Samantha Barnes is a mom to an 8 & 6 year old. She's a female founder who is committed to running a results-oriented and flexible company built on autonomy, working smart, and work/life balance. She has a passion for food + family, and believes that the kitchen is the best place to connect with her kids in a meaningful way. She's a former middle school teacher, and her commitment to empowering kids’ confidence in the kitchen inspired her to launch her company: Raddish, a cooking club + curriculum for kids.

Samantha has always been passionate about education and began her career as a teacher. She noticed that her students were eating unhealthy lunches. She also noticed that they all seemed to love watching shows on the Food network. Samantha had an "ah-ha" moment where she realized that she could combine their interest in cooking with making healthier choices. She launched a side hustle teaching cooking classes and birthday parties for about a year before venturing out completely on her own.

She was not yet a mom when she was working as a teacher, and she had her 2 children during the early years of entrepreneurship - while she launched her first business KitchenKid, then rebranded and transitioned to Raddish. Balance to her is a pretty constant struggle.

About 2 years ago, Samantha's husband, Seth, who has a background in digital marketing, joined the business. They have a really good routine down and are able to act strictly as colleagues at work and not spouses. When it comes to keeping those roles separate they struggle most with not bringing work home... when they are at work they are really good about leaving family stuff out of their interactions.

Het kids have always been involved in the business. As infants they were in a sling while mom and dad worked, growing up they have helped test recipes and helped with packaging, labeling, loading boxes on to the trucks. The kids have watched the business grow from their backyard to a warehouse. They are living through the process of growth and her daughter is really drawn into the whole process and loves learning about the inner-workings of business.

A couple years ago, Samantha's daughter created a comic book series as a non-profit to benefit a variety of organizations. she has a big heart for social justice and often her leadership is rooted in a bigger philanthropic mission. This is not a project she is still tackling, but I love the discussion about the importance of allowing kids to explore their passions and pivot frequently.

Samantha shares a breakdown of how cooking with our kids can translate into a variety of lessons. The time cooking and waiting, math/measurements/ratios of cooking, and the details of where each ingredient comes from - it really helps kids understand the complexity of where food comes from. Then, you can talk about business concepts like yields and profits when you consider the costs associated with ingredients AND valuing time. Each recipe has "fun bites" with information that is related to the recipes but brings in a variety of related topics in history, science, social studies, math, and more!

Kids as young as 3 can benefit from Raddish alongside their parents because the recipes are all illustrated, and older kids and tweens can still benefit from it as well because everyone likes the easy to follow step-by-step pictures. They alternate themes and offer a variety of package options and some memberships include an apron for the child, then every month the kids get a patch to sew on their apron. Learn more about Raddish at RaddishKids.com

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I'm committed to building an inclusive and anti-racist business. I support LGBTQIA+ rights and the rights of all intersectional identities. I believe that business should be a force for dismantling systems of oppression and actively invest in my own learning to fulfill this role.

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