Meet Marisol Morley: Founder & CEO

We had the good fortune of connecting with Marisol Morley and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Marisol, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
In the words of the late, great Kenny Rogers- “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em; Know when to fold ’em; Know when to walk away”. I think if you’re doing life right- life is essentially one long gamble. The trick is in reading the room and in the end, isn’t almost every single decision we make a gamble? Sure, some of them are more secure than others- they’re the safe bets, the measured bets- but my mama always told me “mija there’s only two things we can be sure of in life- death and taxes”., because she wanted me to understand that life is about taking risks. The way to to do it, is to learn to finely calibrate that internal compass so that you know when a risk is worth taking and when you should just walk away. So the way I see it- when you’re young, you should take lots of risks- you should dream big and bold, because that’s when the weight of failure is less heavy. When my business was young and I didn’t have kids- I took all kinds of risks. I mean, risk #1 I quit a reeeeeally comfy job at an investment bank to start a custom cookie company. That was scary, but I did it anyway because I knew it was the right time. The benefit outweighed the risk. If I failed, I could always go back. And really since day 1 I have been gambling and taking risks- but I always bet on myself. I think if you trust your instinct and listen to your heart, being able to take risks makes the payout that much greater, you know? Because if you are betting on yourself, even if you lose, you’re learning how to play the game. Every failure pushes you one step closer to success. And, the way Kenny and I see it, losing or failing, it’s a pretty fine line and it all boils down to how you play the game.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am so proud of how damn good our cookies taste. The art part is obvious- you’d have to be blind to not see that royal icing is an art form and that food art is an art like any other- that takes patience, skill, dedication and love. BUT HAVE YOU TASTED A TKT Cookie?! It’s kind of absurd. We use pure vanilla and AA Cabot butter and we brown the cookies to bring out the nutty flavors of the browned butter. They aren’t too sweet and do the icing balances it all out perfectly.

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?
Im gonna pretend the pandemic is over, because I pretty much go nowhere- lol We’d jump on the 4/5 and ride over to Minca on LES for their miso ramen, but first the bank because it’s cash only. Then we’d pick up some magnolias Banana pudding and head home to CT to veg and watch Bonding on Netflix as the second season just came out. That night we’d uber down to Rose bar ( I recently moved to Connecticut so it’s like a 2 hour $150 uber, but since we’re dreaming) because it’s thursday and Bryan Newman is playing at Rose Bar. We’d drink and sing and dance and then around 11 we’d head to the standard for some amazing views and more amazing cocktails and tunes. Sigh- I miss the world. Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
My family hands down. My brother baked for me, my mom would package, my sister would help me decorate, my in laws delivered cookies made Costco runs and let me use their kitchen. My uncles wallpapered my shop and my father in law installed extra shelving. Last, but not least, my husband. Despite the fact that I changed careers just as he was trying to finish an MBA and work a full-time job (and I kept him up all hours of the night baking), he always encouraged me to push forward- and who are we kidding- he has baked and packaged many a cookie too- ha! Other than my family, I’m also blessed to have such an amazingly supportive network of friends in my life. They’d work pop ups for me and jump in to help however possible. My friends Zach and Lizzy helped me build my website. My friend Chris did so much work for us at the shop and wouldn’t take a penny. And then of course there’s my best friend Ashley Holt who has been there for every crazy project, every wild dream, and will continue to do so til I’m 90 and she has to tell me to stop calling ehr at 1am with ideas. Finally- Id also like to thank Michael Gerber for writing the EMyth (about why most small businesses fail)- that book scared the living daylights out of me and taught me some really valuable core lessons that I still carry with me to this day.

Website: www.tinykitchentreats.com

Instagram: tinykitchentreats

Image Credits
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