Debbi became one of the MLB’s first ballgirls, when she landed a
job with the Oakland A’s at the age of 13. She loved to bake and would
bring homemade cookies to the clubhouse. Owing to the compliments she
received, she began using her $5 per hour salary to purchase better
ingredients–genuine chocolate, real butter, and true vanilla. In an era of
crunchy cookies, like Chips Ahoy, her soft thick cookies were truly gourmet.
The former high school cheerleader and homecoming queen
married Randy Fields in 1976 when she was 19. Randy was a Stanford
graduate who was in the process of launching an investment firm he called
Fields Investments Group. With Randy’s mission underway, Debbi Fields
was inspired to launch a mission of her own.
She had no capital or business experience. But she had a cookie
recipe and a dream. When she told her family and friends of her idea to
start a retail cookie shop, they tried to talk her out of it. But Randy believed
in her. At 20 years old she found a bank willing to invest $50,000. As
described in Women’s Business Daily, “She found a 300 square foot store [in
Palo Alto] and purchased second hand equipment. She cut corners in these
areas so she could spend top dollars on her ingredients.” Prioritizing quality
over profits, she donated to charity any cookies more than two hours old.
The Fields are an excellent example of two supportive spouses
each assisting one another with their missions. By 1988 Mrs. Fields Cookies
had grown from a single shop to over 200 stores in 5 countries. Randy
created an innovative computer system to improve the efficiency of the
cookie production, making Mrs. Fields a technology leader. “Although many
assumed that Randy was the driving force behind Mrs. Fields operation, he
always rejected this idea and claimed that Debbi was the indispensable
one.”
In the 1990s, Debbi sold her stake in the company for $100 million.
The company currently operates in 34 countries. “I think success is
something you earn every day…” she has said, “It’s easy to get comfortable,
but it’s important never to lose touch with that feeling of opening day–that
enthusiasm and excitement, that desire to touch every customer.’