evolution track. We just started being homo erectus, and we
Speaker 1: do still eat with their hands. Um. You know, your
Speaker 1: next venture should be bagels, if you can create a
Speaker 1: delicious bagel in Los Angeles. That was the other thing
Speaker 1: I really missed living there. Okay, I'll get right on it. Um. So,
Speaker 1: so you have Pizzaana, And now tell me a little
Speaker 1: bit about best in Dough, which is such a great Yes.
Speaker 1: So you know, I was really fortunate early on in
Speaker 1: the Sprinkles days to have a producer come into the
Speaker 1: shop and basically say will you be on a Food
Speaker 1: Network show? I literally had a baseball hat on, powdered
Speaker 1: sugar all over my face and I was like me,
Speaker 1: you know, kind of looking around like you can't possibly
Speaker 1: mean me. So no, what's called cupcake Wars? We need
Speaker 1: the Queen of cupcakes. And I was like, okay, I
Speaker 1: guess you're talking to me. And so you were there
Speaker 1: from the beginning, right from the beginning, film over a
Speaker 1: hundred episodes. Super fun and also really important to the
Speaker 1: our brand, our national brand, right that everyone could tune
Speaker 1: into the Food Network and see the founder of Sprinkles
Speaker 1: Cupcakes as the pre eminent cupcake judge. I have to
Speaker 1: tell you we we used to play cupcake Wars at home.
Speaker 1: So when my girls had friends over, they played cupcake Wars,
Speaker 1: and so George and I would tell them, you know,
Speaker 1: the ingredients bacon, maple syrup and whatever, and they'd have
Speaker 1: to go make these cupcakes, which I did not work
Speaker 1: out so well, Candice, but it was it was like
Speaker 1: a really one thing. It was a funny, crafty thing
Speaker 1: to do at home, especially on a rainy day. And
Speaker 1: you know, Cupcake Wars was like the most fun to watch,
Speaker 1: so it was it was a fun show, really ended
Speaker 1: up being a hit show. I wish you had been
Speaker 1: a guest judge that would that would have been so fun.
Speaker 1: I should have called you and said I want to come. Seriously,
Speaker 1: that would have been really fun. And again, now there's
Speaker 1: eight million shows like that, Like I feel like everything
Speaker 1: you do there's like this ripple effect. Well that's very
Speaker 1: kind of you. So what's happening with bestin Dough? So
Speaker 1: with beston Doe? Here, I have this incredible chef founder partner,
Speaker 1: Dan Yelli, and he has this great personality. People love him.
Speaker 1: He's like this jolly Italian chat who makes the best pizza?
Speaker 1: And I thought you need a show, by the way,
Speaker 1: particularly in this divisive world that we live in, right
Speaker 1: one are the few things we can all agree on.
Speaker 1: I mean cupcakes was one, but pi'sa really like he says,
Speaker 1: one of those foods that brings people together. And there's
Speaker 1: pizza and basically every culture in the world. And so um,
Speaker 1: Danielie has a competition show. It's called Best in Dough
Speaker 1: and it's a super fun family show, feel good show,
Speaker 1: which I think we could all use right now. And
Speaker 1: I'm just excited to watch his his star shine. And
Speaker 1: you also have your book coming out, Sweet Success, do
Speaker 1: I do so? Sweet Success is shining a light and
Speaker 1: finally telling the story of how I built Sprinkles, and um,
Speaker 1: it came about very organically in that I've been mentoring
Speaker 1: and investing in female and diverse founders since we sold
Speaker 1: the majority of Sprinkles, and I really wanted to you know,
Speaker 1: mentor people on a larger scale and and sort of
Speaker 1: break down the barriers to entrepreneurship, invite more people to
Speaker 1: the table, demystify entrepreneurship through this book, because you know
Speaker 1: what do we see on TV and media as men
Speaker 1: building rocketships to the moon? That that's sort of what
Speaker 1: we're all supposed to think of entrepreneurs as text of
Speaker 1: once engineers. Um, you know, companies are billion dollar unicorn valuations.
