In this week’s episode, we’re re-airing one of our top episodes from last year with Denise Woodard. Denise is the founder and CEO of Partake Foods, an allergy-friendly snack company.

Denise's journey began back in 2016, while juggling a day job and the new role of mom to a daughter with multiple food allergies. Frustrated by the lack of tasty options available for her little one, she took the advice of her babysitter and decided to "do something about it." From there, Partake Foods was born.

Denise started creating recipes in her home kitchen and began selling cookies out of her car to get the word out about her business. With no prior experience in the food industry, Denise had a lot to learn and made mistakes along the way. However, she was determined to make it work, and self-funded the business using all of her savings and even selling her engagement ring to make ends meet.

As the business grew, Denise knew she needed more funding to take it to the next level. So, she set out on a fundraising journey and dealt with many rejections that eventually led her to the right partner, Jay-Z's venture fund, Marcy Venture Partners. To date, she has raised up to $19M, making her the first Black woman to raise over $1 Million publicly for a CPG food startup.

In this episode, we’ll talk to Denise about:

* What holds people back from their biggest goals and dreams. [03:22]

* How Denise’s parents shaped her identity. [05:10]

* Her parents’ definition of success and its influence on her. [07:18]

* What Denise would have done differently in her corporate career. [08:30]

* Denise's entrepreneurial nature. [10:59]

* The benefits of working on side hustles while employed full time.[12:05]

* What big brands can’t recreate no matter how much money they have. [13:01]

* The 2016 incident that motivated Denise to solve a problem for her daughter. [18:45]

* How Denise’s nanny motivated her to create a business. [20:41]

* The early days of Partake Foods and overcoming challenges. [22:08]

* Barriers to entry in the food allergy consumer market. [29:27]

* How their product list has changed over time. [30:22]

* Raising money beyond bootstrapping. [30:50]

* Managing stress and burnout. [33:48]

* Investors who initially said no but later wanted to participate. [37:48]

* Fundraising advice for other entrepreneurs. [38:30]

* Why it is a mistake to try to grow too quickly. [40:15]

* What’s keeping Denise up at night at this stage of the business. [43:02]

* How Denise involves her daughter in the business as chief taste tester. [45:45]

* Advice for women balancing life at home with running a business. [47:44]

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Follow Yasmin:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/

* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/

Follow Denise:

* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/partakefoods/

* Website: https://partakefoods.com/

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