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Key Takeaways Burnley was running Wiley Road Foods when she started her protein-bar brand Circ.
Circ is on track to 4X its run rate this year and is available in over 13,000 retail locations.
Burnley says founders have to embrace hours of complexity and rejection to succeed.
This Side Hustle Spotlight Q&A features Theresa Burnley, 65, of Milford, New Hampshire. Burnley was the owner of Wiley Road Foods, which creates and manufactures unusual clean-label baked goods for brands like Trader Joe’s and Milk Bar, when she started her protein-bite brand, Circ, on the side in 2023.
At the end of 2024, Burnley left Wiley Road Foods to focus on Circ full-time. Today, Circ offers six flavors of protein bites. The brand saw about $2 million in revenue last year and is available in over 13,000 retail locations nationwide, including Starbucks and Walmart. Responses have been edited for length and clarity.
Image Credit: Circ. Theresa Burnley.
A lifetime of health and nutrition inspires a side hustle
When did you start your side hustle, and where did you find the inspiration for it?
As a runner my entire life and a mother to three college athletes, I have always prioritized health and nutrition. After 16 years working behind-the-scenes to ensure other people’s brands tasted amazing, I finally decided it was time to realize my own dream of building an independent natural food brand with my family.
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