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An engineer mother invested R$ 211,000 of her own money to launch a pasta brand that earns high on the internet. Meet Sausly.
The use of free tutorials on video platforms like YouTube and TikTok allowed a civil engineer mother to build her own brand’s website and manage the initial marketing campaigns without the support of a tech team.
Federica Mercuriello, 42, used self-taught learning to make Sausly feasible, a company of food pasta that reached an average of US$ 12,000 (about R$ 63,000) in monthly sales in January 2026. The initiative arose from the professional’s need to find practical, healthy meals with suitable portions for her intense routine with her children.
The initial investment and the challenges of self-financing
To get the company off the ground at the end of 2024, the entrepreneur invested her own capital of US$ 40,000 (approximately R$ 211,000).
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Without relying on external investors, the initial budget had well-defined destinations:
- Visual identity: Development of attractive and functional packaging;
- Production chain: Manufacturing of products in partnership with selected suppliers in Italy;
- Distribution: Structuring the logistics of transporting goods;
- Promotion: Allocation of resources in the first marketing actions.
Dealing with a tight budget required flexibility from the founder. In an interview with the business portal Entrepreneur, the Italian recalled the burden of leading the project with personal savings:
“The real challenge was managing finances while building the business with my own resources. Balancing growth with limited resources forced me to prioritize, experiment, and be creative with every penny,” explained the entrepreneur.
The commercial spark in Miami and the late-night work
The entire brand journey began in the pasta section of a traditional market.
Standing in front of the shelves, the engineer — who has lived in Miami since 2009, when she moved with a scholarship to study civil engineering at Columbia University — realized that the options were expensive, overly processed, and lacked a pleasant texture.
As a mother, she missed a kit that offered high-quality ingredients and non-pre-cooked pasta in the right portion to avoid household waste.
Initially, Sausly was managed as a side business, requiring an intense and well-organized routine. While still maintaining her professional role, she took advantage of breaks between corporate meetings to manage the brand’s demands.
At the same time, she balanced caring for her children, meeting their needs, and changing diapers. When the house finally became silent during the night, she dedicated the remaining hours to strategic planning and business growth.
The turnaround in sales for a mom entrepreneur’s brand
The start of digital sales brought moments of great uncertainty for the mom entrepreneur, who endured entire days without receiving any orders.
The scenario changed “like magic” when family and friends stepped in to support daily operations, directly helping with the packaging and shipping processes of the orders received through e-commerce.
Today, although the brand already has a physical presence on the shelves of three retail stores, the digital channel remains the main driver of the business. The goal set by the Italian entrepreneur is to close the current year of 2026 with an accumulated revenue of US$ 400,000 (about R$ 2.1 million).
