Podcast Summary
How a former journalist overcame skepticism to start a successful business: Journalists have qualities that make them great entrepreneurs, but their skepticism can hold them back. With courage and a drive to improvise, they can turn their passions into thriving businesses.
Journalists possess many of the qualities required to become a great entrepreneur, such as curiosity, quick learning, problem-solving skills, and risk-taking attitude. However, their deeply skeptical nature cultivated through fact-checking and objectivity can make them cynical and jaded, which is not conducive to starting a business. Amanda Hesser, a former food critic and writer at The New York Times, overcame this challenge and founded Food 52, a digital media company for recipes and kitchen gear. Amanda combined the drive of a reporter and the improvisational instincts of an entrepreneur she learned from her dad, who was a smart and scrappy businessman. Leaving a prestigious job in a newsroom takes a lot of courage, and Amanda's success story is an inspiring reminder of how one can turn their passion into a thriving business.
Overcoming challenges with determination and a positive attitude.: Life can throw unexpected challenges but staying resilient, optimistic, and open-minded can help turn them into opportunities for growth and success.
Despite facing setbacks like losing their dealership building in a fire, Amanda Hesser's father remained resilient and didn't give up. He rented a temporary office and continued selling cars. Hesser's appreciation for life influenced her outlook as a teenager, and her interest in food has always been a part of her. This story shows that determination and a positive attitude can help overcome challenges, and that sometimes the most unexpected things can generate attention and energize people, like jumping into a dumpster filled with jello to win a prize. These lessons can be applied to business and life in general.
Amanda Hesser's Love for Cooking and Quality Ingredients: Amanda's upbringing and personal experiences shaped her passion for cooking and appreciation for quality ingredients, which led her to a successful career in the food industry.
Growing up with a family that valued cooking and homemaking heavily, Amanda Hesser developed an appreciation for quality food and cooking from scratch which influenced her career path in the food world. Her mother would even bake her own bread and make jam in the summer, while always selecting the best quality ingredients for their meals. Amanda's unconventional path to her career in the food industry was also influenced by the devastating loss of her father during college, which made her prioritize her own happiness and pursue her passions. This upbringing and experience shaped Amanda's love for cooking and appreciation for quality ingredients, which she brought to her work in the food industry.
Amanda Hesser's Path to Success in the Food Industry: The willingness to learn and work for free, combined with passion and determination, can lead to success in any industry. Networking and seeking out opportunities for growth can also be beneficial.
Amanda Hesser's journey in the food industry began with her willingness to learn and work for free. She wrote letters to her favorite chef and landed a job as a kitchen runner in Boston. She also worked in a bread bakery and took a food history course. She noticed that many American cooks went to Europe for short training stints, which led her to travel during her spring break and knock on doors of restaurants and bakeries. Amanda found a scholarship that allowed her to spend a year overseas, apprenticing in different kitchens. Her first stop was in Germany. Her passion and determination to learn and grow led her to success in her career.
Amanda Hesser's Struggle and Passion in a European Bread Bakery: Amanda Hesser's experience in a unique bakery, dealing with challenges and isolation, taught her different baking techniques and awakened her passion for writing. She pursued her dream and landed at the famous LA Vern cooking school.
Amanda Hesser's experience working in a bread bakery in Europe was unique and challenging. Working in an old-school bakery as the only woman, living above the bakery filled with taxidermy prizes, and being woken up by the vibrating building when the head baker turned on the oven were not the most pleasant experiences. However, it taught her how to make different grain breads and pretzels. The bakery's owner had a fierce temper and would hit people over the head with a loaf of bread if things didn't go the way he wanted them to. Writing letters to stay in touch with family and friends during this isolating time awakened Hesser's passion for writing and planted a seed that she wasn't initially intent on pursuing. Eventually, she landed at the famous French cooking school LA Vern.
Amanda Hesser's Experience at a Cooking School in Burgundy: Take the time to immerse yourself in an environment to truly understand and appreciate it. Learn about the importance of seasonal cooking, gain a deeper understanding of nature, and meet people who inspire you.
