Debbi
Fields

Debbi Fields is the founder of Mrs. Fields and one of America’s most iconic female entrepreneurs, transforming a single cookie shop into a household name and helping pioneer a new model for experiential food retail.

In 1977, at just 20 years old and with no formal business experience, Debbi opened her first Mrs. Fields store in Palo Alto, California. When opening-day customers failed to materialize, she walked outside with a tray of cookies and began giving them away. People tasted them, came inside and bought more. It was an early expression of an instinct that would define the company she built: if you believe deeply in the product, get it into the customer’s hands.

Debbi went on to turn that single storefront into an international business. By the late 1980s, Mrs. Fields had grown to more than 400 stores across the U.S. and abroad, creating a category around warm, freshly baked cookies and a highly recognizable retail experience. As the company scaled, Debbi became known not only for an obsessive commitment to product quality and customer experience, but for developing systems and embracing technology to make those standards repeatable across hundreds of locations.

Her entrepreneurial philosophy was captured in a mantra that became synonymous with her leadership: “Good enough never is.”

After stepping away from the company, Debbi became a bestselling author and sought-after speaker on entrepreneurship, leadership and building enduring brands. Her first cookbook became a New York Times bestseller and sold more than 1.5 million copies, and her founding story was later chronicled by HISTORY’s The Food That Built America.

Today, Debbi brings nearly five decades of perspective to the stage: what it means to bet on yourself before anyone else does, turn customer love into a growth engine, preserve what makes a brand special as it scales, and build something that remains culturally relevant long after the founder has stepped away.