Couplepreneurs, Reggie Borders and Nicole Felix have been members of the Oakland African American Chamber of Commerce (OAACC) for 11 months.
Reggie, a Veteran who came to the Bay Area from Tampa Bay, and Nicole, a Bay Area native, co-founded PoundBizness in 2018. Their journey to becoming business partners and even agreeing on a business name has taken many twists and turns and has been guided by OAACC every step of the way.
Their humble beginnings started in 2017 when Nicole took ill and had to spend a considerable amount of time off work. During that time, her mother, Mary Felix and Reggie, her boyfriend, split their time nursing her back to health. One day, during a “shift change”, Reggie baked Mary four pound cakes to take to a church fundraiser. When Mary returned, she announced that she secured a dozen orders of his Aunt Ira’s prized pound cake recipe. Nicole and Reggie were amazed and surprised at Mary’s proclamation. Nicole questioned how her mother could get them orders when they were not a business. Encouraged by Mary’s enthusiasm, Reggie took the steps to become an official home-base business.
During the beginning stages, the couple had a lot to learn about starting a business. They manually took orders by writing them on calendars, they fulfilled orders by staying up late night and even had to deal with customers who placed orders but changed their minds before paying, leaving them with excess inventory. They had to take a step back, reassess their approach and decided to seek help through OAACC.
As OAACC members, they’ve had the opportunity to be mentored by other chamber members, exposed to events where their amazing pound cakes have been the featured dessert and have learned how to grow their business beyond the holiday rush. They have expanded their flavors and increased their out of state shipments and local deliveries.
They are on their way to becoming a household name which fondly pays tribute to their coastal love for “The Bay” (Tampa) and “The Town” (Oakland).
PoundBizness pound cakes are great for family gatherings, team meetings, organization events or Church Fundraisers. Follow PoundBizness on Facebook or Instagram at @poundbizness or use code POSTOAACC to receive a 10% discount off your order today.