Chef Nick Rodriguez talks about building a successful cupcake brand, staying calm under pressure and turning viral chaos into community support.
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His Bakery's Window Got Smashed — But What He Did Next Actually Helped His Business
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What 8 Years in Corporate Life Did — and Didn’t — Prepare Me For as a Founder
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
As a consultant, chaos was a problem I had to solve. As a founder, it’s the air I breathe.
I entered the startup world armed with what I thought was the ultimate toolkit: a consulting background. Years of strategy decks, stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration taught me how to turn chaos into structure and solve problems fast. I thought I had seen it all.
But I quickly realized that the transition from consultant to founder wasn’t so much a pivot — it was a free fall. See, consultants and founders couldn’t be more different. Consultants are trained to be perfect, founders need to be scrappy. Consultants are trained to eliminate chaos, founders need to thrive in it. Consultants have a safety net, founders don’t.
Related: Are You Ready to Be a CEO, a Founder or Both? Here’s How to Know
Let’s dive right in.
This is what consulting did prepare me for:
- Finding structure in chaos: I am stating the obvious here, but it is essential for founders to be able to execute on their vision; and to do that effectively, founders need structure. Something as simple as creating an organized folder structure — which coincidentally was my first task as an associate — can go so far as securing your term sheet with investors when they ask for the data room during the due diligence process. Being due diligence-ready isn’t just about having your documents in order; it’s about demonstrating transparency and building confidence with potential investors.
- Thinking on the spot: As a founder, it feels like you’re in the middle of the ocean and you need to swim your way back to shore. Consulting prepared me for that. I remember being chucked into remote environments to explain technical workflows to non-technical people — in my third language nonetheless. Thinking fast and adapting your message to whoever’s in front of you isn’t just useful — it’s how you create openings. It’s how you pitch before your product is ready. It’s how you get a meeting before there’s anything to show.
- Burning the midnight oil: Let’s be real, consultants — at least, the good ones — are machines and can be extremely productive. Founders are part of a world where being busy includes attending a lot of conferences, exhibitions and the post-event functions that come with them. Consultants can rarely afford such luxuries. Crunchtime is real and forces them to converge their efforts on work. Knowing when to lock in and say no is crucial as a founder.
This is what consulting did not prepare me for:
- Building and failing fast: Most founders and visionaries fall into the fallacy of building an end-to-end super solution that promises to be the holy grail of their customers — myself included. Enter the pivots. Your startup does not succeed when it builds out your vision — that is often just a very expensive dream. It succeeds when you find out what your customers are willing to pay for as quickly as possible. As Eric Ries puts it in The Lean Startup, the key is learning what customers actually want – not what you think they should want.
- Storytelling as an art: In my first days as a founder, I walked into a potential client’s office long before I had a product or even a live website. I took the consulting route and brought a strategy deck with me. I got destroyed that meeting. Off the bat, it sounds like a mistake — but it was the best decision I could have made. I took note of the feedback and acted on them immediately. Get out there, pitch your idea and ask for feedback! Feedback helps you figure out what sticks, what doesn’t and how to sharpen your message until it cuts through.
- Learning how to network: I did more networking in my first year as a founder than I did during my eight years as a consultant. Let that sink in. I thought I was networking as a consultant, but I was really just moving within the same orbit. As a founder, the galaxy is yours to explore. From day one, you find yourself networking with fellow founders from all walks of life, angel investors, venture capitals, tech builders, community leads — you name it. And the best part is, they don’t care about your CV. They care about your energy, passion and convinction. A study by Queen Mary University of London found that the quality of a startup’s network significantly impacts its chances of success, often more so than initial funding or team size.
Related: Are You Thinking Like a Founder? 4 Principles Every Successful Team Should Follow
In the end, the transition from consultant to founder was less about applying what I knew and more about unlearning what I thought I knew. And if you’re willing to unlearn, embrace different perspectives, take constructive criticism, to be honest with yourself and to move fast without all the answers — you will find yourself growing in ways no corporate job could ever offer.
As a consultant, chaos was a problem I had to solve. As a founder, it’s the air I breathe.
I entered the startup world armed with what I thought was the ultimate toolkit: a consulting background. Years of strategy decks, stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration taught me how to turn chaos into structure and solve problems fast. I thought I had seen it all.
But I quickly realized that the transition from consultant to founder wasn’t so much a pivot — it was a free fall. See, consultants and founders couldn’t be more different. Consultants are trained to be perfect, founders need to be scrappy. Consultants are trained to eliminate chaos, founders need to thrive in it. Consultants have a safety net, founders don’t.