Speaker 1: But really, at the end of the day, I think
Speaker 1: entrepreneurship is for all, right, Like I built a big
Speaker 1: business out of a simple little cupcake, something that anyone
Speaker 1: can make. Yes, so tell me this too, because and
Speaker 1: I think this is why I love the book Sweet
Speaker 1: Success so much, is that even if you're thinking about
Speaker 1: starting a small business. You really take people through your
Speaker 1: experience with Sprinkles, and because of it, now you're an
Speaker 1: angel investor, aren't you? Yes, and explain what an angel
Speaker 1: investor is to our listeners. Sure. Basically, Um, you are
Speaker 1: investing in early stage startups, UM in checks that are
Speaker 1: smaller that than like a venture capital fund would invest in.
Speaker 1: And you also bring your expertise, your network, um, your
Speaker 1: amplification to the table and just you know, really try
Speaker 1: to cheer lead and help these new founders find success. Um,
Speaker 1: I have to ask you, why do you have Norwich Terriers?
Speaker 1: What is specific about that breed? Do you like? How,
Speaker 1: in my very short bio that doesn't even give very
Speaker 1: much information, I happen to mention that my dog is
Speaker 1: a Norwich Terrier, and I believe me, I'm a dog person,
Speaker 1: so I immediately picked that up and we once we
Speaker 1: once had a Norwich Terrier. That's why I'm asking you.
Speaker 1: Did Yeah, okay, well I need to I know what
Speaker 1: I'm going to ask you. Why do you not still
Speaker 1: have a norch heir? No? So I love Norwich Terriers
Speaker 1: and this is how I discovered them. I used to
Speaker 1: run along chrissy Field in San Francisco when I lived
Speaker 1: there on the weekends, or actually usually just on Sundays
Speaker 1: because I worked in investment banking and that was the
Speaker 1: only time you'd ever have off. So I do my
Speaker 1: one run for for the week down chrissy Field and
Speaker 1: on Sundays at the same time, there would be this
Speaker 1: gathering of Norwich Terrier owners and so those are so snobby.
Speaker 1: He was running down the path. They were like just
Speaker 1: like packs of these little hedgehog style dogs, like the
Speaker 1: cutest things I've ever seen. I was like, are they
Speaker 1: prairie dogs? Like what type of creature is this? And
Speaker 1: these stubby legs and they're kind of stout, and they've
Speaker 1: got this like wiry hair and these prick ears and
Speaker 1: then oh my god, their personality is so good. So
Speaker 1: I'm on my second Orange Terrier. First was Honey. Now
Speaker 1: is Willie, which means his name is Willie Nelson. Yes,
Speaker 1: it does um and he's just adorable. What is your
Speaker 1: breed of choice? Well, so here's the problem with We
Speaker 1: had a Norwich Terrier named Cookie, and what happened was
Speaker 1: we had two nasty docksins and when we brought Cookie home,
Speaker 1: they were so mean to Cookie. We we tried everything.
Speaker 1: They were just they would yap at her and nip
Speaker 1: at her. That we gave Cookie to our friends who
Speaker 1: lived next door, so we watched Cookie grow up, but
Speaker 1: she didn't grow up in our house. But but a
Speaker 1: Norwich Terrier is George's favorite dog, and I didn't know that.
Speaker 1: And so we have a we have a hound dog,
Speaker 1: and we have like a three year old docks and
Speaker 1: still but I think I think a Norwich is in
Speaker 1: our future. And it's time for a short break, welcome
Speaker 1: back to go ask Gali. Okay, so I do want
Speaker 1: to ask you for young entrepreneurs who are listening to this,
Speaker 1: do you have sort of three real Sage advice for them?
Speaker 1: Mm hmmm h besides by your book Sweet Success, which
Speaker 1: has a lot of Sage advice packed with Sage advice.
