Meet Lindsey O’Neil | Owner/Head Cookie Creator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsey O’Neil and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsey, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
When I tell the story about starting my business the “punch line” is “Well, I guess I make cookies now!” That really was the thought process behind starting my own business but there were many things that led me to that point. I have always been an entrepreneur; I started my first business when I was 7 and have had the bug to work for myself ever since. In the early days of Covid, I was put on a 60-day furlough just before the stay-at-home orders. At the time, I felt very secure in the knowledge that I would be returning to my job if not in 60 days, then at least at some point. Therefore, I looked at this time off as a gift that I did not want to squander. I decided to set myself a challenge based on one of my favorite hobbies. I would do a baking project every day for 60 days. Then every couple of days I would make little gift packs and drop them on people’s doorsteps. I started out using recipes that I had saved but not had time to make before. Then after a while I started trying to come up with my perfect cookies.
When in mid-May I got the call that I was being laid off, it was not admittedly my very first thought when I got off the call, but it only took about 48 hours before I had the name and the concept and then oddly about a week later an invitation to sell to the public for the first time. I absolutely had a few pieces in place before any of the above happened. Such as the desire to work for myself again, the understanding that I wanted my next business to involve food & food gifting, a sketch of a formula & the name. All I really needed was a push.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Send Flours Baking Co. is a small batch cookie company specializing in cookies that are sized to be an everyday treat. Our main product line is our pre-portioned frozen dough for baking at home, but all our flavors are also available freshly baked as well. We have flavors that are familiar and comforting as well as flavors that are a little out of the box. Inspiration for new flavors can come from anywhere, the aisles of the grocery store, a meal at a restaurant, a childhood memory – and even once from a bath soak. I am so proud of my base doughs as of course flavors matter but if the cookie dough is not good, it’s not going to be a good cookie. Since I started Send Flours Baking Co. while we were all staying at home anyway and I did not have to worry about keeping my job or keeping kids engaged in online school, the early days of my business were the easiest. It was a privilege that I was able to focus on creating great cookies and building a product line. The hardest part of my business has been scaling up. I have not had a product-based business before and while each new order made me do a happy dance, sometimes they also pointed out a new challenge. I would be in the middle of solving a problem and then a new issue would arise. Sometimes it was what I thought would be the simple problems that turned out to be the trickier ones to solve. I am still working on getting my brain to completely wrap around this idea but the solution I have found to my challenge is that I don’t actually have to be an expert in everything. If you look around, you can find partners who are experts in different things, and they can be the solutions you were looking for. This has allowed me to keep more time to do the things for the business that I do love to do and keep me passionate about growing Send Flours.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I plan almost all my travel around eating so it would be so fun to get to show off all the amazing spots here in Denver – tour guiding doubling as a staycation! I would take a whole day in RiNo exploring the murals & shops. There are so many great spots in to eat in RiNo but some favorites are Stowaway Kitchen for breakfast. Lekker Coffee for amazing coffee. Lunch at Zepplin Station to see what is new there. Most likely a stop at Improper City for an afternoon cocktail. Then Safta for dinner. Then I always like to go upstairs in the Source Hotel for one more drink & the view of the mountains at The Woods. I know we would be too full to eat any more food, but if anyone needed a late night snack I would suggest Cart Driver for pizza & prosecco on tap!

I would have to spend a day in my neighborhood Wash Park. Starting with takeout pastry from Rebel Bread & coffee at home. A walk in the park & maybe a spin in the paddle boats. Happy hour turns into dinner easily at Mister Oso. Followed by a movie at The Mayan Theater.

One morning I would go up to Tennyson to start the day at Drive Train Fitness. Then head to Denver Biscuit Co. for breakfast. Then hit up Alchemy Face Bar for a little relaxation, wander all the shops & then enjoy Hey Kiddo & Ok, Yeah for dinner & drinks.

We would probably need a day off of eating so day 4 could be packing some healthy snacks and going out to Red Rocks to hike & enjoy the area.

I would hope that either Denver Bazaar or The Big Wonderful would be happening at least one of the days so we could take advantage of so many fun local vendors and food trucks in one spot.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I have to give this shout out to my parents. They always fostered my entrepreneurial spirit as well as any passions I had – even the ones that were very fleeting. When I had my first business when I was 7 they were my only customers. They have been right there cheering me on through all my other endeavors that have gotten me to this point. They are now being rewarded for their dedication to my continued development as an entrepreneur with their vitally important Co-Chief Tasting Officer positions at Send Flours Baking Co.

Website: https://www.sendfloursbakingco.com/

Instagram: @SendFloursBakingCo

Linkedin: Lindsey O’Neil

Facebook: Send Flours Baking Co,

Image Credits
Jordan Quinn Photography & Lindsey O’Neil