Leaping into Sweetness, Jesse Oak @meowvelous.bakes
Meet Jesse, the Heart and Imagination Behind Meowvelous Bakes
Sometimes, the sweetest chapters in life require a massive leap of faith. For Jesse, that leap meant trading a corporate career managing iconic global brands for a world filled with flour, pastel palettes, and adorable confections.
Born and raised in Korea, a move to San Francisco in 2023 became the catalyst for Jesse to carve out her own path and embrace a lifelong dream: bringing joy to others through the art of baking.
Today as the creator behind Meowvelous Bakes, she blends her love for charming illustrations with handcrafted macarons, cookies, and treats that taste as delightful as they look. Step into her kitchen as we chat about her inspiring career pivot and how she’s cultivating community one sweet class at a time.
Can you tell us about key milestones and significant events that have shaped your business’s journey up to the present day?
September 2023 – Moved from South Korea to San Francisco after leaving my marketing career to pursue a more creative path.
October 2023 – Uploaded my first baking video on Instagram and began sharing my dessert creations online.
July 2024 – Launched baking classes in response to requests from my Instagram followers.
August 2024 – Started accepting custom dessert orders
2025 – Expanded class offerings to include cakes, cupcake and private workshops
Today – Operating a licensed home bakery in San Francisco as LLC, creating artistic desserts and hands-on baking experiences that bring people together.
What do you tell yourself whenever you encounter a challenge or setback with your business?
I tell myself not to panic. With 10 years of experience as a brand manager, I've learned that every problem has a solution—usually more than one.
When challenges come up, I take a step back, identify the priorities, and focus on what I can do next. Progress comes from working through the problem, not worrying about it.
What are your top 3 business tools?
Spreadsheet – My go-to tool for recipe calculations, pricing, budgeting, and tracking business performance.
Procreate – I use it to sketch cake and macaron designs, create templates, and explore new ideas before bringing them to life.
ChatGPT – Pretty much everything else! From brainstorming and problem-solving to writing customer messages, marketing content, and refining class materials, it's become an essential part of my daily workflow.
What is an aspect of being an entrepreneur that forced you to learn something new?
I learned that what I personally love isn't always what customers are looking for.
As a creative person, I naturally gravitate toward certain flavors, designs, and styles. But entrepreneurship taught me to step outside my own preferences and see things from the customer's perspective. Finding the balance between creating what I love and creating what customers love has been one of the most important skills I've developed.
If you could go back in time and tell your past self anything, what would it be?
If I could go back and tell my past self one thing, it would be to develop a signature design style sooner. In the beginning, I tried to accommodate a wide variety of requests and design styles. Over time, I realized that the most meaningful and memorable creations come from designs that reflect my own artistic voice. Not every design request is the right fit, and it's okay to say no to projects that don't align with my strengths or style. Focusing on what I do best has helped me create desserts that are more recognizable, more fulfilling to make, and ultimately more valuable to my customers.
Having pivoted careers from marketing to baking, what advice would you give to someone just starting out and looking to carve their own path?
Having transitioned from a marketing career to baking, my biggest advice is to start before you feel completely ready. Do small experiments, learn quickly, and be willing to adjust your direction along the way. It's easy to spend months planning every detail, but in reality, things rarely unfold exactly as expected.
For example, I was not planning to teach baking classes at first. I didn't think I was ready, and I wasn't sure there would be enough people interested in learning from me. Yet what started as a few requests from followers eventually became the main part of my business.
Try, learn, and pivot. Sometimes the opportunities that shape your path are the ones you never planned for.
Your baking creations feature many different styles that showcase your attention to detail and original ideas. How do you craft your ideas and continue to cultivate your creativity?
I actually try not to look at too many dessert designs for inspiration. Instead, I draw ideas from other forms of art, such as paintings, illustrations, figurines, and storytelling.
As a lover of cute things, I'm naturally inspired by charming characters like Jellycat, Miffy, Moomin, and other whimsical fairy-tale elements. They spark my imagination and often become the starting point for new dessert designs.
I also believe creativity grows through curiosity. Whenever something makes my heart skip a beat—whether it's a character, a color palette, a children's book, or a beautiful illustration—I start thinking about how I can reinterpret that feeling through desserts. That's how many of my creations come to life.
Baking workshops and classes are a way you share your passion of baking and spreading joy and warmth. Could you share more about what experiences in your life shaped your values for starting Meowvelous Bakes?
Before starting Meowvelous Bakes, I also worked as a brand manager for Goose Island and Baileys. One of my favorite parts of the job was hosting food pairings, tastings, and cocktail-making experiences that brought people together around a shared interest.
Those experiences taught me that great products are about more than just the product itself—they create memories, conversations, and connections between people. Whether it's sharing a drink, learning a new skill, or celebrating a special occasion, the experience often becomes something people remember long after the event is over.
That philosophy has shaped the way I approach my baking classes and business today. I want Meowvelous Bakes to be more than a place where people learn to bake or pick up a dessert. I hope it becomes a place where people create joyful memories, connect with others, and experience the warmth that comes from making and sharing something together.
Meowvelous Bakes offers a range of services that includes custom cake orders and hosting baking workshops. What habits do you practice to help you balance the needs of your business successfully?
Running both custom orders and baking workshops requires me to be intentional about where I spend my time and energy.
One habit I've developed is regularly asking myself, "What is the most important thing I should be working on right now?" Rather than trying to do everything at once, I focus on the few tasks that will have the biggest impact.
I've also learned the importance of creating templates, checklists, and systems for recurring tasks. This gives me more time to focus on designing new desserts, teaching students, and connecting with customers—the parts of the business that bring me the most joy.
What is the last thing you were curious about?
How to create signature dessert designs that are uniquely mine
What can the community help you with?
Advice from other entrepreneurs balancing creativity and growth
Share another Asian-women-owned small business or entrepreneur that inspires you!
Hearten Co.
Jesse’s story is a beautiful reminder that the most fulfilling paths are the ones we carve out for ourselves. Meowvelous Bakes stands as a heartfelt testament to the warmth we can create when we choose to share our unique gifts with the community around us. Thank you Jesse for letting us into your world and sharing a craft that truly sweetens our lives and brings people together.
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