_{This article is featured on CBS News Atlanta.}

Every day at a Buckhead bakery, customers stop in for cakes. Many leave with something more.

When Vance Canell greets guests at Nothing Bundt Cakes, he does so with a smile, a warm welcome and a sense of pride that has grown over nearly a decade on the job. For Canell, who is on the autism spectrum, work has become more than a paycheck. It’s an opportunity to build confidence, connect with customers and give back.  

“I’m someone who really loves working,” Canell said.  

He says the job has changed the way he sees himself.

“It makes me feel great because I’m spreading that kind of passion and energy to other people instead of just keeping it to myself,” Canell said. “I want to be more of a giver, not a taker.”  

That sense of purpose is exactly what franchise owner Gloria Mattei hoped to create.

After her son Adrian was diagnosed with autism, Mattei began thinking about what his future would look like once he entered the workforce. She worried a traditional corporate environment might not provide the support he needed to thrive.  

“When my son was diagnosed with autism, it was in the back of my head, ‘What can I do?'” Mattei said. “My whole purpose — and my husband’s purpose — has been that he needs to be as independent as possible because I’m not always going to be here.” 

Mattei ultimately left a 16-year career in corporate America and opened one of Georgia’s first Nothing Bundt Cakes franchises. Her goal wasn’t simply to own a business — it was to create a place where her son and other neurodivergent young adults could develop workplace skills that foster long-term independence.  

Today, the bakery partners with Lionheart Works, a vocational training program that helps young adults with autism and other neurodevelopmental differences prepare for meaningful employment. Participants receive coaching and on-the-job experience designed to build confidence and workplace skills.