She doesn’t give up.
And yeah, her gender is indicative of something important - girl power.
The year is 2005. And Tara Bosch (TB) is in middle school.
Like a lot of middle school girls, she isn’t taken seriously. Unlike a lot of middle school girls, she doesn’t let it bother her.
She learns to let go.
It’s called girl grit. And it brings us to 2015.
Candy isn’t healthy (gasp). And yet - it’s a reality which she acts upon.
TB is in college - until she isn’t. She drops out. To make candy. With a gummy bear mold bought off Amazon.
No sugar, sugar alcohols, or artificial sweeteners. So yeah, it’s healthy candy (gasp).
It isn’t easy. But she doesn’t give up.
She joins an accelerator program.* And she puts her car up as debt collateral.
That’s because -
Seeing others act upon ideas is good influence.
Even if she’s just “some” girl with a candy thermometer. In a room full of men making software. To help streamline, automate, and simplify business processes blah blah blah.
So yeah, let’s talk about the girl.
Who learns to let go.
She’s laughed off. By manufacturers who say she’s taking the candy out of candy.
And yeah, she doesn’t know a thing or two about financial models. Or the “sum” function on excel. But hey, there’s something vulnerable about a 20 year-old girl from Canada cold-emailing founders who inspire her.
She’s intentional.
And it leads to warm intros with retailers and suppliers.
BTW, her company is called SmartSweets.
It takes one year to launch (girl power). Two years to land shelf space at Whole Foods.* And four years to sell - for $400 million.
So take one from Tara Bosch. And learn to let go.
And that’s the skinny.
* A startup accelerator is a cohort-based program for pre-seed companies. Perks include mentorship, access to established networks, capital, and comradery between cohort members. They’re also called incubators.
* Tara Bosch joined “The Next Big Thing” tech incubator in British Columbia.
* For context: Y Combinator is a super competitive, super notable accelerator in Silicon Valley. Companies that graduated from its program include - Airbnb, Twitch, Coinbase, Stripe, Doordash, etc…
*A Whole Foods Global Candy Buyer reached out to TB after seeing her on TV.
What a amazing story!