The Business Plan Is: Stay In Business | Tiffany Chen & Leon Chen | TEDxUTAustin

Summary

The founders of Tiff's Treats recount their journey from a small university-based cookie delivery service to a successful company employing nearly two thousand people. They emphasize the importance of luck in their success, but stress that luck favors the persistent. They share their early struggles, including financial losses, kitchen space issues, and legal battles over their brand name. Despite these challenges, they persevered, and their luck turned when they secured a new location and an investment that propelled their growth. The story serves as a testament to the power of perseverance and seizing opportunities.

Takeaways

• 😀 The founders attribute their company's success to a combination of perseverance and luck, emphasizing that luck favors those who persevere.
• 🏢 The company started small, with just two founders, and has since grown to employ nearly two thousand people, demonstrating significant scaling.
• 💰 The company is now worth over five hundred million dollars, showcasing substantial financial growth.
• 💵 They have raised over one hundred million dollars in funding, highlighting their ability to attract investment.
• 🎓 The founders began their entrepreneurial journey as 19-year-old college students, delivering cookies from an apartment.
• 🍪 They faced numerous hardships, including financial losses and the loss of their kitchen space, yet continued to operate.
• 💧 A literal flood in their kitchen, caused by faulty plumbing, was one of the many challenges they had to overcome.
• 🚫 Legal issues with the name 'Tiffany's Treats' due to trademark infringement by Tiffany & Co. forced them to rebrand to 'Tiff's Treats'.
• 🏠 They faced the challenge of finding a new location when their landlord gave them a 45-day notice to vacate, which was a critical moment for the business.
• ✅ A stroke of luck with the city permitting department allowed them to quickly secure a permit and renovate a house into a commercial kitchen.
• 🤝 A critical investment of 1.2 million dollars from a chance meeting helped them secure a new location and continue their growth.

Q & A

What was the initial size of the company when it started?

The company started as a small operation between two people.

How many employees does the company have now?

The company now employs almost two thousand people.

What is the current worth of the company?

The company is worth over five hundred million dollars.

How much funding has the company raised from investors?

The company has raised over one hundred million dollars in funding from investors.

What does the founder attribute the success of the company to?

The founder attributes the success of the company to luck, but also emphasizes the importance of perseverance to be in business when those lucky breaks come.

What was the age of the founders when they started the company?

The founders were 19-year-old sophomores when they started the company.

What was the nature of the business when it first started?

The business initially involved delivering warm cookies at night out of a Hyde Park apartment.

What was the financial situation of the company after the first year post-graduation?

After the first year post-graduation, the company had lost thirteen thousand dollars.

What was the impact of the tornado on the company's kitchen?

A tornado caused a flood in the kitchen, leading to a fountain of water and sewage spewing from every floor drain, which required extensive cleaning and sanitization.

Why did the company have to change its name?

The company had to change its name due to legal pressure from Tiffany & Company, who claimed trademark dilution.

How much did the legal fees cost the company to settle the trademark issue?

The legal fees to settle the trademark issue cost the company about twenty thousand dollars.

What was the role of Mike Joyce in helping the company secure a new location?

Mike Joyce, one of the company's first mentors, helped them lease a 1940s home near campus, which they renovated into a kitchen and storefront.

How did the company manage to get a building permit so quickly?

The city of Austin permitting department staff took pity on the founder and walked them through every department to get approval, resulting in a building permit in one day.

What was the turning point that led to the company's growth?

An investment of 1.2 million dollars from a person the company's accountant knew, which served as a springboard to their growth.