How a stylist with a billboard in Times Square became an ice cream
“Say Yes to the Dress America.”
Photo by Dennine Dyer
“I felt like I was on top of the world. Like, I’m working on these amazing projects, with all these celebrities — and then everything stopped,” says Dyer. “And now I’m by myself, I’m not able to see my family, I’m not able to see my friends. I was scared to leave my apartment because of the fear of the unknown.”
Now, less than two years later, she’s the CEO of her own company in a whole new field.
Virtual cooking classes led to a ‘whoa’ moment
Like many New Yorkers, Dyer, who is from a close-knit family in Brooklyn, New York, spent the next few months cooped up in her one-bedroom apartment. To stay connected, she suggested the family do virtual cooking classes. They were an instant hit. Uncles, aunts, cousins, and nephews were teaching the group of up to 14 family members how to make anything from traditional West Indian dishes to focaccia, Pad Thai, and pesto.
When Dyer proposed that an uncle lead an ice cream–making class, it was quickly dismissed with complaints like, “It’s too much work.” But Dyer didn’t take “no” for an answer. After a quick web search, she bought the necessary ingredients and mixed them up with some ice in a Ninja blender she’d borrowed from her mother.
It didn’t go as planned: The Ninja exploded all over her small Brooklyn kitchen.
“I’m like, ‘Alright. It failed the first time, we’re gonna figure it out the second time.’ It was a long night. And then, like, I scooped it. I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is ice cream. I did it.'”
Dennine making ice cream.
Grow team shoot
‘I was an intern in my own company, trying to figure it out’
Dyer was hooked. She spent the next few months researching everything she could about ice creams, sorbets, ice pops, and popsicle making. Turning to ice cream became her creative outlet.
When she told her family she was going to make it a business, they presented her with a $1,400 check to help pay for her license and LLC. They prayed for her success via Zoom. With that seed money, plus a couple of thousand dollars in savings, Solo Scoop Creamery was born in October 2020.
It was a long night. And then, like, I scooped it. I’m like, ‘Whoa, this is ice cream. I did it.’
Dennine Dyer
Founder, Solo Scoop Creamery
“Imagine for the past 10 years, you’ve been doing one thing, you went to school, and you learn this, and now you’re in a space where you don’t know anything. I feel like I was an intern in my own company, trying to figure it out,” she says.
“It was hours of research every night. What do I need to do? How do I figure this out? Who do I need to connect to? And the doors just started opening up.”
Getting ready ‘to compete against the big dogs’
While starting and running a business isn’t all new to Dyer, a product-based business is.
Making artisanal ice cream profitable isn’t straightforward, either. Start-up costs are high due to expensive equipment; margins are low, unless you make the ice cream in bulk, which Dyer wants to avoid at all costs; and…
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