Amanda Hesser shares her experience living and working in a cooking school at a chateau in Burgundy, France. She learned about food writing and the importance of seasonal cooking from working with the gardener, Mr. Mal, who grew many of the vegetables and fruits they used in the kitchen. Hesser's desire to tell Mal's story led to her stay at the chateau being extended, and she started keeping notes on her interactions with him. From her time at the chateau, Hesser gained a deeper understanding of the cycle of the seasons and how it influenced cooking. Hesser's experience highlights the importance of taking the time to immerse oneself in an environment to truly understand and appreciate it.
Amanda Hesser's Journey to Cookbook Success: Networking and perseverance are crucial in achieving success. Amanda Hesser's innovative cookbook idea, which celebrated seasonal cooking, landed her a $10,000 contract. She also supplemented her income by pitching to newspapers and magazines.
Amanda Hesser's motivation to write a cookbook stemmed from her desire to preserve a way of life and tell a story. Her cookbook was innovative for its time as it celebrated seasonal cooking. Despite having no experience, Hesser pitched the idea to cookbook agents and eventually landed a $10,000 contract. To supplement her income, she also pitched newspapers and magazines. Just four days before leaving for Los Angeles, Hesser received a call from a New York Times editor, interested in talking to her. This highlights the importance of networking and perseverance in achieving success.
Amanda Hesser's Story of Landing Her Dream Job at the New York Times: Be prepared for job interviews, step out of your comfort zone, and persevere through any obstacles to achieve your dream job.
Amanda Hesser shares her experience of landing a job as an editor at the New York Times, which involved moving from LA to New York and going through multiple interviews. She also talks about the challenges she faced during the interview process, including not having appropriate clothes to wear and bringing her mother along. Regardless of these challenges, she persevered and eventually landed the job. This teaches us the importance of being prepared for job interviews, even if it means going out of our comfort zones, and never giving up on our dreams despite any obstacles we may face.
Amanda Hesser's Journey as a New Writer at The New York Times: With hard work and perseverance, even those without prior experience can succeed in challenging environments. Embrace your uniqueness and stay committed to your goals to achieve success.
Amanda Hesser, a former writer at The New York Times, shares that she had little experience in news writing when she started. Her editor had to explain to her what a nut graph was, which made her feel like an outsider. Despite the challenging environment at the Times, Hesser found the freedom to write about what she wanted to read as a consumer. She felt people at the Times were interested in her unconventional background and that it was a sink-or-swim culture. However, this led to her growth as a writer, editor, and ultimately finding her true calling as a 'doer.' Frighteningly ambitious, Hesser is a great example that with perseverance and hard work, anything is possible.
Amanda Hesser's Journey to Success in the Face of Sexism and Ambition: Despite facing barriers due to gender and ambition, Amanda Hesser believed in herself and refused to be held back. She learned important lessons about navigating the corporate world and overcoming bureaucracy.
Amanda Hesser's ambition and determination were ingrained in her from a young age, as she grew up in an environment where women were not necessarily celebrated, and there was a lot of sexism. She didn't want to let this hold her back and felt that it was okay to be ambitious. However, this ambition may have been seen as frightening to older individuals who were used to conforming to certain career norms. Hesser's experiences at the New York Times taught her that large corporations operate differently than she had initially thought and that there are layers and bureaucracy that slow down progress.
Amanda Hesser's Drive to Create the Essential New York Times Cookbook: Amanda Hesser's success as a cookbook author was built on her persistence and drive to sift through archives and engage readers for their favorite recipes.
Amanda Hesser's success as a food writer and cookbook author comes from her early experiences working in different kitchens where she had to learn to be direct and go after what she wanted on her own. This drive led her to conceive and create the bestselling Essential New York Times Cookbook featuring recipes from their archives dating back to the 1850s. However, she faced challenges in the process, realizing the immense amount of work required to sift through the archives and engage readers for their favorite recipes. Hesser's perseverance paid off when she received thousands of emails from readers sharing their favorite recipes, which became the foundation of her book.
Amanda Hesser: From Food Writing to Groundbreaking Tech Start-Up: Hesser's collaboration with Stubbs led to her concept for a tech start-up documenting a person's life. Pursuing ambitious ideas outside of your field can lead to groundbreaking innovations.
