E N T R E P R E N E U R O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 1 9 / E M E R G I N G E N T R E P R E N E U R
32 BCBUSINESS OCTOBER 2019
W I N N E R
Tara Bosch
F O U N D E R
A N D C E O ,
S M A R T S W E E T S
n
Tara Bosch started
what would become
SmartSweets in the sum-
mer of 2015 with a mission
to make candies every-
one loves, but without
added sugar or artificial
sweeteners. She adored
sweets growing up, but as
a teenager she fell into an
unhealthy cycle of binging
and losing self-esteem.
The then–
UBC arts student
wanted to create treats
she could feel good about
eating, so she spent three
months testing recipes in
her kitchen with a candy
mould she bought from
Amazon.com.
Taking sugar out of
candy is no small feat—
that's usually what it's
mostly made from. Bosch
remained undaunted.
"I had no idea how I
would get there, but I was
confident I could find a
way," she says. She did.
Next, she dropped out of
her classes to learn how
to build a company as a
venture in residence at the
WHAT'S ONE THING
THAT PEOPLE WOULD BE
SURPRISED TO LEARN
ABOUT YOU?
People assume that I'm
super-confident and
I have things figured
out. But it's the
entire opposite.
I have to work on
being confident
every day
