Sweet Success with Candace Nelson of Sprinkles

After the dotcom crash and 9/11, Candace was left wondering what she wanted to do as a career. She knew she loved baking, so she decided to enroll in pastry school instead of going to business school. Soon, Sprinkles was born. 

In today’s episode, we sit down with Candace Nelson, co-founder of Sprinkles, the revolutionary cupcake company that took the world by storm and created the cupcake craze. Candace shares her tips for starting an undoable business, she talks about her new book and her new business, working with a business coach, and so much more. 

“Here’s this uniquely American treat, which I appreciated because I, you know, growing up overseas, I realized how American they were. Everyone had this nostalgia for cupcakes, and yet they were being treated, just like, you know, lunchbox here. So that’s when I had the aha moment to reinvent the cupcake.” – Candace Nelson

If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, join the Entreprenista League today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!

This week’s takeaways from Entreprenista:

• Candace shares her background and where her Entreprenista gene comes from (3:05)
• Why Candace chose pastry school over business school and how that led to her starting Sprinkles (7:07)
• Candace shares about her tips and lessons for Entreprenistas who are starting businesses that seem undoable (13:58)
• Candace talks about her book, Sweet Success (22:19)
• Candace talks about working with a business coach (28:01)
• How Candace decided what to do after Sprinkles (30:06)
• Candace explains the logistics behind the iconic cupcake ATM (37:29)
• Rapid fire questions (40:23)
• Candace’s top need for maintaining balance (42:56)
• What being an Entreprenista means to Candace (48:19)

Resources Mentioned:

• TikTok
• Resy 
• Notion

Our Favorite Quotes:

• “The first time I ate a Mrs. Fields cookie that kind of opened my eyes to the magic that a female entrepreneur can create.” – Candace Nelson
• “Real word of mouth, by the way, still the holy grail of marketing, if you can get that absolutely.” – Candace Nelson
• “We had created such a special brand that resonated with people so much that they didn’t let it up. And we ended up scaling the majority of our business through the Great Recession. We were that escape.” – Candace Nelson

Connect with Candace Nelson:

• Sweet Success on Amazon
• Candace on Instagram
• Candace on TikTok
• Pizzana via Goldbelly

If you’re looking to take your business to the next level:

Join our Entreprenista League community of women founders! You’ll have access to a private community of like-minded Entreprenistas who are making an impact in business every day, special discounts on business products and solutions, exclusive content, private events, the opportunity to have your story featured on our website and social channels, and MORE!

Whether you’re looking to scale your existing business and want to make the right connections, or you’re thinking about finally taking the leap to launch your business, we’re here to give you access to a community of women who will celebrate your every step, and with whom you can share the candid reality of building a business from scratch.

Join the Entreprenista League today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!

Become An Entreprenista!

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