BONUS: Shelby Taylor | Founder and CEO, Chickapea | You Don't Do it All
Today’s guest is Shelby Taylor, founder and CEO of Chickapea, the all-organic, high-protein, plant-based pasta, sold in 3,000 stores across North America. Shelby is an entrepreneur on a mission to create good for the world through nutritious food that’s not only good for you but also does not harm the planet. She also happens to be part of the rare 2% of women to receive funding, having just closed $9.3M in financing in her last round, with $16M raised overall.
In 2019, Chickapea was ranked in the top 10% of all Certified B Corps on the planet—a clear reflection of Shelby’s commitment to meeting the highest standards of social and environmental impact— not bad for an entrepreneur who began only 6 years ago. Chickpea is also a certified women-owned business, something especially important to Shelby.
Don’t miss this episode to hear Shelby and host Eva Hartling discuss this fascinating journey, along with why she’s so passionate about helping other women succeed.
This season of The Brand is Female is brought to you by TD Bank - Women Entrepreneurs. TD is proud to support women entrepreneurs and help them achieve success and growth through its program of educational workshops, financing and mentorship opportunities! Find out how you can benefit from their support!
Full Episode Transcript
Eva Hartling: I'm Eva Hartling welcome to The Brand is Female where every week I speak with women change-makers who are redefining the rules of female leadership. This season of our podcast is brought to you by TD bank group women entrepreneurs. TD helps women in business achieve success and growth through its program of educational workshops, financing, and mentorship.
Visit theBrandisfemale.com/podcast and full of things to find out how TD can help. My guest in today's episode is Shelby Taylor, founder of Chickapea the organic high protein plan-based pasta sold in 3000 stores across North America. Shelby is an entrepreneur on a mission to create good for the world through nutritious food that does not harm the planet.
She also happens to be part of the rare 2% of women to receive funding. Having just closed around $9.3 million as part of a $16 million raise overall since the start of her company. In 2019 Chickapea was ranked in the top 10% of all certified B Corps on the planet, a clear reflection of Shelby's commitment to meet the highest standards of social and environmental impact.
Also not bad for an entrepreneur who started it all. Only six years ago. Chickapea is also a certified women-owned business. Something that was important for Shelby, given how passionate she is about helping other women succeed. Here is our conversation.
Shelby, it's a pleasure having you join me on The Brand is Female today. And the first question I have for you is how I usually start these conversations is growing up. What did you think you'd be doing later in life? For a career? What did you, what did you envision you'd be becoming, and did you ever.
Expect you would be launching your own business one day.
Shelby Taylor: Oh, I always thought I would be a writer. I love writing and reading since the time I was able to. And that was really always my dream. And I ended up going to school for journalism, with the hope of telling stories and but my ultimate goal was really writing fiction.
It is interesting that I still think, that could be in the cards for me somewhere down the line. I had never, really seen business ownership as a possibility for me, to be honest, I just didn't grow up in that kind of family or, around business owners. It just but it was always something that I was doing.
My own thing was always something I was very interested in. So let's talk
Eva Hartling: about what led you to create your own company and create a concept for Chickapea. So I'd love to hear what was, what got you there basically, and what kind of sparked that idea for you?
Shelby Taylor: Sure. After I finished school for journalism.
I was a magazine editor for a homes magazine for a few years. Which I loved. But over that time, my interest in nutrition really grew. And I started to study nutrition on the side and we had this one article and we always had one recipe in our homes magazine. And that sorta became my favorite one to edit.
I just grew a real love for food and nutrition. So that's what got me thinking. I wanted to do something a little bit different and ultimately I had the opportunity to take a little provincially funded business course, as a 10-month course. So I decided to take that route.
And during that course, I bought a local health food store, this really small little health food store that was up for sale, and thought it would be a really great opportunity to one, get to know more about nutrition, but also do some market research. So at that point, I knew I really wanted to do my own thing.
I just wasn't really sure. I wasn't really sure what it looked like. And then Chickapea grew really quickly from there.
Eva Hartling: And I'm I, before this interview, I shared that I'm actually a fan of your products. I'm gluten-free and when your product came out, it was such a good alternative for pasta, we know there's.
A lot of people have issues with regular gluten-free passes because they also can't eat the type of flowers that are used. So was there, and it felt like it was quite revolutionary when he came out. Was there a specific is it something in your own nutrition, the way you approach food that led you to want to try that?
Or had you come in contact with, would a product made from chickpeas already? I'm just curious to know what, why chickpeas are specifically?
