Founder Nicole Bernard Dawes encourages employees to unplug from work, says ‘They didn’t sign up to be entrepreneurs’
Amidst the raging work-life balance debate and Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy reigniting the 72-hour workweek, two-time founder Nicole Bernard Dawes believes employees should unplug from work.
Speaking to Fortune about the success of his businesses, building his $100 million company, and overcoming economic crises, Dawes said his employees are encouraged to maintain a work-life balance. Why? “They didn’t sign up to be entrepreneurs.”
Dawes founded two companies, Late July (a brand of non-GMO tortilla chips), in 2003 and was acquired by Campbell’s for $100 million in 2017; and Nixie (a brand of zero-sugar packaged soda) in 2018. Nixie generated $27 million in revenue at the beginning of 2025, with products sold in more than 11,000 grocery stores in the United States.
Permanent work ‘a self-inflicted situation’
Explaining his thought process, Dawes told Fortune that he has a hard time disconnecting from work. “I guess I’m a bit of a hypocrite because I don’t pull the plug. I never do. I never want to be the person who stalls a member of our team,” he added.
“It’s my life to never unplug. I signed up for this. I’m an entrepreneur; I did this to myself; it’s a self-inflicted situation. (My employees) didn’t sign up to be entrepreneurs. I’m very comfortable taking time off, but I also make sure I’m available,” Dawes added.
‘It’s important to be passionate about the mission and the products’
Dawes noted that her own family’s experience with work obligations and work schedules has shaped her views on work-life balance, and not all leaders may agree with her thoughts on the matter. “I think in many places [leaders] The difference extends this to their teams. “I feel very strongly that this should not spread to the team,” he said.
Dawes said his father missed a lot of work while he was growing up and was determined not to do that, adding: “I wanted to do some activities for my kids and [it] It’s okay for our team to be that way, too.”
Working at her mother’s health food store as a child also honed her experience of what to expect when running a business, Fortune said, adding that passion is key. “When you decide to become an entrepreneur, many people [saying]’It’s stressful, it’s lonely, it’s all there.’ And that’s true, but this is where I got really lucky: I grew up in this business, so my eyes were wide open. So it’s really important to be passionate about your mission, passionate about your products. “Because on the other side you have to sacrifice a lot,” he added.
How does a million-dollar founder balance family work?
In the interview, Dawes emphasized the importance of prioritizing issues. “You have to choose what’s most important in that moment. As an entrepreneur, at least for me, I don’t think I’ve ever been able to completely switch off. But I also make time to have family dinner almost every night. There were things that were priorities for me, and I still prioritize them, like going for a walk or exercising every day.”
“Sometimes I wake up in the morning thinking, ‘I can’t even believe I’m so lucky to be able to do this job.’ And because I feel that way, it doesn’t feel like work. I always end up doing something fun,” she added.
