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Imagine building a company that makes you happy every day, makes other people happy every day, and is considered the gold standard of what you do? That’s the story of Connie McDonald and Pam Weekes, co-founders of Levain Bakery. If you’ve ever munched on one of their extraordinary and generously huge cookies, you’ll quickly know and taste why they’ve made the business a tremendous success. Connie and Pam join Socialfly Co-Founders Courtney Spritzer and Stephanie Cartin for a conversation about building their business and careers, and describe their journey to success, including: how a chance meeting in a swimming pool inspired a bakery more than 20 years ago; the origin of the company name, and why the name itself is a conversation starter and great marketing; the importance of being nice; how a surprise featured video from Business Insider pushed the business into a new level of success: the process and challenges of transitioning a brick and mortar business into the reality of digital commerce; Pam and Connie’s sacrifices that came with building a successful company, and the decision to reclaim their personal lives and find balance; and, the cookie co-founders tell us their favorite cookies, and a cookie tasting claims a new fan! Plus, a surprise!
Guests
Hosts
Stephanie Cartin
Stephanie Cartin is a serial entrepreneur, investor, podcast host, community builder, and a champion for women founders. She created the Entreprenista League, a community for women founders, to provide resources and support necessary at all business stages. She’s also the Co-founder of Socialfly, one of the first social media marketing agencies, as well as Entreprenista Media and Pearl Influential Capital which was recently acquired by Cherub. Stephanie has shared her journey managing her health challenges with Multiple Sclerosis, Infertility, and a complicated pregnancy and is an advocate for women going through similar challenges. Her story and businesses have been featured on the Today Show, Bloomberg and Forbes. Consider Stephanie your biggest business cheerleader.
Courtney Spritzer
Courtney Spritzer is a serial entrepreneur, angel investor, author, and community builder with a passion for creating brands and platforms that empower women to lead, grow, and thrive.
In 2012, she co-founded Socialfly, a leading social-first digital and influencer marketing agency. Over the course of a decade, she helped scale the business into an award-winning agency working with Fortune 500 brands and emerging startups, building a powerhouse team and culture along the way. In 2024, Socialfly was acquired.
In 2018, Courtney launched the Entreprenista Podcast to spotlight the stories of inspiring women founders. That passion evolved into Entreprenista Media in 2021, a media platform and community supporting women entrepreneurs at every stage of growth. She now co-leads the continued expansion of The Entreprenista League, a membership-driven community and ecosystem for founders.
As an angel investor, Courtney supports female-led and mission-driven startups aligned with her vision for a more inclusive and equitable business landscape.
She is the co-author of Like, Love, Follow: The Entreprenista’s Guide to Using Social Media to Grow Your Business (2015), a strategic guide for leveraging social platforms to drive business success.
Her work and ventures have been featured in Bloomberg, Forbes, Inc., Entrepreneur, and The New York Times. She is committed to championing visionary founders and helping build the next generation of impactful, community-driven businesses.
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