Shelby Taylor: Sure. The idea really came from my customers who were speaking, much like you are right now. Whether they had gluten allergies or even more overall, we're trying to transition to a healthier diet and trying to transition their families to healthier diets.
With a lot of frustration because, you, I always say it's really hard to go from like hamburgers to kale smoothies. I really saw the frustration and trying to feed families. And I just, because of my journalism background asked a lot of questions and one of the questions I always ask them was what is the food that.
You already eat and enjoy what is something that everyone will sit down at the table and eat whether it's healthy or not. And pasta just came up over and over again, and that's where the idea of, why can't the foods that we love already, that we're already familiar with, that we already enjoy.
Just be healthier and actually not just better for you, but actually good for your health. So I think you've probably noticed, Especially in the gluten-free space. There's a lot of saying better for you options, but they're not necessarily good for you. And with such a passion for nutrition. What I wanted was to make these foods, something that you could really feel good about eating pulses, chickpeas, lentils, beans, peas, they are.
They're almost like the most perfect food out there. They're so full of protein. They're full of fiber. They're low in unhealthy fats they're and they're incredible for the environment as well. So they're a great crop. They save so much on, water and everything that goes into producing animal proteins.
So it's just a really ideal food. And that made a lot of sense. And I was able to have the opportunity to find a pasta that had chickpeas in it. And that was just a little locally produced pasta to test on the customers to see. What they thought of the idea and what were they open to it.
And from there, I knew that I could really make something big of this. And I'm
Eva Hartling: curious to know when you launched the company, were there, what was maybe and there's always ongoing challenges and obstacles when we run a business, but was there something, tested your resolve and something you wish maybe a lesson you learned something you wish you had known already.
And was there a point where you questioned, why you had started the venture and how did you deal with overcoming those challenges?
Shelby Taylor: Oh my gosh. I think it's a matter of choosing one of the millions of those circumstances. In the early days, I questioned probably on a daily basis, especially cause I had a brand new baby at home.
So I was a brand new moment. I started this as well and taking the time away from him was really hard, especially when I wasn't sure that what I was doing was even going to work. So chasing a dream and taking time away from that was really challenging. So it made me question myself a lot, but at the same time, it gave me this incredible.
Drive. I felt like if I'm going to miss out on time here and I have to make this work like I just have to make this work. It made me work through a lot of challenges. I Had funding has always been a challenge because, in our business, the way that Chickapea is produced this with, very specialized equipment, it's not just, you can't just use like a.
Restaurant-sized pasta extruder or the type of extruder that can be used much easily more easily with wheat-based pasta. And not even just the gluten-free factor, but the high protein and the fact that we have no binders whatsoever. So because of that, we have to produce large quantities of our pasta at one time, which takes a great deal of investment upfront.
And so the funding has always been a challenge. I had to have had to raise money since day one long before I even had pasta. So my first round of investment was selling investors before I could even. Let them taste it. So that is for sure. And in the beginning, I felt like I was, that.
What do they call that sort of like this fraud, you feel like a fraud or a fake in the beginning, and because I had never started a big business before, and I was selling investors on this idea with, not knowing if I could really make it happen. So there was a lot of uncertainty.
And even today, it always looks different to the outside world and you have all the daily challenges And you still question yourself, but certainly, you get more confident as time goes on
Eva Hartling: yeah. Imposter syndrome, which unfortunately a lot of smart driven women tend to deal with that.
Were there any role models and, it can be an inspiration as a role model? Like it can be just somebody you look up to or somebody that offers your support. But I'm curious to know if there were women that, inspired you on your journey early on or closer to now, even.
Shelby Taylor: Oh, I think there's been many along the way.
I always I've been asked this a couple of times and I get, I feel a little bit stuck sometimes because it's not anyone particular person. I always like to mention my mom because she while she didn't, hasn't started her own business. She has been by my side. Every step of the way of this.
She invested everything she had in the beginning. She actually looked after the shop that I have when I started chasing Chickapea and she just believed in me so much and she still does and she works with the company as well. And I think that's really inspired me is not just from a business perspective, but as a mom and the kind of, support and belief that I want to have in my kids and that I want to show them that they can accomplish their dreams the way that she has shown me.
So she's an absolute big one. And. On the business side. There are so many inspirational women who have done incredible things. Arlene Dickinson was my first venture capital investor and she invested in the company in very early stages much earlier than most VCs will invest. And she continues to they've invested several times.
So they're a big partner in the business now, her and her fund. And she continues to support us on, every media chance that she gets. She's made such great connections. She's on my board as well, and my husband great advisor to me over the years.
