Tamara Keefe founded Clementine’s Ice Cream in 2014 after leaving a draining corporate job. She used her savings to build the brand, starting with a $2 hand-crank maker from a garage sale. "Ice cream saved me twice," she said. Now, she shares her journey to inspire others to start businesses.
After feeling drained and unfulfilled in her corporate career, Tamara Keefe created Clementine's Ice Cream, driven by the joy of her childhood where she made ice cream with family. Pouring her savings into building this brand helped her establish credibility with local chefs. Joining the Goldman Sachs program gave her a boost, and now, Keefe shares her journey to inspire others to venture into the ice cream business.
Tamara Keefe, a resident of St. Louis, Missouri, founded Clementine's Ice Cream 'as a comfort project.' She previously worked in a marketing role at a Fortune 500 company. In 2014, 70-hour workweeks and constant, exhausting travel left her with little patience to continue. This turning point marked the beginning of her entrepreneurial journey.
Tamara Keefe ventured into a side hustle - Clementine's Ice Cream. A side hustle that didn't remain one for long, but soon turned into a full-time business.
"Ice cream saved me twice", Tamara Keefe, founder of Clementine's Ice Cream, told Entrepreneur.
The $2 ice cream makerKeefe says ice cream has always been about connection for her.
She grew up in a big family with limited resources. "But my mom always filled our house with love", she told Entrepreneur. Keefe recalls Sundays during her childhood, when she would see other kids enjoying ice cream with their families after church, while her family couldn't afford it.
It was a lucky day for Keefe when her mother found a $2 hand-crank ice cream maker at a garage sale. That marked the beginning of Keefe's love for ice cream, and little did she know what lay ahead.
Soon, Sundays became ice cream days at Keefe's home. She recalls, "The kitchen turned into a celebration." Her neighbors would bring cream, someone else would bring sugar, and together, they would make ice cream.
Keefe developed a sense of community through these Sunday gatherings, rather than the ice cream outings other kids enjoyed after church. Eventually, ice cream became her passion project and, later, her business.
The first stepsTamara Keefe attended ice cream school to learn the art of making ice cream. She sharpened her techniques, learned about equipment and everything else she needed to kick off Clementine's.
Tamara Keefe/Clementine's Ice Cream
Her business strategy didn't begin with opening a scoop shop. Instead, she focused on getting a stamp of approval from top chefs and restaurateurs around town.
She invested her personal savings of $401k to build the brand from scratch. She told Entrepreneur that she lived frugally to fund her business, paying only basic bills for three years.
Tamara Keefe/Clementine's Ice Cream
The game-changerKeefe applied and got selected for the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses program in 2018. Through this program, she received education, access to capital, and other resources to help establish and grow her business.
She calls it "a game changer" in helping her lay out a business growth plan. Keefe strongly recommends this program to every ambitious entrepreneur.
If she could go back to the early days of her entrepreneurial journey and fix a few things, Keefe says hiring more senior-level people would be one of them. She also says she would have invested more in leadership and management coaching in those initial years.
For anyone wanting to enter the ice cream business, Keefe warns about the intense physical labour involved.
"It is taxing on the body to lift 50-pound dairy buckets all day long!"
Beyond the physical demands, the business can also be creatively taxing.
She emphasised the importance of understanding the food science behind great-tasting ice cream and its formulation.
"It takes a lot of care and precision", she told Entrepreneur.
RevenueClementine's is the first US company to launch dairy-free ice cream. Clementine's Naughty and Nice Ice Cream also pioneered alcohol-infused ice cream, which they call 'naughty' flavors , whereas the 'nice' flavors are alcohol-free. Clementine's makes its own ice cream to maintain quality and food safety standards.
Tamara Keefe's craft microcreamery earned about $300,000 during its first year, between May and December 2015. Tamara Keefe told the St. Louis Business Journal that her company was nearing $10 million in annual revenue in 2024. The company also secured a $6 million funding round led by Next Phase Capital in March 2026.
Clementine's ice cream brand currently has 11 active parlors across Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, and Northwest Arkansas. It has eight stores across the St. Louis metro, including in Illinois.