Who or what is your inspiration in business?

I’ve been a nurse for 13 years. Every day, I care for patients living with chronic disease — diabetes, heart disease, obesity, inflammation. And we can’t ignore this: Over time, ultra-processed food consumption has been associated with increased risk of chronic illness.Yet those are the foods that are often the most convenient and the most accessible.This isn’t about blaming people. It’s about changing the food environment, starting with something as simple as a ven

How do you stay motivated?

I stay motivated by the gap I see every day in healthcare. We treat chronic disease, yet our food environments promote it. Thrive Smart is my way of bridging that gap. Each placement is a micro public health intervention. Changing environments, even one machine at a time, keeps me focused and driven.

What would you do with the $25,000?

I would invest the funds in scaling Thrive Smart into healthcare settings where staff and families need better grab-and-go options. This includes equipment, inventory, and refinement of our proprietary Thrive Score system within a digital interface. The objective is to prove that reimagined vending can shift purchasing behavior toward better metabolic outcomes.