Shawn Zhu (MS Finance ‘25) never imagined the impact a single Instagram video would have on his fledgling dessert business. In July, Zhu, the owner of Baltimore’s Èdo Cheesecake, created a “Hey, Leo” video to market his products. The “Hey, Leo” video works by having the creator stitch clips of themselves interacting with a scene of Leonardo DiCaprio from the film Inception. The short videos have been a huge hit for self-employed professionals, particularly in the real estate business, who are trying to showcase their skills in a humorous way.
“I just thought these videos were really fun to watch, so maybe I should do one for my cheesecake,” said Zhu.
Zhu’s video went viral, as they say, far exceeding most other videos in the genre. To date, he’s racked up more than 31 million views on Instagram alone with nearly 2 million likes in just a month. And sales of his cheesecake reportedly increased by more than 30%.
“The video performed way beyond my expectations,” he said. “And people from all over the world are texting me, asking me if I can ship the cheesecake to them.”
“The video performed way beyond my expectations,” he said. “And people from all over the world are texting me, asking me if I can ship the cheesecake to them.”
The road to cheesecake
Zhu’s entrepreneurial journey started long before the latest viral video craze. As an undergrad studying economics in California and explored early business ventures. According to Zhu, the experience taught him valuable lessons, which drove him to pursue a Master of Finance degree at Johns Hopkins Carey Business School.
While studying at Carey, Zhu met fellow student Gasper Lyu (MS Finance ‘25), and together they launched Èdo Cheesecake. The company’s specialty is deluxe cheesecake baked in the style of a traditional Basque cheesecake infused with Japanese-style flavoring that they claim offers a “smooth texture and balanced sweetness.” Their goal was to create a dessert that satisfies a taste for sweets but with fewer calories, something Zhu playfully hints at in his viral video.
Inspiring environment
In addition to meeting his future business partner, Zhu says Carey Business School was fertile ground for developing his business. Along with his course and support from Carey’s faculty, he cites encouragement from the Pava Marie LaPere Center for Entrepreneurship at Johns Hopkins for helping him develop his business plan.
Along with his coursework, Zhu participated in the Pava Center’s Spark program, which helps early-stage business ventures through the research, marketing, and development stages. “The program taught us a lot about how to refine our business plan, how to start a business, and what priorities a startup should tackle,” Zhu explained.
To empower other entrepreneurs at Carey, Zhu founded VentureNest, a student-led organization that provides a supportive and nurturing ecosystem for startups.
“When I was an undergrad, I had a lot of friends with startup ideas, but many couldn’t make them happen. I think the reason is not that they don't want to do it, but they don't have the know-how, or they don't have the resources, or the people to tell them how to do it,” Zhu explained. “Honestly, I learned a lot about leadership, how to get a group of people interested in something and bring them together. The school empowers them to grow and turn their ideas into something that will actually happen.”
What’s next
Lyu has since left Èdo Cheesecake to return home to China, but Zhu has big plans for the company’s future. For now, Èdo makes its desserts for several Baltimore-area restaurants, caters events, and sells cakes directly to consumers through the company’s website. Zhu eventually plans to grow Èdo and expand its menu to include other low-calorie dessert options.
“We want to start an indulgent dessert company. People still love dessert, but they want to keep healthy. They want options that are delicious and not too high in calories,” he said.
