Angie Bastian's ultimate goal in the early years of her popcorn business was to become a vendor at the Minnesota State Fair.
Her kettle corn was already available at Minnesota Twins and Vikings games and was in a growing number of grocery stores around town. But then, the State Fair turned her down.
"If we would have gotten into the Minnesota State Fair, we would have thought that we had made it," Bastian, 58, told a room full of entrepreneurs Thursday during Twin Cities Startup Week. "But if we stuck with that goal and said, 'OK, we just failed,' where would we be?"
The unexpected setback prodded Bastian and her husband, Dan, to shift their focus to go full force into stores instead. A decade later, her namesake popcorn, Angie's Boomchickapop, is a ubiquitous sight with its yellow, pink and purple bags of popcorn in multiple flavors found in grocery and convenience stores in all 50 states and around the world. In 2017, the couple sold the company, Angie's Artisan Treats, to packaged goods giant Conagra Brands for $250 million in cash. Bastian continues to be a consultant and brand ambassador.
"Innovation happens though pivoting, through change, through shifting and adjusting your goals constantly," she said. "It's all about problem solving."
Bastian shared her journey full of do's and don'ts for other founders just starting out during a day full of panels on retail startups sponsored by Minneapolis-based Target. Twin Cities Startup Week, which kicked off on Wednesday and runs for a week, includes more than 200 workshops, dinners and pitch events across Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Asha Carroll, 30, is from St. Paul but now lives in New York City. She came to town for the Twin Cities Marathon and decided to stick around for startup week. She was especially eager to hear Bastian's story because two weeks ago she launched her own food startup, Phasey, which provides snacks for women having their period.
"It's really affirming as a young founder to hear stories of people who have been through it all and to share it so candidly," said Carroll. "In the food space, it feels very daunting. It feels like there's not one clear path."