Moms Behind the Brands: Souper Cubes
This full interview is part of my new series, “Moms Behind the Brands,” featured in Wooed, my free weekly newsletter for busy working moms who want easy, healthy recipes, honest money talk, smart product recs, and now… inspiring stories from mom entrepreneurs.
Wooed: What inspired you to start your business?
Souper Cubes: I really didn’t like freezing my leftover carton broth in various plastic ice cube trays and my then boyfriend/now husband Jake (an engineer!) drew me our 1-cup tray on a piece of graphic paper. The rest is history :).
Wooed: Was there a specific moment or challenge that pushed you to take the leap?
SC: Back in 2021, I was struggling to balance being a new mom, working on my PhD full-time, working as a research assistant to fund my PhD, and on Souper Cubes too. I needed a reason to walk away from something. Once we won Lori Greiner’s Golden Ticket on Shark Tank, I knew I wanted to commit full-time to Souper Cubes and put my PhD and research on pause.
Wooed: What was your biggest challenge in starting your business or until now?
SC: Navigating 2025. We lost our home and office in January to the Palisades Fire. Then in April, we faced tariffs that were 44x the previous rate overnight. Figuring out how to focus on the business’s supply chain while also figuring out where we’d live and if we could even rebuild continues to be really challenging. We still don’t know what the new tariff rate will be.
Wooed: Did you bootstrap or raise funding?
SC: In 2017, the three of us (me, Jake, our friend Sasan) raised $15,000 to start Souper Cubes. It was just enough to buy 1,000 test units and pay our intellectual property lawyer. I was working in education at the time and this felt like a lot of money. We didn’t raise money again until we went on Shark Tank in 2020 (aired 2021) and accepted a deal with our dream Shark, Lori Greiner.
Wooed: What do you offer, and who is it for?
SC: We offer a freezer storage system that helps you freeze food in portioned amounts ranging from 2 tbsp to 2-cups. Our product is for any person who either wants to prep in advance to make meal time easier or wants to reduce food waste by freezing leftovers they won’t eat in time. Our silicone trays have fill lines so you know exactly how much you’re freezing. I also designed a set of trays (MyMilk) to help breastfeeding moms freeze their milk in half-ounce portions that fit narrow and wide baby bottles.
Wooed: What tools or apps make your life easier as a mompreneur?
SC: Couldn’t function without Google calendar – I always have it send me reminders in advance.
Wooed: How do you manage being both a mom and a business owner?
SC: I have an amazing team that is very understanding of our role as parents to two toddlers. We work hard when they’re in school and catch up once they’re asleep. It doesn’t always look pretty but I know one day they’ll be older and I’ll be proud to show them what we built.
Wooed: What does a “typical” morning look like for you (anything that happens between 5am-11am)?
SC: I have two kids – a 1.5 year old daughter and a nearly 4 year old son. We just moved out of state and school hasn’t started yet so are still figuring out our routine. Ideally, we’d wake up, snuggle for a bit with the kids, eat breakfast, get dressed for school, and head out the door. The school has a gym nearby so I’d love to get in a good habit of small workouts every so often. Then we’s take our dog for a walk before starting the day in the office.
Wooed: What does rest look like for you?
SC: My kids still require some help throughout the night typically. The biggest thing my husband does that helps me rest is once I’ve weaned them from overnight nursing sessions (they both hated bottles, oof), he takes over the night shift unless it’s really bad and we tag team. This lets me get more sleep than him most nights and truly makes a big difference for me. I feel very lucky that he is so active with the kids during the tougher shifts. The other thing I try to do is not look at a clock if I’m awake in the middle of the night. Not knowing how long I was awake for really helps me get back to sleep faster.
Wooed: What would you say to a mom who has a dream but feels stuck?
SC: Being a mom is amazing but also so hard. You’re doing such amazing work. If you don’t have bandwidth to manage something new right now, that’s okay. I have so many things I’d love to do but I know that right now it isn’t the right season with little ones who need me.
Wooed: What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
SC: I used to be a high school teacher and my first year teaching was so hard. I was barely sleeping and lived on the other side of the country from my family. My mom encouraged me to write down three good things that happened that day, even if it was as small as “I drank all of my coffee while it was still hot!” — I don’t write 3 things anymore but I do try to keep that thinking in mind. This year, more than ever, it’s been so helpful for me to try and find all the little pieces of good when everything feels so crushingly difficult.
Wooed: How can moms in our community support your business?
SC: If you have Souper Cubes, please share and tag us (@soupercubes). I run all aspects of our social media and have had a hard time filming new content while we’re in temporary housing. Tagging us lets me share to our page even when I can’t film myself. I’m always so grateful for any tags!
What part of Michelle’s story resonated with you most? Leave a comment, I’d love to hear what you’re dreaming about.
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