Megan Feeman
Our annual list of trailblazing women are creating lasting legacies for themselves and for the city of Nashville. Now they’re sharing their stories, their triumphs, their setbacks, and their advice with us. Prepare to be inspired.
Early Aspirations
I was the kind of kid that changed my mind a lot when it came to what I wanted for my future career. One day I would want to be an author, another day I’d want to own my own pet shop, and another day I’d just want to travel the world and not worry about a job. When I attended college, I studied Music Business so that I could work in the music industry. Once I started working in an office from 9 to 5, I realized that it wasn’t for me. I started NoBaked about a year out of college with the hope of it being successful enough to at least pay my bills.
Growing the Brand
I started NoBaked in early 2017 and have grown it to where it is today based on what our customers have expressed. Originally, we started as a pop-up shop in Nashville, but our customers started to ask when our storefront would open, so we began opening those doors. We franchised NoBaked to enable other entrepreneurs in other cities to open NoBaked as well. When COVID hit, it was clear that our customers would be staying home, so we pivoted all our focus to our e-commerce operation and shipping nationwide, as well as launched on Amazon (now the number one-selling cookie dough on the site). Our customers have always been the basis of how we’ve adjusted our business model.
Challenges Faced
Starting a business at the age of 23 means that people will look at you like you are crazy and assume that you have no idea what you are doing. (Both of those might be true.) This makes it super difficult to get up and running because the success of a business can depend on those other people. This could be landlords, local shop owners, investors, grocery store buyers... Being young and inexperienced could be a disadvantage, but we found ways around the roadblocks. Today, we are facing the challenge of being the little guy in a big pond. We are working on launching into grocery stores and expanding our product line, but there are a lot of competitors and a lot of buyers that we will need to impress with our cookie dough.
The Nashville Connection
Nashville is hugely responsible for the early success of NoBaked. I heavily relied on the local community to boost our business as a pop-up shop. I needed a commissary like Citizen’s Kitchen, a venue like the Nashville Farmer’s Market, and local businesses like White’s Mercantile to launch NoBaked—and they, along with many others, enabled me to do so. The earliest customers were locals who are passionate about supporting local businesses. NoBaked was welcomed with open arms and embraced by so much of the community, and it made all the difference.
Advice to Others
Don’t overthink it. You won’t ever have a “perfect” product or service so stop waiting for that to happen. You must learn as you go. Stop hesitating and just go for it! Your happiness depends on it.
Meet Megan Feeman and other women in the local community who are the best in their fields at our annual Women in Business event.
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The mix and mingle reception will be held on August 24 from 5-7:30 p.m., to network with our Women in Business honorees plus 200 other local business professionals. Throughout the evening, we will be doing live Q and A sessions with each woman!
Guests will enjoy hors d'oeuvres from Virgin Hotels Nashville along with wine from Biltmore Winery and cocktails from Tito's Handmade Vodka. Beverages from a full bar will also be available for purchase (credit cards only).