LIZANNE FALSETTO, BUSINESS & WELLNESS PIONEER
Lizanne Falsetto is an entrepreneur, foodie and media personality. As a young
woman and single mother, she built thinkThin – a nationally recognized health
and lifestyle brand – from scratch. Having sold the business in 2015, she is now
focused on her passion: empowering and inspiring the next generation of
entrepreneurs.
Lizanne was raised in Seattle in a large Italian family where she developed an
early and deep connection to food and well-being. When she was offered the choice
between a college basketball scholarship and a contract to model overseas, Lizanne’s
inner voice urged her to choose modeling, and she embarked on a successful decadelong career as an international model. Living and working in Tokyo, Paris, Milan,
Sydney, Madrid and New York, Lizanne represented such prestigious designers as
Donna Karan, Ralph Lauren, and Giorgio Armani, along with several others.
During her modeling years, Lizanne was often on the run. Her experiences
with portable meals sold in vending machines everywhere from New York to Japan, as
well as the many ancient healing techniques she discovered in Hong Kong and Macao,
ignited her imagination. Inspired from her travels, and motivated by needs both she and
her friends had, Lizanne adapted what she learned as kid in her grandmother’s kitchen,
and began to cook up snack bars—focusing on high protein and no gluten (in the days
before most people knew what gluten was). She carried the bars she baked in her purse
when she traveled to photo shoots, and once her friends tasted them they begged for
more. She charged just enough to cover the cost of her ingredients until she couldn’t
ignore what people kept saying: that she must sell these bars.
Thus began Lizanne’s life as an entrepreneur. She created thinkThin® out of her
own needs and desires for a lifestyle brand that promoted quality, high-protein food for
active women on the go. From the start, Lizanne decided if she didn’t have the money
for something, she would find a way to make it happen without taking out a loan. And as
thinkThin® began to grow, she hired people with food industry experience and business
expertise to bring guidance to her executive team.
During the next twenty years, Lizanne learned the lessons of business from
keeping a cool head to making sure to gather all information before taking action—and
much more. The brand found its way to shelves everywhere—Whole Foods, Trader
Jo’s, Walmart, Target, 7 Eleven, Winn-Dixie, and Trader Joe’s, and supermarkets.
As the company exploded in popularity and recognition, she was featured on The
View, Modern Family, Keeping up with the Kardashians, Kathie Lee & Hoda, and in
magazines such as People, Us, Real Simple, In Shape, Shape. Major newspapers such
as The New York Times, The Washington Post, Bloomberg News, and The Huffington
Post published detailed profiles on her. Lizanne remained at the helm of the business,
traveling, and raising two young children as a single mom.
At the end of 2015, she sold thinkThin to a publicly traded company the global
performance nutrition and ingredients group, Glanbia Inc.
Lizanne is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization and World
Presidents’ Organization (YPO/WPO). She is also a founding member of the YPO/WPO
Health & Wellness Group whose mission is to create a global network of best practices
and leadership in healthy living for CEOs around the world. Lizanne has long been at
ease in boardrooms, with buyers, and with industry types in every field.
She’s also a three-time Telly Award winner for producing and directing in the
Best Documentary Short Film category and has been awarded the
prestigious Leadership Award from the National Association of Women Business
Owners.
Lizanne hosted a weekly radio series for Sirius radio called “Female Rock Star
Entrepreneurs.” The program featured female CEO and entrepreneurs talking about
financing, marketing, and networking. She also appeared on several of the major
national television news networks (NBC, ABC, Fox) and in various newspapers such as
The New York Times, Business Week and the National Business News. She is a
seasoned TV show guest chef where she performed cooking segments and
demonstrations.
She is now focused on a new purpose: to empower and inspire the next
generation of entrepreneurs.
In addition to mentoring and public speaking, Lizanne is currently developing an
entrepreneurship curriculum for high schoolers. Her aspiration is to build a new
educational brand that provides tools and training in entrepreneurship for both
independent, private, and public schools, as well as corporations and other
organizations who are focused on change-making and innovation.
Lizanne is also bringing her keen business eye, executive prowess and elegant
presence to her own TV series. Parlaying her unique personal energy, entrepreneurial
know-how and intuition, Falsetto plans to both entertain and educate - paying her
success forward and in so doing, changing people’s lives.
“I started my company in my kitchen and grew it into a national brand as a self-made
entrepreneur who never had a mentor or formal business training. Near the end of my
journey, I joined forces with a leading private equity firm and ultimately sold the
business to a strategic buyer. Having built the business from the ground floor, I deeply
appreciate and understand the entrepreneur’s challenges and perseverance,” said
Falsetto.
“ I want to encourage Entrepreneurs to not be afraid to take a chance. I want to help
them dig deep and find their purpose. The greatest failure is to not EVEN try. Once you
find something you love to do, go after it with your heart and soul. Persevere and you
will create something of value.”
Contact:
Lizanne Falsetto
[email protected]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=blVYgwreXmI