Eva Hartling: That's great. What's one thing you wish you knew when you started the business and you know that you know now, but found out the hard way, and maybe that's one tip that you can pass on to another woman, entrepreneur.
Shelby Taylor: Sure. I often say that being so naive in the beginning was actually my biggest benefit to the business. I almost don't know if I could ever really do this again, knowing what I know. Because when you don't know you, you just it's, we can make it happen. Yes, we can do it. You know, I mean? We launched across.
Canada and the US all within a year which I would never recommend to somebody doing especially for the cash investment, everything just seemed like it would be faster and easier and less expensive than it actually was. But one thing I would absolutely say is to really understand the structure of a business.
And if you're going down the path of investment, understanding what. What equity really means. And what, how that looks like over time, how many investment rounds are you going to need over the course of the next 10 years? And what does that mean for your equity and your cap table and your ownership?
And having a board and an advisory board, understanding, having an idea of what you want out of the business. I've been very fortunate to bring on good partners, but I have many entrepreneur friends who have gone down the same path and have had a lot of challenges. And I think when you start out and you don't really understand, what are you not giving away, but what are you selling?
And then not only that, but what kind of business are you set up to be in that now you're then in a business, that's not that you can't run for your lifetime, so understanding what you really want out of your business and then choosing the path.
Eva Hartling: Yeah. Yeah. That's a smart move.
I've noticed. And we were, I mentioned that just before we got on. So I've noticed on your packaging, you have certification for a woman. Is it a women-owned or women-led company, a woman-owned women-owned company? And I was really thrilled to see that when I found when I noticed it on your packaging, what does that mean to you? And that's obviously a certification that you decided to obtain. So what does that represent?
Shelby Taylor: for you? Oh, that's a big question. It, it represents so much because. As you grow a business, it's very challenging to maintain that ownership. And for many reasons, because, if you want to scale a business the way or as fast as I have scaled Chickapea and it requires investment.
There are not so many women investors out there, it's 1% of venture capitalists are women. And so that's very challenging and trying to maintain that and. And show that it's possible. I think overall, I think I have a million different thoughts coming out. I'm trying to think of how to say.
Yeah. For me, it's continuing to one believe in my own abilities, but really to show other women, there are so many women out there who have big ideas, small ideas, dreams for themselves. And. Sometimes it just doesn't seem achievable. And I think it's more challenging for women because there's still, whether we like to admit it or not.
There's still a lot more pressure on women to be at home to be great caregivers. And a lot of women feel like if they chase those dreams, that they're letting their families. You know that they're letting their family suffer. So it's at their family's expense and it's just not fair. So I think when you can show that you can do that and that you can have a family and you can accomplish big dreams too.
To me, that's what matters. I really want to. I really want to help other people, real women realize that because it's been a, it's been a journey myself.
Eva Hartling: And how does that translate? And, I think there's that kind of false myth, that's been sold to women that we can have it all and, we can find work-life balance and you can be an entrepreneur and have a family and, be perfect at everything.
And certainly, I haven't met a woman who can say she's achieved all of that or not in that way at least. How does that translate for you? And you've mentioned you, you, you had your baby just as the company was starting. How do you juggle it all? How do you prioritize, how do you find time for your family and still
we, we know how much time a business, how much time and energy a business requires, especially in the first few years,
Shelby Taylor: it's such a great and important question. Because, yes, you don't do it all. I can't tell you how many times I've been asked how do I do it all? And the simple answer is I do not.
There, there are times when I can do more and there are times when I can't and I have a fantastic support system and I have to rely on them. I think having that in place is so important and I've grown my team. In a way. I've probably grown my team a little bit faster for the size of business that we're at.
For the reason that, I can't put in 12 to 14 hours a day, cause I didn't start this business to miss out on my kids' childhoods, so I am, I set really clear boundaries and I have fought that idea that entrepreneurs need to work. 12 to 16 hour days from the very beginning, I just will not do that.
There are times right there. If you're closing a round of capital or you're about to land costs, go as an account. You're going to work a late night. But for the most part, I work normal hours. I take most weekends off. I prioritize my family and I've shifted the business around to make it possible.
I don't believe I can do everything. And I hire people who can do things much better than I can, but I think it's just so important to realize that you can't and get help at home. This idea too, is that you're a failure. If you can't do your laundry, that sounds so silly, but I can't tell you how if your laundry gets behind and you still feel like that's your job and you're failing your family and it's you don't get the help at home, but the time, where you can make it matter the most.
And I think that's, it is it's building yourself a support system and. Yeah, it's just so important. You can't, it's not possible to do at all. It's just not
Eva Hartling: this season of the Brand is female is made possible with the support of TD bank group, women entrepreneurs, confidently building your business.
