Meet Mackenzie Loy

We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Mackenzie Loy. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Mackenzie below.

Mackenzie, thanks so much for taking the time to share your insights and lessons with us today. We’re particularly interested in hearing about how you became such a resilient person. Where do you get your resilience from?

I’ve had wonderful examples from my parents on resilience, particularly within entrepreneurship, which I define as finding a problem and bringing creativity, skill, and experience to solving that problem and continuing to push even when it feels like you’re moving through molasses.

My mom herself is a business owner who built her business, TeamCFO, supporting other small and mid-sized businesses as a fractional CFO. My dad wouldn’t define himself as an entrepreneur, but he’s spent the last 2 decades developing 3 Wins Fitness, free fitness solutions for the community through partnerships between local colleges, students from the communities they’re working in, and city government.

Prior to starting my social enterprise start-up, Homemade in DC, I practiced and honed my resilience muscle through running. I ran my first marathon my senior year of high school, and while I relied primarily on my youth as opposed to quality training, dedicated 4 months to a big goal, and pushing through to the finish line was the first time I really flexed my resilience muscle. Since then I’ve run 6 more marathons and this past summer completed my first ultra marathon, a 50 miler in the Rocky Mountains. While not a linear journey, running has given me a place to practice resilience. Showing up every day. Putting your heart, sweat, and occasionally blood, into your training and purpose. Having faith in the plan that you developed with thoughtfulness, expertise, and a good dose of hope. Pivoting and adapting when an injury or life forces a change in plans.

Funny enough, running has also given me the resilience to build Homemade in DC. While I’m practicing that muscle of continuing to show up, listening to my body, and adapting, it’s also been the quiet space where I can mentally recharge, work through problems, and find creativity for Homemade.

Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?

In 2019, I went back to grad school to study public policy – seeking a career pivot that would be dedicated to a direct positive impact on our world. Prior to returning to school, I briefly sold cinnamon rolls from my apartment, laying the foundation for what would eventually become Homemade in DC. While in grad school, I added on an MBA, solidifying my approach to impact. I believe in building organizations with a positive and sustainable social impact and for me, that takes the shape of a social enterprise. In my 2nd of 3 years of grad school, I launched Homemade in DC, an online marketplace that connects my fellow food entrepreneurs, some of whom were cottage food bakers selling baked goods from their own homes, to corporations, universities, and organizations looking to source locally, thoughtfully, and intentionally. Pulling from my policy background, I included impact reports to help our customers see the impact of ordering from woman, BIPOC, and LGBTQ-owned small businesses.

Since our official launch in 2022, we’ve driven over $280K in net new revenue to over 60 woman, BIPOC and LGBTQ-owned small businesses. The dollars matter as this translates to supporting small businesses staying in business during slow periods and rough seasons. It also means supporting growth to the next stage, from a proof of concept to a fully launched business or a cottage food business to a food truck. And it’s meant a stronger, more resilient community that as a HiDC Entrepreneur Community has sourced from each other, connected to share funding and business support resources, and partnered for new business opportunities.

While our focus is still primarily in DC and the surrounding Maryland and Virginia regions, we’ve begun to expand our impact beyond the Capital region. This year, we began working with customers who want to source from their communities. Whether this is geographically defined, identity-based, or from an alumni group, we’re supporting small businesses across the US by connecting them to corporate customers.

There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?

In college, I joined the sailing team having never been on a boat (other than a houseboat!) before. My sailing coach had a lot of quirky mantras, but the one that stuck with me was “imitate, imitate, innovate.” Every practice, I sailed with someone new, and at the end I always asked my skipper, any suggestions or feedback?

This approach combined with a “Yes and” mindset helped me both start and grow Homemade in DC, and also opened new opportunities and doors that I didn’t even know existed while bringing fun and joy to the everyday.

And while, I’m not always the best at it, I try to find joy in the everyday and see growth in every week. At the end of each week, I rate the week on a scale of 1-10, list my accomplishments, write out what’s blocking me, and then I ask myself, how can I help you unblock those things? As a solo founder and team of 1, having this dedicated reflection time helps me feel less lonely, continues to push my personal and business growth, and celebrate the successes of the week that often get hidden behind the big problem of the day. The last step of my 1:1 is to document my mood or vibe – and it’s often a touch brighter after the 30 minutes of reflection.

How can folks who want to work with you connect?

The best part of my job has been meeting builders. I love hearing other founders’ stories, journeys, and struggles. I also love working with people who don’t identify as founders, but are connectors and visionaries. The common thread amongst these people is their energy. Each one is building a better future, a stronger society, and a more impactful day to day.

I love collaborating with other “Yes and” folks who want to do something good and actively reach out to others to do so. Our focus is on corporate catering and gifting, all sourced locally from women, BIPOC and LGBTQ-owned small businesses. And through collaborating with other “Yes and” folks, we’ve hosted 3 part webinar and in person series on equity crowdfunding, launched a local holiday market with Hilton, and put together a gift bag for the dignitaries and guests at the 75th NATO Summit this past summer. Collaborating with others has brought me, Homemade in DC, and our HiDC Entrepreneur Community to so many new and previously unthinkable places. If any of this resonates, my email is always open!

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