Sam Mason
A 27-year-old vegan baker and entrepreneur went viral last year on TikTok discussing her brief stint as Kris Jenner's personal assistant, saying the job helped her launch her own eponymous sweetener brand.
Madeline Steitz, the founder of Maddie's Natural Sweetener, said the biggest lesson she learned from the reality TV matriarch — who is famously involved with a legion of fashion and beauty brands founded by her influencer daughters — was to name her company after herself.
This week, Steitz spoke to Business Insider to expand on lessons she learned on the job, and career steps she took prior that helped her land it.
Steitz said she was initially resistant to the idea when her cofounder, Robbie Page, suggested it — chalking it up to a "really weird ego thing."
But she came around after looking at what Jenner had done.
@sweetasfork The real reason I agreed to name my company after myself ✨ #maddies #personalassistant #femalefounder #naturalsweetener
♬ original sound - Maddie
"Every single company and brand is a derivative of their names," Steitz told Business Insider, pointing to Kylie Cosmetics, Kim Kardashian's Skims, and even Kendall Jenner's tequila brand 818, a reference to the family's Los Angeles area code. "Kris doesn't do anything that's not strategic when it comes to operating business, and she's an absolute genius."
Furthermore, the name Maddie's Natural ties the product more closely to Steitz's personal values — vegan, organic, gluten-free, and housed in compostable packaging — while also signaling to consumers that there's "actually a real human behind this brand," she said.
On TikTok, Steitz is often asked how she broke into the world of assisting, as well as other behind-the-scenes tidbits (though there's only so much she can divulge given the airtight NDAs she's inked.)
Growing up in the tiny town of Cashmere, Washington (population: 3,500), she said it was a combination of fate, word of mouth, and "proximity" to opportunities that gave her her initial first break. After moving to Los Angeles and working a retail gig on stylish Abbott Kinney Boulevard, she connected with a customer who turned out to be a CEO in need of an assistant.
That subsequently spawned a job for the travel YouTuber Louis Cole, who has nearly 2 million subscribers and who Steitz described as a neighbor and friend. She served as chef and house manager to Cole on a communal property where he temporarily lived with 15 creatives.
@sweetasfork The hustle was real and for 3 of my assiatant jobs I was also working at least 1 other job at the same time #personalassistant #executiveassistant #personalassistantlife #careerpathideas #crazyjobstories
♬ original sound - Maddie
Steitz was then recruited on LinkedIn for a gig at Thiel Capital, Peter Thiel's investment firm, where she worked as the "front desk person" for his office until the Jenner Communications gig materialized in February 2022. She only assisted Jenner for six weeks, as the person vacating the role she'd been hired to fill ultimately opted to stay, but Steitz told BI she departed on good terms.
After leaving, Steitz turned her attention to Maddie's Natural Sweeter, which she'd conceptualized in January 2022 and formally launched in October. The sweetening sachets, priced at $35 for a box of 30, contain coconut nectar, monk fruit, and stevia.
While leaving Jenner Communications so quickly marked a tough change, Steitz is ultimately grateful.
"I think even more highly of Kris now than I did before I started the job," she said. "It truly allowed me to start my company and I'm just so grateful for it."
