Candace Brown Nelson ’91

Candace Brown Nelson ’91 is the first to admit that her unconventional career move—from investment banker to cupcake baker—was more than a little bit risky.

“There were plenty of reasons to scratch our heads and think, ‘Are we crazy to be doing this?’” she says, recalling Sprinkles Cupcakes’ early days. To make matters more far-fetched, Sprinkles was launched in the midst of the country’s low-carb diet craze; many of her friends refused to even taste her confections.

But Candace is now a cupcake mogul, and her creations are media darlings.

The first Sprinkles Cupcakes were pulled from ovens in 2005, when Candace and her husband Charles cast an appraising eye at the dot-com bust. The tiny treats were an overnight success, grabbing the attention of talk show hosts from Martha Stewart to Jon Stewart, Tyra Banks to Dr. Phil, Jimmy Kimmel (who says he waited in line 45 minutes, and spent $80) to Oprah (who asked Candace to fly out for her show when Sprinkles was only eight months old).

Candace has now appeared on many of those shows herself, not to mention The Today Show, Good Morning America, Nightline, and Throwdown with Bobby Flay. Anyone who watches Cupcake Wars on Food Network will recognize Candace as a discerning judge who knows buttercream bliss from cream cheese calamity.

The Sprinkles Cupcakes empire now has U.S. locations in California, Texas, Illinois, New York, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Tennessee, and Georgia, as well as several shops in the Middle East. International expansion isn’t daunting: As a child growing up in Indonesia, Candace learned that American-style goodies were scarce, and if the family craved them they had to bake them.

Sprinkles’ flavors—such as key lime, raspberry chocolate chip, lemon meringue, maple bacon, and its most successful, red velvet—come from Candace’s own palate, as well as customers’ suggestions (often via social media) and current trends (gluten-free and vegan).

Candace’s own late-night cravings during her second pregnancy led to one of Sprinkles’ most nouveau innovations: the cupcake ATM. Pop in $3.50, and out comes a freshly baked cupcake.

The company has branched out to ice cream and cookies as well. “Good old-fashioned American ice cream is really, really hard to find,” says Candace. Thanks to this entrepreneur, who has capitalized on her raging sweet tooth, that isn't the case any longer.