IVCA Profile: Venture Capital Portfolio Company of the Year at the upcoming 2025 IVCA Awards Dinner is Simple Mills
Now let’s meet the 2025 Venture Capital Portfolio Company of the Year, Simple Mills. IVCA celebrates Simple Mills, along with Sponsors: Kirkland & Ellis LLP, White & Case LLP, Aprio at the annual IVCA Awards Dinner, on Monday, December 8th, 2025, starting at 5:00pm at the Four Seasons in Chicago. That night, we also honor the Private Equity Portfolio Company of the Year, the Richard J. Daley Award, the Stanley C. Golder Award, the Rising Star Award and the IVCA Foundation Award.
Simple Mills will be presented the Award by the company’s Venture Capital investor Hyde Park Angels’ (HPA) Managing Partner, Peter (Pete) Wilkins. Accepting on behalf of Katlin Smith, Founder and & CEO will be Michelle Lorge, Innovation & Marketing Officer of Simple Mills.
Simple Mills was founded by Katlin Smith in 2012 with the mission to revolutionize the way food is made to positively impact people and the planet. Today, the company is a market-leading natural foods brand – offering premium better-for-you crackers, cookies, snack bars, and baking mixes.
Hyde Park Angels (HPA) invested seed money in Simple Mills in 2014, and provided subsequent capital and strategic support. This was part of a 10 year partnership that culminated in the recent acquisition of Simple Mills by Flower Foods, Inc.
The IVCA recently interviewed both HPA and Simple Mills on the investment and the company evolution. Both entities represent their answers through their institutions.
IVCA: Beginning with HPA, what made Simple Mills the perfect fit for your investment philosophy at the point you first came in?
HPA: Simple Mills matched our ‘People First’ approach. We back purpose driven founders where our operating experience and network can matter. Katlin Smith built the company around a clear better for you thesis and a mission to improve how food is made, which aligned with the type of leaders we like to support. We led the first institutional round in 2014 and continued to provide capital and strategic help as the company scaled, ultimately becoming its largest Chicago venture investor.
IVCA: For Simple Mills, what is the origin of your company, and what was the process of securing investors, including HPA?
Simple Mills: Simple Mills was founded in 2012 after our founder, Katlin Smith, experienced firsthand the transformative power of food. While working as a management consultant and traveling constantly, she noticed she wasn’t feeling her best. After shifting to a whole foods-based diet, she felt dramatically better – a personal revelation that sparked a larger mission … to make eating well easier, more accessible, and genuinely nourishing for everyone.
As Katlin learned more about the food system, she saw an opportunity to raise the bar on what consumers could expect from packaged foods, to create products made with purposeful ingredients that support both people and the planet. That vision became the foundation of Simple Mills.
While pursuing her MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Katlin entered the New Venture Challenge to refine her business idea and learn the mechanics of entrepreneurship and fundraising. What began as a classroom exercise quickly became a real-world journey. When an early investment of $200K fell through at the last minute, Katlin’s parents made an extraordinary leap of faith, mortgaging their home to provide the startup capital that kept Simple Mills alive and moving forward.
The process of securing early investors was as scrappy as it was inspiring. Katlin met with anyone willing to hear her story, fueled by belief in the mission and a relentless drive to bring better food to market. Hyde Park Angels (HPA) recognized that potential early on. Their investment and partnership provided not only critical capital, but also mentorship, strategic guidance, and a network that helped Simple Mills expand distribution, hire its first employees, and strengthen operations. That support gave the company the “oxygen” it needed to grow responsibly and sustainably.
Over time, our partnership with HPA and other investors enabled Simple Mills to evolve from a passionate startup into the leading cracker, cookie, and baking mix brand in the natural channel — a company dedicated to revolutionizing the way food is made, so that it truly nourishes both people and planet.
IVCA: To HPA, when the firm is strategizing after making a decision to invest, what metrics do you use as far as how deep your influence will go, beyond signing the check?
