Entrepreneur recounts road to Sweet Revenge

Marlo Scott owns and operates a cupcake, beer and wine bar named Sweet Revenge in New York City. The business, she told a capacity crowd this morning at the Women Business Leaders Breakfast at the Renaissance Hotel, speaks to her success after years of professional setbacks. Following a series of layoffs from difficult, anxiety-inducing jobs, Scott decided to seek personal and professional happiness through her own venture. Despite having no past restaurant experience, she opened an establishment in 2008 that serves cupcakes and alcoholic beverages. Though friends saw it as a bold move, Scott thought otherwise. “I never bought into that,” she says. “For me, the idea of going back to have a corporate career after my third layoff in a row … that was terrifying.” Scott caught her big break when Martha Stewart ordered some cupcakes from her, then invited her on The Martha Stewart Show. In 2009 the company’s revenue hit half a million dollars, and Sweet Revenge has been featured on Today and in Entrepreneur, among other publications. Scott says that even in the face of hostile work environments, “I always kept positive. You don’t have to be treated poorly and under somebody’s thumb. You can do it on your own.” Scott says all entrepreneurs must believe in themselves and take care of number one. “How do you allocate the scarce resource of you? For me, it’s a constant challenge. I’m still struggling with that.” When times get tough, she says, “You have to take a big, deep breath and go, ‘I’m smart, I’m a tough cookie. Yes, I will figure this out.’ ” Sticking with it, she says, has brought her once-elusive satisfaction. “Taking that first step is always the hardest step,” she says, “but after that, it sure gets a lot easier.” —Ian McGibboney