Olga Sagan is the Owner of the nationally renowned bakery, Piroshky Piroshky. Founded in Seattle's historic Pike Place Market, Piroshky Piroshky has offered handcrafted pies to loyal fans since 1992. An immigrant from Russia when she was 16, Olga arrived in America and faced many challenges overcoming language barriers and learning to navigate what it means to be a woman in a leadership role — something that was not encouraged in her home country.

In 2006, Olga became part owner of Piroshky Piroshky and took complete ownership in 2017. Under her leadership, the bakery has grown to four locations and a food truck, teamed up with iconic Northwest businesses such as Field Roast, Uli's Famous Sausage, Tillamook, and Double R Ranch, and introduced a vegan line. Passionate about leadership, she got her SHRM Certification in 2018 and was picked by Puget Sound Business Journal as a “small business hero” in 2019. She was also chosen by the SBA as the 2020 “Washington Small Business Owner of the Year.” In 2020, she started Catch22Market, a free website aggregator that helps small businesses take their customers back.

In this episode…

Two of the most important character traits needed to build a thriving business are trust and transparency. Entrepreneurs need to be transparent about their products, businesses, and how they relate to other players in their industry. They also have to build trust with their customers and industry partners.

Olga Sagan's desire for transparency led to the creation of Catch22Market, a website aggregator which helps put power back into small businesses. During the COVID-19 pandemic, she realized that many players in the food industry were losing a lot of business due to the shutdowns and were spending a lot of money working with third-party delivery apps to serve their customers. She, therefore, came up with the brilliant idea for Catch22Market that not only provides transparency but also helps build trust between businesses and their customers.

Olga Sagan, the Owner of Piroshky Piroshky, is Andrea Heuston's guest in this episode of the Lead Like A Woman Show where she gets interviewed about her entrepreneurial journey and her desire to give power back to small business owners. Olga explains how she immigrated to the US, how she came to be the sole owner of Piroshky Piroshky, and how her website aggregator tool is helping businesses in the food industry thrive. Stay tuned.

YOU Have the Answer

Lead Like a Woman