What is your story?

I’ve been an entrepreneur since I was nine years old. I set up a cookie stand during my family’s garage sale, then started a baking business and published a cookbook in high school. My entrepreneurial experience burgeoned the summer after my freshman year of college. I received an internship working at the NMotion Accelerator helping startups launch their companies during a 90-day bootcamp. I returned to school in the fall for my sophomore year where I continued my internship and was back in my secularized business classes. I took a full-time associate role at the NMotion accelerator the summer after my sophomore year and was even more entrenched in the nitty gritty parts of starting a business. I knew my strengths complemented entrepreneurship, but I found a new alignment with entrepreneurship education in my role. At the beginning of my junior year I switched my major to business education. I was determined to change the way students were learning, so I founded My Pop-Up Shoppe, an educational technology startup that helps students learn business through a hands-on experience of running their own startup. I ran My Pop-Up Shoppe for two years and learned about education, entrepreneurship, my identity, and why I was put onto this world. I’m now going to serve as a FOCUS Missionary and put a pause on entrepreneurship. I’ll come back someday because entrepreneurship sparks and inspires my heart. But for now I’m at peace with taking a break and taking on my next adventure.

What is your business?

My Pop-Up Shoppe http://mypopupshoppe.com/wordpress/

Who is your entrepreneurial inspiration OR biggest hero?

Beth McKeon - Beth introduced me to entrepreneurship and had the confidence to hire and inspire me as an intern at NMotion. She gives me the courage to solve big problems and disrupt. I had the opportunity to be mentored by Beth for two years and she has forever changed my entrepreneurial journey.

What advice would you give to a student starting their entrepreneurial journey?

Find a problem worth solving.

What has been your favorite "Engler Experience" to date?

Build Camp

What has been the biggest hurdle or struggle you've dealt with in your entrepreneurial journey?

I'm trying to solve a really big problem. Entrepreneurship is hard and lonely and I am extremely passionate about the education industry. There is so much to keep learning and I can make as big of an impact as I want someday!