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INspired INsider Podcast

INspiredINsider Show with Dr. Jeremy Weisz features interviews with successful entrepreneurs, Ecommerce founders, & visionary leaders.

Leaders reveal deeply personal stories and explore the tough journey, big challenges, and mistakes that they overcame to achieve success.

You will find inspiring stories from: Founders of Atari, Baby Einstein, P90X, Einstein Bagels, Skymall, and many more.


Thank you for listening from your host of http://InspiredInsider.com Dr. Jeremy Weisz. Go to InspiredInsider.com for Full Video episodes. 

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  2. Helping People Kick Sugar Once and For All with Tara Bosch Founder of SmartSweets

Helping People Kick Sugar Once and For All with Tara Bosch Founder of SmartSweets

Dec 13, 2018

Tara Bosch is the founder of SmartSweets, her mission is to help you kick sugar! She started SmartSweets after forming an unhealthy relationship with food and seeing the negative effects sugar has on our health. After spending months recipe testing in her kitchen with a gummy bear mold from Amazon, Tara created a healthy gummy bear. Tara and her team were able to raise 3.6 million dollars to get their business off the ground. Today, you can find SmartSweets in over 10,000 stores like Whole Foods, Target, GNC and many online channels.

Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn:

  • [1:55] Jeremy introduces his guest, Tara Bosch.
  • [3:00] Tara talks about her relationship with her grandmother.
  • [5:45] Navigating self-talk and keeping it positive.
  • [8:00] What led Tara to create SmartSweets?
  • [10:20] Creating the very first versions of SmartSweets.
  • [14:00] Tara talks about the evolution of packaging for SmartSweets.
  • [16:00] How did Tara raise funds for the business?
  • [18:20] Tara shares her experience on Dragon’s Den and the aftermath.
  • [20:30] Putting it all on the line.
  • [22:20] Growing the team and building out the business.
  • [26:00] Why were so many people interested in SmartSweets at trade shows?
  • [27:45] Tara opens up about the ingredients they use in SmartSweets.
  • [30:30] Participating in the Thiel Fellowship.
  • [32:20] Tools and software that Tara and her team use.
  • [34:45] Hiring new team members.
  • [40:30] Lessons learned along the way.
  • [44:00] How Tara keeps her products from melting while in transit.
  • [45:30] A low moment in business for Tara.
  • [47:20] Milestone reached, getting on the shelves at Whole Foods.

In this episode…

Imagine what it would be like to finally kick sugar from your diet. No longer dealing with addiction to sweets and that guilty feeling of letting your body down, sounds nice right? On this episode of Inspired Insider, you’ll hear from business leader and entrepreneur, Tara Bosch. In her conversation with Jeremy, Tara opens up about why she started SmartSweets, how she began the production process, challenges she faced along the way, what it took to expand the team, and much more. Don’t miss a minute of this compelling and engaging episode featuring Tara’s story! 

Do you have that one person in your corner who you can count on day in and day out? Maybe for you, it’s a parent or childhood friend. What challenges has that person helped you through? For business leader Tara Bosch, the person who was there to encourage her along the way was her grandmother. Tara fondly looks back at the time she spent with her grandmother and points to their mutual love of sweets that led her to start SmartSweets in the first place. Not only is it a good idea to stop and remember those who have helped you on your journey, but it’s also a good idea to consider who you can do the same for. 

While it’s helpful to have family members and mentors in your corner, the one constant through your whole life will the be the person you see in the mirror. How do you treat yourself? Do you give yourself enough slack? Do you challenge yourself enough? One important lesson that Tara Bosch has learned on her journey is the value of keeping your self-talk positive. Often the business leader can be their own worst critic, take it easy on yourself! Think of inner dialogue as your number one fan, not your number one critic. This simple mindset shift can have a significant impact on your chances of success both personally and professionally. 

Let’s face it; the average American is hooked on sugar, it’s almost as ubiquitous as salt! From salads to cereal, sugar is in much of the food you eat. What do you do if you want to kick sugar from your diet? How do you do that while still enjoying deserts and snacks? SmartSweets created the first candy that kicks sugar naturally. Their snacks are free from added sugar, sugar alcohols and artificial sweeteners. Every ingredient they use is non-GMO, always real and never artificial. Make sure to check out the link to the SmartSweets website located in the resources section at the end of this post to learn more!

Have you found that one thing that lights you up? Are you able to pursue that passion professionally? Tara Bosch knew that starting a business selling sugar-free candy was a huge risk, but she jumped in head first because she knew it was what she was meant to do. Tara started SmartSweets after her love affair with candy turned into an unhealthy relationship with food. She experienced the adverse effects sugar has on our health, and she wanted to be part of the solution. This venture was far from easy for Tara; she struggled for months recipe testing in her kitchen with a gummy bear mold from Amazon until she finally found the right formula. The challenges only increased from there, but Tara was committed and saw the process through. Now SmartSweets is a thriving business moving forward and helping people finally kick sugar from their diet.

Resources Mentioned on this episode

Sponsor for this episode

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Rise25 was cofounded by Dr. Jeremy Weisz and John Corcoran.