SmartSweets
Tara Bosch is the Founder of SmartSweets, a revolutionary candy company with a mission to "kick sugar, keep candy" by creating delicious treats with significantly reduced sugar content. With nothing to her name except a 2009 Honda Fit hatchback when she started her business, Tara struggled to secure the funding needed to launch. Traditional banks wanted to see years of financial records that a startup simply couldn't provide. But perhaps most challenging was the persistent self-doubt Tara battled daily. "I would wake up with almost paralyzing fear, discomfort, insecurity, and self-doubt," she shares with Fortune. "Those feelings never went away, but I had to continually let myself feel capable every day."
In 2017, Tara was a Finalist of The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch. The timing couldn't have been better. She not only received an infusion of funding at a critical time—Tara had a PO for manufacturing due and didn't know how she was going to pay it—but she also forged connections to champions and resources through The Forum. This pivotal moment provided more than just financial support; it activated Tara's network in powerful ways. The support she received through The Odlum Brown Forum Pitch created a comprehensive ecosystem that helped propel SmartSweets through its critical growth phase.
After just four years, Tara grew SmartSweets from kitchen experiments to a $360 million exit when asset firm TPG Growth acquired the company in 2020. The company is now in 130,000 stores across North America and has helped people eliminate over 5.6 billion grams of sugar from their diets. Today, Tara is committed to helping others overcome the barriers she faced through her initiative Bold Beginnings, which provides a $25,000 strings-free grant along with mentorship and community support to help young women bring their entrepreneurial visions to life.