Entrepreneurial Development Center

Anna Sobaski had finished her chef's training at the Natural Gourmet Cookery School, Institute for Food and Health in New York City when her friends raved about the taste and texture of her nutritious, gluten-free breads. "You should package and sell the mixes!" they said. Agreeing, but not having a clue where to start, she sought the help of the newly created Entreprenerial Development Center (EDC) she had read about in the paper.

Celiac Disesase, the failure of one's body to produce the enzyme that breaks down the protein in gluten, found in wheat, barley and rye, is becoming more readily diagnosed in the United States.  This growing demand for gluten-free foods and Anna's delicious recipes quickly convinced Curt Nelson, President and CEO of the EDC, that Anna needed to get into business.

"He directed me to get labels created and find a packager and come back to see him," said Sobaski. "Six months later I had packaging, but didn't know how to pay for the business start-up costs. I returned to the EDC and they not only helped me get money, but they helped me gather my team. I needed a lawyer, an accountant, insurance, marketing for my product, they guided me through that entire process," she added.

With this support, Sobaski improved her web site, www.glutenevolution.com, attended food shows, got flyers printed and saw sales double from year one to year two. This took her gluten-free products into specialty food stores and health food sections of grocery stores across America. "With customers in all 50 states, I was excited, but  overwhelmed," stated Sobaski.

"Anna's early success had driven her to a point where she needed to scale or or risk failing her customers," said Nelson. "I pulled in her accountant and said here's where we need to be one, two and three years from now, you need a real facility for making this happen, and you need to run the numbers backward to make it work."  Sobaski soon expanded from the basement of her condo to an actual warehouse to facilitate scaling the business.

"My next step is attaining wider distribution. And the EDC is helping me pace my growth," says Sobaski.

Next year Sobaski plans to expand within the U.S. and then exploit gluten-free "hot spots" like Canada, the UK and Australia where Celiac Disease sees higher diagnosis rates. Because operating out of the basement of her condo is no longer a hinderance, this type of expansion is possible.

Sobaski adds, "The EDC takes entrepreneurs seriously, they took me seriously when other people were telling me you have got a crazy idea, you better just go find a regular job. The EDC 'got it' and offered me the steps to reach the next level, and the next."

Now that's a recipe for success!