BCBusiness

36 BCBUSINESS APRIL 2017 L I F E S T O RY: After attending high school at St. George's School in Vancouver, Louis-Victor Jadavji studied international relations at Claremont McKenna College, a small liberal-arts school near Los Angeles. But the Quebec City native had other interests: he had built a business im- porting natural-gas compressors from China and printed 3D plastic auto parts for people restoring vintage cars. During a trip to the pedorthist's office in late 2013, Jadavji started wondering why the orthotics he was prescribed were so expensive and didn't fit properly. He realized what he really wanted to make: custom in- soles. Jadavji dropped out of college and convinced Shamil Hargovan, a key player in Hewlett-Packard Co.'s 3D printing business, to join him as a partner in Wiivv Wearables. The two figured out a process that would let customers use a smartphone app to photograph and map their feet. The company would then make personal- ized insoles in a San Diego facility and deliver them in a week, for US$89 (a fraction of the traditional price). Following a crowdfunding campaign that raised US$250,000, Vancouver- based Wiivv went live last May. This is just the beginning for Wiivv, which was slated to launch a personalized sandal in March. "Our vision started with insoles because it's kind of like a Trojan horse into the footwear market," says Jadavji, who has since moved on to a new venture. "We want custom for the masses." T H E B O T T O M L I N E : In its first seven months, Wiivv delivered 10,000 pairs of insoles. The company, which has raised more than US$10 million from investors like U.S. ven- ture capitalist Alan Meckler and MAS Holdings, now employs 30 people in Vancouver and San Diego. —M.G. L O U I S - V I C T O R J A D AV J I Co-founder WIIVV WEARABLES INC. A G E : 2 4 L I F E S T O RY: "When I was growing up, I watched Dragons' Den and Shark Tank and had all these great ideas, but I lacked the confidence to act on them," says Tara Bosch. Yet by the age of 21, Bosch, who grew up in Surrey, had started two businesses. As a 17-year-old UBC arts student, she launched Decaled Out, which made removable wall decals featuring inspirational quotes. The decals didn't catch on, but her next venture hit the sweet spot. In June 2015, after her grand- mother mentioned that sugar had affected her health, Bosch began testing low-sugar candy recipes. By fall, she had dropped out of university to focus on SmartSweets as a venture in residence in The Next Big Thing incubator program at Vancouver's Hootsuite Media. Last July the company's gummy bears, with 24 grams of plant- based fibre and just two grams of sugar per 50-gram bag, launched online and in B.C. stores. T H E B O T T O M L I N E : In August 2016, Bosch received and declined an acquisition offer of $2 million. This February, she won the Forum for Women Entrepre- neurs' $25,000 Pitch for the Purse. SmartSweets are sold in more than 170 locations across Canada and online throughout North America. Bosch plans to launch four new smart candy products and reach $1 million in sales by the end of 2017. —F.S. TA R A B O S C H Founder and CEO SMARTSWEETS A G E : 2 2

• Cover