We're in! Accepted Into an Accelerator Program

Today, I’m starting something exciting. I’m part of a 7-month accelerator program at The Hatchery, a food incubator in Chicago! The Hatchery’s program helps entrepreneurs launch their food businesses. It offers resources, such as networking opportunities with retailers and other food founders. They provide a list of food manufacturers and distributors in the area. They also have commercial kitchen spaces available for rent. And a food scientist who I can contact as needed. 

 

I know a couple of women who’ve gone through the program and took their businesses to the next stage. One of the women started Bakr Cookies. The founder sells frozen cookie dough made with real ingredients. She uses fewer and better ingredients than major brands use in their cookie doughs. Recently, she announced that her cookie dough will be available at Mariano’s. This opportunity came about through an event at The Hatchery where she met a Mariano’s buyer last year. 

 

Her and I grabbed coffee last month, and wow, I learned so much from her. She shared information about what she did, where she’s at, and what helped her get to her current state. By now, she's proven she has product-market fit. She’s also pregnant with her first, expecting soon. She too will be balancing a newborn and a budding business. I’m sure I’ll be asking her plenty of questions when my time comes. It’s comforting to know other women who are powering through similar situations. 

 

Even though I’ve been working on this product for a while now, I’m still only at the very beginning. I can't wait to see where this product goes and how it evolves in this next phase. This is why I am eager for access to more resources and people who have been in this space for longer than I have. Hopefully, I’ll be able to ask questions and bounce ideas off of people familiar with the space. 

I'm also excited to meet and learn from other food businesses. Every time I meet with a founder, I can't believe how much new information I learn from them. There are always nuggets that I want to apply to my own business practices. 

I’m hoping there are a lot of networking opportunities and resources that I can tap into during the program. Both my business and me as a founder have the potential to greatly benefit from this new opportunity.