How This Founder Took Her Shark Tank Rejection & Built a Multi-Million Dollar Business with Sabeena Ladha, Founder of DEUX

Sabeena Ladha is the founder and CEO of Deux, a better-for-you
snack brand that includes vegan and gluten-free donut bites,
cookie doughs, and dessert spreads.


Sabeena has a deep relationship with junk food. Some of her
earliest memories date back to the time she spent at her father’s
gas station and convenience store, which her parents bought after
immigrating from India and Pakistan. After graduating from
college, Sabeena entered the workforce and started her career
working for the giant food conglomerate Frito-Lay at PepsiCo. She
credits her knowledge of the industry today to her time spent at
the junk food mecca. Despite where she started her career,
Sabeena also had a love for wellness and wanted to create
products that could satisfy her health-minded sweet tooth.


The concept for Deux began in June 2020 when Sabeena started
experimenting with chocolate chip cookie dough in her kitchen.
The company has since expanded its offerings from cookie doughs
to dessert spreads and donut holes that are vegan, gluten-free,
and preservative-free and contain "functional ingredients" like
vitamin B12. While Deux first started as an exclusively
direct-to-consumer brand, the company has expanded to have a
significant retail presence in Target, Whole Foods, Sprouts, and
many other stores nationwide.


In this week’s episode, we talk to Sabeena about her relationship
with risk, the importance of learning the rules before breaking
them with your own business, and how she has had to unwind her
“overachiever” tendencies to go against the grain and start Deux.
We discuss why she decided to launch cookie dough as her first
product, how she has managed stress during different phases of
the company, and steps she took to build momentum on social when
they first launched. Sabeena opens up about her Shark Tank
experience, how it impacted her and her business, the biggest
learnings she’s had along the way, and so much more.


In this episode, we’ll talk to Sabeena about:


* Relationship with risk influenced by parents. [02:42]


* Why money won't bring you happiness. [07:41]


* Managing work and rest in Deux's early stage. [10:38]


* Work experience and health blog beginnings. [16:26]


* Origin of the cookie dough idea and first iteration. [21:24]


* The importance of asking for help. [23:11]


* Creating the first iteration and formula development. [24:22]


* Challenges faced with Deux. [28:50]


* Managing challenges and stress. [32:01]


* Creating brand awareness and joining Shark Tank. [35:13]


* Behind the scenes of Shark Tank experience. [37:04]


* Future plans for Deux. [43:01]


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Follow Yasmin:


* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yasminknouri/


* Website: https://www.behindherempire.com/


Follow Sabeena:


* Website: https://www.eatdeux.com/


* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/eatdeux/


* Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabeenaladha/


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