""I think I probably am a little bit of a hypocrite, because I don't unplug. I never do," Dawes tells Fortune. "I never want to be the person that's holding up a member of our team." The serial entrepreneur encourages her staffers to totally disconnect from work once they're off the clock, but doesn't give herself the same breathing room."
"Having scaled two companies to success, she's assumed the responsibility of always being on for decades. Dawes first founded organic, non-GMO tortilla chip brand Late July in 2003, which currently lines the aisles of Targets, Whole Foods, Krogers, and Walmarts across the country. Campbell's acquired a majority stake of the business in 2014, eventually buying the rest of the $100 million company in 2017. In 2018, Dawes broke into another consumer packaged goods (CPG) market again, this time with zero-sugar, sustainably packaged soda line Nixie."
"With more than two decades of entrepreneurship under her belt at Late July, Dawes had pushed through economic downturns and many sleepless nights. But the hardships didn't stop her from returning to the startup scene as Nixie's founder-having grown up in the business world, Dawes is not so easily deterred. However, she doesn't want work to overtake her staffers' lives."
Nicole Bernard Dawes encourages employees to fully unplug after work while she remains constantly available as the founder. She accepts the burdens of entrepreneurship, describing her situation as self-inflicted and prioritizing team continuity. Dawes founded Late July in 2003, grew it into a $100 million organic, non-GMO tortilla chip brand, and saw Campbell's acquire a majority stake in 2014 and the remainder in 2017. She launched Nixie in 2018, a zero-sugar sustainably packaged soda that raised $27 million and reached over 11,000 stores. Dawes has navigated downturns and sleepless nights but refuses to let work overtake employees' lives.
Read at Fortune
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