HPA: We start with founder needs, then align on where HPA’s ‘People First’ community can move the needle at critical moments. That means agreeing on the right governance model, identifying the highest impact work streams, and mobilizing our operators and network accordingly. With Simple Mills, that looked like taking a board seat in 2016, supporting financing strategy including debt and growth capital, and staying engaged through the acquisition process.
IVCA: For Simple Mills, what is the philosophy behind the building of the Simple Mills team – including partnering with HPS – and how has your environment for that team contributed to your success?
Simple Mills: From our earliest days, Simple Mills has been intentional about how we build our team and the environment we create. Our philosophy centers on purpose and growth, bringing together humble, mission-driven people united by something bigger than themselves. Our partnership with Hyde Park Angels was foundational to that approach. Beyond investment, HPA connected our founder Katlin Smith to Laura Sanchez-Greenberg, an executive coach and organizational development consultant whose partnership helped define how we lead and grow together. Laura guided us in clarifying the cultural cornerstones already taking shape – authenticity, shared purpose, and resilience – that continue to ground our work today.
Those early years were fueled by entrepreneurial energy and a belief in purposeful growth. We loved to win together and understood that the way we work shapes both what we achieve and who we become as a team. As new leaders joined, they preserved that early magic while evolving our culture for each stage of growth.
Today, that same environment, built on connection, ambition and grit continues to drive our success and sustain our purpose. It’s a culture that fuels innovation, strengthens our people, and amplifies the positive impact we strive to make on both people and the planet.
IVCA: In Simple Mills’ acquisition by Flowers Food, Inc., how did your investor partners help to facilitate the acquisition and complete their investment?
Simple Mills: Regarding our investor partners – including Charlotte Capital Partners (CCP), Hyde Park Angels and Vestar Capital Partners – each played a pivotal role in facilitating our acquisition by Flowers Foods, Inc. Each brought distinct strengths, strategic guidance, and steadfast support that were instrumental in positioning Simple Mills for long-term success.
As early investors, CCP and HPA were deeply influential throughout our growth journey. They provided more than capital, they offered mentorship, strategic insight, and access to an invaluable network of industry and operational experts that helped us scale efficiently and sustainably.
When Vestar Capital Partners joined as a minority investor, their partnership helped us strengthen our organizational foundation, refine our go-to-market strategy, and prepare the business for its next stage of expansion. Vestar’s collaboration also helped align all stakeholders around a shared vision, ensuring that when the opportunity with Flowers Foods emerged, we were ready to pursue it with clarity and confidence.
Ultimately, the acquisition was the culmination of years of disciplined growth, shared purpose, and partnership. Our investors played a key role in helping us remain true to our mission while enabling a transaction that ensures Simple Mills can continue to grow its impact, reach, and innovation under Flowers’ ownership.
IVCA: Finally to HPA, as an ‘A Round’ investor, how will you maintain a presence with Simple Mills post their acquisition?
HPA: Flowers Foods is keeping Simple Mills independent and Katlin in the CEO role, so our relationship continues. We will be available as advisors and will plug in on specific projects when the team asks. The trust built over a decade is what keeps us close even as formal governance transitions to the acquirer.
IVCA: For Simple Mills, as the 2025 recipient of the Venture Capital Portfolio Company of the Year, what does it mean to you personally to be recognized by the IVCA and your peers in the Venture Capital industry?
Simple Mills: It’s an incredible honor to be recognized by the IVCA and our peers in the VC community. This award is deeply meaningful because it acknowledges the hard work, perseverance, and dedication our team has poured into growing this business and realizing our mission. It’s also a validation of our approach … that purpose and performance can go hand in hand. This recognition not only celebrates our past efforts, but also strengthens our credibility in the industry, deepens investor and partner relationships, and energizes our team as we continue to build for the future.
The 2025 IVCA Annual Awards Dinner – sponsored by Kirkland & Ellis LLP, White & Case LLP and Aprio – will be on December 8th, 2025 (5:00p-9:30p) at the The Four Seasons Hotel Grand Ballroom, 120 East Delaware Place, Chicago. For details and registration info, click here.