Starting From Scratch - feat. Eleni Gianopulos

Eleni Giannopoulos is the woman behind the great Eleni’s cookies.  Driven by a desire to start her own company along with a love of baking and an old family recipe, Eleni launched Eleni’s back in the mid-90s.  Since then, she has gone on to create a storied, nationally recognized cookie brand.  CBS News couldn’t have put it any better, “Eleni’s is an international favorite sought after by celebrities and cookie lovers everywhere.”   Eleni’s cookies can be found in grocery and specialty stores throughout the country and enjoys a celebrity cult following from everyone to Oprah to Drew Barrymore to the Clooneys. Eleni’s is known too for its custom baking projects.   She has done everything from cookies for the White House, to a replica of Elton John’s country house for his birthday, to specialty cookies for every HBO hit from Game of Thrones to The Sopranos.  In this conversation, Eleni and I talk about how she got started and the challenges and excitement of being a women entrepreneur.  She shares all her amazing stories from the almost thirty years she has been creating art “from scratch.”   This episode is an inspiring story of how one woman, with the support of her family and friends, can go on to build an incredible brand and career doing what she loves. If you enjoy the show, please rate and review. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @TheInterviewWithLeslie. A new podcast is released every Wednesday.Hosted on Ausha. See ausha.co/privacy-policy for more information.