Katlin Smith (Simple Mills) & Chris McGowan

Katlin Smith, founder and CEO of Simple Mills, wowed her first buyer with a muffin recipe using almond flour. Now the Chicago-based natural baking brand is the category leader in baking mixes and crackers. Its products are in more than 27,000 stores, from Whole Foods to Walmart.

Smith, who had her products in just four stores when she started at Chicago Booth, was a co-winner of the 2014 Edward L. New Venture Challenge. The NVC helped her understand the importance of spending on marketing for her brand and how to make a case to investors, she said.

Still, the first funding round was tough. Her parents mortgaged their house to give her $200,000 to get her company to a point where it could raise money.

“It’s hard to sleep at night when you know your parents’ retirement hinges on your business doing well,” Smith said.

In this episode, Smith tells the story of her startup journey to Chris McGowan, an adjunct professor of entrepreneurship at Booth, Investor in Residence at the Polsky Center and general partner of the private equity firm CJM Ventures. McGowan is also a former board member of Simple Mills.

They cover why everyone should have a leadership coach, the mistakes Smith made when hiring, and how she is broadening the ambition of Simple Mills to shape how food is grown, through initiatives to help farmers employ regenerative agriculture techniques.