This article is part of our Create & Cultivate 100 List created in collaboration with KEDS, you can view the full Food List Here.
Having a wholesome Foodstirs fight.
“I hope to see more women supporting other women. I have always believed that when women work together we can do anything. So often we are pitted against each other instead of remembering we are a big tribe.” Sarah M. Gellar
Sarah Michelle Gellar and Galit Laibow, cofounders of baking startup Foodstirs, are proving they’re as equipped in the startup world as they are in the kitchen. Even better perhaps.
Inspired by their children and the desire for a product that would enable to connect with them in “meaningful, wholesome way,” the two set about reinventing the baking category with organic, clean quick-scratch mixes that taste better than anyone could imagine. “It's no easy feat, but we WILL make it happen!” exclaims Galit.
Working in Hollywood from age Sarah developed a thick skin, but that doesn’t make her immune to the struggles of the startup founder and she says that in the last five years she’s developed an. “My career has shifted drastically,” she says, something “that has certainly taken some adjustment. At my age it would have been so easy to just stay and continue an already successful career, but instead I took the leap and try something I had never done before. It’s been exciting, scary, rewarding and quite the adventure.”
"So often women are pitted against each other instead of remembering we are a big tribe.”
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As for her work wife, partner Galit Laibow, Sarah says, “I am so fortunate to be on this adventure with the best female partner anyone could ever ask for. To stand by someone in the trenches everyday who understands the struggle of working, and being a good and present wife and mother is everything to me.”
Galit feels similarly explaining that she’s been lucky to work alongside people she respects. “Sarah has the most innovative ideas and is the craftiest person I know,” calling her a "powerhouse" she admires.
But Galit doesn’t shy from the fact that conflict is a part of the creative process. "Our brand would never be where it's today if we had agreed with each other 100% of the time," she says. "At the end of the day, we share the same goal: to create a thriving, successful company that embodies key values we can stand behind.”
It’s a healthy approach to their rollercoaster journey. “For every five lows,” says Galit, “there's a high point that makes it all worth it. And it's those challenges that make the success that much sweeter.”
Sarah says she likes to add "for now" to the end of sentences. "To remind myself that whatever struggle I am currently going through will pass.” Elaborating, “You can't ask other people to believe in you, unless you do.”
“You can't ask other people to believe in you, unless you do.”
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Reading is Sarah’s escape. Galit jokes that she doesn't’ have time for anything else. Both admit they’d be totally lost without coffee. “We recently got an espresso machine in the office,” says Galit. “It was a very exciting day!”
Each woman is committed to work, each other, and their families. Sarah’s goal is “to be able to bring Foodstirs worldwide. And while I am doing that, to still have the same amount of time to give to my family.”
“At this point, everyone in our family is Foodstirs-focused,” says Galit. “My daughters serve as our official ‘recipe-testers.’"
It’s a rewind to wholesome that seamlessly incorporates the digital subscription model. “I believe we have a product that is bigger than just baking,” explains Sarah. “It’s about time and experience. It’s about creating memories that last a lifetime.”