Exeter-based brownie business has recipe for success in nationwide search for high-flying entrepreneurs
Entrepreneur Carol Vorderman has named Cake or Death, an Exeter-based vegan letterbox brownie company, as the winner of a £5,000 business bursary from Starling Bank, following a nationwide search for small business customers with growth potential.
Cake or Death, founded by Katie Cross in 2020, creates some of the UK’s most loved brownies, available to order online to be delivered hassle-free through your letterbox. Beautifully packaged in pink leopard print, the Cake or Death experience is a luxury treat and 100% vegan.
Carol Vorderman was joined on the judging panel by Belinda Kirk, founder of Explorers Connect; Claud Williams, founder of Dream Nation; and Chika Russell, founder of Chika’s Snacks in naming Cake or Death a winner. Katie impressed them all with her passion and determination, demonstrated by how much time and energy had gone into delivering the best quality product for her customers and her aspirations for the future.
Katie said: “After a 15 year career as a business development professional I was determined to start my own cake business. I have always loved to bake and at 13 I used to sell cake at my village market. Although it was nerve wracking going it alone, I have no regrets.”
She continued: “The company is named after the famous Eddie Izzard sketch and I like to think Cake or Death is as irreverent and subversive as the comedian herself. The grant from Starling Bank will help me reach my next goal, which is to buy a van and convert it to sell coffee and cake from.”
The £5,000 prize was one of ten offered by Starling to celebrate its Take Flight Initiative, a support package for UK small businesses. In addition to the £50,000 total fund, Starling’s team of expert entrepreneurs offered small businesses the advice they wished they’d known when starting out.
Carol Vorderman, pilot, TV personality and founder of The Maths Factor said: “What struck me most when judging this competition is how much creativity, tenacity and drive exists within Starling Bank’s business customers. Every entry was brilliant in its own way, but our ten winners impressed us with their unique business models, ambitious growth plans, and sense of purpose. I wish them all the best for 2022 and beyond; I hope the Take Flight bursary helps them to reach new heights this year.”
Helen Bierton, Chief Banking Officer at Starling Bank said: “Katie Cross and her vegan brownie business have the recipe for success. We look forward to watching her business grow.”
Additional winners include the tutoring company Maths For Life, black women owned publishing company Onwe Press and an app-based menstruation coach Hormonious Flo.
Further detail on all of the winners can be found here and expert advice from the Take Flight judges can be found here.
