Because the f*cking bad a** part? It’s the part where I just keep showing up everyday because I know this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing.
My education company started as me thinking I could have a sweet side gig and then it started growing…FAST…but not the way it could scale nationally. I had to make a decision to restructure when we shifted from services to launching our platform. Within an 18 month period, I restructured my entire company from a services company with 30+ employees down to a tech company with <10 and went on to raise over $4MM in seed funding….only after turning down term sheets that diminished the fact I had already successfully built a company to $3MM in revenue. I did it because my vision was to support educators everywhere, not just in my state.
And then I think of the events that took place on that journey to get there…bringing my premie 5 week old to my very first kickoff meeting with my first employees, him being hospitalized months later and being deemed as failing to thrive as he lost weight, having both of my kids suffer from anaphylactic food allergies, my son experiencing such intense anxiety as a toddler that it appeared psychotic. My son suffered from severe anaphylactic reactions to eggs, peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, and soy. He asked me if he would die. We traveled every 8 weeks across the country to participate in a food allergy program that would dramatically change our lives, but would require 2.5 hours daily of focused time for treatment and drain us financially. My daughter suffered debilitating anxiety where she couldn’t feel safe without myself or my husband with her, even at school. The stress of getting on another plane to go put my feet on the ground for founder-led sales, all while being confident it would be well worth it and that my vision was happening, but wondering if my kids would be OK.
Can I pick a day or moment? Not really. Because the fucking bad ass part? It’s the part where I just keep showing up everyday because I know this is exactly what I’m supposed to be doing to make it better for educators and leaders. And really…to make it better for kids who are just like mine.
