Building with a Head and a Heart

After six incredible years, my journey as a full-time team member at Embarc Collective has come to a close. I thought I’d share some of what I’ve been reflecting on during my transition.

I’ll never forget my job interview with Lakshmi Shenoy back in 2018 where she shared her vision for Embarc Collective. It was a massive mountain to climb, but I found that her unshakable conviction had me hooked. I nervously sat across from her, taking it all in, hoping I’d make the cut for her team.

My first few months on the job felt like a fever dream. It was hard to not feel intimidated by the incredibly talented folks at the table: Allie Felix Fabio de Sousa Tyana Daley Chris Pizzo Kelly Kehoe Karyn Rood . Despite my being fresh off the undergrad boat, they each encouraged me to bring my ideas to the table and showed me what it meant to galvanize around a mission and build from scratch.

We spent the next 18 months accomplishing much of what we had set out to do. We tested a programming and coaching offering, built a community of founders, opened our doors to the public, and saw the intricate design of Embarc Collective begin to materialize.

As time marched forward, we developed an even bolder expression of our vision through the help of a growing team: Evan Erickson Gabrielle (Gabby) Maury, MSE, CPRW Elizabeth Ho-Sing-Loy Jennifer Brown Michael Sacks Elina Omarova Joel Corley Jeff Shimmel . With them came added momentum to what we were building.

We also brought together a remarkable bench of experts to carry out our vision for world-class coaching: Kailah Matyas Steve Parkis Ryan Schneider Kate Heath Vijay Singh Alex Callihan Jason Putorti Kathleen Osborne Lewis Burnham Kristen Koenig Marsha Prospere, PCC, CMC ??Justin Davis Kelby L. Kupersmid, MS, MCC .

Together, we earned global recognition for our work — one of only two US-based programs to do so — and began to see our long-term impact.

Looking back on all we’ve accomplished, I am most proud of the Embarc Collective community. With them, our work found purpose.

Watching each of our members become stronger, more resilient entrepreneurs has been, by far, the greatest reward of this work. We have celebrated important milestones together: product launches, first revenues, fundraises, team hires, and surviving to the next day.

But more importantly, our community nurtured meaningful connections to one another that extended beyond the work itself. We celebrated life’s beautiful moments: new moves, marriages, babies, and metal album releases (looking at you, Johnny Crowder, CRPS ?? ).

We also endured hardships together.

When we tragically lost our teammate Ganay Thompson late last year, our collective somehow became stronger as we came together to mourn and celebrate her beautiful spirit. We heard the personal stories of Ganay’s impact and the relationships she had built and brokered within our community. In the heartbreak, everyone leaned in, not out.

And that right there is what makes Embarc Collective so special.

So, when I think back on it, our work has always been about impact on the individual level. Embarc Collective is the dot that connects us, and then the magic — or planned serendipity as our team likes to call it — can really begin.

And that experience is not reserved solely for our members. Every dimension of the life I have today has been touched by Embarc Collective. I can’t help but feel overwhelmed by a profound sense of gratitude for all I’ve learned, experienced, and felt.

I am especially thankful for Lakshmi and Allie, who poured an inconceivable volume of energy into mentoring, supporting, and challenging me these past six years. They showed me that it takes both a head and a heart to build something exceptional, and I am certain that Embarc Collective is just that: exceptional.

While leaving my post is bittersweet, I’m thrilled to continue supporting our membership as an Embarc Collective Coach. I can’t wait to see all that our community continues to achieve.

As for me, I’ll be sharing more about my next chapter soon… but for now, I’ll say thank you to everyone who I’ve crossed paths with because of this work. I’ll be grateful to you for a lifetime.