Leslie Polizzotto - Founder of The Doughnut Project
Leslie Polizzotto - Founder of The Doughnut Project
If we are talking about successful pandemic pivots, Leslie Polizzotto, and her business, The Doughnut Project, are exactly where we want to start. The Doughnut Project, a hand-crafted gourmet doughnut shop in the West Village of Manhattan. She is a former litigation attorney who had a passion for food and fine dining. When the opportunity to help open a doughnut shop was presented, she took the leap creating one of the leading doughnut brands in the United States. The shop takes inspiration from food and cocktails for their doughnut flavors and is sought after by national and international brands to do collaborations and custom doughnuts. They also frequently partner with nonprofits and local organizations for specialty doughnuts with proceeds going to those groups. Most recently they collaborated with drag queen Blake Deadly and the Queer Liberation March for a Pride month champagne and glitter doughnut!
Leslie overseas daily operations and also handles the business side of the brand. She leads a team of 3 female pastry chefs to create the one-of-a-kind doughnuts including new Weekend Specials every week that are available Friday through Sunday only leading to customer lines around the block.
This wasn’t the story prior to the pandemic. Below, Leslie gives us the story of how she used the pandemic to pivot her business to massive success.
“The COVID-19 Pandemic actually changed my business model. Pre-COVID, my former business partner and I had stepped away from daily operations to focus on growing the brand. We had two locations open 7 days a week and 25 employees. I was miserable! It was so stressful trying to keep two locations running smoothly. In late March, when NYC was shut down due to the pandemic, we had to lay off all but 1 employee. and we closed our second location. My former business partner and I, along with our head pastry chef Maddie Chunka, kept the original location up and running 5 days a week with limited hours. We became extremely busy, specifically on the weekends. People were looking for some form of normalcy during this challenging time and would drive from all over (Connecticut, New Jersey, Long Island) to get our doughnuts. We kept creating new and exciting weekend specials and posting on Instagram which would bring customers back each weekend to get the latest doughnut. We realized many efficiencies with such a small team and made many improvements to how we operate. I realized that I was so much happier back in the daily operations of the business.
My business partner recently left the business to move back to Seattle to be with his family. I now manage every aspect of the business. I have 3 powerhouse female pastry chef employees who hustle as much as I do and care about our brand. I now work the front of house again. We have a line wrapped around the corner on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays and the four of us crush it! The pandemic has been devastating to so many businesses, but it actually helped me get my business back to what I loved about it in the first place.”
Favorite motto or quote that keeps you inspired?
"It's never too late."
You can change your path at any time in your life. I started college at 29. I started law school at 37. I started a business at 44.
How do you hope that your company can create a better world?
I hope that The Doughnut Project can bring a little happiness to peoples lives. I see when a customer enters the shop, how happy and excited they become. I know first hand how happy it would make me when someone would bring doughnuts to the law firm I worked. Everyone gathers around and looks at the doughnuts and laughs and talks to each other. They bring people together.
In your personal life, what is one daily practice or habit you have to keep you centered and grounded?
I work out at least 5-6 days each week. I do HIIT, Barre and Cardio. These practices keep me physically and mentally in shape.
Who or what was the biggest motivator for you when you started your business?
I was at a crossroads of big changes in my life (moving from LA to NYC) and I could have stayed on the path of practicing law, but my husband Gino encouraged me to start my own business because he knew I had the skills and character to be an entrepreneur. My passions were in food, art and fashion. When the opportunity to create a doughnut brand presented itself, I took the leap.
What is one piece of advice you would give to early-stage founders?
When starting a company, you need to partner with people who have skills that you do not. That makes for a more well-rounded team who can all bring something to the table.
What has been the biggest highlight in running your own company?
My biggest highlight to running my own business was creating new marketing strategies and revenue sources that did not exist in the doughnut shop business model. For example, getting product sponsors and brand collaborations.
Your favorite other women-led businesses we should know about?
Bedford Cheese Shop is a wonderful specialty cheese shop which we have done a couple of collaborations with using their cheese. Caffe Panna is a specialty ice cream shop.
Favorite business/leadership podcast (either specific episode or series)
“Calendar one thing each day that you can do to reach a goal you have set. It doesn’t have to be a big task. It could be as simple as sending an email or DM to a potential partner or mentor.”
Favorite business tools that your company uses?
Our business plan was created with Liveplan. We use Tsheets for timesheet tracking. I use QuickBooks for bookkeeping. We also used GoogleDocs to maintain recipe access.
What are your top three goals for your company this year? AND! How can the LWL Community support you in accomplishing them?
Replace various kitchen equipment to allow for larger production capacity
Increased sales revenues with the reopening of NYC (tourists, weddings, corporate events, parties, etc.)
Finalizing one additional international license
