Kristy Bannister doesn’t believe in choosing just one title — and she’s not slowing down anytime soon. As the founder and CEO of Dr. Dough, a CMO at fashion marketplace High End, and an executive board member at Work Inc, Kristy is a firm believer that the future of work lies in stacking skills, not settling for a single role.
She launched her donut gifting business right before the pandemic, scaled it to $10 million in revenue without outside capital, and continues to evolve it into new spaces like cafés and service stations. In this conversation, she shares how she builds structure into her 4am mornings, why hesitation is the enemy of growth, and what she’s learned about leadership from living above a café and skipping her own salary for years.
Let’s start with your mornings — what does a typical start to the day look like for you these days? Have your habits or routines evolved since those early startup days?
My day starts at 4:00am. I start my day with a sauna, then a 6km run and pilates. I do this for physical and mental fitness. I’ll listen to a short business news podcast that will inform me on any domestic and global news I need to know about, then I get ready to be at my desk by 7:00am for deep focus work before the rest of the world joins the workforce and the distractions start to creep in.
You launched Dr. Dough right before Covid hit. What gave you the confidence to keep going in the face of so much uncertainty?
Honestly, I remember sitting with my mentor having a breakdown thinking I’d lost everything we’d worked so hard for. He looked me dead in the eye and said. “It’s not an adventure if you know where you’re going, get on with it”. And that’s what I did. Got on with it. We looked at what we had already in place to use to our advantage, and that was a functioning ecommerce gifting website, a logistics platform and a real customer need. Customers wanted to remain connected to one another and we had the platform and a solution to really help and make a difference to people.
At one point, Dr. Dough hit $10 million in revenue. What do you think were the key decisions or turning points that helped you scale so quickly?
We had to do it fast and not hesitate. Our 5 year plan was rolled out within 2 weeks. When you recognise an opportunity the worst thing you can do is hesitate because you’ll miss your moment.
You often say Dr. Dough is more than a donut business — it’s a gifting experience. Can you talk more about that mindset and how it’s influenced everything from logistics to branding?
We actually start with customer purchase anxiety in mind and work backwards to provide the best customer experience we can. When customers shop online, most times they have had an experience where they have been let down, by an item arriving not as described, arriving late, not at all, or when something goes wrong, they prepare for a fight with subpar customer service. Understanding this, we address all these anxieties and own them. For example, we employ a customer service team that operates 7 days, our delivery drivers are hand picked, we provide clear and easy to follow tracking with real time ETA, we allow selection of date and delivery times as well as same day delivery.
What was it like building the business without outside capital — and going years without drawing a salary? How did you stay motivated through that period?
It was really tough, I went through the entrepreneur struggle that is character building and so often heard. Not taking a salary for years, from living in a tiny room above a cafe, eating 2 minute noodles and not having enough money to fix a flat tire because every cent was reinvested back into the business. I would stay motivated by listening to podcasts like The Mentored with Mark Bouris. In such a lonely place that few understand, hearing other people talk about going through the same sacrifice is what really motivates and inspires you to believe that you can get through adversity too.
Dr. Dough has now reinvented itself multiple times. What’s your process for staying ahead of customer trends and knowing when it’s time to evolve?
We pay attention to the customer. We genuinely pay attention to how their shopping habits might be changing whether it’s a request, a question or a trend that we’re noticing with an uplift in a type of product, we’ll get onto that straight away. Or we’ll test what we think customers might like and learn quickly, if it works great, if it doesn’t resonate then it’s pulled fast.
You’re now expanding into new channels like Service stations and café wholesaling. What excites you most about this next phase of growth?
I love that it gives us exposure to new audiences and customers. People get to interact with Dr. Dough in new and different ways, whether someone is grabbing a donut at their local servo, or they are ordering for an event with a fully branded or customised donut, we cover so many different aspects of customer journeys and consumption needs.
Looking back, what have you learned about resilience, leadership, and customer loyalty that you didn’t expect when you started out?
Being genuine and authentic is what really builds a brand. Your brand is a reflection of you. If you really care about reputation, business integrity and your team, your customers will know it.
Tell me more about your hybrid skills and the different hats you wear based on your transferable skills?
I wouldn’t say that I specialise in any one thing, but my business experience has enabled me to be well rounded enough to be effective in what I do across industries. I work in Ecommerce, fashion tech, commercial leasing and manufacturing. No matter the business or industry, the same core fundamentals hold it all together. Operations. Communications. Branding. People. Leadership. If you can master those, you’re unstoppable, no matter the product, service, or sector. It’s a training ground for modern business leadership.
Finally, what advice would you give to someone launching their first product business in a competitive space with limited resources?
Limited resources can sometimes create the perfect playground. You learn so much more when you have no choice but to be resourceful. Pick your audience, understand exactly who your customer is and speak directly to them. Get creative and stay authentic.