Speaker 1: So for young entrepreneurs who want to start a business,
Speaker 1: I would say, one, find your co founder or least
Speaker 1: that one team member that is going to have your
Speaker 1: back that you really can trust. It's a hard road
Speaker 1: and you need somebody who has your back when the
Speaker 1: oven goes out, which isn't gonna be everyone's, you know, industry,
Speaker 1: or when the website goes down or any of that.
Speaker 1: But I really do believe in having a co founder
Speaker 1: if you can. I think the support that one can
Speaker 1: give you is is really different than even building a
Speaker 1: strong team. Um. I think you have to make sure
Speaker 1: that you have the money to start a business and
Speaker 1: be really realistic about that. Whether you know you side
Speaker 1: hustle it or you bootstrap it. You can go to
Speaker 1: friends and family and get a low interest loan, you
Speaker 1: can go to angel investors, you can crowdfund these days,
Speaker 1: I'm mentoring a baker. Um actually you may know. Her
Speaker 1: business is called Blondery and her name is Osrius Bellamy,
Speaker 1: and she started as a side hustle during the pandemic,
Speaker 1: this beautiful business of of blondies and desserts, and built
Speaker 1: this wait list of people. She would do these product
Speaker 1: drops and finally she said I'm going all in and
Speaker 1: she has done a donation's based crowdfunding campaign and she's
Speaker 1: opening her first commercial space, which is incredible. Um. So
Speaker 1: there's a lot of different ways to slice the fundraising
Speaker 1: piece of it, but you have to make sure you
Speaker 1: to get really you know, entrepreneurs are like dream big people,
Speaker 1: but you have to get really real when it comes
Speaker 1: to the finances. So when you do when you do
Speaker 1: a crowdfunding operation, does that mean that the people the
Speaker 1: crowd gets a piece of the business. I mean, how
Speaker 1: does it work? How does how does their investment come
Speaker 1: back to them? So there's different ways. There is equity crowdfunding,
Speaker 1: which does mean that you know, you're not an accredited
Speaker 1: investor like an angel investor, but you still have a
Speaker 1: piece of the business. But then there's also reward space.
Speaker 1: So let's say you're building a product and you don't
Speaker 1: have you know, you don't want people you know in
Speaker 1: your business, but you promised them like an early prototype
Speaker 1: or some other type of swag as a result of
Speaker 1: their investment. Or then there's also like donations base, which
Speaker 1: is essentially a go fund me campaign, which is I
Speaker 1: really believe in you. I want to see this business
Speaker 1: in the world, and it's not gonna happen any other way.
Speaker 1: So here's my support via a donation. Oh that's great,
Speaker 1: all right, And your third piece of advice. Third piece
Speaker 1: of advice, I think is to really lean into brand.
Speaker 1: I'm sorry, I'm such a brand person and we live
Speaker 1: in such an Amazon world where it's really hard to
Speaker 1: compete on being the cheapest or being the fastest. Right, So,
Speaker 1: when we enter sort of uncertain economic times like we
Speaker 1: are today, what is it that's going to make people
Speaker 1: want to keep your product in their budget versus slashing
Speaker 1: it for something cheaper. And I think these days brands
Speaker 1: really have an opportunity and need to sort of establish
Speaker 1: a relationship with their customers, and the way they do
Speaker 1: that is through brand. Brand is how you live in
Speaker 1: the hearts and minds of your customers, basically, and it
Speaker 1: means that you have to stand for something and it
Speaker 1: has to be authentic, and you have to have brand
Speaker 1: principles and you have to deliver consistently on those um
Speaker 1: So I think I think really digging into who you are,
Speaker 1: what you stand for, and how you're going to consistently
Speaker 1: show up in that way is really important these days.