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Here’s What Being an Entrepreneur Is Really Like — From Someone Who Did It
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
Becoming an entrepreneur is one of the most exciting decisions you can make. But is it hard? Well, yes. It’s not a stroll in the park, but it’s also not impossible and can be incredibly amazing. Starting your own business is rewarding, challenging and everything in between. Here’s the honest scoop on what it’s like, from someone who’s been there over and over again.
1. You’ll wear many hats
When you’re just starting out and unless you have a huge budget, you are the CEO, the marketing team, the accountant and the janitor. Balancing all these responsibilities can be overwhelming, but it’s also an incredible opportunity to learn. It forces you out of your comfort zone and gives you the chance to truly understand the inner workings of a business. Look at it as an accelerated MBA, except the stakes are higher (and there’s no graduation ceremony).
2. Time management will be your new best friend
When you’re working for yourself, the lines between work and personal life blur, big time. Suddenly, you’re answering emails at 10 PM and brainstorming ideas while cooking dinner. The key is to prioritize and set boundaries. Learn to schedule your day like your life depends on it. Trust me, a little structure goes a long way in keeping the chaos manageable. I finally have learned how to manage my time, especially if you have multiple businesses. This is crucial to become successful.
3. You’ll face rejection
Here’s the thing about entrepreneurship — not everyone is going to believe in your vision. Investors may say no. Customers might not immediately flock to your product. This stings, but it’s also a chance to develop some thick skin. Each no you hear is one step closer to a yes. Use rejection as fuel to refine your offering and improve your pitch.
4. Your passion will be tested
Loving what you do is important, but passion is not the whole story. There will be moments when the going gets tough and motivation wanes. What keeps most entrepreneurs moving is their why — the deeper reason they started their business. Stay connected to that purpose, and you’ll push through even the toughest days.
5. You’ll have to network (a lot)
Networking is crucial to success in any industry, but it’s especially important for entrepreneurs. Knowing the right people can open doors and provide valuable insights and advice. Attend networking events, join online communities and don’t be afraid to reach out to successful business owners for mentorship. Building a strong network can make all the difference in your entrepreneurial journey.
6. Failure is part of the process
As an entrepreneur, you will inevitably experience failure. But here’s the thing — it’s not the end of the world. In fact, it’s often just a stepping stone on the path to success. Embrace failure as an opportunity to learn.
7. Money management is crucial
Starting a business often means living on a tight budget. Maybe you’ll have to skip some dinners out or hold off on that big vacation — and that’s fine. Being mindful of where every dollar goes is essential, especially in the early stages. If you can master your finances now, you’re setting the stage for long-term success.
8. Success doesn’t happen overnight
Don’t believe the hype of overnight success. Those stories usually leave out years of hard work, failures and pivots. Building a business is a marathon, not a sprint. Celebrate the small wins along the way, because they’re what keep you going. Each step forward is progress, even if it’s not as glamorous as viral internet fame.
9. It’s the hardest job you’ll ever love
Here’s the truth. Starting your own business is hard. It’s exhausting. Sometimes, it’s lonely. But it’s also thrilling. Few things compare to the sense of accomplishment you feel when you see your idea come to life and know you’re building something that’s entirely your own. The hard work and sacrifices will be worth it when you’re doing what you love every day. So keep pushing, stay focused and never lose sight of why you started this journey in the first place. Your passion will see you through the toughest of times and lead you to success. Let rejection only fuel your determination to refine your offering and improve your pitch. The road to success is not easy, but it’s worth it in the end.
10. You must keep learning and evolving to succeed
Finally, remember that starting a business is an ongoing process. You’ll never stop learning and growing as an entrepreneur. Stay open to new ideas and opportunities, continuously seek out knowledge and resources to improve your skills, and be willing to adapt and evolve with the ever-changing market and industry. Embracing growth and constantly striving for improvement will help you stay ahead of the game and ensure long-term success for your business.
Related: 10 Ways Continuous Learning Can Take You From a Good Leader to a Great One
Final thoughts
I have even thought about giving up at times, but I somehow still keep going, and I am so happy that I’ve stuck with it. If you’re up for the challenge, becoming an entrepreneur can be the most rewarding thing you’ll ever do. It’s not always easy, but the sense of accomplishment, independence and possibility makes it worthwhile. Are you ready to take the leap? Because, trust me, there’s nothing quite like it.
