Behind Her Empire: By the Way Bakery CEO on Quitting Corporate Life — and Keeping the Hustle

Yasmin Nouri

Yasmin is the host of the "Behind Her Empire" podcast, focused on highlighting self-made women leaders and entrepreneurs and how they tackle their career, money, family and life.

Each episode covers their unique hero's journey and what it really takes to build an empire with key lessons learned along the way. The goal of the series is to empower you to see what's possible & inspire you to create financial freedom in your own life.

Behind Her Empire: By the Way Bakery CEO on Quitting Corporate Life — and Keeping the Hustle

Helene Godin spent 22 years working as a lawyer in senior positions and reputable firms, mostly in the media and tech worlds. One day, she decided to open her own bakery.

Today she is the CEO of By The Way Bakery, a bakery that now has four locations and is distributed by Whole Foods nationwide.


In this week's episode of the Behind Here Empire podcast, Godin talks about self care, starting her bakery and steering it through the pandemic.

"If you say jump, I not only say how high, I research anti-gravity lessons because I don't believe in doing anything in a half-assed manner," says Godin.

One of Godin's last jobs was at Audible just as it was being sold to Amazon. She says she became exhausted and burnt out working in the corporate world and moved into baking. She loved the idea of community, which evolved into bringing people together at the dinner table. She thought maybe a restaurant, but that would mean too many nights away from home. So she scaled down and thought instead about a bakery.

"Every time we get an email or a handwritten note about someone saying that we made their day we made their kid's birthday. The wedding was a huge success because of the cake. That sweetness is worth far more than dollars," says Godin.

Want to hear more of the Behind Her Empire podcast? Subscribe on Stitcher, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeart Radio or wherever you get your podcasts.

Engagement intern Joshua Letona contributed to this post.

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Why Women’s Purchasing Power Is a Huge Advantage for Female-Led Leagues

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

Why Women’s Purchasing Power Is a Huge Advantage for Female-Led Leagues
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https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la
LA Tech Week Day 5: Social Highlights
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L.A. Tech Week has brought venture capitalists, founders and entrepreneurs from around the world to the California coast. With so many tech nerds in one place, it's easy to laugh, joke and reminisce about the future of tech in SoCal.

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LA Tech Week: How These Six Greentech Startups Are Tackling Major Climate Issues

Samson Amore

Samson Amore is a reporter for dot.LA. He holds a degree in journalism from Emerson College. Send tips or pitches to samsonamore@dot.la and find him on Twitter @Samsonamore.

LA Tech Week: How These Six Greentech Startups Are Tackling Major Climate Issues
Samson Amore

At Lowercarbon Capital’s LA Tech Week event Thursday, the synergy between the region’s aerospace industry and greentech startups was clear.

The event sponsored by Lowercarbon, Climate Draft (and the defunct Silicon Valley Bank’s Climate Technology & Sustainability team) brought together a handful of local startups in Hawthorne not far from LAX, and many of the companies shared DNA with arguably the region’s most famous tech resident: SpaceX.

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https://twitter.com/samsonamore
samsonamore@dot.la
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