Amanda Hesser's career-defining project was a book for which she hired Merrill Stubbs who became her co-author. The two worked together for five years, and their collaborations led Hesser to think about starting a business outside of food. This idea was a tech start-up that would document a person's life in detail and present it to them in a seamless package, showing everything from music choices to news reading. Hesser left The New York Times in 2008 to pursue this idea, which was both ambitious and groundbreaking.
Amanda Hesser's Journey of Entrepreneurship and Risk-Taking: Pursuing your passion requires taking risks and committing fully to your ideas, even when faced with uncertain times. Seek support and advice, and trust your instincts in making crucial decisions.
Amanda Hesser's entrepreneurial journey began with an idea for a social media platform called C Winkle, where users could consolidate their digital content into a dynamic timeline. Hesser pursued this idea by attending start-up meetups and utilizing her reporting skills. The New York Times buyout offer during the financial crisis provided her the opportunity to cut ties and give her full attention to her venture. Hesser's husband's advice to cut the cord was instrumental in facilitating the decision to leave. The supportive and friendly tech culture of New York City during that time was also helpful. Overall, Hesser's journey highlights the importance of taking risks and fully committing to pursuing one's passions.
Amanda Hesser's journey to founding her own company: Taking a risk to pursue a fulfilling career requires bravery and self-belief, starting with building a prototype and generating interest from investors.
Taking the leap to start something on your own can be scary, but it takes bravery and belief in oneself to make it happen. Amanda Hesser's decision to leave the steady job at the New York Times and start her own company was fueled by frustration and the desire for a more fulfilling career. Despite the financial risk, she funded her startup with her savings and met with well-known investors like Betaworks and Fred Wilson. Building a prototype and generating interest in her concept were the first steps towards raising her first round of funding. It's never easy to take a risk, but sometimes it's necessary to achieve personal and professional fulfillment.
Turning Inspiration into Success: How Amanda Hesser Pivoted to Build a Crowdsourced Food Website: Being open to new ideas and opportunities can lead to unexpected success. Amanda Hesser's pivot from a failed business venture to a crowdsourced food website teaches us the importance of being flexible and adaptable.
After feeling unsure about the viability of her previous business venture, Amanda Hesser found inspiration in the old recipe archive of The New York Times and started a new company with her cookbook partner, Merrill. They were intrigued by the parallels between the user-generated recipes of the past and the content on Twitter. Through casual conversation and brainstorming, they developed the idea for a food website that would crowdsource and curate recipes. This pivot from Sea Winkle to a completely different direction ultimately led to the creation of their successful company, which highlights the importance of remaining open to new ideas and opportunities.
The Importance of Proof of Concept in Business: Before seeking investment, it's important to focus on building a prototype or testing the concept of your business to avoid wasting anyone's money. Bootstrapping and using advanced money can help make a business successful.
Founders can be divided into two categories - those who can sell an idea without much substance and those who focus on proof of concept before selling. Amanda Hesser realized the importance of proof of concept for her business Sea Winkle and decided to bootstrap and build a prototype before seeking investments. She gravitated towards proof of concept because she takes others' investments seriously, and did not want to waste anyone's money. Hesser also used a cookbook to test the concept of a new business instead of trying to raise money. By using advanced money for building the site and operating it for the first 18 months, Hesser was able to make her business successful.
Starting a Business in Tough Times: How Amanda Hesser Followed Her Passion and Succeeded: Pursuing a business during tough financial times can be rewarding if it aligns with your passion. Balance practicality and inspiration, stay focused on building something great, and be willing to disrupt the familiar to chart your own course.
Starting a business during a tough financial time may seem risky, but it can pay off if it aligns with your passions. Amanda Hesser's obsession with financial security and doing what she cared about motivated her to take the plunge with her blog business, even though her bank account was dwindling. The key here is to balance the practical with the inspirational and stay focused on building something great. It's important to remember that when you're creating something new and different, people may not easily understand or describe it, but that's okay. The future is about disrupting the familiar and charting your own course.
Building a New Media Company that Connects Creators and Knowledgeable People: Amanda Hesser and her team created a platform for user-generated content to enable interaction and connection, built on a foundation of a powerful media company with multiple revenue streams.
