Our Founder

“I promised God if He made me successful, I would tell anybody about what they could do if they believe”

- Mignon Francois”

How do you start a business with no money, no credit and no knowledge in an industry known for failure?

Out of necessity.

Our family moved to Nashville in 2004 for a better life. We sold everything we had to get here and shortly after we arrived, the job we came here for fell through.

After years of drowning in debt and brokenness, I heard God say, “I feed birds. How much more will I give you give who looks like me?” That’s when I decided to do something different.

At the time I was a stay-at-home mom (or as I like to call it household manager) of 6+1 children, searching for a way to help make ends meet. I wanted the necessities like electricity, food and water on a regular basis. I wanted field trip money and senior dues for my children.

When the idea of The Cupcake Collection (TCC) dropped into my spirit I couldn’t bake, not even out of a box. In fact, it was the passion of my daughters, Brittany and Lauren, then ages 10 and 16, who loved baking in our home. Driven by a passion to succeed, I worked on the business like it was a job every day for two years before I ever opened the doors at TCC.

On November 9, 2008, I opened The Cupcake Collection with a dorm-sized refrigerator, and a KitchenAid mixer out of my former living room because that’s what would pass code with the health inspector.

What started as a mom-and-pop shop ran by a family who just wanted to make ends meet, evolved into a destination bakery in Nashville, TN and in my hometown of New Orleans, LA.

Today my award-winning recipes have earned us a top 10 ranking in the country, #1 cupcake in Tennessee, #1 cupcake in Louisiana and a host of other national awards, recognitions, and honors.

Building Legacy

Our family legacy is rich with loving togetherness and stories of triumph through faith. But traditionally, it has not been one rooted in building wealth, passing on property, and handing down traditions. Each new generation has the responsibility to carry the torch for their family name and the mark they want to leave on the world. For me that effort means living a Proverbs 13:22 mindset that assures a firm foundation for my children’s children. It’s a feat when you’ve never actually seen it done before. What drives my ambition though is an inner knowing about the hard work and sacrifice of the women who came before me. Those women who were homemakers, bakers, movers, shakers and most of all risk takers whose names may never be written in the annals of time-honored business. It is in their footsteps that I take my place and forge a new path as industry awakener. Though, even if allowed, we might not turn back the hands of time. We do have a responsibility to redeem the time by how we spend what’s left of it. For everything that is illuminated becomes a light Ephesians 5:13-16

About Mignon Francois

Mignon Francois is the CEO and Director of Joy at The Cupcake Collection (TCC). While crunching numbers and creating the craze are amongst her job requirements, her favorite responsibilities within this role are giving hugs, listening, and mentoring her team and other up and coming entrepreneurs who seek after her grass roots experience.

Using her “Follow Your Spirit” approach, Mignon developed an iconic flavor that drew lines and attention to the hip nature of her Historic Germantown neighborhood that hadn’t seen this concept developed prior. The success of TCC thereby became icing on the cake amongst the existing North Nashville restaurateurs that would ignite a new movement to the area for other business concepts that might not otherwise have considered doing business in North Nashville.

Since planting its roots in 2008, Mignon’s business savvy has earned her the titles of “Woman of Legend and Merit” by Tennessee State University, “Emerging Business Leader of the Year” and Black Enterprise Magazine “Family Business of the Year Award”.

Prior to her career at TCC, Mignon was a Household Manager and mother of 6 plus 1. A NOLA girl from the core and die-hard Charter School enthusiast, she lends her talent as a Nashville community cheerleader and entrepreneur to the Nashville Convention and Visitors Corporation Foundation, Nashville Entrepreneur Center and to Pathway Women’s Business Center as a board member.

Mignon is an alumnus of Xavier University in New Orleans and received her Bachelor of Science Degree from Houston Baptist University in 1999. While she obtained her M.B.A. from the School of Hard Knocks, she is currently working on an accredited one from Lipscomb University.

In her spare time, Mignon enjoys reading, walking the Nashville Greenway, and donut sampling around the country as a self-proclaimed donut aficionado. I mean someone's got to do it, she's already got the best cake in the country figured out.