No Perfect Time to Start: The Messy Reality of Building a Brand

Join Molly Baker and a founder building a brand nights and weekends while still working a full time corporate job. This conversation covers the grocery store moment that sparked the idea, the physical grind of running a CPG brand out of a commercial kitchen, and why there is no perfect time to start. They also dig into balancing two jobs at once, learning to relinquish control, and the emotional highs and lows of entrepreneurship. It is an honest look at what it really takes to build something from the ground up while keeping up with your day job.

MB (Molly Baker): Without telling us who you are, what's top of mind for you professionally these days?

ME (Maya Elia): Manufacturing, frosting, sprinkles, obviously. Building in public has also been really top of mind, and so much comes with that, spreadsheets included. That's just my to-do list, and there's a lot more where that came from.

MB: Brag about yourself. What are you really good at?

ME: I'm very creative and design oriented. I love building an aesthetic world. Both of my parents are artists in some form, graphic designers and interior designers, so I inherited that creative vision. I think it's an underappreciated skill in business, and it's a big part of what sets our brand apart.

MB: What types of creative outlets have you had over the years?

ME: In college I did a lot of freelance design work and minored in studio art, everything from printmaking to graphic design to a little painting. I still love a good Pinterest mood board and Canva. Curating an aesthetic world and building something that evokes a feeling is such an important part of good design.

MB: What's been the most pivotal moment in your career so far?

ME: I went to college with a set path toward corporate America, and I'm still working a full time corporate job. But I've always had a lot of different passions. The pivotal moment was walking through the grocery store aisles, looking at gorgeous packaging and innovative products, and realizing I wasn't seeing what I was passionate about reflected on those shelves. That question of why isn't this here turned into could I do this, and eventually into actually doing it. It completely shaped the trajectory of my career and my life.

MB: So were you walking down the aisle, had this idea, and just went for it? Was there ever any hesitation?

ME: A little. I've always been entrepreneurial, so it was something I wanted to pursue, but it was a slower build than that. I kept thinking about it on the way to the gym, so it had a kind of trickle down effect. I did a lot of research, wrote draft documents, and talked to friends to ask if the idea was viable. The response I got was so encouraging that it made me want to go for it.

MB: What relationship has been most impactful for you professionally?

ME: This might sound cliche, but my mom for sure. She's been an amazing role model, my biggest cheerleader, and I go to her for advice constantly. She's incredibly creative and visionary. I think people underestimate how much your professional life is shaped by your personal relationships.

MB: Okay, so tell us who you are and what you do.

ME: I'm Maya, co-founder of Bata. We launched in July of 2026 as an all natural cake and frosting mix brand. We're proud of our product, clean ingredients, bold flavors like creamy matcha latte, sweet cream confetti, and cinnamon toast. We're leading with design too, so it's packaging you're proud to have on your counter. We've already seen great early success and I'm excited for what's ahead.

MB: You're walking the aisles looking at the cake mix section, and it's the same brands that have been there for twenty years with the same packaging, nothing clean, no disruption to the category at all.

ME: None. There are a few small brands starting to come up, but it's shocking. I've been a passionate baker my whole life, and when I revert to a mix instead of baking from scratch, it's always Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines, the industry giants. I was surprised there hadn't been innovation toward cleaner labels, cleaner ingredients, and better design, especially when you look at categories like hot sauce or seafood that have already been reinvented. Baking hadn't had that moment yet, and that's how Bata was born.

MB: You launched officially in July. How long was it from idea to launch?

ME: I had the idea late in November, so it moved fast. My favorite piece of advice is that there's no perfect time to start. People get stuck trying to think of every angle and make things perfect. We wanted to be early to market and do it right, but we also believed we could build the plane as we were flying it, which is exactly what we did. My co-founder Peyton came on board in December, and from there it was ideation, product development, and packaging design straight through to launch in July.

MB: How has it been since launch?

ME: Great, stressful, overwhelming, good problems to have. We're manufacturing everything ourselves right now rather than scaling to a contract manufacturer yet. Peyton and I both work full time, so a lot of nights we head to our commercial kitchen in Queens after work to mix. We're hand packing every bag and box, fifty pound bags of flour, commercial mixers, weighing and sealing each bag ourselves.

MB: What's been the hardest part about launching a CPG brand so far?

ME: So many things. Right now the unexpected challenge is how physical it is at this scale. It's constant repetitive motion, heavy bags, long shifts. I joke that the best workout in New York isn't a boutique fitness class, it's a night in a commercial kitchen. As we scale that piece will change, but I'm sure new challenges will take its place.

MB: How are you measuring success in these early days?

ME: Building a sense of community matters most to us right now. We want Bata to feel like part of people's lives, something they're excited to tell friends about. We've had great traction on social, and building in public has been such an easy way to show people what actually goes into building a brand, the manufacturing, the behind the scenes work, that we're just normal people doing this. We're not focused closely on revenue or units sold yet since we're only five weeks in. Success right now looks like making people feel like part of what we call Bata world.

MB: How did you and your co-founder divide responsibilities?

ME: We both do a lot and there's plenty of overlap, it's not a clean division of labor. We're lucky that our strengths are different. I lean creative, so I've taken the lead on social and brand strategy, and she has a background in investment banking, so she has our finances handled. We're learning from each other and working together on everything else.

MB: Did you design the packaging yourselves?

ME: We hired a team, and they were amazing. I sent them a Pinterest board and basically said go for it, and we couldn't be happier with what they created.

MB: What did you learn in your previous roles that has shaped how you're building now?

ME: I started my career in consulting, which teaches you so much across industries, problem solving, relationship management, even how to write a good email. The bigger lesson was learning to see a business need and fill it. In consulting that meant a client need. With Bata it meant recognizing a real gap in an industry that hadn't been reinvented in years and building something to fill it.

MB: What's been most surprising about being an entrepreneur?

ME: The physicality of it, for sure. Beyond that, entrepreneurship isn't something you can really turn off. It's so close to you, it feels like your baby, and you're thinking about it constantly. It's rewarding in a way that's hard to describe, watching something go from an idea to a physical product on a shelf.

MB: What's one thing you wish you knew earlier in your career?

ME: That there isn't one set path. I used to think you had to follow a specific track, degree, then master's, then a defined career ladder. I've learned that's not true. So much comes from experience, and I've met so many people with completely unrelated career backgrounds who've built amazing careers. If you're younger and unsure where you're going, that's okay. You might have your own grocery store moment where everything you've learned suddenly comes together.

MB: How did you trust yourself to take the leap?

ME: Back to my mom again, she's instilled a strong sense of confidence in me. I never had that voice telling me I couldn't do it. I believed I could, and I think confidence matters in business and in anything you pursue. If you doubt yourself, it's hard to get anywhere.

Find Maya on Linkedin! Be sure to visit Batta on their website or Instagram!

As for us, follow @namedrop.pod on Instagram & LinkedIn and @molbakes on Instagram for all future episodes and insights.