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I asked ChatGPT to turn me into a Muppet, and it did not disappoint
My friend hopped on the Studio Ghibli bandwagon last week, changing his WhatsApp profile picture to his anime likeness. I guess he wants his contacts to think that he’s being creative, but I’m convinced it’s because it’s a more flattering depiction of him. Still, I’ve been as impressed as everyone else with this latest ChatGPT evolution and wanted to see if it could turn me into a Muppet. It seemed a fun idea, and unlike my friend, no one can accuse me of using a Muppet likeness to make myself look more appealing.
I tried it out, and once I saw the results, I knew I had to share them here.
Why a Muppet?
I can’t pretend it’s my lifelong dream to be immortalized as a Muppet — I would have preferred to make a name playing in the FIFA World Cup final. That said, I love the Muppets as much as the next millennial. They were a mainstay of my childhood, and the holidays aren’t complete without an annual viewing of A Muppet’s Christmas Carol.
But I was more curious than anything. The recent viral craze of turning every photo and meme into a Studio Ghibli-style anime cartoon was triggered by Sam Altman’s announcement of the new GPT-4o-powered image generation tool. As much as I enjoyed the results, they didn’t seem to be too much of a challenge for the AI. It was creating a fairly true-to-life but simpler version of the image.
A Muppet seems to me that it would be a better test for the LLM. Not only are Muppets real (by which I mean they have a physical presence in the real world — I’m not five years old,) but they’re also much more open to interpretation. They have exaggerated features, come in different colors, and their physical characteristics can be defined by things like their personalities or jobs. There’s definitely more scope for interpretation than an anime copy.
Paint me like one of your French Muppets
I gave the above picture of me holding a cute bird (I’m the one on the left before you ask) to ChatGPT Plus with the simple prompt of “Make me a Muppet.” Sure enough, the image in the center is what it spat out after some processing time, and it’s Muppet Matt.
I was impressed. I mean, I’m quite an indistinct Muppet, but then I’m a fairly indistinct guy in terms of features, so I don’t know why I would expect anything else.
I’m quite an indistinct Muppet.
You will have noticed that it doesn’t look quite right. In particular, the hand looks too human, as Muppets tend to only have four fingers on each hand. Not only does Muppet Matt have five, but he also has fingernails. Perhaps disturbed, the bird has also switched direction. Still, not bad for a first run.
I gave ChatGPT a chance to rectify this with the prompt, “Can you make the hands look more like Muppet hands?”
This was a bit of an error on my part. I shouldn’t have pluralized because only one of my hands is visible in the original image. ChatGPT took this to mean both should be visible and gave me a new pose, as shown in the image on the right above. It was closer this time, though. The bird-holding hand still has too many fingers, but they look more like Muppet fingers, and the other now-visible hand only has four.
Is ChatGPT consistent in Muppet-making?
My next question was a philosophical one. I might now have a Muppet likeness, but is that the definitive Matt Muppet? Are my characteristics such that whatever image I use, will I always be that particular character? Or, are Muppet alter egos like snowflakes, and no two creations are alike?
To find out, I repeated the request for two more images. The one above is me on a recent trip to New York, and it would let me see how ChatGPT did in making a Muppet from a selfie. The one below is me driving, with the AI required to produce a Muppet in profile and with hands in use.
It’s certainly consistent. Muppet Matt’s features don’t seem to change much, which includes the human-esque fingers. A hint of a smile was detected in the original NYC picture, leading to a broad smile on my puppet counterpart, but the driving focus was carried over to the Muppet in the below example. If you look closely, you might also observe that Muppet Matt drives a lot slower than I do.
What if ChatGPT knew more about me?
In keeping with Jim Henson’s vision, I wondered if ChatGPT would adjust my Muppet to reflect aspects of my character. When you think of classic Muppets like Oscar the Grouch or Animal, you start to get a feel for their personality just by looking at them. I was curious if ChatGPT would attempt to reflect anything about me in my features or attire.
To do this, I fed the AI an image of me in front of a blank background. I first asked it to make me into a Muppet in the same way as the previous requests, and the center image below came out as expected. I then gave it the prompt, “How might you adjust the image if the Muppet was a British writer with a happy demeanor?”
ChatGPT didn’t take the bait. I wondered if it might adjust my puppet with some stereotypes, such as a Union Jack shirt for a Brit or some glasses to signify a writer. Instead, the right image shows it stayed true to Muppet Matt’s features but reflected his happy demeanor with a big grin.
I could explore these puppetish possibilities all day, but it’s a bit of a time-sink. Besides, I might better spend my time projecting myself into other childhood TV favorites. I bet I’d look pretty cool as a Transformer or a Ninja Turtle.
Have you been as impressed as I have with the new GPT-4o image generator? Drop a vote in the poll below, and feel free to let us know about your own experience in the comments.
Have you tried the new ChatGPT image generation tool?
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