Amanda Hesser and her team set out to build a different kind of media company by acknowledging the flaws of traditional media and creating a platform for creators and knowledgeable people who did not have a platform. They wanted to give those people a place to express themselves and connect with other people through user-generated content. They believed that people in the digital age wanted an interaction instead of just being broadcasted at. They also realized that a single revenue stream, such as advertising, was not going to be lasting. So, they created a hub where users could also get a bigger audience by creating a foundation of a powerful media company more efficiently.
How the Founders of Food52 Built their Authority and a Destination for Food Enthusiasts: By focusing on establishing trust with their users through traditional journalistic values and curating products without accepting affiliate commissions, Food52 became the go-to destination for all things food-related, including discovering new ingredients and finding beautiful tableware.
Food52 founders, Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs created a hub for food enthusiasts to connect and explore more than just recipes. Trust was essential to their business strategy, which is why they focused on building their authority by curating products and not accepting affiliate commissions. Food52 was built by using traditional journalistic values to earn their audience's trust and distinguish their unique aesthetic. By adding a shop to their platform, they solidified their vision of being the go-to destination for all things food-related, from discovering new ingredients to finding beautiful tableware. The idea was to play out cooking in every scenario of life, and it proved to be a successful strategy.
The Struggles of Funding a Media Startup: Perseverance and finding investors who share your vision are crucial to keep a startup afloat. Personal financial investment can also play a role in funding.
Food 52 initially focused on advertising as their primary revenue stream and expected commerce, cookbooks, and events to generate additional revenue later on. However, as two traditional media editors entering the venture capital world in 2009-2010, media was not a popular investment. Despite a lot of rejection, they pushed through and found investors who believed in them. Their personal financial investment also played a role in keeping the company afloat. At one point, they had a conversation about their breaking point, questioning whether they should continue. It is important to persevere and find the right investors who share your vision.
Perseverance, Slow Growth, and a Solid Support System: The Success Story of Food52: Building a successful company may take time and require a different approach than what is expected in the industry. A solid support system and focusing on steady growth can lead to success.
Despite facing multiple hurdles, Amanda Hesser and Meryl Stubbs persevered with their idea of Food52. In late 2010, after facing financial difficulties and inability to pitch their idea to investors, they finally secured an investment of $750,000 from professional angel investors. Rather than spending the money on themselves, they used it to hire engineers and editors and build the company slowly. They understood that they were up against building the company differently than the expectation in venture capital, which was to put a lot of money into paid marketing and producing content at an insane rate. This shows that slow and steady growth can work in the face of industry norms and that having a solid support system can make all the difference.
How Food52 Built a Trusted Brand Through Authenticity: Authenticity and patience are the key to building a trusted brand. Focus on building organic relationships with your audience and showcase real people and experiences rather than solely focusing on content volume or marketing.
Amanda Hesser and her team at Food52 focused on building an organic relationship with their audience rather than focusing solely on content volume. They were careful with their spending and did not invest in marketing for years. Instead, they chose to build a brand slowly, which required time and patience. For their recipe site, they chose to shoot photos in a home environment, using natural light and minimal styling to showcase real people and their real cooking experiences. The recipes ranged from salads to cakes to grilled food, all food that could be cooked in any home. Food52's main premise is to celebrate the home cook and the beauty of the home kitchen.
How Food52 Became a Successful E-Commerce Business and Media Company: Food52's success was built on a lucky break and community focus. They added revenue streams beyond advertising, including a shop and a platform for unique kitchen products, becoming both a media company and e-commerce business.
The success of food website, Food52, was largely due to a lucky break when a video of Amanda Hesser's kitchen tour went viral before their launch. This allowed them to gather a following before even starting, which eventually led to a closed beta with thousands of members. Early on, it was clear that advertising alone would not sustain the business, so they focused on creating a true hub for their community, offering multiple ways to serve and monetize them. While advertising was a core revenue stream, they also added a shop and focused on creating a platform to showcase and sell unique kitchen products, becoming a successful e-commerce business as well as a media company.
The challenges faced by Food52 in their early days: Even losing a lead investor's confidence can be a valuable learning experience for a company. Building a thicker skin and being better prepared for future challenges can stem from failures and misunderstandings.
