Humans of Kellogg: Julia Loverde (E&W), Founder, ChickyDough
- Cathy Campo
- Apr 26
- 7 min read
Building a Business… Out of Chickpeas?
By: Nika Chugh, Staff Writer
As Kellogg students, our lives are busy. For Evening and Weekend students in particular, we juggle work, school, and relationships—all while trying to take care of ourselves. We’ve all had that one week (or several weeks) where we look up and realize, “wait, when was the last time I even did laundry?”
Julia Loverde (E&W) took a look at that dynamic and decided to level it up another notch, by adding in a third all-consuming project: starting her own business.
When Julia joined Kellogg, her main objective was to use her MBA to grow at her current company, or take the amplify pathway, as opposed to either shifting or launching while in the program.
A few quarters in, Julia felt that familiar itch that many of us experience. After having seen all that Kellogg has to offer and having met so many interesting people, Julia began to think of what could be next for her in her career.
At the same time, one of Julia’s three sisters had recently started eating an anti-inflammatory diet to manage some recurring health issues. The pair were living together at the time, so Julia had a front row seat to the complications of eating such a strict diet, especially when it comes to sweets.
As Julia tells it, “the only things we could ever use were peanut butter, maple syrup, and oats. So everything she ever made tasted the same. At some point, I just thought, ‘I can't eat these things anymore.’”
While her family was on a spring break trip, another one of Julia’s sisters decided to try making chocolate chip cookies out of chickpea flour. Julia took one bite and a lightbulb went off in her head.
“They were so delicious, I couldn’t believe it. At that moment, I realized we had the opportunity to launch a business. I was thinking, ‘I’m at Kellogg, I have a lot of resources available to me, so maybe we have an opportunity to create something out of this.’”
Julia and her sister got to work, with her sister perfecting the recipe, while Julia started tackling the business side. Here, ChickyDough was born.
“The more we talked about it, the more excited we got. We would spend every weekend talking about the business. It was a really creative time for us. The energy we had definitely came from a combination of timing, a really good product that we were passionate about, and our complementary skillsets.”
How to Build a Business at Kellogg
Once Julia and her sister felt comfortable with their cookie recipe, they started testing it out at farmers’ markets during the summer. They used these events as research, seeing what people resonated with and hearing the stories of real customers.
“We talked to so many people who had different allergies in their family, or they themselves had multiple allergies, and we learned about the difficulties they had with finding foods that they could eat and enjoy. I had people cry in front of me because they haven’t been able to find something they could eat like this in so long.
When you have dietary restrictions, you're constantly thinking about what you're going to be able to eat wherever you go, and people who don't have dietary restrictions sometimes take that for granted. It can be really hard. People were so excited to finally be able to eat a soft, chewy, delicious cookie, and enjoy a treat without being worried about getting sick.”
With some experience and customer research under the belt, Julia decided to dive headfirst into the entrepreneurship community at Kellogg.
“One of the first things I did was message the entrepreneurship faculty Slack channel and told them: I’m starting a business. What should I do here? How can I leverage my resources at Kellogg most effectively?”
It’s not common for Evening and Weekend students to start a business at Kellogg (although the numbers are growing!) so the entrepreneurship faculty set Julia up with some connections in the full-time program in Evanston. At this point, Julia decided to fully commit to leveraging these resources, meaning her schedule consisted of working full-time at an industrial supplies company, attending night class in Chicago, and then heading up to Evanston to connect with Kellogg’s entrepreneurship community. And I thought I barely had time to sleep!
Throughout this process, Julia heard about the Zell Fellows program, a unique, applied entrepreneurial experience for a select number of Kellogg MBA candidates interested in starting a new venture or acquiring an existing one. Julia was interested but realized the enormity of the program would require a huge commitment in order to make to get the most of it.
“It was a scary time. As I was applying, I thought I would have to quit my job and take ChickyDough full time. However, when I got accepted into the program, the faculty reached out and told me not to quit my job. They said, ‘Don’t quit. You’re an entrepreneur. This is what we do. You’re going to make it work.’”
This vote of confidence from Kellogg faculty affirmed to Julia that she had made the right decision to pursue building her business. Even though the path ahead seemed overwhelming, it was clear that it was the one she was meant to be on.
The Zell Fellows gave Julia a community of entrepreneurs all facing similar challenges as they built their businesses, providing a sounding board at a critical moment for each of them. This proved to be critical when Julia decided to embark on her next challenge: pitching ChickyDough at the Kellogg Pitch Competition.
