Lauren Goldstein (Communication ’18) ventured into Chicago every week in search of woman-owned restaurants and bakeries during her time at Northwestern. After graduating, her passion for food and entrepreneurship became her profession.

Goldstein currently works for Cherry Bombe, a company that supports women in the food industry and produces a biannual magazine, a podcast and events. She runs the company’s social media platforms and plans events out of its Brooklyn offices. Looking back on her journey, she said always being herself, maintaining connections and valuing people’s help was key to her success.

While at NU, Goldstein created and executed the Sugar and Spice Summit, bringing together Northwestern students and prominent women in the food industry for panels, speeches and networking opportunities while enjoying food from “female fueled companies.” At the first conference in April 2017, Goldstein invited Kate Miller Spencer (Weinberg ’87) the director of business partnerships for Cherry Bombe.

“(Spencer) mentioned how much my and Cherry Bombe’s missions aligned and suggested I reach out if I wanted to work with Cherry Bombe,” Goldstein said. “I’ve always been good at maintaining connections and wanted to set myself up to find a career through them, so really, my job found me.”

In summer 2017, the magazine contacted Goldstein to feature her in the section, “Ones to Watch.” The following season, she reached out to Spencer and landed an internship for Cherry Bombe’s annual Jubilee conference. She was also featured on the company’s podcast, Radio Cherry Bombe.

For the second Sugar and Spice Summit in April 2018, Goldstein invited Cherry Bombe’s editor and co-founder Kerry Diamond to be the keynote speaker. Goldstein said the second Sugar and Spice Summit went well and gave her an opportunity for Diamond to see her skills. Less than a week after the event, Goldstein got a call offering her a job at Cherry Bombe.

“I accepted it on the spot,” Goldstein said. “It was a long time in the making.”

As a student, Goldstein said she never attended a NU career fair. “Suit-and-tie” jobs were not meant for her, she said, so she focused on the relationships she built. She said students should not be afraid of working at a small company because there is a lot to learn in such a setting.

Goldstein’s biggest piece of advice to undergraduates on the job search is to “talk to strangers.”

“And remember,” she added, “networking is not a dirty word.”

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