How Addison LaBonte launched Sweet Addison's - a desert brand specializing in gluten-free and dairy-free cookies and brownies. Addison shares how she built an audience before launching her first product, bootstrapped without giving up equity, and grew her brand to seven figures in its first full year.
Show Notes Page: https://www.thehowofbusiness.com/623-addison-labonte-seven-figures/
Many entrepreneurs start with the product and hope the customers follow. Addison did it the other way around. She spent years building a following online and becoming a trusted authority. When she finally launched, she already had customers asking for her product. That approach isn't required, but as she puts it, "If you have it, you're going to get a jump start, for sure."
In this episode of The How of Business podcast, Henry Lopez is joined by Addison LaBonte to explore how she launched and grew Sweet Addison's. They cover audience building, an MVP launch, pricing, landing wholesale accounts, and the mental toll of the startup years.
Addison never expected to become an entrepreneur. She majored in mathematics, worked in finance, and planned to follow her mother into a CFO role. After college she was a Division One soccer player at the University of Maine.
While training for her first marathon she was diagnosed with compartment syndrome. Within three days of going gluten-free she could run normally again. She started the Instagram account Organically Addison to share what she learned, and then her "25 Days of Christmas Cookies" series went mega viral, and people all over the country started asking to buy her cookies.
She spent 2023 getting ready to launch. That September she was unexpectedly laid off, which she calls "the biggest blessing in disguise." She launched Sweet Addison's in January 2024 with one product: a chocolate chip cookie that took 27 recipe variations to get right. She took an MVP or iterative approach, listening to that feedback and then adjusting. Her audience asked for brownies, so she launched them in month three, and they quickly outsold the cookies.
Addison bootstrapped the business, still owns 100% of it, and has cash flowed from day one. She didn't write a business plan. She studied competitors' price per ounce and worked back from her cost of goods sold. Most of her wholesale accounts have come to her as inbound leads. For founders trying to get on shelves, her advice is to be "relational instead of transactional," and to remember that "no one is going to be a better salesperson than the founder."
The hardest part wasn't physical. It was the mental battle of 18-hour days, and there were months when she didn't even see the sun. What kept her going was taking the emphasis off herself and putting it on the customers she serves.
This episode is hosted by Henry Lopez. The How of Business podcast focuses on helping you start, run, grow and exit your small business. The How of Business is a top-rated podcast for small business owners and entrepreneurs. Find the best podcast, small business coaching, resources and trusted service partners for small business owners and entrepreneurs at our website https://TheHowOfBusiness.com