Hardware Podcasts

Kodiak Cakes: Joel Clark

How I Built This · 7 Dec 2020 · 1h 14m

What this episode covers

Joel Clark, co-founder of Kodiak Cakes, recounts the 15-year struggle to scale his mother's whole-grain pancake mix from a side hustle into a $200 million brand. He details early distribution challenges, a failed cookie venture, and near-bankruptcy moments, including a $50,000 error from a doubled Safeway promotion. The company's trajectory shifted dramatically after securing a Target account and appearing on Shark Tank, followed by the launch of Power Cakes which capitalized on the high-protein trend.

Most relevant to

founders before launch, early-stage companies and companies scaling up

Topics

Mentioned

Companies
Safeway, Target, U.S. Bank, Desert News, Dan's Grocery, Smith's, Albertsons, QFC
Products
Kodiak Cakes, Power Cakes, Ben's Cookies, Aunt Jemima, Bisquick
Also
Shark Tank, Mark Cuban, Kevin O'Leary, Robert Herjavec

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