Being a Career-Changer with Erin Patinkin of Ovenly and Seemore Meats & Veggies

July 25, 2022

Imagine moving to a new state, changing careers, and starting a business, despite having no business background. Sound scary? Well, that’s exactly what this week’s guest, Erin Patinkin, did in her 20s.

Our guest this week is Erin Patinkin. She is the founder, former CEO, and Board Chair of the beloved New York-based bakery chain Ovenly, founder of the award-winning Seemore Meats & Veggies, executive producer, creator, & co-host of Start to Sale on Vox, co-author of the bestselling Ovenly cookbook, business consultant to companies like Noishaf, Seed + Mill, and White Moustache, and advisor to many.

In this episode, Erin walks us through how she started Ovenly with co-founder Agatha Kulaga, the lessons she learned along the way, and why she ultimately decided to step down from the CEO position. She also talks to us about what she’s doing now.

“I didn’t really know what the word ‘entrepreneur’ was until someone started calling me that after I launched my first business.” – Erin Patinkin

If you’re looking to take your business to the next level, join the Entreprenista League today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!

This week’s takeaways from Entreprenista:

What inspired Erin to start Ovenly (4:47)
The original plan for Ovenly, the challenges it faced, and how it evolved into what it is now (7:37)
When and why Erin and co-founder Agatha decided to create different roles for themselves in the business (18:12)
The reason Erin stepped down from Ovenly as the CEO (23:41)
How Erin got started advising other companies and entrepreneurs (27:33)
Rapid fire questions round (36:30)
Erin’s final tip – it’s a good one (44:30)

Resources mentioned:

Our Favorite Quotes:

“We got this terrible advice from someone that was ‘say yes to everything’.” – Erin Patinkin
“I feel like I got my degree in coaching and an MBA and my culinary degree all in like a 10-month period.” – Erin Patinkin
“I also have a real issue with business books because they’re all like 500 pages long because the publisher is like ‘you gotta have 70,000 words.’ And it’s like this is the same chapter over and over again, we could have said this in an essay.” – Erin Patinkin
“It takes a lot of grit and resilience to get through the day sometimes.” – Erin Patinkin

Connect with Erin Patinkin:

If you’re looking to take your business to the next level:

Join our Entreprenista League community of women founders! You’ll have access to a private community of like-minded Entreprenistas who are making an impact in business every day, special discounts on business products and solutions, exclusive content, private events, the opportunity to have your story featured on our website and social channels, and MORE!

Whether you’re looking to scale your existing business and want to make the right connections, or you’re thinking about finally taking the leap to launch your business, we’re here to give you access to a community of women who will celebrate your every step, and with whom you can share the candid reality of building a business from scratch.

Join the Entreprenista League today at entreprenista.com/join. We can’t wait to welcome you, support you, and be part of your business journey!

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