46 - Dana Pollack: Former magazine photo editor turned successful bakery entrepreneur
Dana Pollack is the CEO and founder of Dana's Bakery, known for taking the traditional French macaron and putting that unique American twist on them with flavors like birthday cake, s'mores, fruity cereal, red velvet and more.
But Dana wasn't always sending these delicious love bombs to people in the mail.
At 30, she left her career as a photo editor at Muscle & Fitness magazine and enrolled at the Institute of Culinary Education to study fine baking and the pastry arts.
She says she admired the French macaron's beauty and distinct texture, but noticed the lack of variety in the traditional French macaron flavors. She soon started perfecting her own Dana-inspired macaron recipes.
Officially established in 2012, Dana's Bakery began in a small kitchen in New Jersey. Using her photography skills, she shot pictures of her delicious treats like she would have in her previous magazine job. Catching the #FoodPorn wave early, she was able to build a following on Instagram with beauty shots of her macarons.
Six years later, Dana's Bakery has expanded beyond macarons to include cookies and the Mookie (a macaron inside of a cookie) and recently made the Inc. 5000 list for Fastest Growing Private Companies in America in 2018.
The company ships nationwide and has two retail locations in New York.
In addition to baking and being the creative force behind Dana's Bakery, Dana is a mother to daughter Leni, loves her daily Starbucks drink and takes a lot of pride in being a woman in business.
She joined me on Olympic & Bundy to talk about her decision to change career paths, growing her business, being a female entrepreneur and mother and much more!
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Thank you to Dana Pollack!
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