Marketing-focused, new media-savvy, and steeped in entrepreneurial spirit, I’ve been in and around startups for more than half my life.
The Bio: Where I’ve Been and What I’ve Seen
Not content with the Lemonade Stand, I started my first company when I was 12, partnering with my cousin so we could span 2 neighborhoods with our babysitting/housesitting/petsitting operations. By high school, I was focused in on marketing and business admin {competing in and winning DECA Nationals} and my college internship turned into a strategist role at one of the country’s leading retail consulting firms where I worked on directional strategies and business plans for companies large and small.
From there I transitioned my branding knowledge to a pioneering SaaS software company and helped grow it from a bootstrapped start up to fully funded venture – one of the few to survive the dot-com-bubble burst.
After taking a couple of years off to enjoy my daughter’s toddler years, I started Retail Bootcamp, a consultancy focused on (you guessed it) retailers. In 2007, I founded Fashion Ethic, an online shop and blog specializing in “Fashionably Responsible” apparel and accessories. In 2009, I began facilitating Ladies Who Launch business incubators, and was drawn back to helping entrepreneurs build businesses that work.
The Bio: What I Do
Today I continue to advise and strategize with small business Rockstars: entrepreneurs who bring talent, passion, and dedication to their business. I’m passionate about small businesses and start ups because this is where innovation and action happens. I have a knack for balancing details with big picture vision – passion with results, and I use this ability to help you infuse clarity and action into your business. Outside of my business, I am an active member of Junior League Seattle and a mentor to young entrepreneurs. I also serve as the Publicity Director for Fashion First, Seattle’s longest-running independent fashion show and fundraiser.
The Bio: What I Love
I get excited by great branding. I love watching companies reinvent themselves to better connect with customers. I’m a lifelong Seahawk fan and have been known to follow a little band called U2. I like to get out of my comfort zone - travel is when I embrace that ‘time for something completely different’. I still study my college areas of study: Fashion and Anthropology. {They have more in common than most people think.} I demand ’doing good’ in my life and believe capitalism-for-good does exist. I *heart* new ideas, but I also love tried and true proven systems. In fact, I love balance in everything from clothing to business: tailored with frou-frou, bottom line with vision, left brain with right brain. And of course I love my family and dearest darlings.
