a mini cupcake empire How an SU grad turned being fired into her dream job Written by Grace Doule and Meg Aprill Illustration by Chloe Perline
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etting fired from a job and having to re-evaluating your career can be like starting from scratch on a recipe that failed the first time around. But for Melissa Ben-Ishay, a Syracuse University alumni, starting from scratch was exactly what she needed to find a career in something she was truly passionate about—baking. Ben-Ishay took a childhood love for curating all things sweet and turned it into her own mini-cupcake empire by starting her own company Baked by Melissa. According to her website, Ben-Ishay worked as an assistant media planner at an advertising agency in New York City before her cupcake-world domination. She says she didn’t feel passionate about her work in advertising, and ended up being fired from her firm. This gave BenIshay the clean slate she needed to whip up a new career aligned with her love for baking. Ben-Ishay says in an interview with Forbes that she started this journey by experimenting with new flavors, and incorporated her iconic tie-dye cupcake, which was already a favorite among her friends and family. Throughout this trial and error period, Ben-Ishay also perfected the aesthetic of her cupcakes. She says she wanted the cupcakes to be mini so that customers could enjoy more than one. Ben-Ishay says she worked with her brother to come up with the company name; he insisted that it should have a personal touch. Baked by Melissa was a simple suggestion, but it stuck.
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