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Meet Matcha Norwood, the owner of Cheesecake on Point, recently named Best Woman-Owned Business by the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 2025 Best of Reader’s Choice Awards, where she was also a finalist for Best Dessert.

Her story is both typical and inspirational. Matcha began her business journey in 2016 from her home kitchen — like many entrepreneurs, she was part of the estimated 69% of small businesses that start as home-based ventures.

By 2018, Cheesecake on Point became the first customer of ArKitchen, a new commercial kitchen incubator. There, Matcha gained access not only to a professional kitchen but also to vital business resources and guidance that helped her strengthen her operations.

In 2020, she took another leap — opening her first storefront and experimenting with a food trailer to test new markets. After two years of steady growth, Matcha was ready to expand again and invest in a food truck. Financing that next step, however, proved challenging — until she connected with Forge Fund.

Today, Cheesecake on Point operates a thriving storefront for walk-in and online orders, two food trucks that appear at events throughout the year, and a growing wholesale market.

The cheesecakes are as delicious as the reviews say — but Matcha’s journey wasn’t easy. She often reflects on those early years filled with 16- to 18-hour days and the critical support systems that helped her succeed: the commercial kitchen that gave her a strong foundation, and the lending partner who believed in her vision and worked alongside her as she grew.