Rosie O’Neill ’00, M.B.A. ’05

Rosie knows the hardships of owning a start-up. She co-founded Sugarfina, a luxury candy shop, which began as one store in Beverly Hills and will expand to seven stores nationally by the end of the year. Living through the philosophy "life is short, make it sweet," she's enjoying the fruits of her labor which taste like champagne gummy bears and peach bellinis.

Can you tell us a little about your experience as an undergraduate and why you chose UCLA?

I grew up in Costa Mesa and I went to a really small private high school, Calvary Chapel High School. I was pretty much living in a little bubble and I wanted to get out and see the world. As a person, I thrive when I’m around different opinions and ideas. I loved how well rounded UCLA was and continues to be. For me, UCLA was an easy decision to make.

You graduated from UCLA in three years as an undergraduate. Why the rush?

I loved UCLA, but I was always someone that was looking for the next thing. I loved the communications major, but by the second quarter, I thought “I can probably take twice as many classes and get out of here faster.” I was also paying for college, so it would have financially benefitted me to graduate a year early. I don’t exactly recommend rushing through college unless there is some life urgency or financial struggle. If you’re still figuring out what you want to do, take advantage of the entire four years. You learn so much about yourself and you learn so much through people and professors and classes.

As an employer now, what do you look for when you hire?

It’s key to know that I am an employer for a small startup company. It doesn’t necessarily matter what people know, it’s what they can do. People who have that problem solving attitude and who have the tenacity to learn, those are just the two key ingredients to success. I don’t care if you got A in your economics or accounting class if you can’t break apart a problem and devise a solution.

We read that you’re a self-proclaimed introvert. We would have never known it by looking at the promos you’ve done for Sugarfina. Is there a place for introverts in business and what advice do you have for them?

Absolutely! You have to know yourself really well because I think sometimes—I know I am guilty of this—I will put myself in situations where I know I’m really uncomfortable, but it is not really making me better; it just makes me more uncomfortable.

With Sugarfina for example, Josh (my business partner and fiancé) and I have a pretty clear division of roles: I deal with marketing and sales and he deals with business and operations. I remember having an honest conversation with him of not wanting to be the CEO. I am not comfortable in that role; I do not believe I would best serve the company in that role. If you want to own a business but you’re an introvert, hire someone else to fill the roles that are not the right roles for you.

How long did Sugarfina take from concept to launch?

Back in 2010, we started talking about it on our third date when we went to see “Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory.” It was kind of the fun thing that we would brainstorm on our dates. As we traveled together, we would start keeping notes on the candy makers and the different types of candy.

Sometime in May 2012, we said “We’re going to do this.” It was a Friday and there was a candy trade show on Tuesday. So we booked flights, got on the plane and tried to learn as much as we could. We launched the website that August.

Would this idea still have been as successful if you launched two or five years earlier?

I don’t think so. It’s successful because of the people and support I have in my life and the connections I’ve made. I have a partner in Josh. He’s very comfortable being the leader, the mentor, the coach, the person that everyone goes to when they have a problem and talk through with things—he is amazing at that. Finding that right complement and having an idea that I was really excited about, that was sort of the perfect storm of things coming together for me.

So the concept grew from your third date, but how did all the other aspects such as the design grow? How much of this came from your marketing background?

Sugarfina is how I would decorate my house if I didn’t live with a guy. This is the design I love, and that was the dream I wanted to create. We love that appeal of the clean, happy, airy feeling when you’re walking into this candy heaven. We wanted our store to provide a luxury experience. That was the concept behind this store’s layout and the product packaging. It is like a jewelry store, but for candy.

If you weren’t doing Sugarfina, what would you be doing?

When I was younger, I really cared about being on a path of constantly being promoted, making more money, saving a certain amount and buying a house. I’m older and wiser now and have come to realize that I don’t focus on the money anymore. I want to do what makes me happy. I think when you allow yourself that, you liberate yourself. If I wasn’t doing Sugarfina, I would want to do something creative, maybe on a consulting basis for a change.

Do you have a favorite candy from Sugarfina?

It changes all the time! I eat candy every day. There are some days where I would eat candy for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I don’t get sick of it. Today, the peach bellini gummies from Germany are so good. They have this delicious, fresh peach taste and the outside has a sour sugar. It’s just delicious.

Did you always want to be a business owner?

I have always been super creative. As a kid, I was drawing, painting, doing arts and crafts, sewing. I wanted to go to fashion school for a brief period of time. I love photography and I taught myself how to take great photos. When Sugarfina first started, we didn’t hire a photographer. I was able to take photos of our products. Same thing with graphic design, I still do most of the graphic design on the website. I get bored really easily, and I always look for a challenge. When you find things that spark your interest, don’t let it fizzle and ignore it. Dive into that interest and see where it takes you.