Deal Hound

Daina Trout founded Health-Ade Kombucha with her husband, Justin Trout, and best friend, Vanessa Dew, in 2012. During the next five years, the company released many flavors of its probiotic tea and opened its own brewing and bottling facility just south of Los Angeles. By 2021, Health-Ade was profitable and generating $200 million in annual revenue, but its investors were eager for a return. That is, until the company's steady growth led its first investor to rethink its exit strategy.

- Christine Lagorio-Chafkin