Q&A with Whitney Lounsbury, Founder of Butter Baked Cake Co.

This post is part of a series where we interview Chisos portfolio company founders.

Today, we're talking with Whitney Lounsbury, Founder of Butter Baked Cake Co., a CPG startup that offers gluten-free, sugar-free, keto-friendly baked treats.

Butter Baked Cake Co. exists to help people enjoy dessert again, with their range of clean ingredient, sugar- and gluten-free baked goods, available for delivery nationwide.

Get to know Butter Baked Cake Co. founder Whitney Lounsbury.

• Location: Oceanside, CA‍
• Do you have a favorite book, movie, or podcast? My podcast is Pod Save America‍
• What app do you use the most, beside texting apps? Instagram‍
• What did you want to be when you were a kid? A marketing executive‍
• What three words or phrases would your friends use to describe you? Engaging, Loyal, Resilient
  

Tell us a little bit about Butter Baked Cake Co.

Most people love dessert but don't love the way it makes them feel. Rather than using inflammatory ingredients like sugar, corn and gluten, at Butter Baked Cake Co. we use real food ingredients like almond flour, butter and monk fruit. These ingredients are not only healthy, but taste decadent and delicious. This allows customers to reclaim dessert and feel great eating it!

Is this your first entrepreneurial endeavor?

Yes.

What was the moment when you knew, "I'm ready to take the plunge and pursue my idea?"

When our young son faced severe medical complexities at a young age, our family made the choice to support him by cutting out sugar, gluten, grains and switching to a low carb lifestyle. We found it nearly impossible to find treats that were made with clean ingredients AND delicious enough that kids would enjoy them. For families looking to reduce sugar, convenience and finding treats kids and picky eaters will eat is essential. This ignited my passion to create Butter Baked Cake Co., so no one was left out when it was time for cake!

Butter Baked Cake Co. has allowed me to combine my background of over 20 years in sales, marketing and strategic planning in the retail industry with my love of baking.

What do you know now that you wish you’d known when starting your own business?

I wish I had known that taking risks isn't a bad thing; being too risk averse will hurt you as much as being too much of a risk taker.

How do you think about success and failure as a founder?

I believe every failure is a chance to learn from and evolve into a better leader and founder if you take the time to reflect properly. I have had many opportunities in business to learn from such road bumps and they have all made me a more effective founder and leader.

What is one moment from your founder journey that you're particularly proud of?

I am especially proud of my success building a strong network of community advocates to promote and support the brand. Through this community-built sales and marketing method, I have grown the brand with a tiny team.

Did you receive any advice along the way that would be meaningful to share with other founders?

I have received so many wonderful pieces of advice but I loved hearing the founder of Siete foods on a podcast saying that their method was to run as fast as they could towards their goals and not stop even after they got there. This helped me reframe some of my risk-averse mindset.

How would you rate your experience with Chisos?

Chisos funding helped me not just in a financial impact but from adding a collaborative community to my network. I accessed a group of brilliant advisors who were willing and able to support my brand's growth in a number of different areas.

Connect with Whitney on LinkedIn, Twitter, and follow Butter Baked Cake Co. on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.