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Cupcakes from Cup and Cakes Bakery

A Bitcoin Warrior Profile of Cups and Cakes Bakery

One Bitcoin accepting merchant that has been getting a lot of press recently is Cups and Cakes Bakery located in San Francisco.

Cups and Cakes Bakery was started by Jennifer Emerson after she ran out of cake mix and decided to make some cupcakes from scratch. The response she got from her friends was so good that she decided to go into business. That was in 2007, in 2009 she opened her shop. In October of 2012, she began to take Bitcoin payments, and then the press began. They have been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal, APM’s Marketplace, and CNET, among others.

They even got a nice write up by Kashmir Hill of Forbes during her one-week experiment in how to live on Bitcoin alone.

One of the things that distinguishes Cups and Cakes Bakery from some of the other Bitcoin accepting business that I have reviewed is the gusto with which they accept it. They don’t just have a “Bitcoin Accepted Here” plaque, they have whole sections of their website given over to information about Bitcoin. When Bitcoin hits its real tipping point in the international economy, it will be as much because of businesses like Jennifer’s than anything else. They deserve to be supported.

Jennifer has recently had a new baby, but she was kind enough to take time to answer a few questions:

Could you tell me about your business?

Our shop has been open almost 4 years – we opened in November of 2009.  We have 3 employees, and our mission is to make great cupcakes in lots of interesting and unique flavors.

When did you get interested in Bitcoin?

My husband brought up Bitcoin in October of 2012 and wanted me to accept it as a form of payment.  My first question was, “how much is it going to cost me?”  With the answer being “less than credit cards,” I was sold.  We use BitPay as our payment system – we wanted to make it easy on our employees.

Do you use Bitcoin personally?

I don’t use it personally, but my husband has used it to buy t-shirts, electronics, sushi, etc, and he’s paid some people to do some work for him.  I love that Bitcoin is low cost and self-regulating.  It’s ideal to transfer money internationally.

 What does Bitcoin mean to you? What do you think its future is going to be?

For us, the ability to take payments online and in store with low fees is really important.  As a retail business owner, I think the business implications are much smaller for me than, say, an online retailer.  I think in the future, Bitcoin has the ability to replace PayPal as the preferred method of sending money among friends, across far distances, etc.

I want to thank Jennifer for taking the time to talk with me when she has her hands full with a new baby. You can also support them by visiting her husband, Tom’s, website with information about how to buy bitcoin, and this one on Quora where he answers questions about bitcoin.

If you know a business or organization that would like to be interviewed or profiled by Bitcoin Warrior, please contact us at editor(@)bitcoinwarrior.net. If you have visited Cups and Cakes Bakery, please leave a comment below. Even if you haven’t, please leave a comment. We love to hear from you!

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