FoodGrads Podcast Ep 59: Why it’s important to get out of your comfort zone to shape your own life with Erica Rankin Founder and CEO of Bro Dough

On episode 59 of the FoodGrads Podcast we interviewed Erica Rankin, Founder and CEO of Bro dough. Bro Dough is Canada’s first better-for-you edible cookie dough. Their cookie dough is 100% vegan, contains plant-based protein, and uses natural sweeteners.

On this week’s episode Erica and Veronica talked about Bro Dough and how it stemmed out of her time being in the bodybuilder space. Though they spent a lot of time talking about the idea of what it is like being an introvert as a small food business space. Veronica reflected on my own personal experiences being at networking networks while Erica talked about the things she does to recoup from her crazy entrepreneurial journey.

They also talked about what it is like scaling a single person business to more than one person and why Erica loves being in the food space. Erica has been a pleasure to talk to and we appreciate her transparency and honesty about the industry. Although it easy to share your victories online it is sometimes nice to hear the challenges. Erica is making it a little easier for others to do that.

Show Notes

Timestamps

[2:32] Erica talks about BroDough and how she got into this space

[8:05] Discussion about social media and building a brand from it

[10:39] Erica speaking about being an introvert

[13:39] How Erica decompresses at a conference

[16:21] Scaling up a business from small to medium sized

[21:05] Why Erica loves the food space

[24:46] Skills that Erica is actively working on

[28:49] How Erica feels about others knowing about her journey

[32:17] Three things that are important to Erica

[37:01] Unique stories Erica has had for BroDough

Links

BroDough

Erica’s LinkedIn

Grow with Erica

Erica Rankin Quotes from the interview

It really is different. And I think when I tell people that I’m introverted at heart, they’re taken aback and they don’t really believe me just because I’m so loud and present on social media.

– Erica Rankin

You can get burnt out and give too much sometimes. So I think it’s important to take care of yourselves so you can take care of like your family, your friends, your relationships and your business as well.

– Erica Rankin

I fear complacency. I don’t ever want to be complacent. I want to always be growing and evolving as a person. That’s super essential. And then just health, and overall wellbeing, taking care of your mind and your body, allows you to take care of others and take care of your business. I think that’s really important and that’s one thing that I completely neglected for my first year and a half of being a business owner.

– Erica Rankin

“We talked about this last week and sat down with each other and said, ‘We don’t know what we would be doing if we weren’t doing this.’ It’s so fulfilling. It’s not the most profitable industry at the beginning. There’s a lot of sweat equity and if you’re going for an exit route, you have to fundraise, which is a whole another job in itself. But the people in it are great and I think it’s one of the toughest industries out there because there are so many moving parts.

– Erica Rankin

“I think it’s really interesting. In terms of learning, I just go to people who have done it. And that’s the most beneficial way to do it: talking to someone who’s been through it. I talked to someone who has a team of 300 people and asked him how he got there, the process, and what he does and what I shouldn’t do.

One of the most solid pieces of advice that I got from multiple people recently is to hire the person for the person, not their skillset at the beginning. When you’re a startup and don’t have a ton of capital, it’s really hard to hire talent.”

– Erica Rankin