UPDATED: Oct. 3 at 6:52 p.m.

Lena Geller is in her first year at The George Washington University, but has the resume of a successful entrepreneur. Starting at the age of 14, Geller has baked and sold her homemade desserts.

Geller, a freshman from Durham, North Carolina, started Lena’s Lunchbox by selling her desserts for low-scale events. Geller decided to bring her baby-blue KitchenAid mixer and other baking supplies to college and has been using the kitchen in her dormitory to fill orders. By the time she arrived at GW, she already had customers eager to order her desserts.

“I knew I wanted to keep baking,” she said. “I’ve been doing the business for so long it kind of just happened naturally that I started selling things, but I wasn’t exactly sure how it would continue here.”

Due to health regulations and conflicts in the GW housing agreement — which prohibits students from using the dorm kitchen as a resource for their businesses — she will put production on hold after she fills the remaining orders she accepted.

“I didn’t expect things to happen so quickly,” Geller said. “I was kind of thinking it would take a while for me to get my name out here in D.C., so I was kind of marketing myself but also in the process of figuring out the different licenses and safety things.”

The Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at GW is helping Geller find a commercial kitchen in Washington, D.C. to run her business.

“This is sort of perfect for us. We love students like Lena, so we’ll do anything we can to help her,” said Lex McCusker, director of student entrepreneurship programs at GW.

Lena Geller (above) is a freshman at The George Washington University and until recently was running her baking business out of her dorm.
Courtesy of Lena Geller

The office has connected Geller with alumni and student entrepreneurs with similar interests. They paired her with CakeLove founder Warren Brown and Daniel Berg, who placed second in GW’s New Venture Competition.

The university also has connections with the government, and its economic partnership programs can help Geller navigate bureaucracy and rule, McCusker said.

“I think what she’s doing is she’s showing other students that there are all sorts of possibilities, that these nontraditional career opportunities are available to you,” McCusker said. “You can do things that are creative, expressive and innovative as a student, even while you’re getting your degree.”

From word of mouth and her online Yelp page, Geller has orders streaming in — more than she can fulfill, she said. But with the help of friends, she’s able to conquer the piling requests.

“Everybody’s very excited that she has this business because we’re all freshmen and we don’t really know what we’re doing, but she already has such a successful thing going for her,” said Ilana Davis, one of Geller’s friends who helps with the business. “I think it’s just exciting for all of us to see that.”

While pursuing cultural journalism, Geller is busy balancing her work, extracurriculars, friends and school. In the future, she hopes to open a brick-and-mortar store to sell her treats, but she doesn’t envision the business to be her main career.

“Follow your passion,” Geller said. “I think there’s always a way to make money doing something you love if you work hard enough for it.”

Published on October 2, 2017 at 9:06 pm

Contact Rori: rhsachs@syr.edu