Hey Sharks…
That’s how every pitch starts right? Like a pitch on Shark Tank? No? Anyway…
Julia was scrolling Slack and saw that the Kellogg Founders Club was hosting their annual Pitch Competition. She decided to apply and out of 60 brands that applied, ChickyDough was selected to be one of the eight finalists to pitch live.
“I can talk to anyone about my business, but this was the first time I had to create a formal pitch. Thankfully, I had taken New Venture Discovery at this point, so I knew how to write a pitch deck. I will always be thankful to Jeff Eschbach for that class, because it taught me so much.”
Julia got to work on her pitch, presenting it time and time again to her Zell cohort and mentors to refine it. Then, came the day of the competition and it was finally time to face the music… cookies in hand.
“People always have to try the cookies before they get what ChickyDough is about. At first, they think, chickpeas in cookies? Really? But then they taste it and realize how satisfying it can be.”
The judges agreed, with Julia and ChickyDough taking second place at the competition.
“It was so funny because the first place team, Mineralize, are building a solution to stop coastal erosion. They’re literally stopping houses from falling into the water! In my opinion, it’s extremely innovative, groundbreaking technology, and then I get second place next to them with just my cookies. I kept thinking, ‘how is this possible?’”
While interviewing Julia, I began thinking of that all-too-familiar refrain: Kellogg students are low-ego, high impact. I’ve seen that play out in so many Kellogg students but truly, Julia takes the cake (or should I say ‘cookie’?). She’s actively building a business, going to school, working full-time and still has the capacity to be incredibly humble—even in an interview all about her.
Julia is doing way more than just making cookies. Like Julia, I also have siblings with several food allergies and intolerances, and what I have learned from them is that food is incredibly personal, impactful and emotional. I remember what it was like to see my siblings struggle to find food they enjoyed and navigate feelings of shame when they felt left out. Everyone deserves to have a sweet treat, whether it’s to celebrate a special occasion or provide some comfort after a long day. I believe Julia and her sister are doing important work, providing joy and positivity for families like ours.
Advice to Aspiring Entrepreneurs at Kellogg
When I asked Julia what advice she has for aspiring entrepreneurs at Kellogg, the message was loud and clear: start now.
“We are in such a focused part of our lives, and you will never get the exposure to the professors and people around you like you will now. There are so many people from different walks of life and different industries that you get to interact with on a daily basis. Take that opportunity while you have it. Join the Slack channels, reach out to people who are doing similar things to you, and see if you can collaborate.”
Two of these Kellogg connections for Julia are Alyssa Olimpio 2Y ‘26 and Katie Cardwell 2Y ‘26, the students behind Tasted Tested, a platform where the duo test out emerging food and beverage brands. They gave Julia some great advice on ChickyDough and are two examples of the smart, capable, innovative women that Julia said have made her Kellogg entrepreneurship journey so rewarding.
Her second piece of advice is to just keep reminding yourself that the journey is worth it, even when it feels challenging.
“There are so many days where things may not be going right, and I just think about how tired I am and I’m like, ‘what am I doing?’ Then, there are nights like earlier this week where I went to a sampling event that remind me why I do what I do. It helps me remember my mission.”
Julia also reflects on her entrepreneurship journey as one of self-reflection. As she has pushed herself to her limits, she has learned who she is and what she needs.
“I thought I knew who I was, especially before I started Kellogg. As an employee at a company, I knew I could execute and do good work, but I know now that I wasn’t reaching my potential. With all of these things combined, I realized I’m pushing myself towards what my potential might be. I'm pushing myself towards things that I know I'm good at and where my career is going to end up, which I think is really what I wanted to get out of my Kellogg experience."
So, for all of the current and aspiring Kellogg entrepreneurs, take this as a sign. Push yourself to reach your potential, try something new and take advantage of all this amazing institution has to offer you.
And of course, always plug your product. Like the great entrepreneur she is, Julia asked me to pass along the following message to all of you:
If you would like to support Julia and ChickyDough, follow @eatchicky on Instagram or use the code 'KELLOGG' for 15% off your order on www.eatchicky.com! Read About More Humans of Kellogg: Christina Chang (E&W), Strategy & Business Development at Lockheed Martin E&W Student Katie McCarthy, Chief of Staff to the CEO, GoFundMe Paige Kotecki (E&W, Kroger) and Ryan Kitchel (E&W, PepsiCo) Chevy Chen (E&W) United Airlines Radhika Jajoo (2Y ‘26): Raised by a Village of Women Isabelle Hofgaertner (2Y '26), Former Nike Intern Thomas Reinhart (a JV who's a Boothie!) Keanan Crasto (2Y '27): The JV Who's Basically Doing Kellogg Twice