Meet Madi
Hi, I’m Madi Smyser! I’m 18 years old, from Austin, TX, now pursing a degree in Entrepreneurship at Baylor University. I am the founder, owner, and CEO of Madi’s Munchies. This is the story of how Madi’s Munchies came to be, and how I was able to transform it from a small, home-based cookie delivery business to a profitable company operating out of a commercial kitchen, shipping across the USA, and selling in restaurants and coffee shops.
In the fall of 2016, I created a recipe for granola bars to pack in my lunch. As it turned out, I wasn’t the only one who loved them. Early in 2017, I decided to start selling them in my neighborhood. My success led to a new idea when I realized that people like cookies even more than granola bars. So, on random Friday or Saturday nights, I would bake and deliver warm chocolate chip cookies in my community. Word spread (thanks, Facebook!) and soon people were seeking me out.
In August 2017, I attended Tom Ferry’s real estate conference with my dad. Since Tom owns a very successful real estate coaching company, I thought he could help me with a general business question about my baking endeavors. After giving me some great insight, he offered me a bet: If I could sell $100,000 of cookies and other baked goods by the next Success Summit in August 2018, while maintaining my 4.0 GPA, I would win $5,000!
Then, the task of exploding my single-oven, home-based business into something much bigger loomed ahead of me. Thankfully, the outpouring of support from the 5,000 real estate agents at the conference was amazing! Because I wasn’t capable of shipping cookies across the country right away, many agents decided to buy cookies that will be donated to Community First, a charity helping the chronic homeless in Austin, a great cause that helped me kick-start my journey.
In the first few months, I had to obtain all the required licenses and permits to jump into the big leagues. I relocated to a commercial kitchen better suited to baking that was able to accommodate shipping munchies across the country. As I worked hard to sell my products, people noticed and were intrigued by my unique story. I was featured on the Rachael Ray Show, on the local news channel, and in several local publications. I recognized as the West Austin Chamber of Commerce Future Business Leader and was even blessed to win 2nd place at Baylor University’s Youth Entrepreneur Awards (Sic’em Bears!).
Recently, it came time to settle my bet with Tom Ferry. I had worked incredibly hard the whole year, while still being involved in all the extracurriculars as before. I maintained my 4.0 GPA as well. So, while I didn’t make the $100,000 goal, I was able to exponentially grow my business, with a final revenue of $31,000 in my first full year. Tom was awesome enough to still give me the $5,000, which is now safely in my savings account.
Now, you can find my cookies at several Austin area restaurants and coffee shops (see a full list here) as well as the Vandegrift High School football concessions stands. As I am now a student at Baylor University in Waco, TX, I cannot personally be in Austin to fully run Madi’s Munchies. But don’t worry! With some help from my little sister, Phoebe, things will continue to run smoothly while I learn more about how to make Madi’s Munchies even better.
If you need just one dozen cookies, treats for a corporate event, want to send a gift to someone, or donate cookies to a local charity, Madi’s Munchies is here to help!
