Ep 268 | Sabeena Ladha

Written By Yasmin Nouri

How This Founder Took Her Shark Tank Rejection & Built a Multi-Million Dollar Business

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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.

Show Notes:

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

  • Childhood experiences and money relationship. [05:09]

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

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

  • Learning the rules before breaking them. [10:44]

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

  • Taking the leap to start Deux. [18:14]

  • 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]

  • Post-Shark Tank experience. [42:02]

  • Future plans for Deux. [43:01]

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Ep 267 | Dr. Mary Claire Haver