Laureen Asseo founded Fresh N’ Lean at 18 years old from the kitchen of her one-bedroom apartment. Her father had been facing serious health problems after years of overindulging in processed American foods, and she was desperate to help him reverse the damage. Her plan was to make eating well a no-brainer for people who lack the time or desire to prepare tasty meals.
Laureen Asseo
Shane Thomas
Today, Fresh N’ Lean is the #1 meal delivery service for fresh, ready to eat, gluten-free, organic meals. Fresh N’ Lean focuses on the integrity of the ingredients. When they say healthy it is healthy. The labels prove it.
Philosophy and culture of company and integrity and quality of company is #1.
Three years ago, Laureen joined forces with her brother Thomas as Co-CEO and they use their strengths to complement the other. They decided to focus on things that they are passionate about and bring value to their customer.
Laureen has grown the business to making over $100 million annually and since the business inception it has grown 100% year over year in sales. Laureen managed to grow this business without raising capital and taking on additional funding. There were growing pains and challenges and certainly she did not take the easy road, but she has no regrets.
Growing and scaling a food business that depended on manufacturing was difficult when you don’t have the money. She consistently asked herself since day one how to scale her business in a very thought-out way. She calculated every risk and determined if the company could absorb the cost of a wrong decision.
As food industry profit margins are very tight, Laureen needed to be extremely cautious when making decisions and growing the business. Regardless of where she was in her business, she never lost sight of the business mission which is the foundation of the company.
For women who are starting their own business or are facing challenges at the early stages, Laureen wants to remind you of these crucial points:
1. There are no overnight millionaire successes
Laureen advises you don’t start a business for the sole sake of making money. When you start with personal goal or mission, the money will come.
2. It takes a lot of hard work
Hard work and a lot of dedication is required, especially at the start. It is easy to feel like it’s too much work and want to quit, but in the end, it’s so rewarding to look back to see what you’ve built.
3. Don’t bring attention on yourself for attention’s sake
People want to be the loudest in the room and want to be talking just because they’re speaking up. Laureen feels it’s better to be the quiet observer in the room and be tactical with your approach to come out strong and educated. Observe your surroundings, take in information, and make smart and informed business decisions.
The bottom line is building her business was hard work and took a lot of dedication and sweat equity, however Laureen feels it was all worth it. She looks back on how far she’s come and feels proud of her accomplishments and looks forward to the future. It’s been hard work to get to this place, but very rewarding.