Takes sound advice plus guidance to the right connections, tools, and resources. As a woman, entrepreneur myself. I know I need all the support I can get. What's great about TD services for women in business is their collaboration-based approach. They work with both internal and external partners who can provide education, financing, mentorship, and community support.
TD employees are able to be proactive in the advice and guidance they give to women's businesses. They can facilitate and connect you to workshops, coaching, and mentorship, and they engage other like-minded business leaders in an authentic way. So we can share experiences and learn from each other. What's your approach
you've just mentioned the team that you built, what's your take on leadership and team building, and how do what's your general approach to managing your team? Which is always interesting when you're, when it's your own business. And you've established values and the culture for the company
Shelby Taylor: yourself.
I think we have a very value-led company. So we are a certified B corporation. We donate 2% of all of our revenue to a great charitable cause. And everyone that I've hired is really values-led as well. Most people join the company because they love the story. They love, where it's going.
They love what the brand is all about. And my ultimate, guidance is to, just lead with kindness and understanding, and empathy and. And I have just great relationships with my team. I don't think this business is just my business. I started it, but the team has such a huge stake in the business.
Nothing, none of this could have happened without them. So it really is our business. And most of the team has ownership in the company as well. Great. And I just think, and we're a team of women. 10 out of 11 of us are women. Wow. Yes. And almost everyone has been there since very early days.
So it's just about, I don't like to say like family, cause it is still a business, but. But it is like family and through this pandemic, for example, with such a great opportunity for not only for me to, provide everyone with the kind of flexibility and empathy that they needed through all of this, there's a number of us who are mothers of small children on the team and that has required a great deal of flexibility.
When you have small kids schooling at home and. And everyone is able to work from home and move their hours as they need to. I think that just goes like that alone, offering people the flexibility to fit, the work into their lives rather than having to shift their lives all around their work is what really makes a difference in what people appreciate the most.
I would say we overall have a very caring, supportive, and empathetic. Culture.
Eva Hartling: That's great to hear. I want to talk about the issues and kind of the challenges that we face with just the way food is produced in our world and by the time it gets to our plates.
And you've obviously, you have a product your company is value-based, purpose-driven. He ever product that is healthy. And you were talking about the way it's made what do you think needs to be addressed so that we have, better, healthier options on our, in, in, on the shelves of our grocery stores that also are not as harmful to the
Shelby Taylor: planet.
Oh, that's the million-dollar question. Yes. There are so many things organic choosing organic is such a big deal, eliminating, pesticides and water contamination keeping. Keeping our bee population alive and keeping the richness and the integrity of our soil in place.
And that's the most important thing really. And especially when it comes to the environment. We are, our charitable initiative is actually now working with, we work with a large regenerative farm. It's actually not far from where we're located here. Called the new farm. And we donate to, so we donate 2% of our revenue to community food centers, Canada, which has a number of food centers and food programs to address food insecurity.
And it's not just a, it's not just a food bank. It's very much food programs to educate the communities around them. And to help them learn how to grow their own food, but also around sustainability as well. So getting off track, sorry, but we don't need 2% of our revenue to them and they use the entire.
Amount to purchase regenerative produce from afar, from the farm that's near here. But the whole idea around that and closing that gap between, getting the most nutritious food possible to the people who really need it the most. So the accessibility around nutritious food and then supporting regenerative agriculture, which is really our best opportunity to mitigate climate change is not only.
My opinion, but in many scientist's opinions, and putting that carbon back into the soil because that's, with traditional farming techniques, we're tilling soil, we're putting all of this carbon into the air and we're killing soil and, creating lands that will never be able to be farmed again.
And I could go on forever. I'm already off track of your question, but I don't
Eva Hartling: know, this is a really interesting and important conversation to have.
Shelby Taylor: Yeah. So I. We at Chickapea all really care about Climate change. And but also in making sure that, we're that everybody has access to nutritious food.
So those are two really strong values that we hold. And we've been able to address both food insecurity and climate change through this charitable initiative, with the hopes that we can get more brands on board to put into regenerative agriculture as well. Cause that's what really needs to happen.
I think goes back to your exact question. We need more regenerative farms. We need conventional farms to switch over to organic regenerative farms and grow food. The way that it was meant. To be grown so that we can really have much healthier food on the shelves, like much, much healthier food on yourselves that are not depleted of nutrients and then much healthier air and a healthier planet overall.
And
Eva Hartling: as consumers, because I think, ultimately consumers, we vote with our dollars and we have the power to impact. And demand change from the companies that we buy from and from the government to add pressure to companies, to to, fix systemic issues and produce food or any items that we consume differently.
