Guest Speakers

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Lauren, known to many as Lolly, is a self-taught cookie artist and the founder of Lolly’s Home Kitchen, where she helps women find joy, purpose, and creativity through sugar cookies. She decorated her first cookie during one of the hardest years of her life, while caring for her medically fragile son. What began as a personal escape quickly became a creative outlet, and eventually, a million-dollar brand.

After successfully growing her own home bakery, she took her business online in 2020 and began reaching cookie class-goers worldwide. Through themed classes, Cookie Camp, and signature recipes, she’s taught over 60,000 bakers how to decorate sugar cookies with confidence and style. Her focus is on making decorating approachable and fun—breaking down techniques into simple steps that inspire creativity and connection in the kitchen.

Lisa He is the founder and CEO of Borderlands Bakery and My Custom Bakes, and is a first-generation immigrant who found purpose and fulfillment through her biotech career and baking. What began as a creative outlet grew into a thriving global community, empowering cottage bakers through digital education, mentorship, and purpose-built tools. With appearances on Netflix and Food Network, the launch of her self-funded platform MCB, and her debut cookbook Matcha Meets Macaron, Lisa champions passion, inclusivity, and small business success. Beyond baking, she’s deeply committed to serving others through mentorship, advocacy, and creating spaces where creativity, connection, and kindness thrive.

Maddie Gartmann is the cookie artist and content creator behind Garty Goodies, where she combines charming cookie designs with story-driven social media content. A former English teacher turned full-time decorator, Maddie has built a loyal following of over a million across platforms by sharing her creative process, cookie tutorials, and relatable moments from her home kitchen. Her work blends artistic flair with thoughtful strategy, helping inspire and educate bakers and creators alike.

Founder, Home Sweet Home Bakery & From Scratch Blog

With more than 16 years in the home bakery business, Michelle Chesser is a seasoned cottage food entrepreneur and educator. She has built a thriving online community of over 200,000 followers across social media, where she shares practical insights, tips, and encouragement for fellow home bakers. Through her blog, From Scratch, Michelle has authored dozens of articles designed to guide and inspire new cottage food business owners as they launch and grow their own ventures.

"It's fun to share the good, the bad, and the ugly using humor and real-life stories!"

Jenn Jones Nienaber is a graphic designer and art director with over 25 years of experience. She has been creating brand experiences for a wide range of companies, from international enterprises to local non-profit start-ups. With both agency and freelance experience, she specializes in logos, branding, collateral, packaging, presentations, tradeshow/event graphics, as well as Canva and social media graphics.  

 Jessica is the Customer Experience Specialist at My Custom Bakes, where she supports bakers by troubleshooting issues and helping them streamline their business through the platform. She’s also the owner of Toadily Baked Desserts in San Ramon, CA, the West Coast distribution partner for Borderlands Bakery, and runs a bounce house rental company, Bouncy Bounce. As a wife and mom to two young daughters, Jessica understands the juggle of business and family life—and is passionate about helping makers build confidence in both their craft and their business. 

Kirsten Barott is a connector at heart, with 8 years of experience in the chamber world helping hundreds of businesses grow, connect, and succeed. As the Relationship & Events Manager at the Eden Prairie Chamber of Commerce, she’s passionate about creating high-quality programming, building meaningful partnerships, and driving local change. Whether she’s planning major community events, leading professional development sessions, or helping a small business find its next big opportunity, Kirsten loves turning ideas into action and making the business community stronger.

Lydia Venjohn is the founder and lead designer of Venlo Studio, a Twin Cities-based branding agency that helps small businesses create strategic, professional visuals that tell their story and grow their impact. With a background in graphic design and marketing, she specializes in branding, photography, and design support for product-based businesses—especially those in the food space. She loves partnering with passionate makers to help their products look as good as they taste.

Michelle M. Sharp is the founder and content creator of Meet the Minnesota Makers, a platform celebrating the stories of Minnesota’s small businesses, artists, and independent makers. A former college Spanish professor and researcher of Spanish women’s food writing, Michelle combines her academic skills with a passion for supporting local entrepreneurs. Since launching the project in 2021, Michelle's work shortens the gap between small businesses and their customers through maker features, gift guides, as well as coaching and content creation for small business owners in digital marketing to strengthen messaging and visibility. Explore the directory of artists, artisans, farmers, and food producers at meettheminnesotamakers.com

David Crabill is the founder of Forrager and The Forrager Podcast. On his podcast, David interviews a wide range of entrepreneurs across America who legally sell their homemade food via their state’s cottage food law. Each episode reveals strategies for marketing and selling your food products successfully from home, online, at farmers markets/events, and in stores. For the past 14 years, he has been dedicated to helping cottage food entrepreneurs grow and thrive—while also running his own successful business, Crabill Candy. David lives in Auburn, CA, where he enjoys life with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.

Jody Carey is a content writer and marketing consultant who celebrates small-batch creations and the artisans behind them. After eight years living and working in Australia, where homegrown businesses and shopping local are a way of life, she helps makers cut through the digital marketing chaos. Having worn all the hats herself, Jody breaks marketing down into bite-sized, doable projects so business owners can show up, stand out, and grow in a way that fits.

Nicole Bendig-Lamb, Founder of Cake Business School LLC and Treasurer for the National Cottage Food Alliance, is an Accountant/Cake Business Coach and an award-winning Cottage Foods Cake Designer. After leaving Public Accounting to pursue her baking career full-time, she now dedicates herself to educating and inspiring other Cottage Foods Professionals on the business side of baking, with an emphasis on cash flow and profitability.

David Crabill is the founder of Forrager and The Forrager Podcast. On his podcast, David interviews a wide range of entrepreneurs across America who legally sell their homemade food via their state’s cottage food law. Each episode reveals strategies for marketing and selling your food products successfully from home, online, at farmers markets/events, and in stores. For the past 14 years, he has been dedicated to helping cottage food entrepreneurs grow and thrive—while also running his own successful business, Crabill Candy. David lives in Auburn, CA, where he enjoys life with his wife, two kids, and two dogs.