Serving a Community: Kim Malek

Kim Malek, CEO and Co-Founder of Salt & Straw, shares her journey of quitting a successful corporate career to open an artisanal ice cream shop designed around community. Kim talks about early family experiences that left her wanting to be an entrepreneur, but feeling reluctant to chase her dream. She talks about starting her career as a barista at Starbucks when the company had just 30 stores, and how she went on to learn from roles at Yahoo!, Adidas, and Starbucks corporate. She shares what she learned from her career roles that helped her in starting her own business - and the pivotal moment that gave her the push to pursue her ice cream dream. 

Kim shares her philosophy of community-centered business and how partnering with her local community helped the business differentiate and succeed. She talks about Salt & Straw’s creative process for working with the community to create ice creams that tell a local story in respective communities. And she shares her perspectives on the superpowers of women as leaders and on the power of ignoring advice to forge one’s own path. 

Guest Bio:
An industry leader and innovator, Kim Malek is the CEO and Co-Founder of the Portland-based Salt & Straw Ice Cream. Since its founding in 2011, Malek has built Salt & Straw from a humble ice cream cart into a fast-growing company with 21 locations along the West Coast while retaining its bones as a family-run company known for its culture of hospitality. Malek is a humble and passionate leader, engaged member of the community, and a champion for causes such as childhood hunger and equal rights. 

Prior to launching Salt & Straw, Malek held positions at Starbucks Coffee, Yahoo!, adidas and Gardenburger in marketing, community outreach, and product management and development. She also worked with Bono of U2 on an online music service (RED) and with Seattle’s Cupcake Royale, specializing in retail marketing and management and bringing new, epicurean trends to market.

Malek founded Salt & Straw to create neighborhood gathering places. The Oregonian named Salt & Straw as one of Oregon’s Top Workplaces in both 2014 and 2015. 

Building Blocks:
Write down one thing you'd love to be able to build or create one day. And then, as a second step, write down what you think you need to do before you start building or creating. Then, finally, take a look at that list and circle the 3 things you'll commit to doing next year, in 2021, to make progress toward putting your idea into the world.

Yes, I may be the first person to have asked you for a new year's resolution. But hey, 2021 is literally one of the freshest starts to a calendar year that a lot of us have ever had in our lives, and I want you all to jump into it with energy and ambition. And to do your thing to make your part of the world a better place.

Helpful Links:
Check out and buy from the Salt & Straw website
Kim and her cousin and co-founder Tyler featured on the Williams Sonoma blog
Salt & Straw feature on Forbes.com
Spotlight on Kim’s perspective on inclusion and justice at Basic Rights Oregon
The New York Times Magazine article announcing Humphrey Slocombe, as discussed by Kim in the show as the push to start Salt & Straw 
News about Danny Meyer’s investment in Salt & Straw at Eater (Portland)