Meet Brendon & Holland Curtis | Co-Founders & Co-Owners

We had the good fortune of connecting with Brendon & Holland Curtis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Brendon & Holland, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
For as long as we can remember, we had always wanted to start our own business, but we had chosen comfortable corporate careers instead — until the right idea finally struck us in early 2022. Up until then, the biggest obstacle of starting our own business was largely psychological — to overcome the profound fear of abandoning successful and stable careers, to pivot completely into a new field or area outside of our comfort zones — into the great unknown. When starting our own business, it was vital to conceive a hyper-unique and compelling concept, to sufficiently analyze the market demand and long-term viability of said concept, and to map out a sound financial model to keep the business running in a healthy manner — but also to have a ton of fun doing it! After many months (and long nights) discussing the concept, we decided to take that plunge and make Puffy Cotton Candy a reality.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Brendon began his lengthy career in marketing with a focus on account management and business development at several world-renowned advertising agencies, across automotive, retail, technology, gaming, financial services, and hospitality industries. In 2022, he was inspired to make a big career change and co-founded Puffy Cotton Candy — an innovative new cotton candy company centered around the magical experience of seeing cotton candy spun fresh, in a vibrant physical store environment. Holland began her career in higher education, leading major projects in alumni sponsorship, prospect development, and research analytics. Together with Brendon, we opened our Puffy Cotton Candy flagship store in November of 2022 in Franklin, TN with our second store location slated to open in August of 2024 in Nashville, TN. Our first Puffy Cotton Candy franchise is officially slated to open in the fall of 2024 in New Jersey, with several additional store openings planned for 2025.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
The greater Nashville area is such a fun, exciting, and fulfilling place to call home — but also to play. We enjoy dining out at so many delicious restaurants, particularly Noko, Tiger Bar, and Two Ten Jack. Being a family of four, we also love family-friendly spots such as Edley’s BBQ, Hattie B’s, and Mojo’s Tacos. When entertaining kids, we always enjoy places like Sky Zone, Urban Air, and PuttShack — and after we put the kids to bed, we absolutely love Skull’s Rainbow Room and the rooftop bar at the W hotel. Not to mention, catching a Titans, Preds, or NSC game is always a blast — and who could forget the constant stream of incredible music, shows, and concerts going on in Nashville every night!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
We would like to give a huge shout-out to our closest friends and family, and business mentors who supported and encouraged us to launch our company, Puffy Cotton Candy. Without their guidance and validation, we would not have succeeded in starting a thriving new business. We also learned a ton along the paths of our professional careers in various roles we held at different companies learning the ropes of running businesses and building brands. So for that, we are both incredibly grateful.

Website: https://www.puffycottoncandy.com

Instagram: http://instagram.com/puffycottoncandyofficial

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/puffycottoncandy

Facebook: http://facebook.com/puffycottoncandyofficial

Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/puffy-cotton-candy-franklin

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@puffycottoncandy

Other: http://tiktok.com/@puffycottoncandyofficial

Image Credits
Photography by Danielle Shields