‘Shark Tank’ success story launches sweet new project

Tracey Noonan may have sold her wildly successful Wicked Good Cupcakes business five months ago, but she’s not done cooking up new ways to serve others. 

 

“It was a business I started in our kitchen with my daughter,” explained the Daniel Island-based entrepreneur, author and speaker, when discussing the company’s recent lucrative sale to Hickory Farms. “And never thought that we would be at this point. We’re so grateful that this happened ... Certainly being retired at 59 is an amazing thing! But it’s also opened the doors for me to move on and do other things that I feel are more in the creative realm.”

 

For Noonan, one of those creative endeavors is the launch of her new podcast — “Don’t Call Me Cupcake.” The show offers a platform for Noonan to share her experiences in starting and growing her business into a multimillion dollar company that ships some 40,000 cupcakes in mason jars across the country every month. She also spotlights the lessons she and her daughter, Dani Desroches, co-founder of Wicked Good Cupcakes, learned along the way — including how they earned a coveted investment from “Shark Tank’s” Kevin

O’Leary in 2013. After their appearance on the popular show, the company grew more than 600% in one year! They have proudly sold over 4 million cupcakes since. 

 

Noonan, her husband, Scott, and Desroches, will continue working with the company until December 2022 to help Hickory Farms with the transition. 

 

“They’re gonna keep the name, and they’re not changing recipes or changing our bakeries,” added Noonan. “... Because they realize that we’ve done a really good job building the business that we’ve built ... It’s just been a pleasure to work with them.”

 

In the meantime, the podcast is already stirring up some new fun for Noonan.

 

“I think it’s having that outlet,” she added. “... Being able to write content, the questions, and really thinking about what would be interesting for people to know, and still developing that voice that I want to have.”

 

Understanding how to produce a podcast has been a learning process in and of itself for Noonan. There’s audio equipment to purchase, hosting platforms to research, and software editing to master — all while coming up with pertinent content. But Noonan has relished all of it. 

 

“I knew nothing about this!” Noonan exclaimed. “I just dove in! A lot of it is self-education and figuring things out.”

 

She has already recorded 13 episodes since launching in September. Some are 15-minute sessions she calls “Wicked Quick Biz Tips” and others are more lengthy, featuring guest co-hosts and other interviewees. 

 

“I certainly am very, very fortunate that I have access to some high level business people, but I am also interested in talking to people who are either just starting out, just starting a business, or people who have been in it a year or two, or even five years – (just to see) what they’ve learned, what they went through, what they would or wouldn’t do again.”

 

Her listeners log in from all over the world, including Singapore and Canada — something Noonan calls “super cool.” Episode guests thus far have included Kasey Anton of Spark Business Consulting, Emmy-nominated casting director Minday Zemrak, and actress

Lauren Miller Rogen, who co-founded Hilarity for Charity with her husband and fellow actor Seth Rogen. The nonprofit is dedicated to caring for families impacted by Alzheimer’s disease, creating advocates, and leading brain health research and education. Noonan and her husband have family members who have suffered or are suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, so it is a cause near and dear to her heart. She is even planning an “adult prom” event on Daniel Island next year to raise money for Hilarity for Charity. 

 

“I think it will be a great time,” said Noonan. “That’s something to work on and work towards and also put my energy and newfound free time into!”

 

According to Noonan, the podcast not only gives her a platform to promote important philanthropic efforts but also to empower individuals to achieve their entrepreneurial dreams. She believes there are four big roadblocks that many people face when starting a new business: feeling as though they are not educated enough, are too old, don’t have enough money, or are afraid of being laughed at or judged. All are barriers that can be overcome, she said.

 

“There are a lot of common themes that come up in conversations,” Noonan added. “... I usually can’t solve all of their problems but I think there is a lot to be said for a fresh set of eyes looking at something and coming in from a new direction or a different point of view that is really helpful ... The thought of having a podcast and being able to address some of these issues, on a broad scope, where someone can listen and re-listen and re-listen, it’s always there as a resource, seemed like a good idea to me.” 

 

Her friend Doug Coupe, an advisor with Daniel Island-based investment and advisory firm BOLD Capital Group, is one of her biggest fans. 

 

“Tracey has very thoughtful, informative and entertaining conversations with her guests primarily discussing surviving and thriving in business, but also gets candid discussing other topics as well,” noted Coupe, who is helping Noonan build momentum with her podcast, along with a couple television and film projects she has written. “... (She) is emphatic that if she can grow a multimillion dollar business, anyone can, so she’s doing her part to help others succeed, which is amazing.”

 

As for why she chose to name the podcast “Don’t Call Me Cupcake,” Noonan, again, was inspired by her own experiences. 

 

“Way in the beginning, before ‘Shark Tank,’ when we just had a cupcake shop in Boston, all the guys were calling me cupcake,” said Noonan, who further explains the reason behind the name in one of her podcast episodes. “It was making me crazy ... because I wasn’t being taken seriously as a businessperson. And there are a lot of mompreneurs out there or female-related businesses that do really well.”

 

And Wicked Good Cupcakes is certainly one of them. On her podcast, to those who ever had any doubts about her savvy business abilities, Noonan’s own testimony is proof that her company was anything but a half-baked idea.

 

“My greatest revenge will be my tremendous success!” she added.

 

“Don’t Call Me Cupcake” is available on all major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts and Spotify. To suggest a topic or a guest, or for more information, email Noonan at tracey.noonan@comcast.net.