279 - Becoming America's #1 Black-Owned Gourmet Vegan Cookie Company with Maya Madsen

Listeners, we're back this week with Maya Madsen.Founded in 2015 by Maya Madsen, Maya's Cookies is America's #1 Black-Owned Gourmet Vegan Cookie Company. As a vegan with a sweet tooth, she had not been able to find that perfectly delicious, soft-baked gourmet vegan cookie, so she spent years crafting her award-winning and crowd-pleasing recipes. From the classic to unique and forward-thinking flavors such as "Chocolate Chip S'mores" and "Marble Fudge", every flavor has a story grounded in Maya's travels, memories, and experiences. Alongside providing the highest quality product that appeals to everyone, Maya's Cookies is committed to superior customer service and community engagement, with a focus on youth and underserved communities. Maya's Cookies ships nationwide- simply order as a treat for yourself or as a gift.During this episode we talked about:04:22 - Her heritage and being adopted10:07 - Starting in health and fitness10:41 -The 80s outfits12:18 - Her first job and her creative brain14:39 - Her park hustle17:58 - Moving to San Diego24:38 - Going into the cookies business25:33 - Food as a love language26:54 - Student loans as black young men29:22 - From farmer’s market to e-commerce & the Black Lives Matter impulse29:40 - Receiving 10,000 orders overnight31:24 - A blessing and a curse33:10 - Responses to mistakes39:22 - Being embarrassed to say ‘CEO and Founder’40:29 - Maya’s cookies philosophy41:19 - Let’s talk business43:59 - What’s next for Maya’s cookiesThis episode is brought to you by First Republic Bank. <br /> Follow Maya on all things social:WebsiteInstagramFacebook Follow Cafe con Pam on all things socialInstagramFacebookhttp://cafeconpam.com/Join the FREE Cafe con Pam ChallengeJoin our Discord  space and let's keep the conversation going! If you are a business owner, join us for Aligned Collective MastermindLearn about PowerSisters