Amanda Hesser, the co-founder of Food52, discusses the challenges the company faced in its early days, including losing the confidence of a former lead investor during a Series B round. Hesser explains that they had previously tried to understand the board's thought process regarding exits, but the conversation backfired, leading to confusion. Losing the lead investor's confidence was a stressful experience, but Hesser emphasizes that these challenges can change the fate of a company. Despite this, Hesser believes that these experiences have helped her build a thicker skin and be better prepared for future challenges. Additionally, Hesser discusses her earlier reputation as being difficult, which she believes was not a reflection of reality.
Amanda Hesser's Journey to Becoming a Better Leader at Food52: Feedback, self-awareness, and willingness to improve are key to becoming a better leader. Scrappiness and careful spending can lead to success even without luxurious perks. Growth and expansion are possible with the right investments.
Amanda Hesser, co-founder of Food52, discovered her perceived reputation as a tough leader through employee surveys and hearing about it from others. As a result, she worked on improving her leadership style. Food52 has always been scrappy with money, even with a small series B funding of $13 million, which forced them to be more careful with their spending. Despite not having luxurious perks compared to other startups, Food52 managed to attract investment and was valued at a hundred million dollars before the pandemic. This has enabled the company to supercharge their growth and expand their business.
The Importance of Patience and Perseverance in Achieving Profitability for Media Companies: Success in media companies requires investment in growth and a focus on long-term health, even if it means intentionally spending without immediate profitability. Patience and hard work are essential for achieving profitability.
It takes time and perseverance to reach profitability, especially for media companies. Despite taking 11 years to become profitable, Amanda Hesser, the co-founder of Food52, believes in running a business as lean as possible while focusing on the long game. Investing in growth can mean intentionally spending and not being profitable in the following year. It’s essential to focus on the health of the business rather than just profitability. During the pandemic, Food52 experienced organic growth due to the increased interest in cooking and home-related topics. The company’s success shows that patience and hard work are the keys to achieving profitability.
The Challenges and Rewards of Starting a Company: Building domain expertise, embracing change, finding support, and staying committed to one's passion are key factors in achieving success when starting your own business.
Starting a company presents new problems to solve every day and offers opportunities for innovation. Domain expertise in a specific area can be valuable in building a successful business. Departures of team members can provide a chance for growth and building a stronger leadership team. Even when faced with tragedy, the support and encouragement of loved ones can inspire and drive success, as evidenced by Amanda Hesser's experience running her business. While it's impossible to know what the future holds, staying committed to one's passion and constantly seeking new challenges can lead to great achievements.
How Amanda Hesser's Mother's Tough Love Inspired Her to Pursue Her Dreams and Succeed: Despite challenges and opposition, pursuing your dreams and taking advantage of opportunities can lead to success. Luck plays a role, but showing up and hard work are essential.
Amanda Hesser's mother, who grew up in a generation that didn't encourage women's ambitions, was initially frightened and unhappy about her daughter's career choices. However, her tough love approach inspired Amanda to pursue her dreams and prove that women can do great things. Luck, hard work, and birth order were all factors that contributed to Amanda's success. She believes that luck can only happen if you show up, and her birth order as the youngest child in her family played a role in her parents' renewed interest in parenting. Overall, Amanda's journey shows that taking advantage of the opportunities available, whether from luck or by design, can lead to success despite the challenges that may arise.
Finding Fulfillment and Empowerment Through Baking: Pursuing a hobby or interest that brings joy and fulfillment can fuel entrepreneurship and maintain a positive mindset. Whether it's baking cakes or keeping a sourdough starter alive, find something that brings you happiness in the moment.
Entrepreneurial spirit can be fueled by feeling empowered to break rules, as Amanda Hesser experienced. In her current time, finding gratification and soothing through baking cakes is what brings her joy. The process of measuring ingredients and watching a cake magically poof up in the oven is a reminder that we can create something that pleases everyone. Even though some hobbies or interests may not last, it's important to find something that brings fulfillment and happiness in the moment. This can come in many forms, from baking cakes to keeping a sourdough starter alive, and should be pursued to maintain a positive mindset.
