CEO of Kodiak Cakes - Joel Clark

Episode 317, Joel Clark

Part 1:

Part 2:

Joel Clark

When Joel Clark was 8 years old, he was knocking on doors selling lunch sacks filled with his mother’s all natural, healthy pancake mix to their neighbors.

When Joel was in college, his brother started Kodiak Cakes, but offered the reins to him in 1997. Over the next 12 years, Joel juggled side jobs, earned an MBA from Oxford University, and he still found time to make Kodiak Cakes a success. The next 16 years would prove to be an exercise in grit as the company grew with agonizing slowness to its first million, and was bootstrapped every step of the way. 2014 was a year of incredible growth – Kodiak Cakes reached $6.7 million in sales thanks to an appearance on the television series Shark Tank combined with the success of their new high-protein product, Power Cakes.

Soon after, Joel Clark took the unusual step of offering employees equity in the company. Where some fear the dilution of ownership, he believes there is strength in numbers and sees the value of incentivising success.

Follow him on LinkedIn.