Our guest for this episode is Candace Nelson, who skyrocketed to culinary fame after she and her husband Charles launched Sprinkles Cupcakes in Beverly Hills in 2005. Candace is the quintessential entrepreneur. She is someone who is daring enough to break from the mold, and built an empire with sweat, ingenuity and a dream. She continues to generate ideas and chase new opportunities -- just because that's who she is. In addition to Sprinkles, Candace recently launched her newest culinary venture, Pizzana, a critically-acclaimed pizza restaurant with a location in Brentwood and a second location that just opened in West Hollywood.
Candace's entrepreneurial talents aren't just limited to what she can bake in an oven. She just launched a men's athleisure brand with her husband called Willy, and she’s also built a massive media career. She is the executive producer and judge of a new Netflix baking competition show, Sugar Rush, after being a longtime judge on Food Network's Cupcake Wars. She’s also launching a podcast with Dear Media called Live to Eat. And if that weren't enough, she and her husband make early stage investments in innovative retail and consumer brands through Cm2 Holdings.
Candace's career spans brick and mortar retail, e-commerce, media and investing. Her philosophy is that if something is well-made, people will want to pay for it and indulge, and all of her ventures have proved this to be true.