Speaker 1: And that's why you guys were so and are so
Speaker 1: so philanthropic from the beginning, like you're that was part
Speaker 1: of your brand to say, you know, hey, we're we're
Speaker 1: the little engine that could, but we're still giving a
Speaker 1: piece of the pie to you know, this nonprofit, which
Speaker 1: is what sort of differentiated you from a lot of
Speaker 1: the noise that was going on at the time, right,
Speaker 1: which is really important I think for me. Thank you,
Speaker 1: I appreciate that, and I think, you know, it really
Speaker 1: was about we wanted to inject some joy but also
Speaker 1: make a little bit of change and how powerful to
Speaker 1: be able to do that with a simple cupcake. Is
Speaker 1: there one sort of charity right now that you guys
Speaker 1: are focused on. Is there something that you feel strongly about?
Speaker 1: Is it women? Is it dolphins? What is it? So?
Speaker 1: I am partnering with a Step Up Women's Foundation. I'm
Speaker 1: partnering with them on my book, and I'm going to
Speaker 1: be speaking at Step Up classrooms around the country, UM,
Speaker 1: speaking to young women about, you know, their own journeys
Speaker 1: to success. Um. They do an incredible job of mentoring
Speaker 1: young women and giving them the confidence and the skills
Speaker 1: they need to go after their dreams, which is very
Speaker 1: aligned with what I'm trying to do. So I love
Speaker 1: the work they're doing. Oh God, that's so great, Candice, congratulations,
Speaker 1: Thank you, and we will put a link to that
Speaker 1: organization in our show notes to thank you. Okay, now
Speaker 1: it's time because for some reason this podcast is called
Speaker 1: go ask Ali, but all I do is ask a question.
Speaker 1: So now you get to ask me a question so
Speaker 1: we can justify the title of this podcast. Well, I
Speaker 1: know that you're an incredible baker, Alle and you obviously
Speaker 1: have spoken to that, and how often you bake in
Speaker 1: the importance it had in your family life? Um, what
Speaker 1: is the one dessert or baked good that you are
Speaker 1: known for? Like when people invite you over, they want
Speaker 1: you to bring such and such treat or dessert. Candice,
Speaker 1: I know it sounds a little boring, but I have
Speaker 1: mastered the chocolate chip cookie classic for a reason. It's
Speaker 1: Abby One's favorite. Yes and two. Okay, so this is
Speaker 1: how far. Not only did I master it through taking
Speaker 1: a recipe and adding my own little measurements to it
Speaker 1: and changing things, but people would always ask for it.
Speaker 1: You know, Oh, I'm coming over, Are you making cookies?
Speaker 1: Are you making cookies? Two? Then I was giving like
Speaker 1: eight frozen chocolate chip cookie roles for people for Christmas
Speaker 1: because people asked for them. Two. I once brought one
Speaker 1: of my besties, Mershka Hargete, a whole bunch of cookies
Speaker 1: to the set of SPU Lawn Order. And now they
Speaker 1: call me up and say, Okay, the crew wants cookie.
Speaker 1: So you know, it's funny listening to you talk because
Speaker 1: I think if I were, you know, younger and had time,
Speaker 1: I would actually think about pursuing a very small business
Speaker 1: with my talcoate chip cookies because I didn't realize how
Speaker 1: excited people would get about it, and they really do.
Speaker 1: I mean now it's my go to hostess gift. It's
Speaker 1: people get mad if I don't bring cookies or give
Speaker 1: them frozen cookie though. So that's my long answer to
Speaker 1: a simple question of that answer so much. And one
Speaker 1: of the tricks I found was that four times while
Speaker 1: they're baking, I take out the tray and drop it
Speaker 1: on the floor because it gives them that little ripple
Speaker 1: effect that people like so much, and it makes them
Speaker 1: kind of flatter and chew air. So there's a lot
Speaker 1: of banging. I'm sure the people that live the low
Speaker 1: us say part and below us are like, all, he's
Speaker 1: making cookies. So you know, when you really hone a
Speaker 1: talent and you find all the tricks and you perfect it, then,
Speaker 1: first of all, I'm very proud, but even the amount
Speaker 1: of chocolate chip cookies I make in a year is
Speaker 1: exhausting that I couldn't actually now the ripe old age
Speaker 1: of ninety two. I wouldn't be able to start a business.
