Candace Nelson is a serial entrepreneur, the Founder of Sprinkles and Pizzana, Guest Shark on Shark Tank and a New York Times and Wall Street Journal bestselling author. An expert in turning a passion into a profitable business, Candace revolutionized the baking industry when she left a career in finance to start Sprinkles, the world’s first cupcake bakery and Cupcake ATM. Sprinkles has since grown into one of the most successful cupcake brands ever. 

Nelson followed with the launch of Pizzana, a growing chain of Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded pizzerias leading the third wave of pizza in the US. She continues to expand her portfolio: cofounding the children’s sensory learning centers Play 2 Progress and launching CN2 Ventures with her husband, Charles Nelson, to invest in early-stage consumer companies.

Candace is the author of The Wall Street Journal bestseller Sweet Success: A Simple Recipe to Turn your Passion into Profit and The New York Times bestselling The Sprinkles Baking Book. A highly sought-after speaker, Candace shares her story of turning passion into profit, the keys to leading and building a breakthrough brand, finding purpose to create a great company culture and cultivating a community of brand loyalists with audiences around the world.

She lives in Los Angeles with her husband and two sons.