Many of us in the LGBTQ community were bullied as kids for being different. But few of us leverage those experiences as inspiration to launch a cookie company!

Nicholas Naclerio turned to food for comfort when he was bullied for being gay. But when he turned 18, Nick got healthy and decided to use food as a form of self-expression and healing; to transform his pain into something good.

Today, Nick is Founder and CEO at Mmmly, the good-for-you cookie brand that leverages nutrient-dense ingredients to make delicious, indulgent cookies with health benefits.

On this episode of Queer Money, Nick joins us to describe how building Mmmly helped him heal from childhood trauma and share the creative aspects of building a business he loves most.

Nick discusses how he used a combination of bootstrapping and investor money to fund Mmmly, explaining what it means that the ‘entrepreneur eats last’ and how that can become a problem.

Listen in for Nick’s advice to other queer entrepreneurs and learn how to build a successful consumer brand—without losing yourself in the process!

Topics Covered

• How Nick turned to food for comfort when he was bullied for being gay
• How Nick’s love of comfort food inspired his mission to create a healthy indulgence
• What makes Mmmly the good-for-you cookie brand (and why other brands don’t use healthier ingredients)
• How building Mmmly helped Nick heal from his childhood trauma
• What Nick loves most about the creative aspects of building a business
• What the recipe development process is like and how Nick knew when a cookie was ready for production
• How Nick used a combination of bootstrapping and investor money to fund Mmmly
• What it means that the ‘entrepreneur eats last’ and how that can be a problem
• Why Nick is merging Mmmly with another company and what that means for his investors
• How it works when a small consumer brand is on the shelves at a major retailer
• What Nick might have done differently to deal with narrow margins early on
• Nick’s advice for LGBTQ entrepreneurs on creating a network of support and not losing yourself in the process of building a company

For the resources and to connect with our guests, get the show notes at: https://queermoneypodcast.com/subscribe

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