How the CEO of Baked by Melissa turned chilly calling within the bed room right into a cupcake empire

Count “Baked by Melissa” founder Melissa Ben-Ishay among the entrepreneurial success stories based on escaping the corporate hamster wheel.

Before starting her business, Ben-Ishay worked at an advertising agency in New York City – a role in which she felt unfulfilled. The day she was fired was an “aha moment,” she recently told CNBC. She visited her brother at work and he suggested the two of them open a store where they could sell their cupcakes. They quickly created a website and took pictures of cupcakes with a white sheet as a background.

In 2008, Ben-Ishay did it all: She personally delivered cupcakes to tastings, called caterers from her bedroom and, once she had an order, hopped on the subway with a white deli box full of her signature tie-dyed sweets. Back then, each cupcake came from her tiny New York apartment kitchen.

Baked by Melissa peppered the city with bite-sized cupcakes in tie-dye boxes for the next few years. Their big break came when the owner of Cafe Bari fell in love with the bite-sized cupcakes and offered Ben-Ishay the use of his commercial kitchen in exchange for selling him cupcakes at cost for New York's Christmas markets.

“Seven months after we started the company, my dad came down from Bergen County and helped me move all my stuff from my tiny kitchen to the basement of Café Bari,” she recalled at a recent CNBC event.

The café owner became a shareholder in Baked by Melissa, and the company was able to continue using the space for years to come. Natural traffic was already lucrative, says Ben-Ishay, but when the press started to make its presence felt, people were lining up around the corner. A year after moving into Café Bari's space, Baked by Melissa opened its second location in Union Square.

Photography by Sara Lindsay

Since then, Baked by Melissa has grown into a global company with 14 brick-and-mortar locations, nationwide delivery, and over 2.5 million followers on TikTok. Ben-Ishay has also taken on the role of CEO and recently released her second cookbook, Come Hungry.

Social media has become increasingly important in building the “cupcake empire”.

In 2021, Ben-Ishay's “Green Goddess” salad recipe went viral on TikTok, becoming the sixth most searched recipe on Google nationwide with 1.6 million searches in 2022. The recipe, which has been recreated by celebrities like Cardi B and Lizzo, led to Ben-Ishay appearing on the Today Show and later posting a recipe for “Green Goddess” ranch that received nearly two million more views than the original recipe. Now, fans follow the recipes and routines Ben-Ishay shares on TikTok.

“Social media can be an incredible tool,” she said in an email to CNBC. “You can do anything, [when] You keep the right attitude… show up every day (or make it your job), listen to your audience, and work to create quality content.”

Ben-Ishay declined to comment on how a TikTok ban in the US would affect her.

As a cookbook author with social media success, Ben-Ishay has expanded beyond the cupcake brand.

“I wanted to share this philosophy and a way of eating that emphasizes nutritious ingredients in every meal,” she said. “I hope that through my recipes, readers will gain a sense of confidence in the kitchen that they can use in the future with any ingredients they like.”

Barriers to success for female founders and CEOs

Studies show that women face high hurdles when starting a business. They have significantly less access to financing than male founders, and a male-dominated investor world is met with great skepticism. But there are some signs of improvement: the number of new business startups among female entrepreneurs is increasing, and more women are investing in women-founded companies. These problems in the capital markets contribute to research showing that women often lack the confidence to start a business, although research also shows that women-led companies often outperform the market, leading to the creation of ETFs that track women-led companies.

Ben-Ishay said she has experienced gender-based barriers firsthand.

“It’s hard to succeed in business, regardless of gender,” she said. “[But] Some challenges, in my experience, are more common with women. I think men are often overconfident, while women lack confidence. I only became CEO of the company that bears my name in 2019, and even when I got the role, I thought I couldn't do it. I was wrong.”

Now a successful CEO and social media personality, Ben-Ishay has built a brand all her own. And the freedom and unpredictability of entrepreneurship gives her a sense of fulfillment – she said she loves stepping out of her comfort zone and putting out fires.

“I guess so,” she said. “That's when we learn and grow the most.”