So what, where can consumers start what's one way other than choosing organic at a supermarket, for example, what are things that you'd recommend consumers do and maybe things that you also do? In your everyday habits, outside of your role at
Shelby Taylor: Chickapea
absolutely. Yes, like you said, choosing organic a certain one, and looking for B Corps. So companies that are certified B corporations, and it's a very rigorous standard that you have to meet as a B Corp to know that you are. You were measuring more than a single bottom line. So you are not just measuring profit, you are measuring how you treat your people, how you treat the environment, what kind of social change you're doing?
So B Corp's are really about using business as a force for good. And that certification is no. Joke. It is incredibly challenging to get and to maintain, especially as you grow. And by choosing B corporations, you can know that you're choosing companies that are actually doing good in the world.
I think it's that's a big leap that customers could make for sure.
Eva Hartling: And it's an easy one to make, right. One can easily research what company is certified as B Corps.
Shelby Taylor: Yeah. And the more, sorry, the more that consumers choose B Corps, the more it's going to push the bigger companies to become B Corps as well.
Yeah,
Eva Hartling: absolutely. I wonder, for the past 14 months or so we've gone through this pandemic and a lot has changed, I had a lot of conversations with women around. I think I hate using the term silver lining because there's so much suffering and pain and death that came from the pandemic.
But we did see that rise in global consciousness and. A lot of consumers, mindsets, evolving and changing and realizing the importance of choosing products based on values and environmental impact, social impact, and so on. Do you think, and are you seeing what your consumers, that this is a new trend that's going to last?
Or do you think we're gonna go back to? Yeah. The old way of doing things. I don't think we're ever going back to what was referred to as normal, but do you think there's this wind of change, that's really going to outlast the reality of the pandemic.
Shelby Taylor: Yeah. Yeah. So it's interesting because I have seen a split.
And like you said, there are many ways that people are becoming much more aware through all of this, especially as many people are eating at home and buying products and people who were. Maybe not doing so much of that before And So I think there's that in those people who have made those switches, I think those will continue for sure.
But we've also seen another side of things and where people have reverted back to more conventional foods in some ways. And where you can, I don't want to say stock-up, cause I want to say stocking up as a thing of 20, 25. But maybe yeah. And going back to comfort foods, old comfort foods, and right.
Whereas I think we are starting to see those people shift to okay, I can't eat these comfort foods forever, so maybe let's find some healthier versions. But no, I, yeah I don't think it's going to change and I, and really, I think it just sped up a little bit what was already happening. Just so many people were starting to become more aware of so many things and it's just sped up that process.
So I don't see it. I don't see it going backward. And in my hope is that there'll be more demand for it outside of the home, as well as we go back to restaurants and eating outside of the home. And I hope that there'll be a little more pressure on those systems to offer healthier.
The more sustainable foods. That's right.
Eva Hartling: Such an interesting point. You're right. Because it's easier. We have access to so many options, from home, it's a little harder what restaurants and depending on where you live, there's not always that many healthy options. And even some restaurants that are, marketing themselves as healthy we don't always have full transparency in terms of, how they're sourcing ingredients.
Shelby Taylor: Exactly.
Eva Hartling: Exactly. That's interesting. And my favorite question to ask everyone on the show is what do you wish women would do less of? I used to ask, what do you wish women would do more of until it was pointed out to me? Very rightly so that women already do too much, but you can interpret this question as you want for your answer.
Shelby Taylor: Oh gosh, no. And I have a good answer for this. I, the very first thing that came to mind was. I want them to feel less guilt, to stop feeling so guilty about everything. It's such a. I don't know why it's ingrained in so many of us. But to be more proud of ourselves for, as you said, the many, too many things that we do and stop feeling guilty over the things that we can't or that we may think we don't do so well.
Eva Hartling: That's excellent advice. Thank you so much. Shelby was a pleasure getting to know you and congratulations on everything you've done with Chickapea, excited to see what's next. And I'll be cooking up some Chicopee over the weekend. I have to stock up now. That's
Shelby Taylor: that's great. Thank you so much for having me.
It was a real pleasure.
Eva Hartling: I really hope you enjoyed today's conversation. And if you did, as always, don't forget to subscribe,
Shelby Taylor: rate and give us a review wherever that is possible. Thank you to TD
Eva Hartling: bank group women entrepreneurs for the support of The Brand is Female. You've got it in you to succeed. Let TD help guide you.
Visit thebrandisfemale.com/podcast and click on the TD logo. Thank you for listening. I'll be back in a week when a new guest.