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The Sweet Reward Of Scaling A Startup

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When Natasha Case and Freya Estreller founded Coolhaus, they were in their twenties and having fun combining dessert and design into cleverly themed architectural ice cream treats. They hauled a truck to Coachella in 2009 to try selling what they had and now have products in over 1,500 grocery stores.

Case grew into the role of CEO as Coolhaus expanded, but getting off the truck and into the office required a mental shift. She had to discover her strengths within a larger enterprise.

She loved the joy of handing out her product to customers and the thrill of knowing that she had an idea that was worth something.

“Not every entrepreneur is going to have that transcendental intoxication,” said Case. “So much of growth is just vision. You have to want to see that vision through.”

The next big jump was to move beyond bootstrapping to find investors and business partners that could help Coolhaus scale effectively. Case cites how important it is to find a team with complementary expertise.

“You should have people around you that teach you based on their skills and ambitions,” she said.

She also suggests being visual with business plans. Not only should you put numbers down in budgets, but lay out where you want to take the company.

At Coolhaus, they mapped out their strategy with a vision book of ideas for expansion beyond their signature sandwiches. They asked themselves: Where could they go? What partnerships could they cultivate? What else could they sell?

“Ninety percent of what we put in the vision book, we’ve done,” said Case.

By keeping the future plans as part of the daily dialogue, they were able to check the numbers, track progress, and knock out each stage of development.

As the company grew in the scope of its products, so did the size of its workforce. Many Millennial startups may not yet be at the stage of hiring and Case admits that it can be a challenge. In many instances, people opt to license their idea to a larger company with the infrastructure already in place. Yet, Coolhaus stuck through with scaling.

“You have to take the best and have the most fun with it. Crazy stuff happens when you have 70 employees, but it’s cool to get to know each other and be real people in the workspace,” Case said.

It is daunting to know that their livelihoods are on the line, but co-founder Estreller is proud of the Coolhaus team and points out that sometimes having a lot on the line can rouse an entrepreneur to make better choices.

“Constraints can lead to smart, strategic decisions,” she said.

The most rewarding aspect of running a company that has expanded so quickly is to see how far its reach has grown, said Case.

There is only so much of an impact an individual can have on the lives of others, but as the creator of something, that power is enhanced.

Case has never been to Hawaii, but fans there have Coolhaus Sundays where they go to Whole Foods, stock up, and share photos on Instagram.

“I love seeing that the product is getting out there—that part of really being out in the world,” Case said.

Follow Coolhaus on Twitter @COOLHAUS.

Follow Maura Pennington on Twitter @whatsthefracas.