Speaker 1: It's it's a lot. It's demanding, it sure is. But
Speaker 1: oh my gosh, you talk about a hero product. Well,
Speaker 1: the thing I connect to with your book and everything
Speaker 1: you're talking about is for me. The chocolate chip cookies
Speaker 1: are a little part of me, you know. So there's
Speaker 1: the connection with the people I find as a gift.
Speaker 1: It's incredibly personal, you know, because I've made this for you.
Speaker 1: I've wrapped it in parchment with pretty little ribbon. I
Speaker 1: even have a sticker that says made in the Stephanopolis kitchen.
Speaker 1: So oh yes, oh yes. So you know. The other
Speaker 1: great thing about it is it can be anybody and
Speaker 1: they appreciate it. It's it's not a head scratcher about
Speaker 1: oh gosh, what should I give George's boss, you know
Speaker 1: what I mean? Or what should I or even what
Speaker 1: should I give the FedEx guy who during the snow blizzard?
Speaker 1: You know, it's like chocolate chip cookies. Everybody likes chocolate
Speaker 1: chip cookies, doesn't matter who you are. I don't know.
Speaker 1: I see the next Mrs Field, No, I sure do.
Speaker 1: I can't make sure you pass that recipe down and
Speaker 1: maybe one of your entrepreneurial kids. Well, if I have
Speaker 1: if there is a baker in the family, it's it's
Speaker 1: my daughter Harper. So um. Anyway, Candice Nelson, you are
Speaker 1: a delight and inspiration. I'm so happy to see you
Speaker 1: after all this time. Um, sweet Success to me is
Speaker 1: going to be such a great, helpful, inspiring book for
Speaker 1: so many people. Everybody should go to your website Candice
Speaker 1: dash Nelson dot com. Everything's there everything. There's blogs about
Speaker 1: businesses and and dealing with finances to recipes too, and
Speaker 1: it's all the pastel colors and pretty and happy. It
Speaker 1: is a it's a fun hour and a half of exploration. Wow.
Speaker 1: Well I appreciate that, Ali, Thank you. Well, this this
Speaker 1: is this is all true, and I wish you everything great.
Speaker 1: I'm so glad that you're thriving in this world and
Speaker 1: giving us all cupcakes and pizza dough and inspiration and
Speaker 1: thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you so much, Alie.
Speaker 1: What an honor to be on your podcast. I'm such
Speaker 1: a fan of yours and all the joy and humor
Speaker 1: and empathy you give into the world. So thank you
Speaker 1: so much. I don't know about you but I am
Speaker 1: dying for a cupcake, so I'm just going to run
Speaker 1: three blocks to Lexington Avenue and get six chocolate on
Speaker 1: chocolate cupcakes from the Sprinkles. A t M. Thank you
Speaker 1: for listening to Go Ask Ali. Candice's new book, Sweet Success,
Speaker 1: a simple recipe to turn your passion into profit, is
Speaker 1: at now. If you'd like more info on what you've
Speaker 1: heard in this episode, just check out our show notes
Speaker 1: and always be sure to subscribe, rate, and review Go
Speaker 1: ask Alli, and I'd love to have you follow me
Speaker 1: on social media on Instagram at the Real Ali Wentworth.
Speaker 1: So this is obviously the last episode of the year,
Speaker 1: so happy New Year everybody. I'll be on a short
Speaker 1: break and I will be back with more Go ask
Speaker 1: Alli February two. In the meantime, if you'd like to
Speaker 1: ask me a question or suggest a guest or a
Speaker 1: topic to dig into, I would love to hear from you,
Speaker 1: and there's a bunch of ways you can do it.
Speaker 1: You can call or text me at three to three
Speaker 1: four six six, or you can email a voice memo
Speaker 1: right from your phone to Go ask Alli podcast at
Speaker 1: gmail dot com. And if you leave a question, you
Speaker 1: just might hear it. And go ask Alli See you
Speaker 1: next year. Go ask Alli is a production of Seawan,
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