Founder Spotlight: Jesse Barruch (Whims Delights)
Meet Jesse Barruch
Whims has reimagined America's best-selling confectionary in a better-for-you format. Our products are dairy-free gluten-free and only contain 1 g of sugar per piece without any added sugar or sugar alcohols. We also do not use palm oil in our chocolate.
Location:
Austin, Texas, USA
When did you launch the business?
2022
Become a VEGPRENEUR member today!
Give your business an unfair advantage through community, resources, and mentorship 🚀
Startup Stage?
Seed
What led you to where you are today?
An autoimmune diagnosis changed everything. The foods we once loved were suddenly off-limits, and the “healthy” options left us disappointed. So we started making treats that felt like joy again—only this time, they loved us back.
What do you wish you knew before embarking on your entrepreneurial journey?
We didn’t come in naïve. The early lessons taught us this would be a grind—slow, uncertain, and full of resistance. But we signed up anyway, knowing the job was simple: show up, solve the next problem, repeat.
What is the most difficult decision you've had to make regarding your business so far?
We launched in a tough capital climate, so we had no choice but to get disciplined fast. That meant building real margins from day one and saying no to shiny distribution that didn’t match the risk or returns we could afford. It wasn’t flashy—but it was sound.
What can you help the VEGPRENEUR community with?
We’re building Whims deliberately—and we’re happy to share what we’ve learned. If you’re a founder navigating early-stage CPG, we can offer real-world insight on building capital efficiently, creating margin-first products, and curating retail the smart way. We’ve made plenty of mistakes and a few good calls, and we’re always down to trade notes, share templates, or make a warm intro. If you're serious about building something enduring, we're on the same path—and happy to help however we can.
How can the VEGPRENEUR community help you?
By supporting one of our retail partners and picking up WHIMS when you see us on the shelf. Every purchase helps us grow—and signals to stores that better-for-you vegan candy belongs.
Fun fact about you:
I used to coach execs on hiring strategy—now I’m the one writing the job descriptions, sourcing the candidates, onboarding them... and sometimes packing orders with them. Founding a startup is the most “full-stack” HR job I’ve ever had.
Anything else you would like to share?
Just that we started Whims because we couldn’t find snacks that fit our needs—so we made our own. Now we’re building it one bite and one customer at a time. It’s not always glamorous, but it’s real—and if you’re building something joyful and hard, we’re always down to share the ride.
Read More On Our Blog
