Adam: Thanks again for taking the time to share your advice. First things first, though, I am sure readers would love to learn more about you. How did you get here? What experiences, failures, setbacks, or challenges have been most instrumental to your growth?
Loren: I was diagnosed with cancer, Hodgkin’s lymphoma, at 22 years old, right after graduating college–and everything came to a halt. After six months of chemotherapy and months of tests, I was cancer-free, but forever changed. I realized throughout that year that my health was everything to me, so I cut out most dairy, anything artificial, and highly processed ingredients so I could focus on feeding myself healing, less inflammatory foods. But, I couldn’t find anything to satisfy my sweet tooth in the packaged goods aisle that was also better for you. While I’ve always had a sweet tooth, I saw warm cookies be the highlight of peoples’ day when I had worked at Levain Bakery in NYC when I was home for college vacations. From there, I started recipe testing to solve my own dilemma, and after hundreds and hundreds of trials and errors testing every type of healthier flour, chocolate, sugars, and oils, I found the right combination. When I saw how much friends and family absolutely fell in love with my recipes, I knew I wasn’t the only one who wanted healthier ways to satisfy their sweet cravings. That is when I knew I had to find a way to turn my better-for-you cookie recipes into a business and turn this negative thing that happened to me, into my superpower, and Sweet Loren’s was born. Never taking on VC or PE money and maintaining a profitable business for years now has its own challenges, but it has made us always think scrappy and smart, and build a sustainable, healthy business.
Adam: How did you come up with your business idea? What advice do you have for others on how to come up with great ideas?
Loren: I was inspired to start Sweet Loren's after overcoming cancer and finding a passion for creating great tasting, better-for-you food because I believe more whole, good ingredients are so incredibly important for our health and well-being, mentally and physically. Health became everything to me; really my purpose in life. I just never wanted to feel like I had to be on some special diet for the rest of my life with mediocre-tasting food. Life should be enjoyed. This combination became my number one priority, and necessary for my health and recovery.