Stacy Madison

Stacy Madison is the founder of Stacy's Pita Chips, the baked snack brand that transformed leftover pita bread into a grocery staple. Before embarking on her entrepreneurial journey, Madison worked as a social worker at a shelter for homeless pregnant women struggling with drug addiction, earning $22,000 annually. She later moved to Hawaii with then-partner Mark Andrus, where she gained restaurant experience before being abruptly fired. That moment pushed her to work for herself.

Returning to Boston in 1996, Madison and Andrus invested $5,000 in a converted hot dog cart they named Stacy's D'lites, serving pita sandwiches. Rather than discard day-old pita bread, they sliced and baked it into seasoned chips, initially giving them away to customers waiting in line. The chips proved so popular that the side hustle became the main event.

Over nine years, Madison grew the company from a two-person operation with $19,000 in annual revenue to a 300-employee business generating $65 million annually. In 2005, PepsiCo acquired Stacy's Pita Chips for $250 million. Madison describes the sale as bittersweet—the business had begun to run her, and the exit allowed her to travel through Southeast Asia with her twin daughters and best friend for five months.

Today, Madison continues to innovate in the food space with BeBOLD energy bars and serves as spokesperson for the Stacy's Rise Project, which supports aspiring women food entrepreneurs.