# Kodiak Cakes: Joel Clark (2020)

- Show: [How I Built This](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this)
- Published: 2023-01-02
- Length: 1h 14m
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020

## Summary

Joel Clark, co-founder of Kodiak Cakes, recounts the 15-year struggle to scale his family's whole grain pancake mix from a garage operation to a $200 million brand. He details near-bankruptcy events, including a failed cookie venture and a $50,000 error from a doubled Safeway promotion, before securing a transformative Target order and a Shark Tank appearance. The episode highlights the launch of Power Cakes, which capitalized on the high-protein trend, and the eventual acquisition by a private equity firm after years of bootstrapping and family-backed financing.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=0) Introduction: Joel Clark and the Kodiak Cakes Origin Story
- [5:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=331) Mom's Recipe and Early Door-to-Door Sales in the 1980s
- [13:04](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=784) John Starts the Business and Joel Takes Over in 1997
- [28:46](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=1726) Early Struggles, Consulting Job, and First Investment
- [40:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=2451) The Failed Ben's Cookies Venture and 2007 Crisis
- [49:22](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=2962) The $50,000 Safeway Promotion Error and Dad's Loan
- [54:12](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=3252) Hiring Cameron Smith and Landing the Target Account
- [1:00:31](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=3631) Shark Tank Appearance and Launching Power Cakes
- [1:07:32](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/how-i-built-this/2023-01-02-kodiak-cakes-joel-clark-2020#t=4052) Scaling to $200 Million and Private Equity Acquisition

## Topics

- [Starting a product company](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/starting-a-company)
- [Crowdfunding & preorders](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/crowdfunding)
- [Pricing, margins & unit economics](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/pricing-and-unit-economics)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)
- [Growth, exits & acquisitions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/growth-exits-and-acquisitions)
- [Fundraising & investors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/fundraising)

## Most relevant to

companies scaling up

## Mentioned

- Kodiak Cakes (product)
- Safeway (company)
- Target (company)
- Shark Tank (product)
- Ben's Cookies (product)
- Power Cakes (product)
- Aunt Jemima (product)
- Bisquick (product)

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- [013: From Kitchen to Amazon, Launching All-Natural Cake Mix for Dogs with Kelly Costello of Puppy Cake](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2016-07-26-013-from-kitchen-to-amazon-launching-all-natural-cake-mix-for-dogs-with-kelly-co) (Product Startup)
- [#100 Toasting to 100 Episodes of The Startup CPG Podcast with Our Favorite Moments](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2023-07-25-100-toasting-to-100-episodes-of-the-startup-cpg-podcast-with-our-favorite-moment) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Nowhere Bakery Swims in the Shark Tank!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2024-03-14-nowhere-bakery-swims-in-the-shark-tank) (The Startup CPG Podcast)
- [Founder Feature: Lindsay Hancock of My Better Batch](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-startup-cpg-podcast/2026-02-27-founder-feature-lindsay-hancock-of-my-better-batch) (The Startup CPG Podcast)

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