Forty Under 40: Bethany Taylor

Bethany Taylor started Gratsy in 2019 with no investors or financing. “Building the company based on our profit,” she’s led the company to three consecutive years of triple-digit revenue growth and is on track to increase revenue by 115% over last year.

Gratsy, a brand acceleration platform, connects brands to hyper-targeted consumers who are likely to purchase their products. Done through curated product experiences, including sample boxes, influencer campaigns and events, Gratsy’s clients include Walmart, Amazon, General Mills, Mattel and Kimberly Clark.

Taylor grew up in Manila, Philippines, with missionary parents, came to John Brown University for college, interned at Sam’s Club and graduated with a double major in business administration and marketing in 2010. Working for Sam’s Club after graduation, she was a project manager, senior manager, then associate buyer before moving to Walmart in 2017, where she launched the retailer’s online consumer sampling platform, which delivered 2 million samples from 25 suppliers during its first year. With that came the vision for Gratsy.

Taylor’s company is known for creative and unique ideas. She’s the idea person, building the vision for the company’s expansion, including the upcoming launch in the next 18 to 24 months of “new services and interesting technology.”

Passionate about creating opportunities for and encouraging other female entrepreneurs, Taylor opened the region’s only female-owned and female-operated fulfillment center.

She created Gratsy’s “feedback to giveback” campaign, donating more than $15,000 to charities (including Feeding America, NWA Children’s Shelter, and Morris Animal Foundation) in exchange for consumer sample box feedback. She also volunteers with the American Heart Association.